Ranking Every "Star Trek" Movie, From Worst to Best

[CBR News]

With "Star Trek Beyond" poised to warp into theaters, CBR ranks all twelve "Star Trek" movies, from worst to best.


Full article here.

[Ambaryerno]

Hey now, Final Frontier had MANY generally funny moments. Pretty much every scene of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy bickering throughout the film is gold, and the bit between Chekov, Sulu, and Uhura when they're lost in Yellowstone was brilliant. Also, "B. As in barricade." Shatner was pretty unfairly maligned for this one, as he was severely hamstrung by studio interference and budget cuts. By many accounts the cast actually enjoyed working under his direction, as well (which is remarkable considering the animosity between Shat and most of the cast at the time).

[Gray Lensman]

Hey now, Final Frontier had MANY generally funny moments. Pretty much every scene of Kirk, Spock, and McCoy bickering throughout the film is gold, and the bit between Chekov, Sulu, and Uhura when they're lost in Yellowstone was brilliant. Also, "B. As in barricade." Shatner was pretty unfairly maligned for this one, as he was severely hamstrung by studio interference and budget cuts. By many accounts the cast actually enjoyed working under his direction, as well (which is remarkable considering the animosity between Shat and most of the cast at the time).

It might have been a slot or two lower than it could have been - but they rightfully had the unneeded Khan Reboot and all the Next Generation films other than First Contact lower than it. I would have slid The Slow Motion Picture down a little further. That film drags and drags and drags....

[Sam Robards, Comic Fan]

In my heart of hearts, First Contact is the best, followed by Wrath of Khan. Haven't seen the majority of the OS movies, though.

Even though I know they're not the best, I still can't help but like Nemesis and Generations, and I think both of those are better than Into Darkness.

[Ambaryerno]

It might have been a slot or two lower than it could have been - but they rightfully had the unneeded Khan Reboot and all the Next Generation films other than First Contact lower than it. I would have slid The Slow Motion Picture down a little further. That film drags and drags and drags....

Yeah, V had its problems, but at least it actually moves. TPM has more padding than a football team's locker room, and never seems to want to get started.

[peckinpah]

I agree that Search for Spock doesn't get enough credit, but Christopher Lloyd is awful in that movie. And the whole "proto matter" thing is just lazy writing. Anyone who gives it a pass but moans about Khan's "super blood" is wearing blinders. Also, Final Frontier belongs at the bottom of the list. It's an ego trip, an expensive way to fulfill the terms of Shatner's contract. It's badly written, poorly directed, the effects are terrible, and it contains more terrible moments than Insurrection and Nemesis combined. That fan dance is all the proof you need Shatner doesn't know anything about logic or good storytelling.

Speaking of Shatner, watching him act alongside Stewart in Generations is like watching the Generals play the Globetrotters. The only thing more embarrassing is watching him play against himself in The Undiscovered Country. Nothing like watching one person give two terrible performances in the same scene.

[peckinpah]

Yeah, V had its problems, but at least it actually moves. TPM has more padding than a football team's locker room, and never seems to want to get started.

TMP is quite obviously the work of people who thought the effects were what made Star Wars a hit. That's the only way to explain the interminable reveal of the Enterprise and the endless trip through the V'ger cloud.

[Joker]

I've always thought the Star Trek movies were awful. Like, pretty much every one of them.

[scout]

While I'm not a Trek fan, a trilogy of Wrath of Khan, Search for Spock and Undiscovered Country is all I need to keep me happy viewer on a weekend afternoon.

[GreenLanternRanger]

Honestly, I don't think I could rank all the Star Trek movies myself. I mean sure there are some arguably better then others. But personally I enjoy them all to somse degree. Even the "bad" ones have a couple of genuinly entertaining moments in them here & there.

And speaking of Star Trek Films I can't believe we are only 2 1/2 weeks away from the release of Star Trek beyond. Time really does fly.

[RobinFan4880]

Undiscovered Country is my favorite. It ticks off all the boxes for me. It was also a nice capstone to that era.

The worst is the Motion Picture. It was awful in every way.

I enjoy every Star Trek movie, even the so-so ones a lot but then again I am biased.

[RobinFan4880]

TMP is quite obviously the work of people who thought the effects were what made Star Wars a hit. That's the only way to explain the interminable reveal of the Enterprise and the endless trip through the V'ger cloud.

Don't forget about 2001 the Space Odyssey, which was praised for the same kind of long, drawn out shots of space ship models.

[MisterPL]

The Undiscovered Country could have been a great mystery flick had it not been for one fatal flaw.

Since director Nicholas Meyer couldn't get Kirstie Alley back as Saavik, instead of using Robin Curtis (who'd played the role twice), he chose to cast Kim Cattrall as Valeris. His reasoning was that he created Saavik and if he couldn't get Alley then he'd create another character.

The story would have had much more punch if Spock's already-established (and trusted) protege had been the traitor.

[David Walton]

The Undiscovered Country could have been a great mystery flick had it not been for one fatal flaw.

Since director Nicholas Meyer couldn't get Kirstie Alley back as Saavik, instead of using Robin Curtis (who'd played the role twice), he chose to cast Kim Cattrall as Valeris. His reasoning was that he created Saavik and if he couldn't get Alley then he'd create another character.

The story would have had much more punch if Spock's already-established (and trusted) protege had been the traitor.

Maybe. But honestly, just the thought of a Vulcan taking a villainous turn was pretty shocking in and of itself.

[peckinpah]

Don't forget about 2001 the Space Odyssey, which was praised for the same kind of long, drawn out shots of space ship models.

1) 2001 did it first, and its effects were revolutionary. But Star Wars made any movie that lingered over staid effects shots seem self-indulgent.

2) Kubrick's intent was to portray space travel in a way that made it seem both epic and mundane. The vistas were big and awesome to the audience, but the characters in 2001 view space travel the same way we view a drive to the grocery store. The same should be true of the characters in Star Trek, but TMP makes them all seem like this was their first trip.