I'm inclined to agree. It has genuine heart. "Time is the fire in which we burn" is delivered with Shakespearean conviction. People may say, "I HATE this! It is REVOLTING!" But the whole thing was done with more than enough good humor to keep it light. Kirk's end could never match the sheer tonnage of his iconic status, and I thought Shatner's, "oh, my..." was great.
Wow. That's a bold statement. I wouldn't even say that. To me, First Contact is the best Star Trek movie, period. But ive always thought that Generations was totally underrated. It's a very good movie IMO. I remember seeing Generations in the theater with my family and a bunch of Star Trek fans. Everyone in the theater burst out laughing when Data cheered as the Klingon ship was destroyed. The Enterprise D is my favorite too. When she reappeared at the end of Picard, i actually cry with joy
German Star Trek fan here. My mother has always been a TNG fan, she grew up in East Germany, and always watched west german TV with her parents secretly, where she watched TNG. When I was a child, my first Star Trek series I ever watched was TOS (I watched it together with my Grandparents) and captain Kirk became my personal hero. Then I watched the movies with Kirk (Star Trek I-VI). It must have been a Christmas eve, when my mom got Generations as a Christmas present for me, together with a model of the Excelsior class Enterprise-B. Although I already knew about TNG, watching this movie was the first time I was realy getting in touch with Picard and his crew. Since then, this movie holds a special place in my heart because it represents both eras, connecting also my mothers childhood heroes in TNG and mine in TOS, and I have become a big Star Trek Nerd since then. While my favourite three Star Trek movies are First Contact, The undiscovered Country and the Wrath of Khan, Generations is a movie that is loved by me in it's own special way😊
I always loved the movie. I loved TNG. It used to be my #1 favorite tv show. I was a freshman in college when I went and saw Generations in an on-campus (or near campus) movie theater, with my roommate and a few friends. We all yelled and cheered with Data exclaimed “Oh shit!” Even though seconds later the Enterprise D is crashing into the planet. It was such a good time for 18 year old me. I cherish that memory.
Generations SHOULD have been the best TNG flick, but it was rushed, corners cut with tv quality stock footage, and it lacked most of the original crew. This should have been a 4 hour TV special or two part movie.
I saw this in the theater opening night and I and the audience clearly loved it. Tons of emotion in this film that the others didn’t have as much of in my opinion.
Great review! You made some very interesting points in there. It’s a great movie, indeed. Just watching the Enterprise D glide on the big screen was awesome! Thanks for sharing! 🖖🏼
I agree that Generations is the most TNG of their movies. I first saw it in theaters when I was 10 and at each stage of my life I take different things away from it. The first time it was the thrill of seeing my favorite TV show as a big movie. Now at 40 the themes of pain, loss and becoming stuck in the past are more resonant than ever. I'll always have a special place in my heart for this movie.
I remember going to wach this movie with my brother at the cinema I was so excited :) I can't believe its been 30 years. I like your take on this movie. I have the 4K bluray and I watched it last night on my 130 inch screen and your right the Enterprise shots are beautifull!! 😀
This is an excellent review and look back at Star Trek generations especially on the 30th anniversary. I'm very proudly shared this on my Instagram. Well done.
Generations was my first Trek movie and it made me become a fan. Glad I answered „yes!“ to my friend’s question if I want to join him and his parents going to the movies that day. So GEN has some „nostalgia bonus“
Generations came out when I was 10. Like you, it was 'my' Star Trek Movie. I've seen it many, many, times and I still love it for all it's plot holes and contrivances. This is Picard at his most Picard, before he turned into an action hero. I looked up to JLP because he was cerebral and a thinker. Because he's a leader that doesn't have to show his muscles in order to lead. We need more of that now.
Great job! I feel very much like you do with this movie. There was a point where I started to fall into the criticisms but pulled back and said NO this is a great one!
Thank you! Even Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga fall into the criticisms on the commentary, but I think they absolutely succeeded. It's only taken 30 years for people to finally see that this is one of the best Star Trek movies!
@@AlexMisiti Also as a side note. I worked at Circuit Sh*tty when this hit VHS and I used to demo this for people all the time! Get them right up to where the saucer section was diving and stop the demo.... I'm sure many people have watched this movie because of my demos.
I soooooo Agree, in all aspects. My fav ST film by far. Beautifully shot, the lighting is wonderful, all the tv sets in film just look so good. The Enterprise B and D exteriors also look gorgeous. Stellar Cartography is amazing. The soundtrack is perfect too. Such a great video dude!
Something that is interesting to me is i remember when i watched this as a kid (and still to this day) I LOVE how they habdle kirks death. Its perfect, not over the top (ala Logan) but perfectly grounded while also having that goofy/far flung star trek part (the ribbon). While the biggest flaw in the film is lack of aliteration on how yhe nexus works. Like, why cant kirk just walk back unto the Ent-B and arrest Dr Soryn right if the nexus can put you anywhere anytime. The "oh my" was perfect because kirk spent his whole life cheating death - and now its staring him in thr face. Often our greatest strengths as people are pur greatest weaknesses too.
Star Trek Generations is a really good movie. Good story. Great effects that hold up to this day in 2024. Fantastic soundtrack, one of the best of the series. Unfortunately Generations has the stink on it as being the movie that killed, Captain Kirk. That is a stink that does not was away. It's like a house or a private school where something really bad happens. Doesn't matter how much time passes or changes that are made. It will always be "that place" where "that thing(s) " happened. The memory never fades. Generations is like that because Generations broke the number one rule of Star Trek, YOU DON'T KILL CAPTAIN KIRK! Maybe he's missing or not mentioned but you don't kill him. Once you do you have ruined your movie.
"To live forever" is one of my favorite themes ever. I have my gripes about the big girl's destruction (a unshielded Galaxy would dance all over a 70yo BOP), the unnecessary death of Robert and Rene. But I still like the movie. Saw it in the theater opening week.
Generations was my favorite for all the reasons you stated. It also felt like a really good way to pass the torch. It was encapsulated death to rebirth, while thinking about what makes us mortal along the way.
You basically made the video review I've been meaning to make myself for years, brain-cracking it to all hell. Generations is a severely underrated movie. I've always thought the haters of Kirk's death could never have been satisfied; they would have always hated his death, no matter how it was done. Honestly, I have always thought Kirk's death was actually pretty creative and well done. The Enterprise-D getting taken out way too easily is I think a more legitimate gripe-the D is my favorite Enterprise too, and we deserved more shots of her from the beautiful work ILM did remastering the gorgeous 6-ft model for this movie. And the story telling could have added more constraints to how the Nexus' mechanics actually work-I head cannon that Guinan didn't know everything about the Nexus, and that it wasn't all-capable of dropping you off wherever/whenever you want, but rather only places the ribbon had touched at the points in time it touched, or close to at least. I also agree that Soran is one of the best villains, not only because his motivations are well fleshed out, but also because he is NOT a revenge-based villain like oh so too many Star Trek villains have ended up being *cough*Khan*Ru'affo*Shinzon*Nero*JJKhan*Krall*and-so-many-more*cough*. Soran's brilliantly terrifying feature is his indifference to the destruction he intends to cause, solely for the sake of his personal goals. Plus, I think the plot device that I think it truly original to Generations is the idea of destroying stars to alter the trajectory of astrological phenomena-this is one of the best plot devices in Trek; it's no silly MacGuffin like Red Matter. Get over probe travel-time speeds, people--that's entirely forgivable for good pacing. But to me the most brilliant part of the whole film is how Picard wakes up from the embrace of the Nexus when he keeps seeing the star blowing up in the Christmas tree snow globes. That was some creative genius-the music during his coming to grip with reality is haunting. Speaking of which: Dennis McCarthy's score is simply the best Star Trek movie soundtrack there is, bar none. He is an unsung hero in Trek, in the shadow of the greats like Alexander Courage, Jerry Goldsmith, and James Horner. McCarthy was stuck writing lots of boring scene transition music at the end of TNG and DS9 since Berman was on a severe anti-music crusade, but when Berman finally took the gloves off of McCarthy for Generations, man did he let it rip. Yes it's too bad to not have a few elements of Courage's intro theme or Goldsmith's TNG theme, but it works, it just works. For me, First Contact is the best Trek movie of all time, followed by TWoK, and then Undiscovered Country, but to me Generations takes a solid 4th place, well above all the others. And it helps to know that the Enterprise-D's story isn't over after this movie now too. The crash sequence still holds up really well-thank you ILM.
I liked it, but didn't love it. I thought three men navigating a rickety metal staircase in the desert was an anti-climatic setting for the end of an epic Star Trek movie. I'm so tired of all the CGI tricks and lens flares and super-fast effects of current Trek, but that went too far in the other direction. It was too mundane a moment and setting for Kirk's death. It looked like a bad Mad Max setting. The crash of the Enterprise was much more thrilling. That's a bit shallow, I know. But it did hold back the movie for me. Still, I enjoy watching it. But I liked 2, 3, 4, 6 and First Contact more.
Yes!! The Enterprise-D is simply the best one of them all. Great analysis of Generations. I do agree that the movie is often unjustly maligned. Nice work.
I'm in full support, despite its shortcomings, it's still a good movie. I enjoy it more than First Contact. I never liked the idea of going into the past to correct the timeline in First Contact. Additionally, I think the opening 20 minutes of Generations with Kirk on the Enterprise B are some of the best moments we've ever seen on screen. Not joking, that was an incredible moment. Good music, excellent tension building, it was shot well, has some great character moments and just the right amount of quirky humor. It's a flawless opening.
Also, as a licensed mental health counselor myself, the scene of Picard crying in front of Deanna was crucial to me. More than anything it showed the trust he had in her as his own counselor.
I always assumed we caught Starfleet in between a fleet wide process of changing their uniforms. It's also my favourite even if rough around the edges - making it the most nitpickable of the 4 TNG movies.
Great review. I can see you're new, here, but you get my subscription. I never got the hate for this film. I think I was 14 or 15 when it came out, and I was very familiar with all the the shows and films at the time, and this, to me, was a great melding of the two ideas. I don't like the last two films as much, but this and First Contact were pretty damn good, in my opinion... though there are parts I love in Insurrection and Nemesis.
I always considered Dara snd tge emotion chip to be the "B" story, since the mindset writing the film was to still folliw the TNG pattern. The focus is how the three main characters view the concept of death - Soran is trying to fight it, Picard is trying to accept it and Kirk is trying to ignore it.
@@AlexMisiti Because it has a lot of the future optimistic atmosphere that defines Star Trek, as "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" had and because the direction (best of all Trek movies together with TMP), acting, VFX, music are top tier. It´s not campy as The Wrath of Khan is at times, it has a more restrained feel to it as it doesn´t rely as much on dramatic clichés and nostalgia from the show like the TOS cast movies did (and I still love them). From a technical point of view, comparing it to TWOK or TUC, this is hands down a much superior film (as TMP or GEN are too), and the VFX are still spectacular as ever and didn´t age a bit. While TWOK relies in the typical TOS bad-guy story, FC is more diverse on its themes and contains some great absolutely-Trek scenes like Picard-Lilly scene after she goes missing or the ending scenes with the final shot of the crew full of the optimistic feel of TNG. I like Generations almost as much as FC, but I think GEN has more ups and downs. I don´t like anything in FC as much as I like the "Nexus + Two Captains" part of GEN but overall I think GEN is a weaker movie due to some uneven humour, a bit awkward appearance of Duras sisters and a bit cheesy at times direction (Jonathan Frakes did a better job than David Carson). Something I like more in GEN is the photography which is simply amazing and the movie has some kind of magical atmosphere at some scenes like Kirk Saving the Enterprise, HMS Enterprise, Nexus, Horse Jumping...) unique to this film within the series. Both movies are more underrated in the USA than here in Europe, where FC is widely considered the best. But I know USA fans are really obsessed with TOS and Kirk/Spock and they will continue to pretend TWOK is the best.
Nice to see some love here. I've enjoyed this wacky film many, many times. It's comforting somehow. But, hey! You didn't bring up the finaaaal Insuuult.
Star Trek Generations has aged remarkably well in my humble opinion. People who didn't like it at the time were upset that Captain Kirk died and took their anger out on this movie. Captain Kirk's death scene displayed how good of an actor William Shatner really is.
At last - a review that aligns completely with my own thoughts of Generations. To me, this IS the best movie, it guides, questions, provokes and reveals gently to us our existence and the essence of who we are and want to be.
I like your analysis, I never looked at it that way. I was too pre-occupied with all the flaws of it, and my own personal epiphany with it: Namely that before Generations, Picard was a captain's chair-man. Oh sure we've seen him on occasion leave the ship but frankly I never bought it. It was always contrived, it wasn't Jean-Luc. But Kirk was. Kirk always was the " _I'm going down there, whose coming with me?_ " type of TOS Captain. The kind whose eager to do everything by going in first, phasers blazing if he has to. So after Jean-Luc Picard meets James Tiberius Kirk, he transforms Picard into 🥁*Action Picard!* Kicking ass and taking names, and bedding every lady he comes across! I'm serious! After Generations, Picard is *ALWAYS* among the first to leave the ship and do stuff which he *NEVER* was before. If he hadn't met Kirk, First Contact would had been a hell a lot different guaranteed! The kindest I can say about Generations other than that is that, I love McDowell as an actor and the movie is very inoffensive to the mind to just have on in the background... And it's the third best TNG movie after Nemesis.. And it isn't as horrendously bad as Insurrection is.. But it sure isn't First Contact, the hands down best TNG movie. Also PS. Riker saying he'll live forever is technically true if you consider Q giving him Q powers. He never lost them as far as I know.
The best part of Generations is the scene with the Enterprise-B, which is a commentary on TOS vs TNG = taking action vs technobable, thinking and talking your way out of problems. The solution that works? “Move us within transporter range, beam those people aboard the Enterprise.” Picard was very stoic in TNG - until All Good Things, Part II, when he joins their game of poker. Finally letting some of the walls he built around him down. So his breaking down in front of Deanna is in line with that.
Really enjoyed the video! Always had a soft spot for this movie, and IMO it has aged much better than Insurrection or Nemesis. It has a good heart and a great grasp of the tone and scope of Trek. It just doesn't have the most compelling story, even if the themes of the film are potent. As Ronald D Moore pointed out, they just were handed so many boxes that needed checking and it killed the possibility for a truly organic and lively story. I think its poor reputation is partly because it came just after the fantastic "All Good Things" and was followed by the more successful and better-written "First Contact".... First Contact is just such a phenomenal film that it's kinda unfair, I like the two of them as companion pieces that show the range of storytelling Star Trek can handle. "All Good Things" is more popular among fans but I could see how that story might be a little more insular than Generations was. You could see with Generations they were trying to win over the casual fans and general audiences, which is hard to do when you have so many characters to juggle - 7 from TNG, 3 from TOS, plus Guinan and Soran (and the Duras sisters, for some reason). As great as McDowell is, it would have been nice to have even more time with Soran to better understand him. It also was a mistake that the hundreds of millions of people in the Veridian system are never shown onscreen at all. There is no feeling of real stakes there. I think after FC the cast kept demanding raises which resulted in the overall production quality and visual style going way down for Insurrection and Nemesis. But "Generations" and "First Contact" both look great. It's too bad they had to reuse a few ship shots for Generations - if they had just spent a little more it would hold up even better thirty years on. The cinematographer on Generations, John Alonzo, did "Chinatown" and "Scarface" and I love his creative use of lighting to amplify the mood of scenes - something rarely done on Trek outside of the original show. Here are my current approximate rankings. I have Generations at #7 of 13. Wrath of Khan > Voyage Home > First Contact > Undiscovered Country > Star Trek (2009) > Search for Spock > Generations > The Motion Picture (Director's Edition) > Insurrection > Beyond > Nemesis > The Final Frontier > Into Darkness
You nailed it here, it's my favourite of the TNG films too, for all the reasons you say, and more. It's the best directed and shot, the lighting and music is ace, the relationships between the characters are great, and it spans multiple locations and has a huge amount of visual interest. I know people like First Contact, but in my head it's very grey and feels cheaper than Generations. Insurrection and Nemesis also both have a smaller scope and feel less epic somehow.
Excellent analysis. I appreciate the context you added, since the (no doubt already known to you) plot holes really irked me, and still do. That being said, for themes carried in the movie, you are absolutely on point and are by far the movie's best redeeming quality.
I remember seeing Generations in the theater on opening day. It was just a great feeling getting to see The Next Generation on the big screen. The show wasn't even sold out. I thought to my self wow people are missing out on such a great film. I thought Generations also had one of the coolest advertisement poster. The opening theme song I still love to this day.
Thanks for sharing! I really wish I got to see Generations in theaters, but I was only 2. I love the poster, especially the teaser poster with the Enterprise D that simply said "Boldly Go". It's my iPhone wallpaper 😂
I was 17 years old when this movie came out, and I went with my older brother to see it in the Theatre. I was super hyped to see it, but was really disappointed in the film. It's up in my top five most disappointing films of all time. However it isn't rewatchable, that's how all the star trek movies are for me. I'm always up for watching anyone of them. I think what would have made a big difference for me with this movie would have been two things. If Kirk lived, and returned with Picard or went back to his own time. Also the Enterprise D not getting destroyed. With all that said you did a really good job with this video, and explaining why you like this movie. So I can totally see where you are coming from with this film.
I've always felt that Generations is the most TNG movie because, of them all, it feels like an extended episode of the series. (Ironically, so did Star Trek V with the Original Series....)
I like all the Star Trek movies no matter how bad they are. Even though “Generations” is considered to be more like an episode of Star Trek and not an actual movie.
Generations is a serviceable film. I HATED it when I first saw it in theaters. It hits us so many crushing blows as fans over and over. Picard's brother and nephew die, Kirk dies, and the Enterprise-D is destroyed in such a humiliating fashion. Data acts like an over-the-top, unfunny horse's ass when he gets his emotion chip. The good guys on both the Enterprise-D and Captain Harriman, are all made to look outright weak and incompetent in order to build up Kirk as the heroic savior swooping in to save the day. (Why didn't the E-D crew modulate the shield nutation like they did with the Borg when the Klingon's shot them through the shields? Duh!). The plot holes are so massive that it pushes the suspension of disbelief to its breaking point...like the bridge that Kirk falls off of. Plus the plot itself is based on so much convoluted elements that it just wrecks the movie. (And one little peccadillo: it should have been Uhura tending to Guinan rather than Chekov. It would have been an amazing moment to have Nichelle Nichols and Whoopi Goldberg share the same screen as their characters in a Star Trek movie. Alas...) That said: the scenes with Shatner are great, the dialogue is superb, I agree about Soran (played brilliantly by Malcolm McDowell) about being the best TNG movie villain. It just irks me to no end how this film wrecked up the perfect endings of both TOS and TNG before it. The franchise should have ended with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and "All Good Things..." If they had, Trek would be a legend of folklore and a culture touchstone for untold generations rather than a franchise that is continuously bastardized with no end in sight. Less is more.
Great points! I agree with a lot of this, but late 90s Trek had some real high points - First Contact is great! And DS9 kept getting better and better throughout its run. IMO the franchise should have ended in 99 with "What You Leave Behind". But taste is subjective.
I never realized people thought that this movie was great. I have a difference in opinion but that’s ok. Everyone can like what they like and don’t have to care what others think. It’s funny how someone can look at something and see good and charm while others see the opposite. Myself, I enjoy 2,3,4 and 6. Generations has some fun things. I’ve watched it a few times but I’m not drawn to it. I enjoy many TNG episodes far more than this movie. TNG had done all its good material before the movies. They needed a break.
This movie is by far the most "tng" of them all. It had the biggest and most clear moral conundrum out of all the other movies - and great advice on time and death in ways the other movies would fail to provide that deep of a lesson.
Generations is Shakespeare compared with the sludge Paramount's been pumping since the Abrams films. I enjoyed Generations, especially its score, and while I wish a few things had worked out differently in its use of Kirk, it's still a fun watch. I give it a 7/10
Happy 30, Generations! I agree with your take. I think Generations is easily and by far the best of the four TNG films. I've always felt that way, but a couple years ago I actually rewatched all four films back-to-back (I hadn't seen any of them in many years), and I was affirmed in my attitude that Generations is the best. My esteem for First Contact actually fell a little bit, owing to it not feeling like a Star Trek film and the tacky nature of the villainous romance between the Borg Queen and Data, while my esteem for Insurrection went way up on the basis of the maturity of its themes, its good acting, and its wonderful visual aesthetic. (And Nemesis remained, as ever, atrociously bad, with virtually no redeeming qualities aside from the music.) But Generations was once again the standout of the four and the clear winner. And that's mainly for two reasons. First would be the lighting and cinematography. This is the most visually beautiful of any Star Trek film other than The Motion Picture. I've heard some of the images in this film described like Baroque paintings, with subtle, brilliant composition of subject matter and chiaroscuro contrasts of light. TMP is easily the most visually ambitious film in Star Trek's history, but Generations is the only other one that comes even remotely close. And the brilliance of the visuals is itself a form of substance for the mind to chew on, adding to the film's depth without adding any burdensome overhead to the plot or character development. Second would be the film's central theme. You call "mortality" the central theme, and I agree that this is ~a~ theme, but personally I see the central theme as "loss." Picard loses his only family to fire. Kirk loses his command and his career to retirement. And Soran loses his blissful paradise in the Nexus (after having lost his civilization). And all three of them spend much of the film grappling with that. I think Picard's scenes inside the Nexus are the true nucleus of the film. Here he has to confront the vision of something that he truly wanted but always denied himself: a family. I enjoyed this part of the film even as a kid, but now that I'm middle-aged it hits SO much harder to see Picard endure the loneliness of facing a life he never chose. The Nexus isn't bullshit; it's a genuine "What if?" Sure, it's a "fantasy" in the sense that there is no physical danger and none of the other people one sees there are actually independent conscious beings, but the Nexus is still very real in terms of showing what might have been-and what could still be. Now that I'm older and have been through many hard knocks in life from which there is no such thing as a full and complete recovery, I can appreciate that many people would probably choose to lose themselves in the Nexus. When Picard makes that choice-with a huge assist from Guinan; their scene in the Nexus together is great-it narratively solidifies and concludes his development arc in the film. I really like this, and I think there's a lot of intellectual depth here that many people miss, much like with TMP. It's probably not a coincidence that The Motion Picture and Generations are each the artistically best films in their respective series, while their militaristic immediate sequels win the most popular acclaim. Both TMP and Generations were direct and deliberate adaptations of a TV Star Trek concept onto the big screen, and carried with them more optimism and artistic ambition. Generations obviously isn't perfect. I don't think it compares super well against most of the TOS films, despite being the best of the TNG films. The villains are not compelling. You're right that Soran is the best of the four TNG film main villains, but it's a low bar, and the Duras sisters in Generations are borderline cartoonish, and not in a good way. And the campy moments with Data and his emotion chip mostly don't work for me. And I of course take issue with the many plot holes and continuity errors in this film. The Enterprise definitely should not have been lost in that battle, and the fact that it was lost should have been a court-martial for Riker. But I like to approach it in good faith: "Okay, this totally implausible thing is happening, so let's just take it as a gimmick for the sake of the story." That mindset goes a long way to overlooking my annoyances with this film. Aside from losing one of the most beautiful Enterprises, another thing I genuinely regret is that we didn't get to see more "powers" from Soran. El Aurians are implied to have vast and unknown powers, and we actually see a little bit of that in play in this film with Guinan, but Soran comes across like an angry old human. He doesn't have a lot of gravitas, for me. (In general I think Star Trek has struggled with this in its villains.) But overall, yeah. Great film! Good video too; I enjoyed watching it. I didn't know about the 30th birthday, so woo hoo! ✨🎈🎉🎊
I agree with you, Generations is the best TNG film. A lot of people don't like it because they killed Kirk off and destroyed the Enterprise-D. I agree that Kirks death was weak, but it doesn't make the film bad.
I respect that you like the movie and anyone that agrees with you but not for me. First Contact in my opinion is the best TNG movie. My problems with Generations are mainly the awful Kirk death, the emotion chip stuff and the duras sisters.
I thought I was the only one who thought so. To me generations feels more like a tng story. I always liked the nexus. Thought it was a more compelling plot device than 1st contact, which seems to be most fans fave. I mean that film is good, but they were just treading old ground again, fighting the borg, again. (Also its another time travel story) As well as insurrection, which was an amalgamation of other tng episodes weve already seen. Generations bridges the gap between the two time periods and crews. Theres an interesting spacial phenomena which we see fairly often in Trek. So it feels like a good trek story. A complex villain whom we can identify with. We see more of Guinans involvement with the past. We see the end of the klingon sisters who were a main stay in several episodes of trek. All the interactions in the nexus, i felt were pretty poignant. Kirks end was handled well in my opinion. Kirk himself says in ST5 that he knew it wasn't his time, as when he dies he'll be alone. All his friends and family being long dead, made it pretty clear he was alone and it was finally his time. Him making a difference, one last time. It all worked well in my opinion. Then Data finally reaching a climax to his discovery of his own humanity was great too, plus all the humour with his character worked really well. Us saying goodbye to both Kirk's era and the TNG era in the form of the tv show and the enterprise D. The nexus itself is coming to terms with your own end, your own mortality and excepting that rather than living in a fantasy. As most of the decisions weve made, define us, and we generally wouldn't change things. Again with some parallels with ST5's story of needing and accepting ones pain and life as it is. Its a more richer experience than I think most take the time to realise. Of course it might not be flawless, but I think its perfect star trek and definitely my favourite TNG movie, and maybe close to my fave ST movie overall.
Great comment. I have to say though I dont find First Contact to be a retread. In fact it set the stage for Enterprise and kind of showing the origins of the Federation. It's a very unique situation to have the whole utopian Star Trek future at risk in the film. And that doubled as a great way to explain the Star Trek ethos to new viewers - through the eyes of Lily Sloane. First Contact has some plot holes but overall its by far the strongest TNG movie from a script standpoint, whereas Generations is an objectively rougher script that was helped with good execution. There's room in my heart for both films, but I have to say First Contact is just more exciting, emotionally compelling, and well-structured. But tonally Generations is much closer to the TNG show as well as the TOS movies.
@ thanks for saying so. So, to me it retreads st 4 with the whole: we have to go back to the past to save our future narrative. Also by that stage we’d already seen a lot of let’s save the crew from a borg threat. As I said, it’s a good film, and the borg are always fun. Just not as interesting for me personally compared to generations or the series. I do appreciate the borg queen and the stuff with data. Plus showing Picard deal further with his inner turmoil, that was quite powerful, but yeah there was nothing new there really. Besides the queen. We all look for different things though, so I get someone preferring it. It just isn’t my fave.
With all due respect.... while I love Star Trek Generations (I'm a huge Trekkie so I love ALL the films) I for one DO NOT think that Generations is the best. It is a good movie (except Kirk dying) but for me I think the best Star Trek movie is The Wrath Of Khan. Despite TWOK having continuity issues it's still a bad ass movie. However for the TNG movies I do agree that Generations is the best TNG movie.
I wont say that Generations is the best TNG movie - i still very much prefer First Contact. But it is better then its call. I only have two major gripes with Generations: 1. It looks and feels too much of a TNG movie made for TV - it lacks the grandezza and scope of the 6 movies that came before. 2. I depends too much on specific anecdotes from the show. So if you havent watched TNG in and out you wont get all the important background details - like Picards family, Datas emotion chip, Picards time with the Borg, etc.
How did Data's emotion chip come back after being destroyed?! Why did it also increase in size by a factor of x100?! Why did they not modulate the shield frequencies?! How can the enterprise even without shield's not best a 20 year old BOP?! Why does the the trans-parent-aluminium smash like glass?! Why was Kirk left under a pile of rocks?!
It was damaged, not destroyed in the Descent Part 2. Geordi stopped Data from destroying it and convinced him to wait before using it. I assume the repairs caused the increase in size. That battle happened really quickly. Do you think there's just a "remodulate the shields" button on the console? They would have to science it... with science, and they didn't have time. They were too busy sciencing an ionic pulse that would trigger the cloaking device of the Bird of Prey... never mind... The shields are really important against disruptors. They're very damaging. I didn't see any parents who were trans, and I sure don't remember any scenes of them smashing aluminum like glass. The rocks were temporary. If you read the book Star Trek the Return, allegedly written by William Shatner, the Borg and Romulans actually seized Kirk's body and resurrected him so that he could have new adventures in the 24th century. And in Star Trek Picard season 3 Kirk's body was in the lab where they found the Data/Lore unit.
I wish I was brave enough to have a video that said: “I think the movie with James Kirk dying on scaffolding for a pun is better than the one balancing both the Borg and the birth of Star Trek’s optimism.” I’m glad I at least have the critical thinking skills not to.
now thats a hot take. I certainly dont see the scenes between the Borg Queen and Data from quite that light. They are both machine consciousnesses that are trying to understand one another and seduce the other to their line of thinking. To me it plays out more like a (sexually charged) chess match.
It's the best of the TNG movies, hands down. First Contact is an action movie combined with a horror movie and doesn't really adhere to the theme of Star Trek as being a thought provoking series as much as Generations does. What I like about First Contact is the Zephram Cochran story and the origins of warp technology... where it all began. The others aren't worth watching.
I appreciate your take. However I disagree - and not because I'm a First Contact stan. FC was good generic sci fi but bad ST:TNG. I personally think TNG should never have gone to the big screen. All good things was the perfect conclusion. Generations seemed very obviously uneven due to them having to patch up problems in casting and production. There is one TNG story that (if they'd kept it in the drawer) would have been the perfect ST VII: Yesterday's Enterprise. That was truly cinematic.
I got a like! Didn't expect that since most people dislike my take on Generations. Just to re-iterate, I don't think Generations is "a prime example of the odd numbered ST movies" - it wasn't bad, just "meh" IMHO. If TNG was going to go to the big screen I really really wanted a film that encapsulated so much of its philospohical DNA (so to speak) along with some cool action: Yesteterday's Enterprise did this. It could also have added in some plot details to explain how Federation help following Praxis had the uintended consequence of rebuilding the Kilngons as a real antagonist.
@@drt1605 Great idea! Yesterdays Enterprise did a great job of bridging the TOS film era with TNG, and did it in a way that already felt like a movie. To see that on the big screen with a big budget and Generations style cinematography would be ace. Maybe AI will make it a reality in 100 years when all our brains have been uploaded to the cloud
Although my personal favorite of the TNG movies is “First Contact”, I’ve always enjoyed “Generations”. I don’t think it deserves the criticism it has received. My least favorite is the third film, although I thought that was ok. I’ve watched the other three TNG movies multiple times. I didn’t like “Picard” much. S3 did not feel like TNG to me. I thought it was poorly written. “Generations” is way better than that.
Star Trek generations is the best of the next generation movies because it's got Kirk in it😂😂😂😂 take Kirk out of The mix and the answer is it's first contact
I would rather watch Star Trek Nemesis then generations. They were so cheap they were used the big finale bird of prey blowing up like we wouldn't remember. I always assumed Picard traveled back to right before he left to minimize the effect on the timeline. Never should have killed Kirk.
Its really not though. Honestly I PERSONALLY put it as the 3rd best TNG film behind Nemesis. (hows THAT for a hot take.) BUT that said I fully respect why its considered as second best as it is a .............bridge...... between two eras and would automatically draw in some TOS/TMP era fans. Which is also why it is not truly number 2. Cause it is unable to stand on its own as a TNG film, relying on The Shat on the movie poster. It also has by far the best actor in the antagonist role yet completely mishandles Malcom McDowell, which was a small tragedy.
To be honest, finding what TNG movie is the best is going to be very difficult...considered that they are not very memorable. I mean, do StarTrekers go around quoting these movies??
Star Wars from VHS? Good choice. Star Trek Generations? Not a good movie. Convoluted, riddled with plot holes, characters are presumed to be known, uneven pacing. It has its moments of course, like the crash-landing of the 1701-D. I see this movie as quick money grab, quickly cobbled together. With every review, I see more flaws. It is not one of the worst Trek movies, but mediocre at best in the Trek movie series. edit: Though I agree, the photography in this film was good. Edit edit: Yes, LeVar Burton is an actor so good he can pull it off with that visor on. And yes, Kirk's death scene is okay. He always knew.
There is no such thing as a best tng movie 😅. Rick Berman trek at its worst. They had a blank canvas of all golden age sci fi and they chose stopping a dooms day device. The actors also totally phoned it in. One of the most disappointing cinimatic experiences, left the theater feeling like oh so this is what its going to be like from now on. All Good Things was 100 times the movie. I agree Geordi was the highlight. He felt like the one anchor to the actual show.
Uh no... I HATE the sepia lighting, dislike the Story and LAUGH at the Data Emotion Chip Subplot! But the Death of Kirk is not a Problem for me... I thought it was "realistic" I mean WHO dies a Hero, right
Generations was PEAK Star Trek. They tried to cover all bases with this film. It was TNGs first outing to the cinema and they came out swinging. Generations is only spoken down of in hindsight. Upon its release, every Trek fan loved it. They also went out of their way to promote the film, which made it feel bigger. Never again was a Trek film pumped up as commercially as Gen. This was as far as the cinematic Trek universe would ever go. First contact is argued to be the best of the four but i beg to differ. Generations is the best Trek film of all time, hands down.
LOL Generations is not only the worst TNG movie, it is the worst Trek movie PERIOD and probably the lowest point of the whole franchise until we got "Nu-Trek"
@@AlexMisiti Because it is diabolically dumb. Insurrection was boring but it had a decent Trek story to it , Nemesis I think had a very good classic Trek story but the movie and everyone in it was just tired at that point. Generations is an abysmal movie and it ruined what should have been the best Trek moment ever - Kirk & Picard united. Patrick Stewart is awful in that movie just awful
Its so tiresome when people says "best of TNG movies" like saying "No¡ It´s not better than The Wrath of Khan of course". That´s ridiculous when both First Contact or Generations are clearly better than the overrated TWOK.
I'm inclined to agree. It has genuine heart. "Time is the fire in which we burn" is delivered with Shakespearean conviction. People may say, "I HATE this! It is REVOLTING!" But the whole thing was done with more than enough good humor to keep it light. Kirk's end could never match the sheer tonnage of his iconic status, and I thought Shatner's, "oh, my..." was great.
Wow. That's a bold statement. I wouldn't even say that. To me, First Contact is the best Star Trek movie, period. But ive always thought that Generations was totally underrated. It's a very good movie IMO.
I remember seeing Generations in the theater with my family and a bunch of Star Trek fans. Everyone in the theater burst out laughing when Data cheered as the Klingon ship was destroyed.
The Enterprise D is my favorite too. When she reappeared at the end of Picard, i actually cry with joy
Box office would agree with you
German Star Trek fan here. My mother has always been a TNG fan, she grew up in East Germany, and always watched west german TV with her parents secretly, where she watched TNG. When I was a child, my first Star Trek series I ever watched was TOS (I watched it together with my Grandparents) and captain Kirk became my personal hero. Then I watched the movies with Kirk (Star Trek I-VI). It must have been a Christmas eve, when my mom got Generations as a Christmas present for me, together with a model of the Excelsior class Enterprise-B. Although I already knew about TNG, watching this movie was the first time I was realy getting in touch with Picard and his crew. Since then, this movie holds a special place in my heart because it represents both eras, connecting also my mothers childhood heroes in TNG and mine in TOS, and I have become a big Star Trek Nerd since then. While my favourite three Star Trek movies are First Contact, The undiscovered Country and the Wrath of Khan, Generations is a movie that is loved by me in it's own special way😊
Thanks for sharing your story! :)
TNG first aired in Germany in Sep 1990, just 1 month before the offical reunification, so there was no reason for watching it secretly.
@@Hedgehog-ng1lq My mistake, nevermind, she watched TOS first (aired 1972 in Germany) but was a much bigger fan of TNG when it released.
I always loved the movie. I loved TNG. It used to be my #1 favorite tv show. I was a freshman in college when I went and saw Generations in an on-campus (or near campus) movie theater, with my roommate and a few friends. We all yelled and cheered with Data exclaimed “Oh shit!” Even though seconds later the Enterprise D is crashing into the planet. It was such a good time for 18 year old me. I cherish that memory.
Generations SHOULD have been the best TNG flick, but it was rushed, corners cut with tv quality stock footage, and it lacked most of the original crew. This should have been a 4 hour TV special or two part movie.
I saw this in the theater opening night and I and the audience clearly loved it. Tons of emotion in this film that the others didn’t have as much of in my opinion.
Great review! You made some very interesting points in there. It’s a great movie, indeed. Just watching the Enterprise D glide on the big screen was awesome! Thanks for sharing! 🖖🏼
I agree that Generations is the most TNG of their movies. I first saw it in theaters when I was 10 and at each stage of my life I take different things away from it. The first time it was the thrill of seeing my favorite TV show as a big movie. Now at 40 the themes of pain, loss and becoming stuck in the past are more resonant than ever. I'll always have a special place in my heart for this movie.
I remember going to wach this movie with my brother at the cinema I was so excited :) I can't believe its been 30 years. I like your take on this movie. I have the 4K bluray and I watched it last night on my 130 inch screen and your right the Enterprise shots are beautifull!! 😀
This is an excellent review and look back at Star Trek generations especially on the 30th anniversary.
I'm very proudly shared this on my Instagram. Well done.
Thank you so much! I really appreciate the share :)
@AlexMisiti you're very welcome
Generations was my first Trek movie and it made me become a fan. Glad I answered „yes!“ to my friend’s question if I want to join him and his parents going to the movies that day. So GEN has some „nostalgia bonus“
Generations came out when I was 10. Like you, it was 'my' Star Trek Movie. I've seen it many, many, times and I still love it for all it's plot holes and contrivances. This is Picard at his most Picard, before he turned into an action hero. I looked up to JLP because he was cerebral and a thinker. Because he's a leader that doesn't have to show his muscles in order to lead.
We need more of that now.
Great job! I feel very much like you do with this movie. There was a point where I started to fall into the criticisms but pulled back and said NO this is a great one!
Thank you! Even Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga fall into the criticisms on the commentary, but I think they absolutely succeeded. It's only taken 30 years for people to finally see that this is one of the best Star Trek movies!
@@AlexMisiti Also as a side note. I worked at Circuit Sh*tty when this hit VHS and I used to demo this for people all the time! Get them right up to where the saucer section was diving and stop the demo.... I'm sure many people have watched this movie because of my demos.
I soooooo Agree, in all aspects. My fav ST film by far. Beautifully shot, the lighting is wonderful, all the tv sets in film just look so good. The Enterprise B and D exteriors also look gorgeous. Stellar Cartography is amazing. The soundtrack is perfect too. Such a great video dude!
Thank you! So glad you love Generations as much as I do!
This is a BRILLIANT video. Thank you for making it.
No matter what, the prologue is great and the music score is the best.
Great analysis! You’ve convinced me. Subscribed!
Something that is interesting to me is i remember when i watched this as a kid (and still to this day) I LOVE how they habdle kirks death. Its perfect, not over the top (ala Logan) but perfectly grounded while also having that goofy/far flung star trek part (the ribbon). While the biggest flaw in the film is lack of aliteration on how yhe nexus works. Like, why cant kirk just walk back unto the Ent-B and arrest Dr Soryn right if the nexus can put you anywhere anytime. The "oh my" was perfect because kirk spent his whole life cheating death - and now its staring him in thr face. Often our greatest strengths as people are pur greatest weaknesses too.
It is cool movie. My favourite among tng films. Smart and intelligent and beautifully shot.
Star Trek Generations is a really good movie. Good story. Great effects that hold up to this day in 2024. Fantastic soundtrack, one of the best of the series. Unfortunately Generations has the stink on it as being the movie that killed, Captain Kirk. That is a stink that does not was away. It's like a house or a private school where something really bad happens. Doesn't matter how much time passes or changes that are made. It will always be "that place" where "that thing(s) " happened. The memory never fades. Generations is like that because Generations broke the number one rule of Star Trek, YOU DON'T KILL CAPTAIN KIRK! Maybe he's missing or not mentioned but you don't kill him. Once you do you have ruined your movie.
"To live forever" is one of my favorite themes ever. I have my gripes about the big girl's destruction (a unshielded Galaxy would dance all over a 70yo BOP), the unnecessary death of Robert and Rene. But I still like the movie. Saw it in the theater opening week.
That's a great track! Thanks for sharing!
Generations was my favorite for all the reasons you stated. It also felt like a really good way to pass the torch. It was encapsulated death to rebirth, while thinking about what makes us mortal along the way.
You basically made the video review I've been meaning to make myself for years, brain-cracking it to all hell. Generations is a severely underrated movie. I've always thought the haters of Kirk's death could never have been satisfied; they would have always hated his death, no matter how it was done. Honestly, I have always thought Kirk's death was actually pretty creative and well done. The Enterprise-D getting taken out way too easily is I think a more legitimate gripe-the D is my favorite Enterprise too, and we deserved more shots of her from the beautiful work ILM did remastering the gorgeous 6-ft model for this movie. And the story telling could have added more constraints to how the Nexus' mechanics actually work-I head cannon that Guinan didn't know everything about the Nexus, and that it wasn't all-capable of dropping you off wherever/whenever you want, but rather only places the ribbon had touched at the points in time it touched, or close to at least. I also agree that Soran is one of the best villains, not only because his motivations are well fleshed out, but also because he is NOT a revenge-based villain like oh so too many Star Trek villains have ended up being *cough*Khan*Ru'affo*Shinzon*Nero*JJKhan*Krall*and-so-many-more*cough*. Soran's brilliantly terrifying feature is his indifference to the destruction he intends to cause, solely for the sake of his personal goals. Plus, I think the plot device that I think it truly original to Generations is the idea of destroying stars to alter the trajectory of astrological phenomena-this is one of the best plot devices in Trek; it's no silly MacGuffin like Red Matter. Get over probe travel-time speeds, people--that's entirely forgivable for good pacing. But to me the most brilliant part of the whole film is how Picard wakes up from the embrace of the Nexus when he keeps seeing the star blowing up in the Christmas tree snow globes. That was some creative genius-the music during his coming to grip with reality is haunting. Speaking of which: Dennis McCarthy's score is simply the best Star Trek movie soundtrack there is, bar none. He is an unsung hero in Trek, in the shadow of the greats like Alexander Courage, Jerry Goldsmith, and James Horner. McCarthy was stuck writing lots of boring scene transition music at the end of TNG and DS9 since Berman was on a severe anti-music crusade, but when Berman finally took the gloves off of McCarthy for Generations, man did he let it rip. Yes it's too bad to not have a few elements of Courage's intro theme or Goldsmith's TNG theme, but it works, it just works. For me, First Contact is the best Trek movie of all time, followed by TWoK, and then Undiscovered Country, but to me Generations takes a solid 4th place, well above all the others. And it helps to know that the Enterprise-D's story isn't over after this movie now too. The crash sequence still holds up really well-thank you ILM.
I liked it, but didn't love it. I thought three men navigating a rickety metal staircase in the desert was an anti-climatic setting for the end of an epic Star Trek movie. I'm so tired of all the CGI tricks and lens flares and super-fast effects of current Trek, but that went too far in the other direction. It was too mundane a moment and setting for Kirk's death. It looked like a bad Mad Max setting. The crash of the Enterprise was much more thrilling.
That's a bit shallow, I know. But it did hold back the movie for me. Still, I enjoy watching it. But I liked 2, 3, 4, 6 and First Contact more.
I remember even as a kid feeling like the movie should have ended with the Enterprise crash. The movie does lose a lot of momentum after that.
Yes!! The Enterprise-D is simply the best one of them all. Great analysis of Generations. I do agree that the movie is often unjustly maligned. Nice work.
I'm in full support, despite its shortcomings, it's still a good movie. I enjoy it more than First Contact. I never liked the idea of going into the past to correct the timeline in First Contact. Additionally, I think the opening 20 minutes of Generations with Kirk on the Enterprise B are some of the best moments we've ever seen on screen. Not joking, that was an incredible moment. Good music, excellent tension building, it was shot well, has some great character moments and just the right amount of quirky humor. It's a flawless opening.
Also, as a licensed mental health counselor myself, the scene of Picard crying in front of Deanna was crucial to me. More than anything it showed the trust he had in her as his own counselor.
I always assumed we caught Starfleet in between a fleet wide process of changing their uniforms. It's also my favourite even if rough around the edges - making it the most nitpickable of the 4 TNG movies.
Great review. I can see you're new, here, but you get my subscription.
I never got the hate for this film. I think I was 14 or 15 when it came out, and I was very familiar with all the the shows and films at the time, and this, to me, was a great melding of the two ideas.
I don't like the last two films as much, but this and First Contact were pretty damn good, in my opinion... though there are parts I love in Insurrection and Nemesis.
The uniforms! I notice in the scene of the wreckage that Picard has the old uniform and Riker has the DS9 uniform!
I always considered Dara snd tge emotion chip to be the "B" story, since the mindset writing the film was to still folliw the TNG pattern.
The focus is how the three main characters view the concept of death - Soran is trying to fight it, Picard is trying to accept it and Kirk is trying to ignore it.
OMG! I never thought anyone else would feel this way! Everyone else likes First Contact best. I think Generations is the best of the TNG movies too.
First Contact is the best Star Trek movie, not just of TNG era.
@@anothergalaxys4780 Why is First Contact your favorite overall Star Trek film?
Count me as a third who thinks Generations is the best TNG film! =D
@@AlexMisiti Because it has a lot of the future optimistic atmosphere that defines Star Trek, as "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" had and because the direction (best of all Trek movies together with TMP), acting, VFX, music are top tier. It´s not campy as The Wrath of Khan is at times, it has a more restrained feel to it as it doesn´t rely as much on dramatic clichés and nostalgia from the show like the TOS cast movies did (and I still love them). From a technical point of view, comparing it to TWOK or TUC, this is hands down a much superior film (as TMP or GEN are too), and the VFX are still spectacular as ever and didn´t age a bit. While TWOK relies in the typical TOS bad-guy story, FC is more diverse on its themes and contains some great absolutely-Trek scenes like Picard-Lilly scene after she goes missing or the ending scenes with the final shot of the crew full of the optimistic feel of TNG. I like Generations almost as much as FC, but I think GEN has more ups and downs. I don´t like anything in FC as much as I like the "Nexus + Two Captains" part of GEN but overall I think GEN is a weaker movie due to some uneven humour, a bit awkward appearance of Duras sisters and a bit cheesy at times direction (Jonathan Frakes did a better job than David Carson). Something I like more in GEN is the photography which is simply amazing and the movie has some kind of magical atmosphere at some scenes like Kirk Saving the Enterprise, HMS Enterprise, Nexus, Horse Jumping...) unique to this film within the series. Both movies are more underrated in the USA than here in Europe, where FC is widely considered the best. But I know USA fans are really obsessed with TOS and Kirk/Spock and they will continue to pretend TWOK is the best.
@@anothergalaxys4780 Great analysis! Thanks for sharing!
Nice to see some love here.
I've enjoyed this wacky film many, many times. It's comforting somehow.
But, hey! You didn't bring up the finaaaal Insuuult.
Star Trek Generations has aged remarkably well in my humble opinion. People who didn't like it at the time were upset that Captain Kirk died and took their anger out on this movie. Captain Kirk's death scene displayed how good of an actor William Shatner really is.
At last - a review that aligns completely with my own thoughts of Generations. To me, this IS the best movie, it guides, questions, provokes and reveals gently to us our existence and the essence of who we are and want to be.
I like your analysis, I never looked at it that way.
I was too pre-occupied with all the flaws of it, and my own personal epiphany with it: Namely that before Generations, Picard was a captain's chair-man. Oh sure we've seen him on occasion leave the ship but frankly I never bought it. It was always contrived, it wasn't Jean-Luc. But Kirk was. Kirk always was the " _I'm going down there, whose coming with me?_ " type of TOS Captain. The kind whose eager to do everything by going in first, phasers blazing if he has to. So after Jean-Luc Picard meets James Tiberius Kirk, he transforms Picard into 🥁*Action Picard!* Kicking ass and taking names, and bedding every lady he comes across!
I'm serious! After Generations, Picard is *ALWAYS* among the first to leave the ship and do stuff which he *NEVER* was before.
If he hadn't met Kirk, First Contact would had been a hell a lot different guaranteed!
The kindest I can say about Generations other than that is that, I love McDowell as an actor and the movie is very inoffensive to the mind to just have on in the background... And it's the third best TNG movie after Nemesis.. And it isn't as horrendously bad as Insurrection is.. But it sure isn't First Contact, the hands down best TNG movie.
Also PS. Riker saying he'll live forever is technically true if you consider Q giving him Q powers.
He never lost them as far as I know.
I love this head canon and am gonna assimilate it LOL
The best part of Generations is the scene with the Enterprise-B, which is a commentary on TOS vs TNG = taking action vs technobable, thinking and talking your way out of problems. The solution that works? “Move us within transporter range, beam those people aboard the Enterprise.”
Picard was very stoic in TNG - until All Good Things, Part II, when he joins their game of poker. Finally letting some of the walls he built around him down. So his breaking down in front of Deanna is in line with that.
Really enjoyed the video! Always had a soft spot for this movie, and IMO it has aged much better than Insurrection or Nemesis. It has a good heart and a great grasp of the tone and scope of Trek. It just doesn't have the most compelling story, even if the themes of the film are potent. As Ronald D Moore pointed out, they just were handed so many boxes that needed checking and it killed the possibility for a truly organic and lively story.
I think its poor reputation is partly because it came just after the fantastic "All Good Things" and was followed by the more successful and better-written "First Contact".... First Contact is just such a phenomenal film that it's kinda unfair, I like the two of them as companion pieces that show the range of storytelling Star Trek can handle. "All Good Things" is more popular among fans but I could see how that story might be a little more insular than Generations was. You could see with Generations they were trying to win over the casual fans and general audiences, which is hard to do when you have so many characters to juggle - 7 from TNG, 3 from TOS, plus Guinan and Soran (and the Duras sisters, for some reason). As great as McDowell is, it would have been nice to have even more time with Soran to better understand him. It also was a mistake that the hundreds of millions of people in the Veridian system are never shown onscreen at all. There is no feeling of real stakes there.
I think after FC the cast kept demanding raises which resulted in the overall production quality and visual style going way down for Insurrection and Nemesis. But "Generations" and "First Contact" both look great. It's too bad they had to reuse a few ship shots for Generations - if they had just spent a little more it would hold up even better thirty years on. The cinematographer on Generations, John Alonzo, did "Chinatown" and "Scarface" and I love his creative use of lighting to amplify the mood of scenes - something rarely done on Trek outside of the original show.
Here are my current approximate rankings. I have Generations at #7 of 13. Wrath of Khan > Voyage Home > First Contact > Undiscovered Country > Star Trek (2009) > Search for Spock > Generations > The Motion Picture (Director's Edition) > Insurrection > Beyond > Nemesis > The Final Frontier > Into Darkness
I always felt Generations was underrated. I always did enjoy it.
You nailed it here, it's my favourite of the TNG films too, for all the reasons you say, and more. It's the best directed and shot, the lighting and music is ace, the relationships between the characters are great, and it spans multiple locations and has a huge amount of visual interest. I know people like First Contact, but in my head it's very grey and feels cheaper than Generations. Insurrection and Nemesis also both have a smaller scope and feel less epic somehow.
Great review!
Excellent analysis. I appreciate the context you added, since the (no doubt already known to you) plot holes really irked me, and still do.
That being said, for themes carried in the movie, you are absolutely on point and are by far the movie's best redeeming quality.
I remember seeing Generations in the theater on opening day. It was just a great feeling getting to see The Next Generation on the big screen. The show wasn't even sold out. I thought to my self wow people are missing out on such a great film. I thought Generations also had one of the coolest advertisement poster. The opening theme song I still love to this day.
Thanks for sharing! I really wish I got to see Generations in theaters, but I was only 2. I love the poster, especially the teaser poster with the Enterprise D that simply said "Boldly Go". It's my iPhone wallpaper 😂
I was 17 years old when this movie came out, and I went with my older brother to see it in the Theatre. I was super hyped to see it, but was really disappointed in the film. It's up in my top five most disappointing films of all time. However it isn't rewatchable, that's how all the star trek movies are for me. I'm always up for watching anyone of them.
I think what would have made a big difference for me with this movie would have been two things. If Kirk lived, and returned with Picard or went back to his own time. Also the Enterprise D not getting destroyed.
With all that said you did a really good job with this video, and explaining why you like this movie. So I can totally see where you are coming from with this film.
Absolutely love this movie!
I've always felt that Generations is the most TNG movie because, of them all, it feels like an extended episode of the series. (Ironically, so did Star Trek V with the Original Series....)
I like all the Star Trek movies no matter how bad they are. Even though “Generations” is considered to be more like an episode of Star Trek and not an actual movie.
Generations is a serviceable film. I HATED it when I first saw it in theaters. It hits us so many crushing blows as fans over and over. Picard's brother and nephew die, Kirk dies, and the Enterprise-D is destroyed in such a humiliating fashion. Data acts like an over-the-top, unfunny horse's ass when he gets his emotion chip. The good guys on both the Enterprise-D and Captain Harriman, are all made to look outright weak and incompetent in order to build up Kirk as the heroic savior swooping in to save the day. (Why didn't the E-D crew modulate the shield nutation like they did with the Borg when the Klingon's shot them through the shields? Duh!). The plot holes are so massive that it pushes the suspension of disbelief to its breaking point...like the bridge that Kirk falls off of. Plus the plot itself is based on so much convoluted elements that it just wrecks the movie. (And one little peccadillo: it should have been Uhura tending to Guinan rather than Chekov. It would have been an amazing moment to have Nichelle Nichols and Whoopi Goldberg share the same screen as their characters in a Star Trek movie. Alas...) That said: the scenes with Shatner are great, the dialogue is superb, I agree about Soran (played brilliantly by Malcolm McDowell) about being the best TNG movie villain. It just irks me to no end how this film wrecked up the perfect endings of both TOS and TNG before it. The franchise should have ended with Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and "All Good Things..." If they had, Trek would be a legend of folklore and a culture touchstone for untold generations rather than a franchise that is continuously bastardized with no end in sight. Less is more.
Great points! I agree with a lot of this, but late 90s Trek had some real high points - First Contact is great! And DS9 kept getting better and better throughout its run. IMO the franchise should have ended in 99 with "What You Leave Behind". But taste is subjective.
I never realized people thought that this movie was great. I have a difference in opinion but that’s ok. Everyone can like what they like and don’t have to care what others think. It’s funny how someone can look at something and see good and charm while others see the opposite. Myself, I enjoy 2,3,4 and 6. Generations has some fun things. I’ve watched it a few times but I’m not drawn to it. I enjoy many TNG episodes far more than this movie. TNG had done all its good material before the movies. They needed a break.
Generations on vhs. What a nostalgia
This movie is by far the most "tng" of them all. It had the biggest and most clear moral conundrum out of all the other movies - and great advice on time and death in ways the other movies would fail to provide that deep of a lesson.
Wonderful review and I feel the same way. The film has become more poignant as time has gone by, though I also loved it from day one.
Right on
Generations is Shakespeare compared with the sludge Paramount's been pumping since the Abrams films. I enjoyed Generations, especially its score, and while I wish a few things had worked out differently in its use of Kirk, it's still a fun watch. I give it a 7/10
Happy 30, Generations!
I agree with your take. I think Generations is easily and by far the best of the four TNG films. I've always felt that way, but a couple years ago I actually rewatched all four films back-to-back (I hadn't seen any of them in many years), and I was affirmed in my attitude that Generations is the best. My esteem for First Contact actually fell a little bit, owing to it not feeling like a Star Trek film and the tacky nature of the villainous romance between the Borg Queen and Data, while my esteem for Insurrection went way up on the basis of the maturity of its themes, its good acting, and its wonderful visual aesthetic. (And Nemesis remained, as ever, atrociously bad, with virtually no redeeming qualities aside from the music.)
But Generations was once again the standout of the four and the clear winner. And that's mainly for two reasons.
First would be the lighting and cinematography. This is the most visually beautiful of any Star Trek film other than The Motion Picture. I've heard some of the images in this film described like Baroque paintings, with subtle, brilliant composition of subject matter and chiaroscuro contrasts of light. TMP is easily the most visually ambitious film in Star Trek's history, but Generations is the only other one that comes even remotely close. And the brilliance of the visuals is itself a form of substance for the mind to chew on, adding to the film's depth without adding any burdensome overhead to the plot or character development.
Second would be the film's central theme. You call "mortality" the central theme, and I agree that this is ~a~ theme, but personally I see the central theme as "loss." Picard loses his only family to fire. Kirk loses his command and his career to retirement. And Soran loses his blissful paradise in the Nexus (after having lost his civilization). And all three of them spend much of the film grappling with that. I think Picard's scenes inside the Nexus are the true nucleus of the film. Here he has to confront the vision of something that he truly wanted but always denied himself: a family. I enjoyed this part of the film even as a kid, but now that I'm middle-aged it hits SO much harder to see Picard endure the loneliness of facing a life he never chose. The Nexus isn't bullshit; it's a genuine "What if?" Sure, it's a "fantasy" in the sense that there is no physical danger and none of the other people one sees there are actually independent conscious beings, but the Nexus is still very real in terms of showing what might have been-and what could still be. Now that I'm older and have been through many hard knocks in life from which there is no such thing as a full and complete recovery, I can appreciate that many people would probably choose to lose themselves in the Nexus. When Picard makes that choice-with a huge assist from Guinan; their scene in the Nexus together is great-it narratively solidifies and concludes his development arc in the film.
I really like this, and I think there's a lot of intellectual depth here that many people miss, much like with TMP. It's probably not a coincidence that The Motion Picture and Generations are each the artistically best films in their respective series, while their militaristic immediate sequels win the most popular acclaim. Both TMP and Generations were direct and deliberate adaptations of a TV Star Trek concept onto the big screen, and carried with them more optimism and artistic ambition.
Generations obviously isn't perfect. I don't think it compares super well against most of the TOS films, despite being the best of the TNG films. The villains are not compelling. You're right that Soran is the best of the four TNG film main villains, but it's a low bar, and the Duras sisters in Generations are borderline cartoonish, and not in a good way. And the campy moments with Data and his emotion chip mostly don't work for me. And I of course take issue with the many plot holes and continuity errors in this film. The Enterprise definitely should not have been lost in that battle, and the fact that it was lost should have been a court-martial for Riker. But I like to approach it in good faith: "Okay, this totally implausible thing is happening, so let's just take it as a gimmick for the sake of the story." That mindset goes a long way to overlooking my annoyances with this film.
Aside from losing one of the most beautiful Enterprises, another thing I genuinely regret is that we didn't get to see more "powers" from Soran. El Aurians are implied to have vast and unknown powers, and we actually see a little bit of that in play in this film with Guinan, but Soran comes across like an angry old human. He doesn't have a lot of gravitas, for me. (In general I think Star Trek has struggled with this in its villains.)
But overall, yeah. Great film! Good video too; I enjoyed watching it. I didn't know about the 30th birthday, so woo hoo! ✨🎈🎉🎊
Thanks for your great comment! Glad you enjoyed the video! Boldly go!
I agree with you, Generations is the best TNG film. A lot of people don't like it because they killed Kirk off and destroyed the Enterprise-D. I agree that Kirks death was weak, but it doesn't make the film bad.
I am in the rare minority about this movie. Nice to find people who also appreciate it the same way.
Good, but not as great as First Contact and Star Trek 2, 4, and 6.
The Enterprise D being destroyed by an 80 year old Bird of Prey was a joke and so was recycling the same blowing up effect from Star Trek 6
I respect that you like the movie and anyone that agrees with you but not for me. First Contact in my opinion is the best TNG movie. My problems with Generations are mainly the awful Kirk death, the emotion chip stuff and the duras sisters.
I thought I was the only one who thought so.
To me generations feels more like a tng story. I always liked the nexus. Thought it was a more compelling plot device than 1st contact, which seems to be most fans fave. I mean that film is good, but they were just treading old ground again, fighting the borg, again. (Also its another time travel story) As well as insurrection, which was an amalgamation of other tng episodes weve already seen.
Generations bridges the gap between the two time periods and crews. Theres an interesting spacial phenomena which we see fairly often in Trek. So it feels like a good trek story. A complex villain whom we can identify with. We see more of Guinans involvement with the past. We see the end of the klingon sisters who were a main stay in several episodes of trek. All the interactions in the nexus, i felt were pretty poignant. Kirks end was handled well in my opinion. Kirk himself says in ST5 that he knew it wasn't his time, as when he dies he'll be alone. All his friends and family being long dead, made it pretty clear he was alone and it was finally his time. Him making a difference, one last time. It all worked well in my opinion. Then Data finally reaching a climax to his discovery of his own humanity was great too, plus all the humour with his character worked really well.
Us saying goodbye to both Kirk's era and the TNG era in the form of the tv show and the enterprise D. The nexus itself is coming to terms with your own end, your own mortality and excepting that rather than living in a fantasy. As most of the decisions weve made, define us, and we generally wouldn't change things. Again with some parallels with ST5's story of needing and accepting ones pain and life as it is.
Its a more richer experience than I think most take the time to realise. Of course it might not be flawless, but I think its perfect star trek and definitely my favourite TNG movie, and maybe close to my fave ST movie overall.
Great comment. I have to say though I dont find First Contact to be a retread. In fact it set the stage for Enterprise and kind of showing the origins of the Federation. It's a very unique situation to have the whole utopian Star Trek future at risk in the film. And that doubled as a great way to explain the Star Trek ethos to new viewers - through the eyes of Lily Sloane. First Contact has some plot holes but overall its by far the strongest TNG movie from a script standpoint, whereas Generations is an objectively rougher script that was helped with good execution. There's room in my heart for both films, but I have to say First Contact is just more exciting, emotionally compelling, and well-structured. But tonally Generations is much closer to the TNG show as well as the TOS movies.
@ thanks for saying so. So, to me it retreads st 4 with the whole: we have to go back to the past to save our future narrative. Also by that stage we’d already seen a lot of let’s save the crew from a borg threat. As I said, it’s a good film, and the borg are always fun. Just not as interesting for me personally compared to generations or the series. I do appreciate the borg queen and the stuff with data. Plus showing Picard deal further with his inner turmoil, that was quite powerful, but yeah there was nothing new there really. Besides the queen. We all look for different things though, so I get someone preferring it. It just isn’t my fave.
With all due respect.... while I love Star Trek Generations (I'm a huge Trekkie so I love ALL the films) I for one DO NOT think that Generations is the best. It is a good movie (except Kirk dying) but for me I think the best Star Trek movie is The Wrath Of Khan. Despite TWOK having continuity issues it's still a bad ass movie.
However for the TNG movies I do agree that Generations is the best TNG movie.
I wont say that Generations is the best TNG movie - i still very much prefer First Contact. But it is better then its call. I only have two major gripes with Generations:
1. It looks and feels too much of a TNG movie made for TV - it lacks the grandezza and scope of the 6 movies that came before.
2. I depends too much on specific anecdotes from the show. So if you havent watched TNG in and out you wont get all the important background details - like Picards family, Datas emotion chip, Picards time with the Borg, etc.
This was absolutely the best one
How did Data's emotion chip come back after being destroyed?!
Why did it also increase in size by a factor of x100?!
Why did they not modulate the shield frequencies?!
How can the enterprise even without shield's not best a 20 year old BOP?!
Why does the the trans-parent-aluminium smash like glass?!
Why was Kirk left under a pile of rocks?!
It was damaged, not destroyed in the Descent Part 2. Geordi stopped Data from destroying it and convinced him to wait before using it. I assume the repairs caused the increase in size.
That battle happened really quickly. Do you think there's just a "remodulate the shields" button on the console? They would have to science it... with science, and they didn't have time. They were too busy sciencing an ionic pulse that would trigger the cloaking device of the Bird of Prey... never mind...
The shields are really important against disruptors. They're very damaging.
I didn't see any parents who were trans, and I sure don't remember any scenes of them smashing aluminum like glass.
The rocks were temporary. If you read the book Star Trek the Return, allegedly written by William Shatner, the Borg and Romulans actually seized Kirk's body and resurrected him so that he could have new adventures in the 24th century. And in Star Trek Picard season 3 Kirk's body was in the lab where they found the Data/Lore unit.
Generations is great. It is a TNG movie. Almost everything after is action movie.
That new Corridor in engineering is unforgivable
I wish I was brave enough to have a video that said:
“I think the movie with James Kirk dying on scaffolding for a pun is better than the one balancing both the Borg and the birth of Star Trek’s optimism.”
I’m glad I at least have the critical thinking skills not to.
I love Generations. Its actually my favorite tng movie (the data rape scene has not aged well from first contact)
now thats a hot take. I certainly dont see the scenes between the Borg Queen and Data from quite that light. They are both machine consciousnesses that are trying to understand one another and seduce the other to their line of thinking. To me it plays out more like a (sexually charged) chess match.
It's the best of the TNG movies, hands down. First Contact is an action movie combined with a horror movie and doesn't really adhere to the theme of Star Trek as being a thought provoking series as much as Generations does. What I like about First Contact is the Zephram Cochran story and the origins of warp technology... where it all began. The others aren't worth watching.
I appreciate your take. However I disagree - and not because I'm a First Contact stan. FC was good generic sci fi but bad ST:TNG. I personally think TNG should never have gone to the big screen. All good things was the perfect conclusion. Generations seemed very obviously uneven due to them having to patch up problems in casting and production. There is one TNG story that (if they'd kept it in the drawer) would have been the perfect ST VII: Yesterday's Enterprise. That was truly cinematic.
I got a like! Didn't expect that since most people dislike my take on Generations. Just to re-iterate, I don't think Generations is "a prime example of the odd numbered ST movies" - it wasn't bad, just "meh" IMHO. If TNG was going to go to the big screen I really really wanted a film that encapsulated so much of its philospohical DNA (so to speak) along with some cool action: Yesteterday's Enterprise did this. It could also have added in some plot details to explain how Federation help following Praxis had the uintended consequence of rebuilding the Kilngons as a real antagonist.
@@drt1605 Great idea! Yesterdays Enterprise did a great job of bridging the TOS film era with TNG, and did it in a way that already felt like a movie. To see that on the big screen with a big budget and Generations style cinematography would be ace. Maybe AI will make it a reality in 100 years when all our brains have been uploaded to the cloud
Although my personal favorite of the TNG movies is “First Contact”, I’ve always enjoyed “Generations”. I don’t think it deserves the criticism it has received. My least favorite is the third film, although I thought that was ok. I’ve watched the other three TNG movies multiple times. I didn’t like “Picard” much. S3 did not feel like TNG to me. I thought it was poorly written. “Generations” is way better than that.
Star Trek generations is the best of the next generation movies because it's got Kirk in it😂😂😂😂 take Kirk out of The mix and the answer is it's first contact
I would rather watch Star Trek Nemesis then generations. They were so cheap they were used the big finale bird of prey blowing up like we wouldn't remember. I always assumed Picard traveled back to right before he left to minimize the effect on the timeline. Never should have killed Kirk.
Thank you for saying this.
Its really not though. Honestly I PERSONALLY put it as the 3rd best TNG film behind Nemesis. (hows THAT for a hot take.)
BUT that said I fully respect why its considered as second best as it is a .............bridge...... between two eras and would automatically draw in some TOS/TMP era fans. Which is also why it is not truly number 2. Cause it is unable to stand on its own as a TNG film, relying on The Shat on the movie poster.
It also has by far the best actor in the antagonist role yet completely mishandles Malcom McDowell, which was a small tragedy.
To be honest, finding what TNG movie is the best is going to be very difficult...considered that they are not very memorable. I mean, do StarTrekers go around quoting these movies??
The line must be drawn HERE!
Leave the nexus and go where and when you want ? Ok let's go to seconds before the bad guy makes his move 😂
Star Wars from VHS? Good choice.
Star Trek Generations? Not a good movie. Convoluted, riddled with plot holes, characters are presumed to be known, uneven pacing. It has its moments of course, like the crash-landing of the 1701-D.
I see this movie as quick money grab, quickly cobbled together. With every review, I see more flaws. It is not one of the worst Trek movies, but mediocre at best in the Trek movie series.
edit: Though I agree, the photography in this film was good.
Edit edit: Yes, LeVar Burton is an actor so good he can pull it off with that visor on. And yes, Kirk's death scene is okay. He always knew.
All Good Things is the best TNG movie.
You misspelled “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.”
I disagree with the naysayers. Generations was a worthy send off for Kirk.
It only has one competitor
This is vacuously true because the others are so bad lol.
There is no such thing as a best tng movie 😅. Rick Berman trek at its worst. They had a blank canvas of all golden age sci fi and they chose stopping a dooms day device. The actors also totally phoned it in. One of the most disappointing cinimatic experiences, left the theater feeling like oh so this is what its going to be like from now on. All Good Things was 100 times the movie. I agree Geordi was the highlight. He felt like the one anchor to the actual show.
Uh no... I HATE the sepia lighting, dislike the Story and LAUGH at the Data Emotion Chip Subplot!
But the Death of Kirk is not a Problem for me... I thought it was "realistic"
I mean WHO dies a Hero, right
You spelled "First Contact" wrong. (can't wait for this to get downvoted to oblivious :P )
Haha, why is First Contact your favorite TNG film?
@@AlexMisiti It's a phenomenal Picard Film!
Not even close. It feels like a glorified TNG episode with most of the budget spent on that ship scene.
Yeah, nah. It’s worth watching but it’s hardly the best Next Gen movie. First Contact is a masterpiece.
You will Never convince me
I'm with you
Same
You're eternal problem then
@ Correct
Generations is the best TNG movie. That fact is both a testament to the film, but also an indictment of the TNG film franchise.
It just isn’t though.
Generations was PEAK Star Trek. They tried to cover all bases with this film. It was TNGs first outing to the cinema and they came out swinging. Generations is only spoken down of in hindsight. Upon its release, every Trek fan loved it. They also went out of their way to promote the film, which made it feel bigger. Never again was a Trek film pumped up as commercially as Gen. This was as far as the cinematic Trek universe would ever go. First contact is argued to be the best of the four but i beg to differ. Generations is the best Trek film of all time, hands down.
No it isnt.
Bro get help, the movie is a train wreck
It’s because the other ones are terrible.
There is no other reason
Forgot first contact existed
LOL Generations is not only the worst TNG movie, it is the worst Trek movie PERIOD and probably the lowest point of the whole franchise until we got "Nu-Trek"
Why do you think it's the worst? Worse than Insurrection and Nemesis?
@@AlexMisiti Because it is diabolically dumb. Insurrection was boring but it had a decent Trek story to it , Nemesis I think had a very good classic Trek story but the movie and everyone in it was just tired at that point. Generations is an abysmal movie and it ruined what should have been the best Trek moment ever - Kirk & Picard united. Patrick Stewart is awful in that movie just awful
Its so tiresome when people says "best of TNG movies" like saying "No¡ It´s not better than The Wrath of Khan of course". That´s ridiculous when both First Contact or Generations are clearly better than the overrated TWOK.