What is your favorite Star Trek movie?

[Sheol]

out of all 10 Star Trek movies what is your favorite

A list for those of you who have a bad memorie.
The Motion Picture
The Wrath Of Khan
The Search For Spock
The Final Frontier
The Undiscovered Country
Generations
First Contact
Insurrection
Nemisis

[aTOMiC]

In a previous thread (Star Trek worst to first) I posted my thoughts concerning the Star Trek movies. I have re posted those comments here.

Each time a new Star Trek film is released I am forced to revise my order of preference. I have heard many differing opinions about some of the best and some of the worst. I'm wondering how the whole lot shakes down in order of worst to first.
Here is my 2 bit opinion:
10. Star Trek V: Insulting on a scale that baffles me even now.
Defining moment: Scotty cracking his skull on the bulkhead was the last straw.
9. Star Trek IX: Not intentionally bad. I just didn't care.
Defining moment: zzzzzzzzzzzzz
8. Star Trek VII: Uncomfortable changing of the guard.
Defining moment: Enterpise D crash was spectacular. Kirk being crushed like a bug instead of going out in a blaze of glory, simply terrible.
7. Star Trek III: A bit clumsy. Not terrible. Spock returns at what cost?
Defining moment: Christopher Lloyd's Klingon Commander was great. "I have had enough of you!" First actual self destruct of the Enterprise.
6. Star Trek I: Not a great film. Uninteresting but it was the return of Star Trek. Wahoo.
Defining moment: Klingon Battlecrusiers fighting V'ger. Pretty cool at the time.
5. Star Trek X: Nemesis should have been much more but just wasn't.
Defining moment: Hmmmm...
4. Star Trek VI: Pretty adequate send off for the original cast. Nicolas Meyer knows how to make a film that has the original spirit.
Defining moment: Spocks forceable mind meld very creepy and effective.
3. Star Trek IV: A can't miss formula of time travel and main stream appeal.
Defining moment: "Admiral, there be whales here!"
2. Star Trek VIII: Best of the Next Generation. Borg, Time travel & Fun.
Defining moment: Enterprise E charging into the fray against the Borg cube. Kick butt!
1. Star Trek II: Just Star Trek at its most authentic best. Just about perfect.
Defining moment: "Khan you blood sucker." "You've managed to kill just about everyone else but like a poor marksman you keep missing the target!"

I still think we need a Star Trek sub directory or independent forum.

[Loredoctor]

I agree with everything there, TOM C. However, in my opinion, VIII is flawed. Introducing the Queen was a mistake; the film can be too preachy at times and the Borg are dummed down BAD. But that's my opinion

[Nav]

I agree with Tom's top four, I'd probably swap Insurrection and The Motion Picture though.

I did wonder what the brainstorming session for Insurrection was like:
"So there's this evil guy, and he's slowly dying from some disease, and he needs to commit some other evil in order to survive!"
"I like it!"
"So do I. Hell, that idea is so good we should use it in the next film, too."

[Roland of Gilead]

Here's my order, as a Trekker in good standing for thirty-two years:

10. Nemesis. I've watched it twice, probably won't ever watch it again. I think the actors are just going through the motions. I hated the way a lot of the film was shot in near-darkness. I thought Data's death scene was a very pale imitation of Spock's death scene in Wrath of Khan. I also felt that releasing this flick one week before The Two Towers was the absolute height of studio stupidity - talk about making sure you lose your core audience of sf-fantasy fans. SHEESH!!!! No wonder it was a box-office bomb.

9. The Undiscovered Country. Sorry, folks, but again, I thought the actors were just going through the motions . . . and they looked OLD. The changeling idea was done better in at least three television episodes. I liked the purple Klingon blood - that was pretty much the highlight for me.

8. Insurrection. I don't consider this a terrible film - in fact, I liked it at the theatre. But on subsequent re-viewings, it comes across as sort of "So What?" And has anyone else noticed how many times the Anthony Zerbe character says, "Dougherty out?" I counted at least six.

7. The Final Frontier. I don't consider this movie the train wreck that most fans do . . . but I'll grant you it ain't one of the best, either. And the godlike alien being was done to death in the tv series.

6. The Motion Picture. I liked most of this movie, but it's just too long for the plot. And I never quite bought Spock's transformation from cold Kolinahr bastard to loving "Jim's my friend" Spock in the matter of a few scenes.

5. The Search for Spock. The title says it all. I actually really liked this movie . . . except for the absence of the pivotal character, Spock. You just can't have a great original cast movie without him.

4. Generations. Again I'm in the minority on this one. I liked the action between Picard and Kirk. I liked the plot, and I thought the changing of the guard was well-handled.

3. First Contact. This picture and the next two are light-years ahead of the rest of the movies. Far and away the best of the Next Generation flicks, exciting, humorous, and great character development for both Picard and Data, my two favorite Next Gen characters from the series. Also a great theme song.

2. The Wrath of Khan. A wonderful sf adventure, with one of the all-time great villains. To this day, I still bug my wife with quotes from this movie. Fantastic death scenes for both Spock and Khan. State of the art effects for its times.

1. The Voyage Home. Not only my favorite Trek movie, but my favorite science fiction movie, period. Great message, great plot, hilarious, the only film which manages to have everyone of the minor characters do something significant . . and amazingly enough, also manages to create very high tension and suspense without killing anybody in the film. Think about it - that's very hard to do. And again, great theme music.

[matrixman]

Time for me to rise up once again and defend ST: The Motion Picture...nah, too tired.

Second favorite's a tough call between Wrath of Khan and Voyage Home.

I think ST II, III and IV can be viewed as a self-contained trilogy among the films. As such, it is one of the best sci-fi movie trilogies ever. These three films cover a lot of ground, representing nearly everything I enjoy about Star Trek.

ST IV ended this "trilogy" on such a high note, that I thought the franchise was unstoppable. They could do no wrong.

Which made the disappointment of ST V that much more acute. Roland, you're right. It's not a train wreck. It's a Chernobyl. A disaster whose fallout poisoned my love of Trek. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

I agree with TOM C about having a Star Trek forum. If nothing else, it will be a natural foil to the Star Wars forum. The Trekkers and the Star Warriors can duke it out. Or live in peace and harmony. Why should the Donaldson-Tolkien fan rivalry be the only action in town?

[aTOMiC]

MM, great point about the three-film story arc. Paramount should package them as a limited edition set.

Roland, I only have one comment about your order of preference. (I totally respect your opinions by the way) In ST VII if they had found some other way to kill off Kirk than to have him be crushed like a bug I would have enjoyed the film much more. My boyhood hero needed to go out in style. I'm sure we'd all like for Kirk to die of a heart attack at the age of 130 while in the sack with a beautiful alien. I'd even take the heroics of his first "death" while saving the Enterprise B but to have a ton of twisted metal squish him like a grape is just plain wrong.

[Roland of Gilead]

I see your point, Tom. Kirk's death is not heroic enough, I agree. I suppose he couldn't die instantly, because then he couldn't have his last words with Picard. But still . . .

Have you read any of the Shatner Trek novels (really written by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens)? Kirk didn't die on that planet. He's brought back to life . . . with some Borg technology, I believe, it's been awhile since I read that one.

It's amusing to read these novels and watch how the Reeves-Stevens have to scramble to accomodate the latest movie developments which tend to interfere with their plots.

[Roland of Gilead]

Matrixman, I'm all in favor of your idea. However, I'd be torn, because I'm also a Star Wars fan. And I like both Donaldson and Tolkien. So I might not be too good at this rivalry thing.

It would be like watching the Army-Navy football game and saying, "I don't care who wins, just let me see a close game."

[matrixman]

Sorry, I guess I wasn't being tongue-in-cheek enough about the SRD-JRRT "rivalry." I avoid that subject because it's sooo bloody serious. Say the wrong thing one or the other and you get burned at the stake or something.

[Ylva Kresh]

Since I am a fan of the Next Gen, I must cast my vote on First Contact. I love most things that include the Borg (even Queens - I find Alice Kriege rather facinating/scary/amazing as the Queen, and I dont believe that there is only one Borg Queen? Surely there must be a server/coordinator of each hive? That does not make the Borg more human too me...) and I love the humour of that movie! (I could even stand Riker, but that might be since Frakes directed it, I am not sure...)

[Baradakas]

Wrath of Khan makes all other Trek movies look like sequels to Harry and the Hendersons!

[Worm of Despite]

Wrath of Khan, followed by First Contact. And after hearing William Shatner sing, Kirk was getting off EASY when they crushed him in Generations. Ho boy.

[A Gunslinger]

Wrath of Khan makes all other Trek movies look like sequels to Harry and the Hendersons!

Amen. Khan was just the right mixture of ambition and out and out madness.

Who can forget the the classic Kirk moment (camped by many since) ..."KKKHHHHHAAAAAANNNNN!!!!"

Love it!

[FizbansTalking_Hat]

out of all 10 Star Trek movies what is your favorite

A list for those of you who have a bad memorie.
The Motion Picture
The Wrath Of Khan
The Search For Spock
The Final Frontier
The Undiscovered Country
Generations
First Contact
Insurrection
Nemisis

My favorite is as follows:

The Wrath of Khan
Search for Spock
Generations
First Contact
Nemesis (Alot of people I know didn't enjoy this film as much as others, but I honestly that it was awesome.)

Cheers.

[Roland of Gilead]

That campy moment in Wrath of Khan where Kirk screams out his name, was actually deliberately overdone, though. Because Kirk already knew at that point that Spock was "exagerrating" about the condition of Enterprise, and that Kirk wasn't really marooned at all.

Man, I need a life, don't I?

Another interesting bit of trivial In the eighties, I worked at a company which shipped out movie advertising. Wrath of Khan was originally going to be titled, Revenge of Khan.

But at that time, the original title of the third Star Wars flick was Revenge of the Jedi. Then someone belatedly realized that Jedi aren't into revenge, so the title was changed to Return.

But the Trek people had already changed their title to Wrath to avoid being accused of stealing "Revenge" from the Star Wars folks.

By the way, those few posters that were printed with the title Revenge of the Jedi? Worth a fortune now.

[Byrn]

Meh, Wrath is a better word. It rolls off the tongue.

[dANdeLION]

Wrath of Khan is my favorite.