most disappointing Trek movie?

[Khan 2.0]

just thought of this due to the Generations 25 thread where I called it the most disappointing Trek film of all time in terms of what you probably imagined it could be.. but thinking about it - is it? really?..maybe not. lets look at the others (poll left out the obvious nots)

TMP - a biggie. as was obviously WAY disappointing to fans at the time expecting it to be more like TOS.
TWOK - a laughable notion it could have disappointed anyone. its was total opposite
TSFS - not really. (no need to include in the poll)
TVH - nope.
TFF - Hugely disappointing for fans and also moviegoers seduced by the near SW quality of the Genesis trilogy
TUC - no way.
GEN - total disappointment to those going in expecting something Yesterdays Enterprisey (like some trailers suggested)
FC - absolutely no f'in way
INS - a colossal disappointment after FC
NEM - all the signs/trailers looked a return to FC territory. so yes.
ST09 - no - unless you were expecting shatner to pop up
STID - no imo but obviously some hate it (imo not doing something to referenced Montalban was disappointing)
BEY - imo a huge disappointment after the notion of a shatner led 50th anniversary movie involving timetravel/realities

 

[Kor]

I found BEY to be disappointing because of all the advance hype about these huge ideological issues that ended up being nothing but "We need struggle! Waaah!"
And it felt like an extended TV episode.

Kor

 

[mb22]

TFF and NEM.

 

[Allyn Gibson]

First Contact. Which I couldn't vote for.

Here's the case.

The preceding film, Generations, ended with the status quo getting tossed. The Enterprise is destroyed, Picard no longer has a command (and if the past was anything to go by, Picard was going to be court-martialed for the loss of the ship), and the crew is facing an uncertain future.

When we see them again, it's like the events of Generations are no big deal. In some ways it's refreshing that the film doesn't spend turn gurning to get the crew back together. But the situations also raises questions. Why did Picard get command of the -E? Why hasn't anyone except for Worf, who's over on DS9, moved on to another chapter of their careers? Why, after the loss of the D, are we at exactly the status quo of two or three years before, with only the hardware (ie., the ship) being different?

I'm not going to get into the tonal messiness of the film or even the plot. I'm just going to say that First Contact really needed to justify its status quo, and it doesn't, and, imho, that has implications for the following films. It's not until Nemesis that a Trek film even [tries to be ambitious again.

And, no, First Contact is not an ambitious film.

 

[Qonundrum]

TFF, GEN, FC, INS, NEM were the most disappointing for me. TFF and GEN because both felt genuinely ambitious in scope. TFF's issues were mostly driven by script and apparent need for comedy, a lot of the serious-themed scenes hold up extremely well. Especially Sybok trying to use cult indoctrination tactics on The Big Three(tm)... And GEN for all its issues had left in its wake some great opportunities to move the crew around or expand on them, of which virtually nothing was told. Apart from Geordi's ocular implants. INS was wholly contrived, FC was just one dumb joke after another that didn't expand on the crew's lives in any way except *ding* they're back and nothing's changed, except Worf but for each of his reappearances the excuses get thinner and thinner and even FC's was pretty hollow. NEM was just paint-by-numbers redo of TWOK but with the most risible backstory ever conceived, which hamper too much any attempt to be epic - which it was trying to be. FC also felt like a cast reunion party with lots of booze that forgot to invite the moviegoers.

NEM was also the most burnt-out in feel.

 

[wissaboo]

TMP saw it opening night and left dead it inside and hoping they never touched trek again.

 

[Vger23]

The two Trek movies that disappointed me the most are not on the list:

TVH
TUC

That doesn't mean they are bad films. They just way under-performed against my expectations.

 

[Lord Garth]

Generations. It's the first one I didn't like. So that wasn't too good of an experience. Later, with other Trek films I didn't like or were so-so on, I went in expecting not to like them (NEM and ID) or had already tempered my expectations (INS). So it wasn't the same.

 

[NCC-73515]

The Enterprise is destroyed, Picard no longer has a command (and if the past was anything to go by, Picard was going to be court-martialed for the loss of the ship), and the crew is facing an uncertain future.
(...)
Why did Picard get command of the -E? Why hasn't anyone except for Worf, who's over on DS9, moved on to another chapter of their careers? Why, after the loss of the D, are we at exactly the status quo of two or three years before, with only the hardware (ie., the ship) being different?

Riker was in charge when the D was destroyed, maybe that's why he wasn't offered command of the E. Picard didn't do anything wrong and instead saved a whole inhabited star system.
Why would the crew separate if there's a new ship waiting for a crew? They got attached through TNG, they were good at their jobs in Starfleet's view, and there was a brand new ship (probably the best of the fleet) available. Troi maybe should've transferred to a transport ship, though.

FC was just one dumb joke after another that didn't expand on the crew's lives in any way except *ding* they're back and nothing's changed

Picard faced his inner demons and his worst nightmare again, Riker was busy directing, Data got as close as ever to his dream and even questioned his loyalty over his dream for an android's eternity, Crusher didn't have less to do than in the other movies (almost nothing), LaForge got to repair the most iconic spacecraft in Earth's history and fly on it with Riker (imagine joining Apollo 11!), Worf commanded the Defiant, Troi got to blend in for real and get seriously drunk...

 

[Smellmet]

I initially voted for TFF, but I've changed my mind. Even though I consider TFF to be easily the worst trek film I never saw it on the big screen, so I never really had that anticipation for it.

I saw TMP, TWOK, NEM, ST09, STID and BEY on the big screen (as well as the below) and I enjoyed them all.

At the cinema I was slightly disappointed with the space battle in TUC - It wasn't as good as the battle in TWOK, the last act of GEN, and aspects of FC but I found those overall to be a great cinematic experience - which at the end of the day is a pre-requisite for a sci-fi film on the big screen in my view.

Therefore my vote goes to Star Trek Insurrection. After a run of a few trek films that ranged from good (TUC), to ambitious (GEN) to entertaining (FC), I was looking forward to the next instalment, especially with DS9 really hitting it's stride and Voyager on stream too. I was expecting something fairly epic with great visuals.

Insurrection gave me none of that.

I remember being at the cinema, and even in the first five minutes where we first saw the Baku I recall the alarm bells ringing that it all looked like a small TV-style set. Things didn't really improve, and by the time I reached the end of the film I was like 'is that it?' 'that's be best they could come up with?' - I felt so flat when I left the theatre, and that was the first time I thought the franchise was in trouble. People blame Nemesis for the demise of the TNG movies, but I think it was this tepid, bland effort that caused it.

What a fucking pointless, depressing, boring movie.

 

[grandmoffjon]

My perception is always in hindsight... I saw the first 10 after the fact and some of them with full knowledge of their reputation.

TMP and TWOK were a 2-combo first time Trek experience for me, so no expectations there, two quite different films that I liked for different reasons.

TSFS was the first disappointment, the missing/recast characters, the uneven pace, the weak production values in direct contrast with its predecessor.

TVH I saw much later... charming for sure, but by the time I saw it, badly aged, I'm afraid.

TFF was actually surprising for me given its reputation. Still a dumpster fire (a lot of it fixable, DC please!) but I didn't expect the good moments to be so good.

UC was as expected, a good send-off to a generation.

GEN wins this one for sure. Needs a revisit but hated it. I had seen weak Trek films before but this I really disliked and funny enough it's the most TNG of the films (and I'm a TNG series guy through and through). But it is that for little things that don't make up for the bad. Where to start? It's not even the lack of crossover between the two enterprises as McCoy's, Spock's and Scotty's previous appearances completely nullified that possibility but boy, does Kirk get no respect here, he really has no personal stakes in the major plot, he's just there (did find it funny that he could kick McDowell's ass and Picard couldn't) but not really THERE when he meets Picard, kind of acting like halfway dead and going for one last adventure... not Shatner's fault, he gives it all but the character in GEN is not Kirk at the fullest and ends up being a disservice. And then.... BRIDGE ON THE CAPTAIN! Kirk dies and Spock's not there, that's a big hole too. Chekov and Scotty also feel completely out of place as McCoy and Spock's stand-ins which cheapen the beginning of the movie... might as well just have Kirk by himself at the start. Then there's that silly acted, unfunny Data subplot that seems to come from a completely different film. The subject was of interest but really badly executed. The enterprise D gets no proper cinematic introduction... it's just there and gets disposed of at the end. And I think PatStew is great but that mourning, weeping scene about his family is bad, he's bad in it and they really don't use the character really well in the film, in fact, no one is used really well. Malcolm McDowell seems to be the one who makes the most of it. Also, the main theme is lacking there. It's just too much to not like, even other bad Trek films that could objectively be of worse quality have better stuff going for them really (maybe apart from INS, which is a big whole meh but it's not worse than GEN in it's bad moments). And it's a pity because it's a movie that tries (badly) to go for ideas instead of action. The good intentions are there but didn't deliver anything and might have harmed future trek movies by not having much success in that approach.

FC, I totally understand why some don't like it for the inconsistencies with the show but in itself I think it's a good movie overall.

INS and NEM are too generic and forgettable to even disappoint. I'm Portuguese and here NEM went straight to DVD so no expectations there. Still enjoyed Patrick vs Hardy!

The Kelvin's... even if STID and BEY were disappointments, they're of enough quality to not qualify. ST09 was at the time a breath of fresh air (not so much now) but it's another timeline, the level of expectations is always lower anyways.

 

[BigDaveX]

TMP and TFF came out long before I got into Star Trek (heck, the former came out before I was born!) and with Generations I was still too young to have any real expectations or really see the film's flaws for what they were until much later.

Nemesis... I would probably have been more disappointed had I gone into it blind, but because the script was leaked in early 2002 and then the trailers confirmed that the script had been used with little to no alteration, I knew it wasn't going to be very good.

Into Darkness, I remember wishing they had done a little more with the concept, but there were enough good things about it to make it enjoyable. Similarly, Beyond had a pretty predictable storyline (outside of the twist with Krall), but it wasn't bad by a long shot.

Insurrection, therefore, has been the biggest disappointment. Generations and First Contact at least felt like they were trying to push the envelope, and had major developments for the story. Insurrection was just so dull that I remember even then finding the episodes of DS9 that were airing at the time to be far more exciting. And to date, it's been the only Star Trek film I've never bought on any form of home media.

 

[Falconer]

Into Darkness. It was supposed to be our Dark Knight! The 2009 movie had a lot of ground to cover to pull off the reboot and the origin story, but at least it set us up for a great, non-generic, iconic payoff in Into Darkness. However, I had to turn off the latter movie after ten minutes. It felt like they were already out of ideas. Beyond was less ambitious but worked for me.

 

[XCV330]

TFF, for me. It managed to make me uninterested in star trek for years.

 

[Galileo7]

If I chose one from the list, then Insurrection which felt like a weak NG two-part television episode. Nothing special.

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[F. King Daniel]

Always Insurrection. First Contact was the Next Gen crew finding their footing on the big screen and it was amazing. What's next? A tone deaf, phoned-in movie about protecting a middle-class gated community.

Of course.

 

[NCC-73515]

What community would you have preferred?

 

[suarezguy]

I go with ID. III was disappointing, Insurrection bungled its story badly, Nemesis was ridiculous and bungled its story and too many of its characters (though Insurrection already showed loss of steam) but ID bungled its ridiculous story and pretty much all of its characters.

The preceding film, Generations, ended with the status quo getting tossed. The Enterprise is destroyed, Picard no longer has a command (and if the past was anything to go by, Picard was going to be court-martialed for the loss of the ship), and the crew is facing an uncertain future.

When we see them again, it's like the events of Generations are no big deal.

I think from the ending of Generations shown there's the sense that the loss of the ship isn't a big deal. Picard and Riker don't seem worried about their futures, Picard isn't upset at Riker, he's thinking there will be a next Enterprise. The portrayal was that the characters will miss the ship but it wasn't devastating to them or their failure that they should or will be punished for. And we've already seen captains lose their ships and get another.

In some ways it's refreshing that the film doesn't spend turn gurning to get the crew back together. But the situations also raises questions. Why did Picard get command of the -E?

Apparently his superiors thought he did fine commanding the -D, in Generations and before.

Why, after the loss of the D, are we at exactly the status quo of two or three years before, with only the hardware (ie., the ship) being different?

Two years isn't a long time in Trek for people to go without promotions or especially to stay in their same positions, in the series the latter tends to happen for 5 years or more.

 

[somebuddyX]

I've said this before but in terms of wasted potential and actually being able to achieve that potential I feel Star Trek III is the one I wish was better. I feel like half of it is really great stuff and the other kind of ordinary. Star Trek V and Generations I don't get too wound up on because of behind the scenes stuff going on during both and I have a soft spot for V. I don't care for Nemesis and I would have liked Michael Piller's original Stardust ideas for Insurrection a lot more but again behind the scenes stuff forced changes. But other than II, IV and VI they all have problems anyway so I don't worry too much.

 

[diankra]

Riker was in charge when the D was destroyed, maybe that's why he wasn't offered command of the E. Picard didn't do anything wrong and instead saved a whole inhabited star system.
Why would the crew separate if there's a new ship waiting for a crew? They got attached through TNG, they were good at their jobs in Starfleet's view, and there was a brand new ship (probably the best of the fleet) available. Troi maybe should've transferred to a transport ship, though.


Picard faced his inner demons and his worst nightmare again, Riker was busy directing, Data got as close as ever to his dream and even questioned his loyalty over his dream for an android's eternity, Crusher didn't have less to do than in the other movies (almost nothing), LaForge got to repair the most iconic spacecraft in Earth's history and fly on it with Riker (imagine joining Apollo 11!), Worf commanded the Defiant, Troi got to blend in for real and get seriously drunk...

Picard is arguably guilty of abandoning his command in mid crisis, though other films suggest Starfleet approves of captains putting themselves in danger to save others.
The destruction of the E-D might be good grounds for banning visors from sensitive areas... but next time we see Geordi he has implants rather than a visor, so perhaps that results from the enquiry into the loss.