Rank the Star Trek TOS movies

[Mannahnin]

Seeing this in theaters in grade school was my introduction to Shakespeare! That stuff was great, and it had me engaged and excited as a child, so I don't think the political shenanigans were overdone, which is a neat trick. Very Star Trek, IMO.

The Shakespeare references always remind me of the story told by linguist Marc Okrand, who invented the Klingon language, about how he deliberately created it with no infinitive "to be", as part of its alienness and difference from English. ...and then found out that they needed him to translate "to be or not to be".

 

[Morrus]

It’s interesting the similarities between II and VI. Both directed by Meyer, both with more military naval bent, both with themes of aging and relevance, and both loaded with literature — Moby Dick for II and Shakespeare for VI.

 

[Kobold Stew]

Rather predictably:

1. The Wrath of Khan
2. The Undiscovered Country
3. The Voyage Home
4. The Search for Spock
5. The Motion Picture
6. The Final Frontier

Yes.

Star Trek films work like the books in the first half of Virgil's Aeneid: 2, 4, 6 are solid and worth your time, 1, 3, 5 get you to the next good bit.

 

[MGibster]

It’s interesting the similarities between II and VI. Both directed by Meyer, both with more military naval bent, both with themes of aging and relevance, and both loaded with literature — Moby Dick for II and Shakespeare for VI.

The "militarization" of Starfleet was something of a bone of contention between Roddenberry and the producers of WoK. I'd like to know what happened between TOS and TNG for Starfleet to stop thinking of themselves as a military. I will say the TOS movie era uniforms are my favorite. I think they look great. Not counting TMP of course. Those look like a horrible disco nightmare.

 

[TheHand]

1. Wrath of Khan - it’s the only one I still watch once a year or so. That Horner soundtrack gets me pumped up everytime.
2. Star Trek VI - I feel like only at the end of their run did they figure out how to make a big adventure Trek movie. A fine send off for the TOS crew. And I’ve used that ominous opening theme in several rpg games.
3. The Motion Picture - Its not what I’d call a great Trek movie; the costumes are bad, the actors feel stiff, and the scenes move slow… but I think it’s still a fascinating scifi movie and I give it points for relaunching Trek.
4. Star Trek III - Not really a fan of this one, it feels like it was done on the cheap and I have a lot of issues with the story. That being said, it has some fun moments: Enterprise escaping Space Dock, Christopher Lloyd as a klingon, and the “switcher-oo” at the end all score points with me.
5. Star Trek V - Welp, basically an unintended comedy where we lob a photon torpedo at “God”
6. Star Trek IV - thar be whales, cap’n! This one used to score much higher for me, but it’s the least watchable TOS crew Trek movie now. It just didn’t age well in my eyes. Funny and memorable moments, but in the end it doesn’t work for me.
Cheers!

 

[Zaukrie]

I can't believe anyone is defending TMP. I rewatched it this year, and it's even worse than I remembered. Awful movie. Nothing happens for long stretches, and when it finally does, it's stupid.

 

[MarkB]

I can't believe anyone is defending TMP. I rewatched it this year, and it's even worse than I remembered. Awful movie. Nothing happens for long stretches, and when it finally does, it's stupid.

There's a lot of nostalgia for it. It was a visual spectacle when first seen in the cinema, and some of that still carries it even on the small screen.

 

[Omand]

It’s interesting the similarities between II and VI. Both directed by Meyer, both with more military naval bent, both with themes of aging and relevance, and both loaded with literature — Moby Dick for II and Shakespeare for VI.

Morrus,

I think you are slightly forgetting a bit there Morrus. Yes, we have Moby Dick for II, but we also have a Tale of Two Cities. The purer distillation of Moby Dick is in First Contact for TNG.

 

[Morrus]

Morrus,

I think you are slightly forgetting a bit there Morrus. Yes, we have Moby Dick for II, but we also have a Tale of Two Cities. The purer distillation of Moby Dick is in First Contact for TNG.

No I didn’t forget. Or the Paradise Lost stuff. Or the Bible, or King Lear.

 

[Clint_L]

I think the original ranking is about right. Most Star Trek movies are just kind of okay, with a few that are very good, and a couple epic stinkers. I like Trek, but there are no Star Trek films on my all-time list. I definitely prefer the TV shows.