Which film has aged the worst?

[enterprisecvn65]

Not saying which film IS necessarily the worst but, in your opinion, which film do you think has aged the worst over time meaning that the drop in how you saw it when it was first released vs. how you see it now has been the largest.

I have to go with TUC. It's still a film I enjoy, but it just hasn't held up well in my mind. When I first saw it I thought it was great. Now though when I watch I see a lot of clunky dialogue, some poorly scripted scenes, and a dumb plot line with Valeris.

TFF I thought was mostly crap when I saw it and it hasn't really done anything to move it down even further. I think it's a worse film than TUC, but TUC has dropped more than any other over time IMHO.

 

[lurok]

Now though when I watch I see a lot of clunky dialogue, some poorly scripted scenes, and a dumb plot line with Valeris.

I remember seeing that first time around

Most of them have aged badly for me, but especially TVH, Gen and INS. TMP I've always strangely found both dated (in terms of fx) and timeless, like 2001 and SW.

 

[Amaris]

For me, Generations has aged pretty badly (though the visuals are still solid, I think). Star Treks II, and III have also aged quite a bit, IMO. Still fun, though.

 

[Cyke101]

TFF has aged badly for me, but mostly only in terms of visuals/set design. Reusing TNG sets is one thing, but reusing the bland S1-S2 sets with all that beige is the kicker.

TMP for me is pretty neutral. Yes, the uniforms are horrendous, but the SFX and themes still hold up. The Shaun Cassidy cover though... THAT's aged badly.

 

[Amaris]

TFF has aged badly for me, but mostly only in terms of visuals/set design. Reusing TNG sets is one thing, but reusing the bland S1-S2 sets with all that beige is the kicker.

TMP for me is pretty neutral. Yes, the uniforms are horrendous, but the SFX and themes still hold up. The Shaun Cassidy cover though... THAT's aged badly.

I was thinking that, too. I was going to mention TMP, but I think the sets still look great. The uniforms, though, ye gods.

 

[enterprisecvn65]

Now though when I watch I see a lot of clunky dialogue, some poorly scripted scenes, and a dumb plot line with Valeris.

I remember seeing that first time around

Most of them have aged badly for me, but especially TVH, Gen and INS. TMP I've always strangely found both dated (in terms of fx) and timeless, like 2001 and SW.

You were way more perceptive than I was

I remember coming out of it very pleased with almost nothing to find fault with.

I was extremely surprise when I watched it years later and realized "Holy crap this movie has some incredibly bad scenes, terrible dialogue, and huge plot holes."

Guess the rose colored glasses of it being the final TOS story were firmly affixed to my face the day I first saw it.

 

[Maurice]

TWOK. It looks like a TV movie shot in 1982, which is pretty much what it is.

 

[enterprisecvn65]

TWOK. It looks like a TV movie shot in 1982, which is pretty much what it is.

Well Paramount did the equivalent of the US military telling Lockheed to make a great fighter plane and then giving them a whole thousand bucks to make it happen.

 

[hux]

Some of the 80's films look like 80's films but there's a charm to them. I voted "Generations" because it feels like it was rushed & put together with wires and scotch tape with little concern for story. Let's just put these two captains together & watch the Trekkers orgasm themselves into a puddle

It hasn't aged well as a piece of art

 

[Cyke101]

TWOK. It looks like a TV movie shot in 1982, which is pretty much what it is.

I showed First Contact to my SO, who thought it looked too much like the TV show. I then showed TWOK, and the SO thought that was the more cinematic movie.

No, I can't explain it, either. But hey, different strokes...

 

[Amaris]

Some of the 80's films look like 80's films but there's a charm to them. I voted "Generations" because it feels like it was rushed & put together with wires and scotch tape with little concern for story. Let's just put these two captains together & watch the Trekkers orgasm themselves into a puddle

It hasn't aged well as a piece of art

Data's fist pumping "Yesssss!" immediately comes to mind.

 

[Cyke101]

Some of the 80's films look like 80's films but there's a charm to them. I voted "Generations" because it feels like it was rushed & put together with wires and scotch tape with little concern for story. Let's just put these two captains together & watch the Trekkers orgasm themselves into a puddle

It hasn't aged well as a piece of art

Data's fist pumping "Yesssss!" immediately comes to mind.

Followed by Deanna's, "As IF!"

 

[Vger23]

For me, TUC and TVH are tied as the films that time has been least-kind to. When it came out, I loved TUC. Now, I struggle just to get through it. So that one has fallen furthest for me. TVH was never a favorite, and now even less so.

 

[Smellmet]

There's a few vying for the top spot, but I went with Insurrection. For a film made in 1998 it just looks like a relic from another era and the pleasant location shooting doesn't save it. I think First Contact is really starting to age quite badly too. Generations, despite what other people have said, I think has aged very well, the cinematography gives it a very 'classic cinema' look in my opinion, and I find the visuals to be superior to the following two movies too. Nemesis still looks pretty decent to these eyes, but obviously nowhere near the latest standards.

TFF is probably in second place down to the crappy FX and sets. TUC is looking it's age but I still think it looks pretty slick compared to most of the other TOS movies. TVH is dated but a lot of that is down to the 80's earth setting.

Considering that TMP is the oldest, it sure holds up very well in a lot of departments, so deserves a special mention. These days it almost has a timeless quality to it, in the same way that Raiders of the Lost Ark has. There's only the costumes and the odd visual effect that lets the side down for me.

 

[Iamnotspock]

Followed by Deanna's, "As IF!"

When was that?

 

[enterprisecvn65]

Some of the 80's films look like 80's films but there's a charm to them. I voted "Generations" because it feels like it was rushed & put together with wires and scotch tape with little concern for story. Let's just put these two captains together & watch the Trekkers orgasm themselves into a puddle

It hasn't aged well as a piece of art

I think you probably feel it was rushed and put together with wires and scotch tape with little concern for the story because it was rushed and put together with wires and scotch tape with little concern for the story.

The sad thing is Generations, on paper at least, should have been one of the best films. The producers knew at least a few years in advance of TNG ending that they would be transitioning into film. Compared to the other films they had plenty of time to get their ducks in a row with the story and other elements solidly in place.

Instead they looked like the kid who has a month to do a research paper and they waited until the night before it was due and they can't believe they got a D-

 

[Cyke101]

Followed by Deanna's, "As IF!"

When was that?

Fear not, it was a joke about how Generations felt dated as voiced by Hux and J.Allen, since it was in the 90s, and that phrase is pretty dated now.

Some of the 80's films look like 80's films but there's a charm to them. I voted "Generations" because it feels like it was rushed & put together with wires and scotch tape with little concern for story. Let's just put these two captains together & watch the Trekkers orgasm themselves into a puddle

It hasn't aged well as a piece of art

I think you probably feel it was rushed and put together with wires and scotch tape with little concern for the story because it was rushed and put together with wires and scotch tape with little concern for the story.

The sad thing is Generations, on paper at least, should have been one of the best films. The producers knew at least a few years in advance of TNG ending that they would be transitioning into film. Compared to the other films they had plenty of time to get their ducks in a row with the story and other elements solidly in place.

Instead they looked like the kid who has a month to do a research paper and they waited until the night before it was due and they can't believe they got a D-

Part of it was the misallocation of work. Moore and Braga outright admitted that the reason why All Good Things... was the superior product was because they were working on the finale and Generations simultaneously, and it got to the point where they were confusing story elements together (oddly enough, both involve time travel and chapters set in the past). As they were Trek's two premiere writers at the time, the producers gave them the projects (first the movie, and THEN the finale!) but didn't realize they were overworking the pair, who worked round the clock and barely got any sleep in that time.

Moore also believed that the sizeable headstart that they got on the movie was a double-edged sword. With a TV schedule, you're forced to keep things short and on deadline, and those restrictions and limitations sometimes bring out better works (poets, for example, often need the limits of form to thrive). Not so with a screenplay process, which often goes for years, which gives you time to go back and change and go back and change, almost to the point of self-indulgence, or to the point where executive meddling comes into play (as it did with all the drastic changes in the movie).

If it had been two teams of writers -- one for the finale and one for the movie -- there probably would've been a tighter movie.

 

[Memory Alpha]

Pretty easily TMP, I think. It's a slooooooow, drawn out '70s movie that takes 35 minutes or so literally to even start, and then is very highbrow. That and many of the effects are very dated and artificial looking. Oh, and the costumes.

TFF is a possibility, but the issues are mainly technical. The main concept is still pretty good and pretty contemporary once you get past the technical issues.

Sybok: The God of Sha Ka Ree would not do this!
"God": Sha Ka Ree? A vision you created.

^Yeah, that's pretty cool. Substitute "Earth" for "Sha Ka Ree."

 

[hux]

Generations didn't need to worry about something as troublesome as a story. Kirk and Picard on the screen at the same time was enough

A lot of people seem to be talking about films ageing badly in terms of being dated by the era and the constraints of the available technology. If that's the criteria, then surely the earlier films will compete for the honour. But for me, not ageing well means it's become less enjoyable to watch as time goes on. With each new viewing, you recognise how poor it actually always as a piece of entertainment/art

So while "TWOK" might look dated it's still fun to watch and "Insurrection" shouldn't count because that was bad from the off.

Interestingly, TMP, is actually the one that improves the most with each new viewing

 

[Amaris]

Generations didn't need to worry about something as troublesome as a story. Kirk and Picard on the screen at the same time was enough

A lot of people seem to be talking about films ageing badly in terms of being dated by the era and the constraints of the available technology. If that's the criteria, then surely the earlier films will compete for the honour. But for me, not ageing well means it's become less enjoyable to watch as time goes on. With each new viewing, you recognise how poor it actually always as a piece of entertainment/art

So while "TWOK" might look dated it's still fun to watch and "Insurrection" shouldn't count because that was bad from the off.

Interestingly, TMP, is actually the one that improves the most with each new viewing

I guess I see it more as trying to cram (then) modern sayings and actions into storylines set in the future. Granted, it can't be completely avoided, but things like Data doing the "Yes" fist pump was funny back in the mid-90s when it premiered, but almost no one does it now, and they probably won't 300 years hence, either.

It's hard to pin down what badly ages a movie, though. For me, it's what I mentioned above, for others it might be the styling and design choices for uniforms, and for others still the computer graphics on the wall will always date a film, and that's true, but I think films age badly when the sets look cheap, and when the stories are slapdash. Usually, I think one will support the other, but if they're both bad, there's not much to save it.

To me, TWOK could have been just awful, but the cheap sets are saved by the faster paced and engaging storyline (IMO). So while it looks dated, with its 80s hair, Commodore 64 graphics, and cassette deck molds built into the walls, the movie's story and adventure lift it up to where those flaws can be somewhat easier to forgive.

This is a longer way of saying it's really all in the eye of the beholder.