Hey! So the new Star Trek was out yesterday, and I am seeing it tonight. I am nearly wetting myself in anticipation! I think it's going to be awesome!
What I did however, before seeing the new one was decide to borrow my Dad's extremely geeky boxset of all the previous Star Trek films.
Some of them I had seen before, some I had not! I have watched bits and bobs of all the TV series, enough to know who all the characters are but was looking forward to experiencing every truly big adventure.
I will not be writing a full review for each film, as there are ten of then! Each will get a rating and a short paragraph. Let us begin...
1. STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)
A pretty bad start to be honest. The opening is good as it resets the series but this is by far the most boring Trek movie I have seen. The introduction to the Enterprise is ten minutes of the Captain flying to it. The only good thing about the sequence is the music. The main problem here though is just nothing really happens. The ship is flying through space clouds for the most of the film. Try to avoid this one!
+++-------
2. STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)
Now this is more like it. Widely regarded as the best of the Trek films - I was looking forward to this one and wasn't disappointed. It is very much an adventure film which lots of vast locations, great action, a cool villain and fantastic ending. This is what an introduction to the Star Trek universe should be like!
++++++++--
3. STAR TREK: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (1979)
(SPOILER!) After Spock dies at the end of Wrath of Khan, I thought they were very brave to kill off such a main character. However, as you can guess from the title - he doesn't stay dead for long. It's actually a continuation from Wrath of Khan - picking up the day after. It is nowhere near as good though. The action is clumsy, characters are boring and nothing all that interesting happens. Christopher Lloyd does make a good villain though.
+++++-----
4. STAR TREK: THE VOYAGE HOME (1986)
Now this was actually my favourite of the original Star Trek films! It perfectly blends genres together - comedy, drama, romance and action. It is a very tongue in cheek film but that works for it rather than against it. A lot of these characters are doing exactly what the fans wanted them to do. Whether its Spock doing a Vulcan sleeper hold on a 80's punk - or see George Takei flying a helicopter! It's great fun and really recommended from me!
+++++++++-
5. STAR TREK: THE FINAL FRONTIER (1989)
Oh dear. Who let William Shatner direct this one? You know its going to be bad from the start where the crew are actually hiking around a national park, singing camp fire songs to each other and more. The film is about finding God which was still a little ridiculous in my eyes for Trek. It's too pretentious, the villain is utter poo and all feels way too uneven.
++++------
6. STAR TREK: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (1991)
There's a supposed curse on the Star Trek movies which makes every other one good. So far this has been true! I really enjoyed the Undiscovered Country as not just a Trek film... but as a murder mystery too. It blends genres well again like all the best films and provides an intriguing, good to watch final voyage of the original Star Trek crew. It's also worth noting that its directed by the same guy that did Wrath of Khan. He knows his stuff.
++++++++--
7. STAR TREK: GENERATIONS (1994)
So here it makes the jump to the Next Generation crew. Which is good because I know them better than the old crew. Its a shame this film is a little disappointing because it had a great concept. The merging of the two generations could have held many possibilities - but instead we get Kirk and Picard riding horseback around prairies. There are good bits (like the Enterprise crash landing on a planet), but it just felt like a wasted oppurtunity to me.
++++++----
8. STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (1996)
This is by far my favourite of all the Star Trek films. As a kid I used to watch this one all the time, and it is still fantastic to this day. The action is awesome, it also has great comedy and drama. There are effectively two different stories going on here but they blend together perfectly. The Borg, and especially the Borg Queen make great villains - it was nice to see them get a movie about them that lives up to and exceeds expectations.
++++++++++
9. STAR TREK: INSURRECTION (1998)
After the awesome First Contact film, I was looking forward to this one too. It was by the same director. Unfortunately, its nowhere near as good. There are still great moments, and loads of good action scenes but the main problem here is that it often feels like an extended episode of TV, and doesn't have the epic feel of a movie that the other one did. I didn't really like the villain, which is Trek is always important.
+++++++---
10. STAR TREK: NEMESIS (2002)
The film that finally broke the rule of every other film being good - Nemisis managed to be worse than Insurrection. Neither of these two films are as bad as some of the original movies, but they just lack something. In this film there is just not enough character development or story. The battle at the end is great, as well as the (SPOILER!) death of Data... but the plot is too thin to every really get into it.
++++++----
So there we go. All Star Trek movies reviewed. The ones with the higher scores are absolutely worth checking out - especially The Voyage Home and First Contact. I am seeing the new one tonight, and can't wait. Look for a review probably tomorrow!
What I did however, before seeing the new one was decide to borrow my Dad's extremely geeky boxset of all the previous Star Trek films.
Some of them I had seen before, some I had not! I have watched bits and bobs of all the TV series, enough to know who all the characters are but was looking forward to experiencing every truly big adventure.
I will not be writing a full review for each film, as there are ten of then! Each will get a rating and a short paragraph. Let us begin...
1. STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE (1979)
A pretty bad start to be honest. The opening is good as it resets the series but this is by far the most boring Trek movie I have seen. The introduction to the Enterprise is ten minutes of the Captain flying to it. The only good thing about the sequence is the music. The main problem here though is just nothing really happens. The ship is flying through space clouds for the most of the film. Try to avoid this one!+++-------
2. STAR TREK: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)
Now this is more like it. Widely regarded as the best of the Trek films - I was looking forward to this one and wasn't disappointed. It is very much an adventure film which lots of vast locations, great action, a cool villain and fantastic ending. This is what an introduction to the Star Trek universe should be like!
++++++++--
3. STAR TREK: THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK (1979)
(SPOILER!) After Spock dies at the end of Wrath of Khan, I thought they were very brave to kill off such a main character. However, as you can guess from the title - he doesn't stay dead for long. It's actually a continuation from Wrath of Khan - picking up the day after. It is nowhere near as good though. The action is clumsy, characters are boring and nothing all that interesting happens. Christopher Lloyd does make a good villain though.
+++++-----
4. STAR TREK: THE VOYAGE HOME (1986)
Now this was actually my favourite of the original Star Trek films! It perfectly blends genres together - comedy, drama, romance and action. It is a very tongue in cheek film but that works for it rather than against it. A lot of these characters are doing exactly what the fans wanted them to do. Whether its Spock doing a Vulcan sleeper hold on a 80's punk - or see George Takei flying a helicopter! It's great fun and really recommended from me!
+++++++++-
5. STAR TREK: THE FINAL FRONTIER (1989)
Oh dear. Who let William Shatner direct this one? You know its going to be bad from the start where the crew are actually hiking around a national park, singing camp fire songs to each other and more. The film is about finding God which was still a little ridiculous in my eyes for Trek. It's too pretentious, the villain is utter poo and all feels way too uneven.++++------
6. STAR TREK: THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY (1991)
There's a supposed curse on the Star Trek movies which makes every other one good. So far this has been true! I really enjoyed the Undiscovered Country as not just a Trek film... but as a murder mystery too. It blends genres well again like all the best films and provides an intriguing, good to watch final voyage of the original Star Trek crew. It's also worth noting that its directed by the same guy that did Wrath of Khan. He knows his stuff.
++++++++--
7. STAR TREK: GENERATIONS (1994)
So here it makes the jump to the Next Generation crew. Which is good because I know them better than the old crew. Its a shame this film is a little disappointing because it had a great concept. The merging of the two generations could have held many possibilities - but instead we get Kirk and Picard riding horseback around prairies. There are good bits (like the Enterprise crash landing on a planet), but it just felt like a wasted oppurtunity to me.
++++++----
8. STAR TREK: FIRST CONTACT (1996)
This is by far my favourite of all the Star Trek films. As a kid I used to watch this one all the time, and it is still fantastic to this day. The action is awesome, it also has great comedy and drama. There are effectively two different stories going on here but they blend together perfectly. The Borg, and especially the Borg Queen make great villains - it was nice to see them get a movie about them that lives up to and exceeds expectations.
++++++++++
9. STAR TREK: INSURRECTION (1998)
After the awesome First Contact film, I was looking forward to this one too. It was by the same director. Unfortunately, its nowhere near as good. There are still great moments, and loads of good action scenes but the main problem here is that it often feels like an extended episode of TV, and doesn't have the epic feel of a movie that the other one did. I didn't really like the villain, which is Trek is always important.
+++++++---
10. STAR TREK: NEMESIS (2002)
The film that finally broke the rule of every other film being good - Nemisis managed to be worse than Insurrection. Neither of these two films are as bad as some of the original movies, but they just lack something. In this film there is just not enough character development or story. The battle at the end is great, as well as the (SPOILER!) death of Data... but the plot is too thin to every really get into it.
++++++----
So there we go. All Star Trek movies reviewed. The ones with the higher scores are absolutely worth checking out - especially The Voyage Home and First Contact. I am seeing the new one tonight, and can't wait. Look for a review probably tomorrow!
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