I watched all 10 films of Star Trek
A rundown of the best to the worst and if its worth it!
Star Trek — The name brings up a LOT of things! Sci-fi, adventure, travel and maybe nostalgia! It is one of the best sci-fi franchisees to thrive which does not involve some random alien race coming to destroy earth. No sir! Here, humans are those aliens. But, the “federation” ensures we go in peace!
To understand how bold and open it is, this is Star Trek’s Enterprise starship’s mission —
To explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no man has gone before!
To set the context of the idea behind Star Trek, there is an interesting dialogue in Star Trek 6 — The Undiscovered Country which goes something like this —
Sulu — Course setting captain?
Kirk — 2nd Star to the right and straight on till morning!!
That is the Star Trek universe envisioned by Gene Roddenberry. Brimming with confidence, optimism and filled with a sense of adventure! My reviews below concentrate on the original movies before the reboot that happened with Chris Pine. Though it was a good film, I enjoyed the original films much more.
I started out by watching The Next Generation or TNG for short. Then, I watched the original Star Trek with Kirk known as TOS or The Original Series.
After watching them, I was hungering for more. Netflix and Prime Video platforms did not disappoint. It gave me, Enterprise, Voyager, Deep space 9, Discovery and more recently Picard. But, all TV Shows. No movies :(
Star Trek movies were nowhere to be found. But, I simply had to watch them. So, I did the unthinkable! I paid and rented each movie from Google Play Movies! Gasp! Can you believe that? I tell you it’s true! I spent my hard earned money to watch all 10 Star Trek movies and here is a full blown review to explain if you should do the same or not!
Star Trek 1–6 involves Kirk and his TOS cast.
Star Trek 7–10 involves Picard and his TNG cast. Though Star Trek 6 is a cross over film involving both Kirk and Picard. Bonus!
Without further ado, here goes —
Star Trek 1 — Star Trek: The Motion Picture — 1979
Rating: 3.5/5
Review: VGER. That is what it is all about. For a film shot in 1979 it surely had some interesting special effects. Definitely worth a watch to get started on the Star Trek saga. Will need some info on TOS before watching this.
Star Trek 2 — The Wrath Of Khan — 1982
Rating: 4.2/5
Review: This film is usually rated as the best of all. For me, it was ok but not the best. Maybe because I am a bit biased towards Picard as the captain! But, undoubtedly, this film has its moments and is worth a watch to see Kirk fight Khan!
Star Trek 3 — The Search for Spock — 1984
Rating: 2.5/5
Review: This film is just ok. Loved the idea of taking a romulan warbird inhabited by the federation to fly out to vulcan (wow!) but other than that, not much happens in the film and is just ok.
Star Trek 4 — The Voyage Home — 1986
Rating: 2/5
Review: Not a very memorable film in the franchise. Its a continuation of the previous one. Ok to give it a miss as well.
Star Trek 5—The Final Frontier — 1989
Rating: 3/5
Review: Shatner helms this film literally as the director and story writer. There was an initial discussion of casting Sean Connery as the antagonist but he declined. Still, allegedly, they retained his name in the planet they seek in this film known as “Sha Ka Ree” which if you read it fast spells Sean Connery’s initials! Not sure how true this is but, this film is all about Kirk! Watch it if you love Kirk and everything about him!
Star Trek 6—The Undiscovered Country — 1991
Rating: 4.5/5
Review: Ending scene is absolutely fantastic as I outlined above. Shows how Kirk is as a captain and how Star Trek as a series was — open, bold and fantastical! Watch this to just see the last of the Star Trek films with TOS cast.
Star Trek 7— Generations — 1994
Rating: 4.7/5
Review: Worth a watch to see Kirk and Picard in one frame and battling a common enemy!
Star Trek 8—First Contact — 1996
Rating: 4/5
Review: Borg! Just watch it for that!
Star Trek 9—Insurrection — 1998
Rating: 4/5
Review: Interesting premise and a change in pace after the fast action film that was First Contact. Here, federation is trying to help a species allegedly take control of a planet Ba’ku known for its rejuvenating properties. How Picard and their crew fight the federation and help protect the native people forms the crux of the film. Overall nice film to watch to see TNG cast in action!
Star Trek 10—Nemesis — 2002
Rating: 4.8/5
Review: This was the best one in the series and totally worth your time. Watch it to see the penultimate level attained by Data to become human. How to sacrifice or think about others before themselves. There is an interesting context from this film taken in the “Picard” series as well. Absolutely watch this one.
Order to watch them
The original film, Star Trek 1 is standalone. But, from Star Trek 2 to 4 there is a slight context taken from the previous film to continue the next one. Star Trek 5 and 6 are again standalone. From 7–10 all stand on their own and no order is needed.
My recommended order would be —
Star Trek 1, Star Trek 2, Star Trek 5, Star Trek 6, Star Trek 7, Star Trek 8, Star Trek 9 and finally Star Trek 10. Skipping out 3 and 4 which is completely upto you. You can also mix up any film from 7–10 and still enjoy the series!
So, which is the best?
Hmm…! This is bit difficult to answer. Only because I feel there is not 1 best in the list. Let me share my one best Star Trek film in TOS cast and one in TNG cast.
TOS Best — Star Trek 1 — For the original story and graphics of pre-1980!
TNG Best — Star Trek 10 — Nemesis — Again for the story, sacrifice and how it ties to Picard series!
