Which Next Generation Movie was the Best?

[Jonno1971]

First Contact is obviously a cracker but for me Generations is very special.

I love the whole opening sequence with Kirk, Chekov and Scotty on the Enterprise B. The parts where Kirk is eyeing the chair, Harrimans unease with command and then the moment where we all think Kirk's going to grab one more chance in the chair but instead decides to get hands on. Very moving i find.

There's tons of scenes i love in this film.....

CHEKOV:"I was never that young" KIRK:"No you were younger"

CHEKOV:"My God was anybody in here?" SCOTTY:"Aye"

SORAN: "Time is the fire in which we burn"

GUINAN: It was like being inside joy. As if joy was something tangible ...and you could wrap yourself in it like a blanket. And never in my entire life have I been as content.
PICARD: And then you were beamed away from there.
GUINAN: Pulled. Ripped away. None of us wanted to go. I would have done anything, ...anything to get back there. But once I realised that wasn't possible I learned to live without that.

PICARD: Come back with me. Help me stop Soran. Make a difference again.
KIRK: Who am I to argue with the Captain of the Enterprise?

I could go on but you get the picture. The score by Dennis McCarthy is also beautiful and very emotional.

I know this film gets a lot of dislike and i've never understood why.

 

[Kilana2]

1. First Contact
2. Generations
3. Nemesis
4. Insurrection

 

[DataLore16]

1. First Contact: This film had me from the first teaser trailer and has never let go, it felt like a feature film and not a two-part episode. It combined all of the elements that you want out of TNG and a film and put them together. The soundtrack and the direction were great and of course by this point the Borg had not been completely overused and were still fearsome. The cast looked great and we went places that we had not gone to before, it was mostly fresh and yet familiar. And we saw FIRST CONTACT, finally an era we had not seen before.

2. Generations: Despite the obvious plot holes and the fact that there was no good way to kill Kirk, I actually like this movie for its heart and it is the last time we see the TNG cast look like the series. Everything changes after this point for the crew and the franchise. Picard's speech at the end to "cherish every moment, because it will never come again," is one of the best lines of the series. Perfect.

3. Nemesis: I liked the movie, never understood a lot of the criticism, if you delete the B4 stuff and let Data simply die without a chance to return it makes a much better impact. If they had lost some of the action and used some of the character scenes instead it makes for a pretty good farewell to TNG. There in lies the problem, they could not commit fully to it being the end, which it ended up being. The cast is looking tired and no one looks like they are having any fun by this point, the energy was kind of gone so I think that shows. Outside of all of that it was an enjoyable movie for me.

4. Insurrection: Again, I liked the movie but as everyone has pointed out numerous times, it looks and feels like a two part episode of TNG with a lot of laziness put in there and the scenes on the planet making up for some of the bad effects in space. The Injector Collector was quoted by Frakes, "seeing it is worth the price of admission," not sure what he was smoking but his second turn as director (not that he was responsible for piss poor CGI) was not as much of a triumph. But the actors at least look like they are still mostly having fun under his direction unlike Stuart Baird and Nemesis.

 

[Richard Baker]

First Contact
Begins with an epic battle with the Borg cube, something we had not seen before, only imagined. Great music and cinematography, it really made you glad to have bought those theater tickets. It was fun to see Cochrane being nothing like the man they expected to be and watching the landing of the Vulcan ship was one of the most beautiful moments in the TNG film series.

The others have good and bad points, the only one I really hate is Generations. That film feels like something they were obligated to do, obviously ending the classic films/characters and resetting the TNG stage for their set of films.

 

[tim0122]

Really? Over seven hundred hours of material and that is one of the best scenes? I guess we should define "best"... Are we talking top 10, 100, or 1,000,000? It might qualify for the latter.

During a convention QA somewhere on YouTube, LeVar Burton said that despite him thinking Insurrection was the worst of the Next Gen movies, the sunrise scene was one of his favorite, if not his favorite, Geordi moment in the history of Next Gen. So the scene is indeed a favorite amongst some. I don't necessarily think it's the best LaForge scene, but it's still a good, sweet scene.

 

[Mage]

I'm annoyed that I probably have to vote for First Contact. It might be the best one, but it's also massively overrated in my opinion.

Screw it, I'm voting for Insurrection. Because I can.

Same reason I'm not voting in this, because yes, when it comes to directing, cinematogrophy, pacing, all of that.... First Contact is the best film. But it's also a generic action flick. Insurrection and Nemesis felt far more like TNG to me than First Contact. I also loved Generations, despite its flaws.

 

[Mage]

Simply a terrible movie where Picard decides he is smarter than his government and overturns a decision made by the Federation council. A council that was democratically elected by the people. In my mind, Picard should've been strung up for treason. Then there's the fact that once it was found that the Ba'ku and S'ona were the same people, the Federation should have recused itself from the conflict and allowed them to settle it on their own. Among other things...

Though I did like the Gilbert & Sullivan bit during the capture of Data. After that? It was all downhill.

Yeah..... Blindly following governments that are based on respect for all sentient life but will still forcebly remove people is definatly the moral thing to do........

Just because they're the government, doesn't mean they're right. Besides, a government chosen by the people isn't always a good representation of the people. Let's say you can choose between 4 people to become your leader, and one of them get's 30% of the votes. That person wins, and is now supposed to lead a union where 70% of the people didn't want this leader?? Sure..... Makes perfect sense.

 

[Tosk]

Same reason I'm not voting in this, because yes, when it comes to directing, cinematogrophy, pacing, all of that.... First Contact is the best film. But it's also a generic action flick. Insurrection and Nemesis felt far more like TNG to me than First Contact. I also loved Generations, despite its flaws.

That's why I still quite like GEN and INS despite their obvious (and many) flaws. They feel like TNG to me.

 

[Mage]

That's why I still quite like GEN and INS despite their obvious (and many) flaws. They feel like TNG to me.

Agreed.

 

[BillJ]

Yeah..... Blindly following governments that are based on respect for all sentient life but will still forcebly remove people is definatly the moral thing to do........

If the resources can help many billions of people, then moving the Ba'ku was the moral thing to do. Property rights aren't the end all, be all of morality.

 

[Mage]

If the resources can help many billions of people, then moving the Ba'ku was the moral thing to do. Property rights aren't the end all, be all of morality.

Personally, I can never condone sacrificing the minority for the greater good. Each to his own, I guess.

 

[BillJ]

Personally, I can never condone sacrificing the minority for the greater good. Each to his own, I guess.

In most instances, I would tend to agree. But if there was a group of people sitting on a cure for cancer, I would be all for moving them so we could get at it. Whether they wanted to move or not.

The flaw in Insurrection (among many) is the fact that no one talked to the Ba'ku and told them this was coming. If they had talked to the Ba'ku in the beginning, they may have been willing to move.

For me, Insurrection is simply a bad movie.

 

[Peach Wookiee]

I vote for First Contact.

 

[DaddlerTheDalek]

My favourite is First Contact.

 

[RunawayStarShip]

1) First Contact

Moore admitted that he and Braga were aiming low after aiming too high for Generations, and they managed to achieve what they were aiming for: an enjoyable popcorn flick with Star Trek trappings. A space zombie flick that somehow manages to also convey the optimism of Star Trek. Plus, Alfre Woodard as Lily Sloane was an awesome guest star. The main weakness is that the interior sets of the Enterprise-E looks dated in HD. It's surprising (well, maybe not ) how the sets that I thought looked fine on VHS look so much like plastic in HD. It's also the only TNG film to have generally positive critic and audience reaction (at least according to Rotten Tomatoes).

2) Generations

As aforementioned, Moore said that they aimed too high for Generations, and it didn't help that there was apparently a checklist of things that needed to be done in the movie handed down to him and Braga. Honestly, the first two-thirds of the film are pretty good (until the Nexus hit Veridian III). The resolution to the film needed to be rewritten. Still, it's the film that feels the most like a TNG film. Plus, I can't blame Moore and Braga for trying to reach for the stars and fall flat in the end. An "A" for effort. Plus, Generations is probably the prettiest of the TNG movies, so there's that.

3) Nemesis

Nemesis has its own shortcomings and pitfalls, but it's dismal performance is as much Insurrection's fault as its own. As with Generations, I feel they aimed high with Nemesis (the supposed beginning of the end of the TNG cast), but Shinzon's motivations and actions needed a rethink and rewrite for Nemesis to work. Just forget about B-4. He shows no urgency with regards to his deteriorating health until it becomes really, really, REALLY urgent. His target could have been Romulus, not Earth. The initial meeting between Scimitar and Enterprise could have been in the Neutral Zone with a race toward Romulus, one to destroy it and one to save it. Picard could have earned Donatra's respect by helping her defend Romulus. Thanks to the crew of the Enterprise, the Romulans later start negotiations to normalize relations with the Federation, which is the Titan's first mission. In general, a movie is only as good as its villain, and this villain (despite good intentions) is indecipherable. At least Nemesis has the best extended starship battle in the TNG movies, so there's that.

4) Insurrection

I have a confession: Although I have technically seen all of Insurrection, I've never managed to do it in one sitting. It's never grabbed my attention. It's bland, with huge plot holes and weird leaps of logic. In general, it's a mess (even if I appreciate what the intended theme of the movie was). Of course, Piller had a much better draft before executive and actor meddling sunk the film before it was even filmed. I remember a general sense of optimism and excitement from fans and even the press that Star Trek actually had a future on the big screen after First Contact. (They were right, but not in the expected way.) All of that excitement evaporated after Insurrection... every last bit of it. At least Insurrection has a scene where some contraption pulls a guy's face apart, so there's that, maybe?

 

[eyeresist]

Same reason I'm not voting in this, because yes, when it comes to directing, cinematogrophy, pacing, all of that.... First Contact is the best film. But it's also a generic action flick.

I don't think you can call it generic. What other movie has an enemy like the Borg? (slightly less unique now Doctor Who has ripped them off for its update of the cybermen) And half the movie is set on Earth helping an inventor get his spaceship working, again something we haven't seen elsewhere. Even the action content has been overstated. Both INS and NEM have a lot more action.

 

[Mr Pointy Ears]

I go with generations,as it the first movie one the TNG cast,if I could put all my favourite scenes and lines from each of the 4 movies theni would choose that one.

 

[RAMA]

Really? Over seven hundred hours of material and that is one of the best scenes? I guess we should define "best"... Are we talking top 10, 100, or 1,000,000? It might qualify for the latter.

I'd say maybe top 10-15 ever, yes.

 

[Kor]

First Contact is the only one I ever really watch, on rare occasions.

So I guess FC gets my vote. Oh, wait... the poll closed.

Kor

 

[Nyotarules]

1.First contact
2. Insurrection
3.Nemesis
4.Generations