Star Trek Movies Ranked

I recently rewatched all of the Star Trek movies, so I decided to do a quick rundown of my rankings.

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

The pinnacle of what these movies can be. Perfectly blends in traits from the TV show while expanding enough to warrant a feature film. It has ideas and action in equal measure making for a fun Trek flick. And we get a heavy dose of Ricardo Montalban’s chest, which is ripped for a man his age (and he claims its real!).

2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home

Known as the “saving the whales” movie, The Voyage Home is the funniest of the 13 Trek movies to date and grossed the most money of the 6 entries with the original cast. It was a hit! What is great about this film is how it takes on the fish-out-of-water approach to storytelling and we get quite a few indelible moments. Like Scotty talking to a computer mouse, quips about what money is, and of course Kirk and Spock riding a bus with Spock looking like someone out of The Karate Kid.

3. Star Trek: The Motion Picture

The Motion Picture has the unenviable task of bringing back the crew of the Enterprise and bring them back it does. It starts by slowly – and I mean sloooooowly – showing the Enterprise for an extended period in the dock. This slow opening really sets the tempo for this methodical and meditative film. But the core crew members also get their introductions and for Trek fans it is mostly worth the wait.

In many ways, it bears the most resemblance to the original show in terms of plot, but simply expands on the budget. It looks amazing and goes out of its way to show the audience. Real Ron Burgundy yelling, “hey everyone, come see how good I look” vibes. As it should though considering the budget it had. But it is also packed with heavy ideas about the meaning of life and legacy. The rest of the series morphed into something a lot more fun, but The Motion Picture stands alone in terms of spectacle in the Trek franchise.

4. Star Trek (2009)

JJ Abrams has always been great at casting and nails it again here with especially when he recasts the core of the series with Kirk, Spock and McCoy. Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto and Karl Urban all do a great job of bringing their own sensibilities to the legendary characters, which can be a tricky thing to pull off. And of course, it is great to see Leonard Nimoy return as Spock.

5. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country

Star Trek has always had a love affair with William Shakespeare and shows it once again, as this film is riddled with references to his work – most notably Hamlet – and ends the series of films with the original cast on a high note.

6. Star Trek: First Contact

The sequel for the original series films tapped into the well of the show by bringing back a famous villain in Khan and First Contact followed that pattern by folding the Borg into the film. Easily the best of The Next Generation films.

7. Star Trek Beyond

Great “Sabotage” needle drop. Though I wish they didn’t hide Idris Elba behind all that makeup for so long.

8. Star Trek Insurrection

A simple premise simply told and there is something to be said for that. It gets the job done and doesn’t get in its own way, but isn’t setting the world on fire. It has a message, like many Trek films, and aspires us to be better.

10. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

Leonard Nimoy wanted out of Trek, which is why The Wrath of Khan ends the way it does. But lo and behold he loved working on that movie and wanted to return. He used his leverage on the studio to direct this entry. A middle-of-the-road film with some nice moments. Most memorably is Christopher Lloyd’s turn as a Klingon.

11. Star Trek Generations

The one with Kirk and Spock! It is easy to want more from William Shatner in a film with The Next Generation cast. A serviceable science fiction/Star Trek entry.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness

After a fun and successful reboot, the sequel is much too dour and self-serious. It has its moments, but overall lacks the fun you’d want from this franchise. And the fact that Benedict Cumberbatch had to lie about his role in this film for months.

13. Star Trek: Nemesis

When you watch this movie, you will notice a very young Tom Hardy. But you won’t notice or remember much else, unfortunately.

14. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

The opening campfire sequence with Kirk, Spock and McCoy is wonderful. However, it is simply a waste of what is arguably the best title for any of the Trek movies. We get a film called The Final Frontier and it is a sloppy, misguided story about searching for God? And it suffered from major production issues, which didn’t help, like how the end sequence was supposedly going to have a rock monster. But at least that rock monster showed up in Galaxy Quest.