One of my Christmas gifts was a blu-ray set of ten "Star Trek" films - the six with the original cast and the four with the Next Generation cast. I'm therefore in a position where I've actually watched all thirteen Trek films in the past year. So, my ranking...
#13: "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier". This film suffers from three key weaknesses. Firstly, it's just not good. Secondly, what qualities it does have are overshadowed by the director's bouts of ego. And thirdly, it suffers from heightened expectations - after the sort-of-trilogy of "Khan", "Search", and "Voyage", the Trek films were in a really good place. All in all, it's the worst of all the films.
#12: "Star Trek: Nemesis". The final film for the Next Generation is similarly weak. By that time, I think the producers had decided they needed to find the "new Khan", and it just didn't work. Throw in a fairly tired-looking cast, two key actors who clearly wanted to move on from their parts, and a rather distasteful mindrape subplot, and you've got a stinker, and one that has aged badly at that. I wouldn't be surprised to learn that they were actually going for the "worst Trek film" title. But if so, they couldn't even manage that. Poor.
#11: "Star Trek: The Motion Picture". Unlike a lot of people, I don't consider this to be a bad film... I just think it is the wrong film. I think the company had some notion that they'd get a film like "Star Wars" - and certainly they timed the film for precisely that. However, what they got was a lightweight "2001: A Space Odyssey". Which is fine, except that it's not series enough to satisfy fans of 'real' sci-fi while also being too slow to really satisfy fans of Trek (or Star Wars). It's a film I re-watch every few years, and it's interesting enough as a piece of film-making (and the music is outstanding), but it's not a film I'd really recommend.
(Oddly, despite the advertising materials stating otherwise, and the set itself doing the same, the blu-ray in the boxed set does appear to be the Director's Cut. Which is good - that cut goes a long way to improve the film, and indeed is almost the difference between it being 'watchable' and not.)
#10: "Star Trek: Generations". A very frustrating film, this. The opening scenes, with Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov are surprisingly good, with the Enterprise-B giving a tantalising hint of what might happen between the two generations. And the middle of the film, with the Next Generation crew dealing with a mad scientist while Picard deals with a personal bereavement are likewise very good. And then it goes horribly wrong. As soon as Kirk comes back into the film, it all turns to dust, and it becomes a slog to get through to the end.
#9: "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home". This is a decent film, but very dated. Indeed, despite enjoying the film, this was one that I never bothered to buy on DVD, and there was a reason for that. Mostly, it serves to round out the sort-of-trilogy, getting back to the status quo as at the start of Khan. That said, it does have the introduction of the Enterprise-A, and it's almost worth watching for that alone.
#8: "Star Trek: Into Darkness". This is a strange one - when it first came out I really enjoyed this film, rather more than its predecessor. However, where I've enjoyed "Star Trek" more and more over the years, this film has diminished over time. It's not a film I'd avoid, necessarily, but it's also not one I have any burning desire to watch again, and given the choice I'd go for either of the other two Pine-era Treks instead.
#7: "Star Trek: Insurrection". I was surprised to be rating this one so highly, but when I rewatched it I was also rather surprised to find that this film was better than I remembered. I guess it has just aged well. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it... but I also wouldn't immediately change the channel to avoid it. In particular, the thought process Picard goes through as he contemplates his rebellion is worthwhile, as indeed is Worf's ever escalating firepower.
#6: "Star Trek". I have very mixed feelings about this film. On the one hand, I really like the cast they've assembled. On the other hand, much of the film feels like it comes from the Dan Brown school of writing - it doesn't matter how stupid the plot is provided you keep the pace up high enough that people don't notice. Sadly, I did notice. In particular, the scene where Kirk provokes an emotional outburst from Spock and then immediately turns around to take command just doesn't work. Still, I do find I enjoy this film more each time I watch it - as with "Insurrection", it seems to have aged rather well.
#5: "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock". This is a slightly strange film, in that it really doesn't work by itself - only the context afforded by "Wrath of Khan" allows it to make sense. Obviously, this film isn't as good as "Khan", but there's still an awful lot to like here - and the death of David followed by the destruction of the Enterprise make this one worth the price of entry all by themselves.
#4: "Star Trek: Beyond". I'm surprised how much dislike this film seems to attract - for me, this is the best of the Pine-era Trek films, both in terms of being the most entertaining and also in terms of being the more Trek-like. Basically, I just really enjoyed it.
#3: "Star Trek: First Contact". The second outing for the Next Generation crew is also their best. The Borg are the single best bit of Trek lore to be added since the Original Series ended, and are used very well here - that feeling of creeping horror is well done. Plus, the conflict between the human spirit and the inhuman Borg, and also Data's conflicting goals are strong. Good stuff.
#2: "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country". It was something of a toss-up between this and First Contact, but I give this one the nod because the message of peace and optimism was rather stronger in this one. Plus, Captain Sulu and the Excelsior were just great.
#1: "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan". Obviously.
My feelings overall are that of the thirteen there are only two genuinely bad films (although they truly are awful), plus two frustratingly poor films. Then there are four mediocre films, that are mostly watchable but really not great, and then four good films and one truly outstanding film in the series. Of all of these, "Wrath of Khan" is probably the only one that really counts as a great film while the next four are good Star Trek films.
Of course, my opinion may change with time!
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