Most Popular Trek Films According to TrekBBS Denizens

So, we've had polls, elimination games and rankings ad nauseum about favorite episodes, characters, hair styles, com badges, katras, etc...but I'd like to do an exercise that will tell us, through a weighted / ranking process...what are the most popular / well-liked films in the framchise.

So....here's how we're going to do it:

Please rank your favorite film to your least-favorite film in the following format (with the points and movie listed...may be best to copy/paste my format and just replace the movie names or acronyms):

(this is mine)
13 points- TWOK
12 points- TSFS
11 points- TMP
10 points- TFF
9 points- FC
8 points- 2009
7 points- TUC
6 points- TVH
5 points- NEM
4 points- BEY
3 points- GEN
2 points- ID
1 point- INS

In order for your input to count, you must put the points and the movie. The point system is very simple. There are 13 movies...so the highest movie in your personal ranking gets 13 points and the lowest movie gets 1 point. All movies in between get the number of points associated with their rankings (second highest gets 12 points, second lowest gets 2 points, etc).

On 4/29 we will (arbitrarily) close the game and fellow TrekBBS poster @Ray Hardgrit has volunteered to tally the results and post them. If Ray can't do it, doesn't want to do it, or was just messing with me to make me look like a buffoon, then I'll be happy to do it myself.

Obviously if the thread is still getting activity after that point, we can periodically update the scoring, or we can decide on a rule that says if you want your votes to be counted after the game closes...you have to add the points to each movie's total yourself and re-post.

Any commentary, justification, humorous musings, interesting anecdotes, or general narratives as to why you made your choices or how you feel about others choices is certainly welcome, as long as you're not making fun of my rankings.

Ok....let the games begin!!!!

 

Here is my ranking:

13 points- TUC
12 points- TWOK
11 points- NEM
_________________________________________________
10 points- TVH
9 points- TSFS
8 points- TFF
7 points- GEN
6 points- FC
5 points- INS
4 points- 2009
3 points- TMP
2 points- BEY
1 point- ID

 

13 points- TUC
12 points- ST 09
11 points- TVH
10 points- Beyond
9 points- TWOK
8 points- ID
7 points- TFF
6 points- TSFS
5 points- TMP
4 points- FC
3 points- NEM
2 points- GEN
1 point- INS

 

So, here's my inputs (listed above- not to be double counted)

13 points- TWOK
12 points- TSFS
11 points- TMP
10 points- TFF
9 points- FC
8 points- 2009
7 points- TUC
6 points- TVH
5 points- NEM
4 points- BEY
3 points- GEN
2 points- ID
1 point- INS

I am obviously a big fan of the earlier Trek films, as the first 3 are in my top tier. To me, these still come off as big damn adventures that took the franchise to new heights, did new and risky things with the characters, made the universe bigger and more realistic, and had a sense of epic scope. Also, these movies were the best at taking the franchise seriously, but also having fun in that context. They felt like big, major events in the character's lives...

The next tier is TFF, FC, and 2009. Interestingly, this is the first "mixed" tier that contains films from all three motion picture eras. I've gone on record over the years talking about how much I love TFF despite it's flaws and warts...so I wont belabor that unless someone demands an explanation. FC is the best of the TNG movies, and even as a stand-alone sci-fi action/adventure, it would be a fun and engaging movie with great visuals and an impressive soundtrack and guest cast. 2009 is so bombastic, fun, frenetic, and outright epic that it probably could have/should have been higher...but my love for the classic and original casts in these films just prevented it from cracking any higher.

The next tier is TUC, TVH, and NEM. I know this is my most controversial tier, as most fans anoint TUC and TVH as amongst the "best" films and "NEM" as one of the outright worst. I think, for me, TUC is just too winky-winky at the audience and too rushed/flawed for me to enjoy it. It also is a political intrigue / whodunit kind of story...which I always find "meh" in sci-fi. Similarly, TVH is fun and charming...but I don't love "travel to the past / modern times" Trek stories too much (hence my disinterest in this season of PIC)...so TVH was never going to crack any higher. NEM I think is underrated...but I always liked it and I always will. It's not great by any stretch, but it's better than the other TNG offerings besides FC, mainly because it's at least TRYING to be something more than a drawn-out episode.

The back tier is BEY, GEN, ID, and INS. BEY is fun and charming and looks amazing...but also painfully forgettable and pedestrian. It pains me to put GEN this low, because I do actually like it, and at times I like it better than TVH or even TUC. It's a gorgeous looking film and it has great Trek themes...but ultimately it's messy and I just can't put it higher. ID is 3/4 good fun and 1/4 absolute shit....so that really hurts it, because the 1/4 that is shit is really REALLY bad. Ultimately, INS is not only the worst Trek movie by my standards, it wouldn't even have cracked my "I guess this is an ok 1 hour episode" list.

 

13 points- TMP
12 points- TWOK
11 points- 2009
10 points- TVH
9 points- FC
8 points- TUC
7 points- TSFS
6 points- ID
5 points- TFF
4 points- GEN
3 points- BEY
2 point- INS
1 points- NEM

 

Oh, this will be interesting - I'm looking forward to the results already! Thanks, @Vger23

13 points- TSFS _ (Amazing on all counts: performances, world-building, music, story, iconic scenes)
12 points- TVH _ (Whales! Time Travel! Gillian! "Not now Madeline!")
11 points- TMP _ (for the spectacle!)
10 points- TFF _ (it's ridiculous, but the cast seem to be having fun)
9 points- NEM _ (stylish with some awesome bits scattered about)
8 points- TWOK _ (a bit clunky and melodramatic, but otherwise okay)
7 points- INS _ (warm and comforting TNG)
6 points- GEN _ (cinematic in places, cheap looking & ill thought out in others)
5 points- FC _ (for the starships and the Borg Queen)
4 points- 2009 _ (for Robau and George Kirk )
3 points- BEY _ (I don't really remember it...)
2 points- TUC _ (despisable - I can't believe these characters are the Enterprise crew [with the possible exception of McCoy])
1 point- ID _ (a travesty that shouldn't have been made - in my opinion anyway)

Aside from my top two and bottom four (which are pretty much set in stone), the middle seven could easily occupy each other's positions depending upon my tolerance levels for all that overblown Kirk and Data malarkey (two of my least liked Trek characters).

 

13 points- TWOK
12 points- TSFS
11 points- TMP

10 points- TUC
9 points- TFF
8 points-GEN
7 points- BEY
6 points- TVH

5 points- NEM
4 points- FC
3 points- STID
2 points- INS
1 point- 2009

My anecdotes:
What @Vger23 said about the first three is a solid "ditto" for me. They build and expand the universe, take risks (and succeed, which only helps.)

I put mine into three IMHO-tiers. The exemplary, the very good-to-decent, and the bad-utter drivel categories.

The oldest ones don't do postmodernism, they are modern but build up and create something that's at risk of being postmodernism fodder later on, even if TSFS does a callback to a password they never change despite the function in question being a biggie (auto destruct, naturally...) They also don't engage in comedy aimed at the audience (as opposed to plot-driven humor) though TVH-onward do the winking-nudging stuff far more often (and/or, those movies take themselves seriously but know when to be lighter in tone without resorting to gimmicks or even aiming at the audience - those just don't feel natural to the proceedings...)

One thing that many of the movies do is to take plot elements from the TV episodes are regurgitate aspects of those. Of those that do, TMP still has an aura of expansiveness and real stakes that the others often lack. If reusing old plot elements, the new mix really has to come off as fresh and interesting. Not an easy task but when it succeeds it's awesome. Granted, "The Changeling" is a low bar and I suspect the movie's writers noted that back in 1978 as well.

I never saw TMP or TWOK in the theater, though if I had at the time I'd probably have hung out in the theater gawking at video game screens.

While, decades later, TSTS and TVH's reuse of old movie scene footage begs narrative questions on how they fit into canon and so on -- but home video was in its infancy, the movies weren't out, and a sufficient recap was necessary. Movies being "part one" and "part two" didn't exist either. Kept to their original context and reason, they are passable and set the stage for what is to follow. TFF-onward wisely ditched the practice.

In 1986, TVH started out great and the "fish out of water" routine is the only reason why any of the jokes worked (and many are now badly dated.) That also started a trend of how Trek movies must also be comedy acts, unfortunately... At least we get Madge Sinclair, NCC-1701-A, and what I presume is a font generated by a Commodore Amiga for Spock to answer to since we've all been at a computer screen, it asks how we feel, and we don't understand because we don't think the box of silicon is sincere because it has zero sense of empathy. And if it did... /nerdMode Actually, the Amiga asking would have been cool in real life, but Amiga users have all felt the same way... (Oh, the later scene involving Scotty and his pet mouse were supposed to be an Amiga but they got a Macintosh instead because Commodore demanded a sale rather than product placement... boo!! /superNerdMode)

In 1989, TFF had its silliness to cash in on TVH, but it still felt like a fun ride. Cheesy aspects aside, Klaa is the latest Klingon Commander who, along with Kor, Koloth, and Kang (By the Kseasahore where the K is silent; just what is it with the 11th letter of the alphabet, anyhow?!) are in a group of Kirk's more noteworthy opponents who are used once but nevermore... save for Koloth in TAS but some say that's not canonical, some say he doesn't count because William Campbell didn't do the voice, both, either, neither, snausages... Heck, Klaa is better than Koloth despite the latter's multiple appearances. Arguably for Kang as well, since Kang didn't have much to do. He didn't even talk about his sister Kodos...

TUC holds a special place. A good sendoff, and while some of the comedy bits have not stood up very well at all, as a whole it was an effective way to close the Kirk era... until they decided to do GEN where Kirk would be killed just so they can focus on the next generation exclusively. Whether or not it was a good decision to do, they should have kept the original ending where there was an actual dramatic impact instead of what they did as a result of test-screening audiences not liking the fact he got killed.

GEN - okay, they don't use Kirk well at all then they kill him off. They reuse ST6 effects. Those aside, the 1701-D's demise is the only other time one could really feel sorrow over the ship being destroyed because every later ship stopped feeling like a character but a prop instead. The "D" looked awesome on the big screen anyway. The movie's saving grace is a solid exploration of mortality - arguably better than TWOK in some ways as it's a new and fresh take that works in its own right. The movie may be flawed, but it was rushed - and it's by far the movie that comes closest to Q's statement to Picard in ATG. It's a bit of an underdog when all is said and done.

BEY holds a special place. It's discussing the start of the Federation, but the setup and execution of its main villain is pretty wonderful.

NEM shoveled too much and ripped off too many TV episodes (even more than INS and TMP combined) - a few plot tweaks and massaging could have made for a lot better outing. Tom Hardy is also the standout for his performance and it's easy to see why he became such a success. Brownie points for not doing the comedy routines, too. But with more time after INS to craft a finale and that is what audiences got... it doesn't hold a candle compared to TUC. A shame...

TMP - the first movie that delved into fanservice, and be thankful fans couldn't get enough beauty shots of the ship - clearly borrows from old TV episodes, but puts them together in a refreshing way - and knows what from those same episodes to stay away from. It's pretty much "The Changeling, Done Right". So it can be done, reusing old plot fodder successfully, if it can be done in a way that doesn't screech "obvious rehash" - something NEM was criticized for... but plot beats aside, VGER was refreshingly original. How many more times can they have a backup Data family android?

The TNG movies never did well for me. After "All Good Things" and Q's promising to us via proxy what is truly "out there" and what do we get? a quick script rushed revolving around Picard's plot hole-ridden family tree wrapped up in a ribbon and Kirk via "It's impossible to get into the nexus but if you do go in you'll never want to leave but we know you will anyway" (all in the same scene that's expositioned away by Guinan too), a plasticky cast reunion frat party with fan favorite baddies and an obligatory out-of-place joke involving urination (and people think TNG was all intellectual and nerdy and stuff?!), a forgettable and lame mess, and a jumbled mess but at least has a cool battle scene despite its contrivances that easily could have been better had they not overstuffed it like those hot dogs containing lots of those little bits of cheese along with the usual jumble of ingredients packed inside some former animal's small intestine and sold at sporting events - yum!! At least GEN was written under a tight deadline - the subsequent movies hadn't those stressors and somehow ended up being lesser as a result.

 

13 points- WOK
12 points- TVH
11 points- FC
10 points- SFS
9 points- TUC
8 points- TMP
7 points- BEY
6 points- FF
5 points- 2009
4 points- GEN
3 points- INS
2 points- ID
1 point- NEM

 

13 - Beyond
12 - Star Trek
11 - Into Darkness
10 - The Motion Picture
9 - The Voyage Home
8 - The Undiscovered Country
7 - The Wrath of Khan
6 - The Search for Spock
5 - The Final Frontier
4 - Generations
3 - Insurrection
2 - Nemesis
1 - First Contact

Rewatched Into Darkness recently and really enjoyed it. Likewise TMP.

All the TNG films are as bad as each other, but If I had to rank them they'd be like that. I can't stand any of them though.

 

Weighted according to "Would I rather watch _____ or _____?" because that's the only way I know how to do this quickly.

13 points- TWOK
12 points- TVH
11 points- FC
10 points- TUC
9 points- TMP
8 points- TSFS
7 points- TFF
6 points- 2009
5 points- BEY
4 points- GEN
3 points- NEM
2 points- INS
1 point- ID

I'd rather watch any TOS Movie than any Kelvin Movie, and I think most of the Kelvin Movies are better than the TNG Movies. Insurrection doesn't hold my interest on any level, but Into Darkness is what I have the most issues with.

Nemesis has switched places with Insurrection because at least it has Movie Level Events and my opinion of it has nudged slightly upward since it's no longer the final TNG adventure and I now see it as more like a prequel to Picard.

TMP is and always will be tough for me to rank because it doesn't fit in with any of these other movies and I've always been more impressed with it than I am entertained, yet I think it sums up a lot of what I think of as Star Trek at its core. So, like I said, it's tough. The visuals and the musical score are amazing. That's what really boosts it.

 

Not a ton of surprises at the top of these lists so far. I do think it’s interesting that the bottom 2 almost always include one or 2 TNG films.

NEM, INS and ID seem to have the most frequent appearances at the bottom of the chart.

 

13 - THE WRATH OF KHAN
12 - FIRST CONTACT
11 - THE VOYAGE HOME
10 - THE UNDISCOVERED COUNTRY
9 - BEYOND
8 - GENERATIONS
7 - THE SEARCH FOR SPOCK
6 - THE FINAL FRONTIER
5 - THE MOTION PICTURE
4 - INSURRECTION
3 - NEMESIS
2 - STAR TREK 09
1 - INTO DARKNESS


I look forward to seeing the results.

 

Into Darkness is getting pounded. I didn’t expect that.

 

It's kind of a cheap knock off of TWOK.

 

I'm surprised at all the people putting it below Nemesis!

By the way, if anyone's wondering about whether it'll make it easier to eventually count up the results if they stick to the exact format used in the original post, the answer's 'yes'.

 

13 - TWOK
12 - TVH
11 - FC
10 - TSS
9 - TUC
8 - BEY
7 - TMP
6 - TFF
5 - GEN
4 - 2009
3 - INS
2 - NEM
1 - ID

 

Although Nemesis also borrowed from TWOK, Nemesis was still more its own story than ID.

 

And NEMESIS didn't magically cure radiation poisoning with Augment blood.

Or have a starship hide in an ocean.

INTO DARKNESS isn't just a terrible STAR TREK movie. It's a terrible film, period.

 

13 points- TUC
12 points- TWOK
11 points- TVH
10 points- TSFS
9 points- TMP
8 points- BEY
7 points- 2009
6 points- FC
5 points- TFF
4 points- INS
3 points- NEM
2 points- ID
1 point- GEN

Those animals wrecked the Excelsior shooting model to create the 1701-B. Oh yeah and the movie is bad too.