Just discovered my on demand has all 10 Trek movies (all except for NuTrek) available and am going to watch a few. I guess they added them due to Into Darkness just coming out. What do you consider to be the best out of all the TNG-based ones? Having not seen it yet, but heard good things about it, I am going to watch First Contact now. I've already seen Insurrection and Nemesis. Besides those 3, what do you suggest I watch next? BTW: So far I love Picardo's EMH cameo in FC. Hehe.
In my opinion... None of them are any where as good as the TV series. First Contact is probably the "best" but 17 years later I still think Picard is totally out of character that movie. Insurrection probably feels closest to the TV series in terms of characterisation but the plot is lame. Generations is entertaining but doesnt make a lick of sense and I actually though Nemesis was okay in the theatre but in repeat viewings it just makes me angry. It really is the worst movie out of all the 12 in hindsight. Somewhere there is a average movie trying to break out, but the director killed it. Truthfully, the TOS movies are better than the TNG ones.
My opinion is that Insurrection is the least offender of the TNG movies, but most people will disagree. The reason why I prefer it is that it feels more like Star Trek TNG than the other ones. The plot isn't air-tight but it's a masterpiece compared to the other three. I agree with Jon1701 that the TOS movies are better, though. Hell, even TFF is more entertaining than any of the TNG ones.
If you're going to watch a TOS movie and don't care enough to watch in order, then I would say start with The Voyage Home. It's the easiest to get into. And it has a lot of [good] silly humor, which I know you love.
If I had to pick a TNG film to watch, I'd pick Nemesis. Generations makes me sad because it was such a missed opportunity, Insurrection is one of the few pieces of popular entertainment, Trek or otherwise, that makes me angry and First Contact is just a poor zombie movie wannabe. As I've aged, I find myself sticking mostly to the TOS films/Abramsverse when I want a Trek big-screen fix.
First Contact is probably the best of them, but it is still deeply flawed. Picard was just not himself and the nature of the Borg was completely altered to bring in a cool villainess, but it's entertaining. My second pick would be Generations... if only to watch Lursa and B'Etor get blown up over and over again.
Not to derail the topic, and I sure don't want to change your mind about it, but in the interest of the OP's question, what makes you angry about Insurrection ?
I watch movies for entertainment, not intellectual stimulation. So for me, any Trek movie is good entertainment. The only one that's hard to watch is Nemesis, because it's just so bad. That said, I still watch it occasionally.
First Contact is excellent Generations is underrated, but not as good as its sequel. It is worth watching just for the Picard/Kirk interactions Insurrection feels like an episode of the series with better effects, which is not a bad thing. Nemesis is a bit of a mess.
You can dig around the threads where the movie is discussed. I won't derail this thread. Because trust me, whenever a thread starts discussing the particulars of Insurrection it becomes a massive clusterfuck.
Finished First Contact! I thought it was good, but yes flawed at times. I wish they showed more of the actual "first contact" with the Vulcans at the end. It seemed a little bit cheesy. But all in all, it was good. Better than Nemesis by far. Watching Generations now. I like the Tuvok appearance in the beginning. Also like that it features Kirk and Scotty!
First Contact is the best one. It has so much energy. It's fresh and different from what we've seen before. I love the character interaction in that film. Everyone gets a moment to shine. Every cast member is at the top of their game, even regarding their fitness (Frakes for instance, in his best physical shape). They included everything that I associated with the show. Even Barclay shows up. And the EMH cameo is great as well. And the Defiant as well. First Contact did what Abrams & Co always talk about. Take all the vaguely familar elements a casual viewer could remember about the show(s) and put them into the film. That's why I always use that film to introduce other people to TNG, and it has never failed.
You're correct that Tim Russ appears in Generations, but he's not playing the role of Tuvok. Tuvok was still serving aboard the Excelsior at the time Generations took place, so he could not have been aboard Enterprise. Russ' character also clearly has human ears rather than Vulcan in that scene. --Sran