I agree with all you said about TMP - but I think it's interesting that fans that grew up with visual effects and with Star Trek post TNG don't really take into account the context of when it came out and what it was like for fans of the original series. We had been told for years that Star Trek was coming back and it just didn't happen. That is, until Star Wars became a phenomenon in 1977 (justifiably so - it was groundbreaking). Roddenberry and the other PTB behind TMP FINALLY got the green light for an honest to God Star Trek project. Of course it was going to feature those new visual effects front and center. But, they badly neglected the story. As a fan at the time (I was 17), I remember how out-of-my-mind excited I was about the movie. I also remember how let down I felt by the amount of time they spent in those shots orbiting the Enterprise and flying into V'ger. The first exterior view of the Enterprise was an unbelievable thrill - at first. I can still remember feeling that awe. But, it was indeed a "LOOK WHAT WE CAN DO WITH VISUAL EFFECTS!1!!!1!!!" sort of thing
ST:TMP is my personal favorite. More serious, more "hard sci-fi" which gives a better sense of a deep space voyage. Decker, Ilyia and V'ger merging at the end..........come now friend, surely you catch the metaphorical meaning. Even seen 2001?
Great comment. Growing up, I always preferred the more exciting entries in the series, but then I realised that TMP is closer to real sci-fi than any of them. A mysterious and beautiful masterpiece.
Great list - and loved both your inclusion and reasoning of Galaxy quest. I actually never saw Beyond, because I figured it would be bad - definitely gonna see it sometime this week now!
For a series never known for comedy, you should see the original series episodes, The Trouble With Tribbles, Shore Leave, A Piece of the Action, I, Mudd...
I've watched the original series since doing this video. I stand by what I said, but those episodes are fun. I particularly enjoyed I, Mudd. I was already familiar with the Tribbles episode, and it absolutely remains one of my favorites. I also enjoyed the revisit Trials and Tribblelations with DS9. My point was that Trek can do comedy, and it can do it really well. Yet, it's not what most people would cite as being the reason they watched the shows.
As a kid and young adult, I found Wrath of Khan to be good, the Search for Spock to be weird, but epic, and I absolutely loved Voyage Home like no other movie made since E.T. Looking back, I can agree that the concept is a bit hokey, but it was ground-breaking in that it touched on a topic valid to a 1980's audience.
It's a really fun film, and it's one where I'm able to separate the nonsensical aspects from my mind and just enjoy the film. It's certainly not my favorite of the series, but I always love watching it.
13. Star Trek In To Darkness 12. Star Trek Beyond 11. Star Trek (2009) 10. Star Trek The Motion Picture 9. Star Trek Insurrection 8. Star Trek Nemesis 7. Star Trek Generations 6. Star Trek First Contact 5. Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan 4. Star Trek V The Final Frontier 3. Star Trek III The Search For Spock 2. Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country 1. Star Trek IV The Voyage Home
Finally, a video on the Star Trek films from someone who ISN'T a Fandom Menace Anti-SJW elitist (Though there is one in this comment section, but even he admitted that he had a soft spot for the interactions between the Spocks). I especially love that you counted Galaxy Quest and placed it above most of the films, Abrams' included. Galaxy Quest feels like an open love letter to Star Trek and its fans, and it shows far more respect than most of the Kelvin films, Kurtzman's Reign of Fucking Terror (aka. the new slate of shows barring most of Strange New Worlds and Picard S3 which are meant to be good) and even most of the films in this franchise before that to the show. Galaxy Quest truly is one of the finest sci-fi films of all time, and also the best Star Trek film that isn't named "Wrath of Khan" for me. However, I'll freely admit I have a soft spot for Search for Spock, Undiscovered Country, First Contact, Beyond and even Generations.
There's a great quote by David Mamet saying that there are only 4 perfect films, and Galaxy Quest is one of them. I initially joked with my wife in preparation for this video about including it, and then when I got to thinking about it, the more it made sense. It's her favorite Trek film, by the way.
13 Star Trek 5 The final frontier 12 Star Trek Insurrection 11 Star Trek The motion picture 10 Star Trek Nemesis 9 Star Trek Generations 8 Star Trek 3 The search for Spock 7 Star Trek into darkness 6 Star Trek 2009 5 Star Trek Beyond 4 Star Trek 4 The voyage home 3 Star Trek 6 The undiscovered country 2 Star Trek First Contact 1 Star Trek 2 The wrath of Khan
Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting Star Trek Beyond in such a fine position. It really needed to do better and deserved to do better at the box office. It's such a marvellous movie. Great list, almost entirely agree.
I want to add a comment apart from the others I already agreed with. It concerns Star Trek: The Motion Picture. In 1979, people were starved for more Star Wars. The Empire Strikes Back was a year away, Battlestar Galactica hadn't sated us enough on our television sets, and we wanted to see what Star Trek would look like if it had a proper budget. Then, we got this. It was nothing like the small screen Star Trek, even though it was a ripoff of "The Changeling" TOS episode. The special effects were stunning, but the pacing was ponderous. Sulu staring at the V'ger cloud was unintentionally hilarious. The synchronized music to the scenes, normally welcome, was jarring and obvious. (Recall the ending of Kirk's survey of the Enterprise in the first act.) The movie messed with expectations. I was 13 when I saw it. Loved the soundtrack - bought it immediately ... on freaking cassette tape, no less. (God, I'm old.) I had met Takei and Nichols a year before, so I was biased, but fully aware that something about the movie was off. In the context of the late 70s, it was a more cerebral story than Star Wars. The motivations and storytelling seemed half baked in places, and even annoying if you liked the television show. ST II was welcomed with open arms precisely because it *wasn't* the sleepiness this movie was.
Original series movies by box office Star Trek I: The Motion Picture Box office: 139 million Box office: 45 million Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Box office: 97 million Budget: 12 million Star Trek III: The Search for Spock Box office: 87 million Box office: 17 million Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home Box office: 133 million Budget: 26 million Star Trek V: The Final Frontier Box office: 63 million Box office: 33 million Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Box office: 96 million Budget: 27 million
1. Wrath of Khan 2. The Undiscovered Country 3. The Voyage Home 4 The Motion Picture 5. First Contact 6. The Final Frontier 7 Search for Spock 8 Generations 9: Insurrection 10: Beyond 11 2009 12. Into Darkness 13. Nemesis
It's a very entertaining film, and I love the actual First Contact plot and how this builds upon Picard's character. I'm just not a fan of the idea of the Borg Queen.
hmmm i like the list...but i wouldn't have any of the JJ Abram Star Trek Films in the top ten....they just felt like loosely based Star Trek films....Abrams didn't even really know anything about Star Trek when he directed them....but not a bad list....4 is just a fun romp with the original crew, 2 is alot like Master and Commander and Hornblower....its like a chess match..which holds something special to me, but 6 its a great send off..one last go with the old crew..its both sad and happy....its one of my favorites still to this day.
I think of the Kelvin trilogy, Beyond is easily the best, because it was written by people who were fans and married the action of JJ's offerings with the sense of discovery of the old show in a "best of both worlds" celebration of the entire series. However, at the same time... I'm not surprised if you dislike it, because the Kelvin movies are pretty polarising (tho slightly skewing more to positive)
@@NebLleb I just see them as souless films...that don't have that flair like the original films. JJ never even watched Star Trek to begin with.....and alot of things were changed mainly in Star Trek into Darkness( Khan...this is where things went off the rails).... JJ is a hack of director...its why i don't like his work.
I would like to add some context to at least the Spacedock scene in TMP, from the perspective of an original (from the 1960s) die hard Trek fan, one of the original "Trekkies". We had been waiting and waiting for new ST ever since the cancellation in 1969, and had been teased with stops and starts throughout the 70s with various aborted movies and the TV series. So it's hard to explain, unless you were there, what it was like on that December 1979 night when I saw TMP for the first time, and Trek on the big screen for the first time. The theater was packed with Trekkies, it was obvious and the sense of anticipation was almost unbearable. For us, it was like getting to see the Beatles live. So every second of that film, even the long tedious parts that bored non-fans, were like manna from heaven for us. But in particular, the introduction of the Big-E in the space dock scene. Yes it was long and indulgent. However, there are two important things to remember: first the Enterprise is as much a character as any of the cast. Her introduction had to be big and impressive. That scene was essentially for the fans, it was what we would have done if it had been real, and we had the chance. Never in the original series did we get to see the Big E like that, close up, slow reveal, HD on the big screen. I teared up watching it the first time. I don't know about other showings, but my audience applauded at the end of that scene. Secondly, I think that scene (in universe) said a lot about the character of Kirk, and how well Scotty knew him. Scotty did not have to take the path he did. He could have straightlined the pod from the office complex straight to the docking portal. But he deliberately took them around over and through the ship, because HE was proud of it, and was showing it off to Kirk, and when you look at Kirk's expression during the scene, you can see how much he loved that ship. It was a deeply emotional scene for him as well. Now, the later V'ger sequences were too long, and I grant that, and they were trimmed in the Director's cut. But I would not take the spacedock scene out for anything. It meant a great deal to me at the time, as it did for most Trekkies of my generation.
Thank you for the clarification. Being the ripe old age of 30, I cannot appreciate what a big deal that would have been for Trekkies who saw their favorite show canceled, lay somewhat dormant for 10 years, and brought back with a big budget treatment. I'd probably feel the same way. However, I am viewing this as a more casual fan long after the fact, and I feel like that scene would have been just as effective at half the length and still would have gotten the same points across (though that's speculation on my part). I appreciate your explanation on why you like that scene, and in time with more viewings, maybe I'll come around to it as well.
@@stephenjarvis534 - there were also HUGE problems with the SFX, which were such a mess that they had to bring in Doug Trumbull and John Dykstra at the last minute to fix them. They spent so much money that the studio basically ordered Robert Wise not to cut any effects that cost more than a certain amount. That meant some of the character beats had to go to make room for the SFX. Add in that Robert Wise hadn't directed an SF film since The Day the Earth Stood Still and was not an action director on any level, and it's amazing the film worked on any level. Even so, I still remember all but bursting into tears at the sight of the Enterprise herself, even if the flyby was too long. I still can't believe they managed to pull off a big screen version at all, let alone that was actually decent.
🤔 I saw it in theaters also. It's a waste of time trying to convey what we felt to this generation or the previous because they have technology at their fingertips to get what they want when they want it. Their attention span is about 1.3 seconds long. Our generation appreciated things more than any generation to date. This era is desensitized because they have special effects in EVRYTHING broadcasted these days, even the 6 o'clock news, lol.
My list would be: 13) Star Trek Into Darkness 12) Star Trek: Insurrection 11) Star Trek: Nemesis 10) Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 9) Star Trek '09 8) Star Trek: Generations 7) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 6) Star Trek Beyond 5) Star Trek: The Motion Picture 4) Star Trek: First Contact 3) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 2) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 1) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Good list. Wrath of Khan is truly a masterpiece and one of the all-time great science fiction movies. Generations is the only Star Trek movie I truly dislike. It feels like the writers were actively trying to make it as bad as possible, and it makes Into Darkness look intelligent in comparison I can find something redeeming about every other movie. Voyage Home, Undiscovered Country, First Contact, and Beyond are all so good, and I'm at least glad I saw the others even if they have major problems.
It's weird how much I agree with your James Bond list (also have Casino Royale #1 and From Russia With Love very highly) and how much I disagree here. Granted I am a hard core fan who has seen nearly every episode ever made. 1. First Contact: (plot holes and Borg Queen somewhat undermining the Borg concept aside) watch in order Q Who, The Best of Both Worlds, Family, and then this and it really feels like a natural continuation of Pircard's biggest storyline much more so than IBorg or Descent. It's the first movie that really admits Picard is human. The Data subplot with the Borg works wonders, as Alice Krige chews scenery. Picard's "the line must be drawn here" speech is up there with In The Pale Moonlight's "And I'd do it all again" as one of my favorite moments in all of Trek. I guess I just really like when the Utopia is pushed to the breaking point that these perfect characters have to behave like humans again. Many people don't like the Earth scenes with Zefram Cochrane, but I find them really enjoyable. Not only the the main theme score memorable, but that dissonant Borg theme is iconic as well. 2. The Wrath of Khan: Really great tense thriller type movie. Ricardo Montalban is magnetic and Nicholas Meyer extracts one of Shatner's best performances. 3. Star Trek 2009: Yeah it's not a great "Trek" film but it's just so much fun. If I was ranking films on how Trek they were this would be near last, but ranking on how willing I am to watch them it earns its spot here. 4. The Voyage Home: Again really fun movie. It's amazing that this film works but it really does. 5. Generations: I'm in the minority who really like this film, think Malcolm McDowell makes a major impression "Time is the fire in which we burn", and that Data's emotion chip is a decent showing of how a character can't actually handle what he always wanted. Of course Kirk's death is underwhelming, but I weirdly like how it ties into The Final Frontier's "I die alone." Even with Picard there he dies his crewmates who were his real family. 6. The Undiscovered Country: Like this one less than most, the prison subplot seems pretty weak and I don't like Kim Cattrall's character. Still Christopher Plummer rocks and the overall story of the Federation and Klingons coming together despite their differences is a nice one. 7. Galaxy Quest; I agree this is a loving tribute and delightful parody. By Grabthar's hammer it belongs in a Star Trek list. 8. Star Trek Beyond: Fine but doesn't make much of an impression on me 9. The Search for Spock: I agree that the big moments feel underplayed, but if you were to describe average star trek movie this is the one I would point to. 10. Star Trek Into Darkness: This is the one that splits me the most. I really like some elements and hate some elements. For my sanity I wish they had made Cumberbatch another augment (he's great as generic augment) instead of Khan himself a character he barely resembles. 11. Star Trek The Final Frontier: Yeah this film has its problems, but I think it has real strengths as well. The character of Sybok as the emotional vulcan is great except with incomprehensible subplot of him being Spock's brother. "Excuse me, what does God need with a spaceship" is one of the most iconic lines and I think is unironically great. The secret pain and human aspect with Spock McCoy and Kirk is fantastic. And then there's all the bad stuff, but I wanted to justify it this high on the list. 12. Star Trek Insurrection: I agree with the criticism here that the moral dillemma is not played out. I disagree that F Murray Abraham is good in the role. Such a waste of a fantastic actor on par with what Nemesis did to Tom Hardy. Ultimately I find the first 40 minutes of this film perfectly good Star Trek content, but the second half of the movie really drags with sub-par action and not much really going on. - 13. Nemesis: Yeah this one is bad, but it has a few moments I like which places it above... 14: The Motion Picture: Ironically the "most Trek" film. The problem is it's long and boring with the cast being borderline unrecognizable as their characters. Furthermore its a recycled storyline that was done better in various Trek episodes. It's no secret this was supposed to be Trek's "2001", but man does it pale in comparison to that film.
I'd also add that much how you have Goldfinger vs. From Russia With Love as a litmus test for James Bond fans I think TNG vs. DS9 serves the same purpose for Trek fans. TNG fans like when the high minded concepts are put first, DS9 fans like when character development is put first and conflicts between those high minded ideals and ruthless pragmatism is forced to play out. DS9 would've considered that maybe the Baku were in the wrong.
@jamespapadopoulos6163 I like your reasonings behind your ranking and very much respect it. As far as DS9 and TNG, that's probably true. They are the only two shows so far where I have seen every episode and I'm torn. DS9 is the better show overall, and yet I have a real soft spot for TNG and rewatch those episodes more often.
Agree with the top 2! Many Startrek movies out there that I haven't seen. Beyond did suffer from blurry fights though. And I do love me some galaxy quest so that might actually beat even the best startrek movies.
my best to worst : 1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 2. Star Trek: First Contact 3. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 5. Star Trek: The Motion Picture 6. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock ---- a jump of 70,000 light-years ---- 7. Star Trek: Generations 8. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 8. Star Trek: Insurrection 8. Star Trek: Nemesis ---- beyond the Great Barrier ---- -. Star Trek (2009) -. Star Trek Into Darkness -. Star Trek Beyond
My ranking of Star Trek films (Not including Galaxy Quest) would be: 13. Star Trek Into Darkness 12. Star Trek Beyond 11. Star Trek 2009 10. Star Trek: Insurrection 9. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier 8. Star Trek: Nemesis 7. Star Trek: The Motion Picture 6. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock 5. Star Trek: Generations 4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home 3. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country 2. Star Trek: First Contact 1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
I always get a little sad when all three Kelvin movies end up towards the bottom of a ranking, but I understand and accept why. Just out of curiosity, did you mean to misspell Insurrection?
I agree that Wrath of Khan is the best TOS film, Beyond is the best Kelvin timeline film and First Contact is the best TNG film, but I'd juggle the overall order a bit to shake the original six towards the top and the Kelvin ones towards the bottom!
The more I watch some of the original cast films, they do go up. I still love 09 and Beyond, but honestly, it's the NG films that slip further and further down the more I live with them. I enjoy First Contact, but even it's got some problems for me.
It's definitely not a good film for me; there are only a couple of films I like less. To be honest, Trek works better as a show than a film franchise, as there are a large number of films that aren't too great. It's got some amazing efforts, but the proportion of bad to good films is quite striking.
Interesting list. I personally don't think much at all of The Motion Picture. I saw the thing when it first came out, I must have been 13 at the time. It was great to see the gang on the big screen, and the Enterprise was bigger than life even if it looked a bit different. I enjoyed it then because I was already a fan, and a stupid adolescent. But I can see now the film spends way too much time on special effects. Also the whole story plays out badly. Apparently this started as a pilot for a new ST tv show starring a new cast with Collins and Khambata. Paramount changed it to a feature film after the surprise success of Star Wars, which is why the old cast was hurriedly brought back. Also explains why they were so poorly used, they weren't supposed to be there. I'm also not the first to notice the stunning similarity between this and the TOS episode "The Changling". You might find some calling TMP "Where Nomad has gone before". Thanks for the review though!
“I can’t decide which is worse between Generations and Into Darkness.” You poor thing. Let me help. One is a poorly written misstep and the other has Spock letting all of his emotions vent by beating a man into submission. A man that we don’t know anything about. By a person who has evolved logic over emotion. Thanks to a writing team who think they are working on a script for Star Trek: The Teenage Cartoon. Does this help? Does it, Stephen?
You're not wrong. It's just that Generations dumbs down Data's journey to discover his humanity, has two beloved original cast members that are insultingly place-holders for two other beloved original cast members, and has Kirk die as almost an afterthought. Plus, I'm a much bigger fan of TNG, so that film hurt my feelings more than Into Darkness. On the other hand, Into Darkness mishandled beloved characters, has a character that is a place-holder for a beloved character of the same name, and features the death of Kirk in a way that demonstrates their inability to understand why that moment meant so much for fans of TOS. They're both pretty terrible, but I can't argue if you chose Into Darkness. It's in pretty awful company. I appreciate the help, though. :)
@@stephenjarvis534 the thing is, Stephen, Into Darkness made me feel like an idiot. It made me feel like the only reason I’d been watching Trek is that I had some dumb association with the most basic traits of the characters. Oh, I know him, he’s the Alpha. Oh, he’s the logical one. Oh, he’s the irascible one. Remember how McCoy and Spock argued, Stephen? Do you? Remember how Kirk was the reckless one, Stephen? Even though he wasn’t really, it was just a trope? But that’s all forgotten now so that we can make these characters thin and stereotypical? Do you know what I liked about Star Trek, Stephen? It made me feel smart. It made me think about moral problems. It made me realise the difficulties and grey areas in politics and diplomacy. It made me think about life philosophically. Yes, most of it was a bit schlocky and nonsense, but at its best, it made you think. It made you bigger. It inspired you. It’s so far removed from Into Darkness, to me it’s a different universe. Or at least a different quadrant
@@spnhm34 LOL, fair point. Just remember to not take film failures so personally; you've got enough stressful things to worry about in your life. A terrible (and insulting) Star Trek film should be fairly low on your list of worries.
I'd take 'Into Darkness' over 'Generations' as regardless of the script issues Into Darkness looks great while Generations feels like an extended TV episode and the messy crossover doesn't help.
The three JJ Abrams films should all be at the bottom of the list for reasons far too numerous to mention, with Beyond at the very bottom for sheer stupidity. The best parts of the first two films were the interactions between young and old Spock. The best part of Beyond was Spock getting word that his elder self had died. Rest in Peace, Leonard.
Sorry, Stephen, but those JJ Abrams films are atrocious and capture nothing about Star Trek. What they did to the Uhura character was an abomination. Pine as Kirk is terrible. I do like Quinton's Spock Urban's McCoy and Pigett's Scotty are okay. I do not consider these to be Star Trek films. As to TMP, for those of us who grew up watching TOS as it originally ran, not thru syndication (that includes me), seeing Trek on the big screen was a big deal. So, yes, looking over the refurbished Enterprise might seem a bit drawn out to younger people, but to us, it was a celebration of the Enterprise which is really its own character in Trek. Shatner wrote the screenplay for V. He was also severely hampered by budgetary restraints by the studio as they refused to give him a bigger budget (money was allocated to another sci fi film at the time). With a greatly reduced budget, he did not have much left to work with for the special effects, hence why they suffer a bit. I do think that First Contact is the best TNG film. Khan is definitely the best of all the Trek films. I also like Undiscovered Country. TMP was originally going to be the pilot for a new TV Trek series. When that wasn't picked up and the go ahead for a movie was given, they used this. One can tell that it is "padded" out with the very long sequences of special effects (which are very reminiscent of 2001) so that the running time approaches that of a feature film. The concept behind it was really interesting.
@ScienceTalkwithJimMassa It’s fine if you hate those films. I don't (though I'm growing less and less fond of Into Darkness). I'll also fully admit that I might not be the right person to appreciate TMP's elongated effects sequences, but I also know plenty of old-scool fans that take issue with those scenes. I do have to point out that Shatner was given a fairly large budget as far as Trek films went. V had more budgeted than II and III put together, so I don't buy budget problems as being why that movie failed. If your vision can not attain its greatness without the visual effects, then that needs to be addressed and corrected. Either rework your film around the budgetary limitations or find some way to get more money. As horrible a reality as it is, money is a very real concern in filmmaking, and vision must often play second fiddle to budget. Nick Meyer wouldn't have been able to make Star Trek 6 without calling in a favor; his budget was that low. Steven Spielberg's Jaws worked around its limitations and made a film that many feel is better than the original vision would have been. And I'm not cutting Final Frontier slack because it had production problems and is more interesting as a concept than most of the other films. If you watch my in-depth Bond reviews, you'll see that I didn't let Never Say Never Agin or Quantum of Solace off the hook because they had awful productions.
Imo,first contact is my number 1 movie and generations is also one of my top star trek movies, it's great fun! For me all the Kelvin movies are the bottom of the barrel. Insurrection is also not great but still a good movie. And the wrath of Khan is way way overrated!
Worst 3 Star Trek Films: *Star Trek Into DARKStuff* lol It is a BAD RIP Off and insults Star Trek 2 in almost EVERY WAY! And Cumberbatch can NEVER be Kahn! Star Trek Insurrections is an POINTLESS Star Trek Film about a Topic WE already HAD in the TNG Series!! And of course the "Starfleet is Bad" Trope.... And Star Trek Nemesis... Omg where to even Begin. The TNG Crew acts Like different Characters and The "Evil Twin Clone" Story is *unbelievable!* in Every WAY! Best 3 are WITHOUT a doubt Star Trek 2, Star Trek 6 and still, even despite It's Canon Problems Star Trek 8
I definitely agree with you to a degree on all three of the films. I'm not sure I'd accuse Into Darkness of insulting Star Trek 2 in "EVERY WAY", but it is an inferior take on similar material. True, Cumberbatch is almost entirely a different character from the original Khan, but I enjoy a performance without agreeing with the character's direction. It's an empty justification, to be fair, but even though Into Darkness' Khan doesn't work for me, Cumberbatch is incredibly entertaining to watch for me.
@@stephenjarvis534 I agree that Cumberbatch was entertaining, but for me he could NEVER be Khan Noonien Singh due to his ethnicity. But I liked your take on Star Trek 6 with the famous Q qoute of "exploring a humans/lifeforms true capabilities"... Was quite fitting as a theme for the whole Film and it's unparalleled "God speed" send off to the OG ToS Crew 👍
I think the reboot films are abominations. JJ plastering Star Wars over Star Trek. There's re-imagining but to transform it to something utterly unrecognisable seems pushing that method too far, and ultimately seems a pointless exercise except of course just to cynically make money from the label.
14. The Final Frontier 13. The Motion Picture 12. Beyond 11. Into Darkness 10. Nemesis 9. Star Trek 8. Galaxy Quest 7. Generations 6. The -Revenge- Wrath of Khan 5. The Undiscovered Country 4. Insurrection 3. The Search for Spock 2. The Voyage Home 1. First Contact
13 final frontier 12 insurrection 11 into darkness 10 nemesis 9 star trek 09 8 motion picture 7 generations 6 search for spock 5 beyond 4 voyage home 3 undiscovered country 2 first contact 1 wrath of khan
alright. Before I watch this, here's my ranking: 13: Star Trek V 12: Star Trek Into Darkness 11: Star Trek Nemesis 10: Star Trek Insurrection 9: Star Trek Beyond 8: Star Trek III The Search for Spock 7: Star Trek (2009) 6: Star Trek Generations 5: Star Trek the Motion Picture 4: Star Trek The Wrath of Kahn 3: Star Trek The Undiscovered Country 2: Star Trek First Contact 1: Star Trek The Voyage Home I've ranked this by a combination of enjoyment, rewatchability and how much I remember from each of them. You'll notice that I don't even remember the name of last place
Stephen, you are the only star trek essay on UA-cam WITHOUT a ten minute video clip of you talking to the screen.
You've already decided to spend your valuable time listening to my opinions; why should I burden you with seeing my face the whole time?
Yes, casual but enthusiastic is a great description. Same here
I agree with all you said about TMP - but I think it's interesting that fans that grew up with visual effects and with Star Trek post TNG don't really take into account the context of when it came out and what it was like for fans of the original series. We had been told for years that Star Trek was coming back and it just didn't happen. That is, until Star Wars became a phenomenon in 1977 (justifiably so - it was groundbreaking). Roddenberry and the other PTB behind TMP FINALLY got the green light for an honest to God Star Trek project. Of course it was going to feature those new visual effects front and center. But, they badly neglected the story. As a fan at the time (I was 17), I remember how out-of-my-mind excited I was about the movie. I also remember how let down I felt by the amount of time they spent in those shots orbiting the Enterprise and flying into V'ger. The first exterior view of the Enterprise was an unbelievable thrill - at first. I can still remember feeling that awe. But, it was indeed a "LOOK WHAT WE CAN DO WITH VISUAL EFFECTS!1!!!1!!!" sort of thing
ST:TMP is my personal favorite. More serious, more "hard sci-fi" which gives a better sense of a deep space voyage. Decker, Ilyia and V'ger merging at the end..........come now friend, surely you catch the metaphorical meaning. Even seen 2001?
Great comment. Growing up, I always preferred the more exciting entries in the series, but then I realised that TMP is closer to real sci-fi than any of them. A mysterious and beautiful masterpiece.
Great list - and loved both your inclusion and reasoning of Galaxy quest. I actually never saw Beyond, because I figured it would be bad - definitely gonna see it sometime this week now!
Thank you, and glad to hear it. Regardless of whether you loved or hated the JJ films, I truly believe Beyond is a step up.
For a series never known for comedy, you should see the original series episodes, The Trouble With Tribbles, Shore Leave, A Piece of the Action, I, Mudd...
I've watched the original series since doing this video. I stand by what I said, but those episodes are fun. I particularly enjoyed I, Mudd. I was already familiar with the Tribbles episode, and it absolutely remains one of my favorites. I also enjoyed the revisit Trials and Tribblelations with DS9. My point was that Trek can do comedy, and it can do it really well. Yet, it's not what most people would cite as being the reason they watched the shows.
At least Picard Season 3 gave the TNG cast the send off they truly deserved. That and bringing the Enterprise D back.
I was pleasantly surprised by Season 3. I wasn't expecting much after those first two seasons, but they really brought me around.
As a kid and young adult, I found Wrath of Khan to be good, the Search for Spock to be weird, but epic, and I absolutely loved Voyage Home like no other movie made since E.T. Looking back, I can agree that the concept is a bit hokey, but it was ground-breaking in that it touched on a topic valid to a 1980's audience.
It's a really fun film, and it's one where I'm able to separate the nonsensical aspects from my mind and just enjoy the film. It's certainly not my favorite of the series, but I always love watching it.
13. Star Trek In To Darkness
12. Star Trek Beyond
11. Star Trek (2009)
10. Star Trek The Motion Picture
9. Star Trek Insurrection
8. Star Trek Nemesis
7. Star Trek Generations
6. Star Trek First Contact
5. Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan
4. Star Trek V The Final Frontier
3. Star Trek III The Search For Spock
2. Star Trek VI The Undiscovered Country
1. Star Trek IV The Voyage Home
Would like to see you do a Star Trek Sountrack list like you did for the Bonds
Now that'd be an interesting list, given that like the Bond soundtracks, some of the soundtracks are much better than the films they go to.
Even the bad Trek films have fantastic music!
Finally, a video on the Star Trek films from someone who ISN'T a Fandom Menace Anti-SJW elitist (Though there is one in this comment section, but even he admitted that he had a soft spot for the interactions between the Spocks). I especially love that you counted Galaxy Quest and placed it above most of the films, Abrams' included. Galaxy Quest feels like an open love letter to Star Trek and its fans, and it shows far more respect than most of the Kelvin films, Kurtzman's Reign of Fucking Terror (aka. the new slate of shows barring most of Strange New Worlds and Picard S3 which are meant to be good) and even most of the films in this franchise before that to the show.
Galaxy Quest truly is one of the finest sci-fi films of all time, and also the best Star Trek film that isn't named "Wrath of Khan" for me. However, I'll freely admit I have a soft spot for Search for Spock, Undiscovered Country, First Contact, Beyond and even Generations.
There's a great quote by David Mamet saying that there are only 4 perfect films, and Galaxy Quest is one of them. I initially joked with my wife in preparation for this video about including it, and then when I got to thinking about it, the more it made sense. It's her favorite Trek film, by the way.
13 Star Trek 5 The final frontier
12 Star Trek Insurrection
11 Star Trek The motion picture
10 Star Trek Nemesis
9 Star Trek Generations
8 Star Trek 3 The search for Spock
7 Star Trek into darkness
6 Star Trek 2009
5 Star Trek Beyond
4 Star Trek 4 The voyage home
3 Star Trek 6 The undiscovered country
2 Star Trek First Contact
1 Star Trek 2 The wrath of Khan
Agreed but I would put the voyage home 2
While my list would differ, it's nice seeing someone give Beyond some love.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for putting Star Trek Beyond in such a fine position. It really needed to do better and deserved to do better at the box office. It's such a marvellous movie. Great list, almost entirely agree.
Even Gene Siskel, who wasn’t a sci-fi fan, loved Khan
I want to add a comment apart from the others I already agreed with. It concerns Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
In 1979, people were starved for more Star Wars. The Empire Strikes Back was a year away, Battlestar Galactica hadn't sated us enough on our television sets, and we wanted to see what Star Trek would look like if it had a proper budget.
Then, we got this.
It was nothing like the small screen Star Trek, even though it was a ripoff of "The Changeling" TOS episode. The special effects were stunning, but the pacing was ponderous. Sulu staring at the V'ger cloud was unintentionally hilarious. The synchronized music to the scenes, normally welcome, was jarring and obvious. (Recall the ending of Kirk's survey of the Enterprise in the first act.) The movie messed with expectations.
I was 13 when I saw it. Loved the soundtrack - bought it immediately ... on freaking cassette tape, no less. (God, I'm old.) I had met Takei and Nichols a year before, so I was biased, but fully aware that something about the movie was off.
In the context of the late 70s, it was a more cerebral story than Star Wars. The motivations and storytelling seemed half baked in places, and even annoying if you liked the television show. ST II was welcomed with open arms precisely because it *wasn't* the sleepiness this movie was.
Original series movies by box office
Star Trek I: The Motion Picture
Box office: 139 million
Box office: 45 million
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Box office: 97 million
Budget: 12 million
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Box office: 87 million
Box office: 17 million
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Box office: 133 million
Budget: 26 million
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Box office: 63 million
Box office: 33 million
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
Box office: 96 million
Budget: 27 million
1. Wrath of Khan
2. The Undiscovered Country
3. The Voyage Home
4 The Motion Picture
5. First Contact
6. The Final Frontier
7 Search for Spock
8 Generations
9: Insurrection
10: Beyond
11 2009
12. Into Darkness
13. Nemesis
As for now, i own the 2,8,9 and 10th Movie. And my Favorite for now is the 9th Movie. Such What if Scenarios are my Favorites.
Sorry. I mean the 8th Movie, the First Contact.
Good list, although I would rank First Contact much higher.
It's a very entertaining film, and I love the actual First Contact plot and how this builds upon Picard's character. I'm just not a fan of the idea of the Borg Queen.
hmmm i like the list...but i wouldn't have any of the JJ Abram Star Trek Films in the top ten....they just felt like loosely based Star Trek films....Abrams didn't even really know anything about Star Trek when he directed them....but not a bad list....4 is just a fun romp with the original crew, 2 is alot like Master and Commander and Hornblower....its like a chess match..which holds something special to me, but 6 its a great send off..one last go with the old crew..its both sad and happy....its one of my favorites still to this day.
I think of the Kelvin trilogy, Beyond is easily the best, because it was written by people who were fans and married the action of JJ's offerings with the sense of discovery of the old show in a "best of both worlds" celebration of the entire series. However, at the same time... I'm not surprised if you dislike it, because the Kelvin movies are pretty polarising (tho slightly skewing more to positive)
@@NebLleb I just see them as souless films...that don't have that flair like the original films. JJ never even watched Star Trek to begin with.....and alot of things were changed mainly in Star Trek into Darkness( Khan...this is where things went off the rails).... JJ is a hack of director...its why i don't like his work.
The end of Wrath Of Khan..and the end of Edge of Darkness....epic !!
I would like to add some context to at least the Spacedock scene in TMP, from the perspective of an original (from the 1960s) die hard Trek fan, one of the original "Trekkies". We had been waiting and waiting for new ST ever since the cancellation in 1969, and had been teased with stops and starts throughout the 70s with various aborted movies and the TV series. So it's hard to explain, unless you were there, what it was like on that December 1979 night when I saw TMP for the first time, and Trek on the big screen for the first time. The theater was packed with Trekkies, it was obvious and the sense of anticipation was almost unbearable. For us, it was like getting to see the Beatles live. So every second of that film, even the long tedious parts that bored non-fans, were like manna from heaven for us. But in particular, the introduction of the Big-E in the space dock scene. Yes it was long and indulgent. However, there are two important things to remember: first the Enterprise is as much a character as any of the cast. Her introduction had to be big and impressive. That scene was essentially for the fans, it was what we would have done if it had been real, and we had the chance. Never in the original series did we get to see the Big E like that, close up, slow reveal, HD on the big screen. I teared up watching it the first time. I don't know about other showings, but my audience applauded at the end of that scene.
Secondly, I think that scene (in universe) said a lot about the character of Kirk, and how well Scotty knew him. Scotty did not have to take the path he did. He could have straightlined the pod from the office complex straight to the docking portal. But he deliberately took them around over and through the ship, because HE was proud of it, and was showing it off to Kirk, and when you look at Kirk's expression during the scene, you can see how much he loved that ship. It was a deeply emotional scene for him as well.
Now, the later V'ger sequences were too long, and I grant that, and they were trimmed in the Director's cut. But I would not take the spacedock scene out for anything. It meant a great deal to me at the time, as it did for most Trekkies of my generation.
Thank you for the clarification. Being the ripe old age of 30, I cannot appreciate what a big deal that would have been for Trekkies who saw their favorite show canceled, lay somewhat dormant for 10 years, and brought back with a big budget treatment. I'd probably feel the same way. However, I am viewing this as a more casual fan long after the fact, and I feel like that scene would have been just as effective at half the length and still would have gotten the same points across (though that's speculation on my part). I appreciate your explanation on why you like that scene, and in time with more viewings, maybe I'll come around to it as well.
@@stephenjarvis534 - there were also HUGE problems with the SFX, which were such a mess that they had to bring in Doug Trumbull and John Dykstra at the last minute to fix them. They spent so much money that the studio basically ordered Robert Wise not to cut any effects that cost more than a certain amount. That meant some of the character beats had to go to make room for the SFX. Add in that Robert Wise hadn't directed an SF film since The Day the Earth Stood Still and was not an action director on any level, and it's amazing the film worked on any level.
Even so, I still remember all but bursting into tears at the sight of the Enterprise herself, even if the flyby was too long. I still can't believe they managed to pull off a big screen version at all, let alone that was actually decent.
🤔 I saw it in theaters also. It's a waste of time trying to convey what we felt to this generation or the previous because they have technology at their fingertips to get what they want when they want it. Their attention span is about 1.3 seconds long. Our generation appreciated things more than any generation to date. This era is desensitized because they have special effects in EVRYTHING broadcasted these days, even the 6 o'clock news, lol.
My list would be:
13) Star Trek Into Darkness
12) Star Trek: Insurrection
11) Star Trek: Nemesis
10) Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
9) Star Trek '09
8) Star Trek: Generations
7) Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
6) Star Trek Beyond
5) Star Trek: The Motion Picture
4) Star Trek: First Contact
3) Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
2) Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
1) Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Good list.
Good list. Wrath of Khan is truly a masterpiece and one of the all-time great science fiction movies. Generations is the only Star Trek movie I truly dislike. It feels like the writers were actively trying to make it as bad as possible, and it makes Into Darkness look intelligent in comparison I can find something redeeming about every other movie. Voyage Home, Undiscovered Country, First Contact, and Beyond are all so good, and I'm at least glad I saw the others even if they have major problems.
Generations has holes in its story but I don't find it bad personally.
It's weird how much I agree with your James Bond list (also have Casino Royale #1 and From Russia With Love very highly) and how much I disagree here. Granted I am a hard core fan who has seen nearly every episode ever made.
1. First Contact: (plot holes and Borg Queen somewhat undermining the Borg concept aside) watch in order Q Who, The Best of Both Worlds, Family, and then this and it really feels like a natural continuation of Pircard's biggest storyline much more so than IBorg or Descent. It's the first movie that really admits Picard is human. The Data subplot with the Borg works wonders, as Alice Krige chews scenery. Picard's "the line must be drawn here" speech is up there with In The Pale Moonlight's "And I'd do it all again" as one of my favorite moments in all of Trek. I guess I just really like when the Utopia is pushed to the breaking point that these perfect characters have to behave like humans again. Many people don't like the Earth scenes with Zefram Cochrane, but I find them really enjoyable. Not only the the main theme score memorable, but that dissonant Borg theme is iconic as well.
2. The Wrath of Khan: Really great tense thriller type movie. Ricardo Montalban is magnetic and Nicholas Meyer extracts one of Shatner's best performances.
3. Star Trek 2009: Yeah it's not a great "Trek" film but it's just so much fun. If I was ranking films on how Trek they were this would be near last, but ranking on how willing I am to watch them it earns its spot here.
4. The Voyage Home: Again really fun movie. It's amazing that this film works but it really does.
5. Generations: I'm in the minority who really like this film, think Malcolm McDowell makes a major impression "Time is the fire in which we burn", and that Data's emotion chip is a decent showing of how a character can't actually handle what he always wanted. Of course Kirk's death is underwhelming, but I weirdly like how it ties into The Final Frontier's "I die alone." Even with Picard there he dies his crewmates who were his real family.
6. The Undiscovered Country: Like this one less than most, the prison subplot seems pretty weak and I don't like Kim Cattrall's character. Still Christopher Plummer rocks and the overall story of the Federation and Klingons coming together despite their differences is a nice one.
7. Galaxy Quest; I agree this is a loving tribute and delightful parody. By Grabthar's hammer it belongs in a Star Trek list.
8. Star Trek Beyond: Fine but doesn't make much of an impression on me
9. The Search for Spock: I agree that the big moments feel underplayed, but if you were to describe average star trek movie this is the one I would point to.
10. Star Trek Into Darkness: This is the one that splits me the most. I really like some elements and hate some elements. For my sanity I wish they had made Cumberbatch another augment (he's great as generic augment) instead of Khan himself a character he barely resembles.
11. Star Trek The Final Frontier: Yeah this film has its problems, but I think it has real strengths as well. The character of Sybok as the emotional vulcan is great except with incomprehensible subplot of him being Spock's brother. "Excuse me, what does God need with a spaceship" is one of the most iconic lines and I think is unironically great. The secret pain and human aspect with Spock McCoy and Kirk is fantastic. And then there's all the bad stuff, but I wanted to justify it this high on the list.
12. Star Trek Insurrection: I agree with the criticism here that the moral dillemma is not played out. I disagree that F Murray Abraham is good in the role. Such a waste of a fantastic actor on par with what Nemesis did to Tom Hardy. Ultimately I find the first 40 minutes of this film perfectly good Star Trek content, but the second half of the movie really drags with sub-par action and not much really going on. -
13. Nemesis: Yeah this one is bad, but it has a few moments I like which places it above...
14: The Motion Picture: Ironically the "most Trek" film. The problem is it's long and boring with the cast being borderline unrecognizable as their characters. Furthermore its a recycled storyline that was done better in various Trek episodes. It's no secret this was supposed to be Trek's "2001", but man does it pale in comparison to that film.
I'd also add that much how you have Goldfinger vs. From Russia With Love as a litmus test for James Bond fans I think TNG vs. DS9 serves the same purpose for Trek fans. TNG fans like when the high minded concepts are put first, DS9 fans like when character development is put first and conflicts between those high minded ideals and ruthless pragmatism is forced to play out. DS9 would've considered that maybe the Baku were in the wrong.
@jamespapadopoulos6163 I like your reasonings behind your ranking and very much respect it. As far as DS9 and TNG, that's probably true. They are the only two shows so far where I have seen every episode and I'm torn. DS9 is the better show overall, and yet I have a real soft spot for TNG and rewatch those episodes more often.
Agree with the top 2!
Many Startrek movies out there that I haven't seen.
Beyond did suffer from blurry fights though.
And I do love me some galaxy quest so that might actually beat even the best startrek movies.
my best to worst :
1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
2. Star Trek: First Contact
3. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
5. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
6. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
---- a jump of 70,000 light-years ----
7. Star Trek: Generations
8. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
8. Star Trek: Insurrection
8. Star Trek: Nemesis
---- beyond the Great Barrier ----
-. Star Trek (2009)
-. Star Trek Into Darkness
-. Star Trek Beyond
Except for Beyond, this is a list I can get behind.
Movie Kirk is better than TV show Kirk. I don't mean JJ Kelvan movies.
Damn right, the original movies are my favourite era for that crew.
My ranking of Star Trek films (Not including Galaxy Quest) would be:
13. Star Trek Into Darkness
12. Star Trek Beyond
11. Star Trek 2009
10. Star Trek: Insurrection
9. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
8. Star Trek: Nemesis
7. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
6. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
5. Star Trek: Generations
4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
3. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
2. Star Trek: First Contact
1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
I always get a little sad when all three Kelvin movies end up towards the bottom of a ranking, but I understand and accept why. Just out of curiosity, did you mean to misspell Insurrection?
@@stephenjarvis534 I misspelled Insurrection?
I agree that Wrath of Khan is the best TOS film, Beyond is the best Kelvin timeline film and First Contact is the best TNG film, but I'd juggle the overall order a bit to shake the original six towards the top and the Kelvin ones towards the bottom!
The more I watch some of the original cast films, they do go up. I still love 09 and Beyond, but honestly, it's the NG films that slip further and further down the more I live with them. I enjoy First Contact, but even it's got some problems for me.
You have Insurrection too high. I see it as the worse Star Trek.
It's definitely not a good film for me; there are only a couple of films I like less. To be honest, Trek works better as a show than a film franchise, as there are a large number of films that aren't too great. It's got some amazing efforts, but the proportion of bad to good films is quite striking.
Dude your awesome.
That's kind of you. Thanks!
Interesting list. I personally don't think much at all of The Motion Picture. I saw the thing when it first came out, I must have been 13 at the time. It was great to see the gang on the big screen, and the Enterprise was bigger than life even if it looked a bit different. I enjoyed it then because I was already a fan, and a stupid adolescent. But I can see now the film spends way too much time on special effects. Also the whole story plays out badly. Apparently this started as a pilot for a new ST tv show starring a new cast with Collins and Khambata. Paramount changed it to a feature film after the surprise success of Star Wars, which is why the old cast was hurriedly brought back. Also explains why they were so poorly used, they weren't supposed to be there. I'm also not the first to notice the stunning similarity between this and the TOS episode "The Changling". You might find some calling TMP "Where Nomad has gone before". Thanks for the review though!
You're welcome.
“I can’t decide which is worse between Generations and Into Darkness.”
You poor thing. Let me help.
One is a poorly written misstep and the other has Spock letting all of his emotions vent by beating a man into submission. A man that we don’t know anything about. By a person who has evolved logic over emotion. Thanks to a writing team who think they are working on a script for Star Trek: The Teenage Cartoon. Does this help? Does it, Stephen?
You're not wrong. It's just that Generations dumbs down Data's journey to discover his humanity, has two beloved original cast members that are insultingly place-holders for two other beloved original cast members, and has Kirk die as almost an afterthought. Plus, I'm a much bigger fan of TNG, so that film hurt my feelings more than Into Darkness.
On the other hand, Into Darkness mishandled beloved characters, has a character that is a place-holder for a beloved character of the same name, and features the death of Kirk in a way that demonstrates their inability to understand why that moment meant so much for fans of TOS.
They're both pretty terrible, but I can't argue if you chose Into Darkness. It's in pretty awful company. I appreciate the help, though. :)
@@stephenjarvis534 the thing is, Stephen, Into Darkness made me feel like an idiot. It made me feel like the only reason I’d been watching Trek is that I had some dumb association with the most basic traits of the characters. Oh, I know him, he’s the Alpha. Oh, he’s the logical one. Oh, he’s the irascible one. Remember how McCoy and Spock argued, Stephen? Do you? Remember how Kirk was the reckless one, Stephen? Even though he wasn’t really, it was just a trope? But that’s all forgotten now so that we can make these characters thin and stereotypical?
Do you know what I liked about Star Trek, Stephen? It made me feel smart. It made me think about moral problems. It made me realise the difficulties and grey areas in politics and diplomacy. It made me think about life philosophically. Yes, most of it was a bit schlocky and nonsense, but at its best, it made you think. It made you bigger. It inspired you. It’s so far removed from Into Darkness, to me it’s a different universe. Or at least a different quadrant
@@spnhm34 LOL, fair point. Just remember to not take film failures so personally; you've got enough stressful things to worry about in your life. A terrible (and insulting) Star Trek film should be fairly low on your list of worries.
I can't stop laughing. I read it in an amalgamation of every sarcastic character from the small and big screen.
I'd take 'Into Darkness' over 'Generations' as regardless of the script issues Into Darkness looks great while Generations feels like an extended TV episode and the messy crossover doesn't help.
The three JJ Abrams films should all be at the bottom of the list for reasons far too numerous to mention, with Beyond at the very bottom for sheer stupidity.
The best parts of the first two films were the interactions between young and old Spock. The best part of Beyond was Spock getting word that his elder self had died. Rest in Peace, Leonard.
KHAN!!!!
Sorry, Stephen, but those JJ Abrams films are atrocious and capture nothing about Star Trek. What they did to the Uhura character was an abomination. Pine as Kirk is terrible. I do like Quinton's Spock Urban's McCoy and Pigett's Scotty are okay. I do not consider these to be Star Trek films.
As to TMP, for those of us who grew up watching TOS as it originally ran, not thru syndication (that includes me), seeing Trek on the big screen was a big deal. So, yes, looking over the refurbished Enterprise might seem a bit drawn out to younger people, but to us, it was a celebration of the Enterprise which is really its own character in Trek.
Shatner wrote the screenplay for V. He was also severely hampered by budgetary restraints by the studio as they refused to give him a bigger budget (money was allocated to another sci fi film at the time). With a greatly reduced budget, he did not have much left to work with for the special effects, hence why they suffer a bit.
I do think that First Contact is the best TNG film. Khan is definitely the best of all the Trek films. I also like Undiscovered Country.
TMP was originally going to be the pilot for a new TV Trek series. When that wasn't picked up and the go ahead for a movie was given, they used this. One can tell that it is "padded" out with the very long sequences of special effects (which are very reminiscent of 2001) so that the running time approaches that of a feature film. The concept behind it was really interesting.
@ScienceTalkwithJimMassa It’s fine if you hate those films. I don't (though I'm growing less and less fond of Into Darkness). I'll also fully admit that I might not be the right person to appreciate TMP's elongated effects sequences, but I also know plenty of old-scool fans that take issue with those scenes.
I do have to point out that Shatner was given a fairly large budget as far as Trek films went. V had more budgeted than II and III put together, so I don't buy budget problems as being why that movie failed. If your vision can not attain its greatness without the visual effects, then that needs to be addressed and corrected. Either rework your film around the budgetary limitations or find some way to get more money. As horrible a reality as it is, money is a very real concern in filmmaking, and vision must often play second fiddle to budget. Nick Meyer wouldn't have been able to make Star Trek 6 without calling in a favor; his budget was that low. Steven Spielberg's Jaws worked around its limitations and made a film that many feel is better than the original vision would have been. And I'm not cutting Final Frontier slack because it had production problems and is more interesting as a concept than most of the other films. If you watch my in-depth Bond reviews, you'll see that I didn't let Never Say Never Agin or Quantum of Solace off the hook because they had awful productions.
Imo,first contact is my number 1 movie and generations is also one of my top star trek movies, it's great fun! For me all the Kelvin movies are the bottom of the barrel. Insurrection is also not great but still a good movie. And the wrath of Khan is way way overrated!
Worst 3 Star Trek Films:
*Star Trek Into DARKStuff* lol
It is a BAD RIP Off and insults Star Trek 2 in almost EVERY WAY! And Cumberbatch can NEVER be Kahn!
Star Trek Insurrections is an POINTLESS Star Trek Film about a Topic WE already HAD in the TNG Series!! And of course the "Starfleet is Bad" Trope....
And Star Trek Nemesis... Omg where to even Begin. The TNG Crew acts Like different Characters and The "Evil Twin Clone" Story is *unbelievable!* in Every WAY!
Best 3 are WITHOUT a doubt Star Trek 2, Star Trek 6 and still, even despite It's Canon Problems Star Trek 8
I definitely agree with you to a degree on all three of the films. I'm not sure I'd accuse Into Darkness of insulting Star Trek 2 in "EVERY WAY", but it is an inferior take on similar material. True, Cumberbatch is almost entirely a different character from the original Khan, but I enjoy a performance without agreeing with the character's direction. It's an empty justification, to be fair, but even though Into Darkness' Khan doesn't work for me, Cumberbatch is incredibly entertaining to watch for me.
@@stephenjarvis534 I agree that Cumberbatch was entertaining, but for me he could NEVER be Khan Noonien Singh due to his ethnicity.
But I liked your take on Star Trek 6 with the famous Q qoute of "exploring a humans/lifeforms true capabilities"... Was quite fitting as a theme for the whole Film and it's unparalleled "God speed" send off to the OG ToS Crew 👍
Nemesis is better than Final frontier
I think the reboot films are abominations. JJ plastering Star Wars over Star Trek. There's re-imagining but to transform it to something utterly unrecognisable seems pushing that method too far, and ultimately seems a pointless exercise except of course just to cynically make money from the label.
14. The Final Frontier
13. The Motion Picture
12. Beyond
11. Into Darkness
10. Nemesis
9. Star Trek
8. Galaxy Quest
7. Generations
6. The -Revenge- Wrath of Khan
5. The Undiscovered Country
4. Insurrection
3. The Search for Spock
2. The Voyage Home
1. First Contact
13 final frontier
12 insurrection
11 into darkness
10 nemesis
9 star trek 09
8 motion picture
7 generations
6 search for spock
5 beyond
4 voyage home
3 undiscovered country
2 first contact
1 wrath of khan
alright. Before I watch this, here's my ranking:
13: Star Trek V
12: Star Trek Into Darkness
11: Star Trek Nemesis
10: Star Trek Insurrection
9: Star Trek Beyond
8: Star Trek III The Search for Spock
7: Star Trek (2009)
6: Star Trek Generations
5: Star Trek the Motion Picture
4: Star Trek The Wrath of Kahn
3: Star Trek The Undiscovered Country
2: Star Trek First Contact
1: Star Trek The Voyage Home
I've ranked this by a combination of enjoyment, rewatchability and how much I remember from each of them. You'll notice that I don't even remember the name of last place
Galaxy Quest is extremely overrated.
I'm sorry. What don't you like about it?
Agree to disagree. Stephen's inclusion on his list is a laudable decision. I smiled when it showed up.