The most disappointing Trek Movie..

[los2188]

I was curious as to which Trek movie, all of them, was the most disappointing. Personally, I'd have to say Nemesis, even though I don't think it was as bad as most say. Insurrection for me was the worst of all and I'm not a big fan of The Voyage Home either, but I had very high expectations of Nemesis and as a whole, it didn't deliver. With Insurrection being about as good as a two part TNG episode, I expected for A Generations Final Journey to knock it out of the park, but obviously, in my opinion, it didn't. Oddly enough, I expected zero from Trek 2009 and as such I didn't see it at the movies, but when I saw the DVD, I was very surprised to see a different, yet a good Trek movie. Just curious as to what others think....

 

[sonak]

The Motion Picture. For the first new live-action Trek in ten years and with a huge budget to work with, they go with a plot borrowed from "the changeling," throw in a half-hour special effects demo reel, and there you go, there's your movie after a ten-year wait, Star Trek fans!


Insurrection is pretty high up there, too.

 

[Potemkin_Prod]

Nemesis and Generations

 

[Mark 2000]

Generations. It really spelled the end of Star Trek for me in general. I don't consider it or anything made after that to be canon. It was supposed to be the continuation of everything I enjoys about TNG. I enjoyed it when I first saw it because I was really trying hard. By the next day I realized what I had actually seen.

Watching TNG's final seasons again I'm starting to see that stuff I was going along with but not loving back then was leading to the eventual demise of the franchise. There was so much soap opera-ish stuff going on and so little sci-fi anymore.

 

[BlobVanDam]

I watched them all on DVD around the same time with no expectations, so I guess they're all on a level playing field for me.

The Final Frontier was the most disappointing. I seriously zoned out for 70% of the movie. Nemesis would be no 2 (pun intended?). Nemesis had a few redeeming qualities among the crap, and while I find it more disappointing the more I think about it, it was watchable enough for a first time.
TMP was one of the most boring (for me), but I wouldn't call it disappointing. Although I was forewarned about that one, so maybe it helped that my expectations were a lot lower than what it ended up being.

 

[Psion]

Generations. It really spelled the end of Star Trek for me in general. I don't consider it or anything made after that to be canon. It was supposed to be the continuation of everything I enjoys about TNG. I enjoyed it when I first saw it because I was really trying hard. By the next day I realized what I had actually seen.

Generations really was a huge disappointment, wasn't it? From the very start, they gave lines that were obviously written for Spock and McCoy to Scotty and Chekov. Then there was the business of the Nexus ... once he found out he could exit anywhere/any time he wanted, why didn't Picard simply go back to when they first picked up Soron at the Armagosa Array? "Ah, welcome aboard the Enterprise, Doctor Soron. Mr. Worf here will show you to your cell in the brig while we straighten out your affair with the Romulans and the Duras sisters. Oh, and we'll also be picking up your equipment on Veridian III as evidence." Or even earlier so he could buy his brother smoke detectors for Christmas.

No, instead they wasted the death of Jim Kirk to use him as Picard's flunky.

But then all of the Next Gen movies were hugely disappointing. First Contact was very exciting, but no way did I buy the notion that the first warp drive was built out of spare parts in a survivalist camp. And even worse, the introduction of a Borg Queen -- eviscerating the unique homogeneity of the hive-mind construct of the Borg.

I've been losing interest in Trek for about the period of time you've cited, Poopday. It's been a slow, gradual process, but Trek 2009 kind of sealed it for me. That's when I realized the franchise had wandered away from the kinds of stories and serious science fiction I was interested in. Unfortunately, there is no other franchise to hold my attention the same way. I get a kick out of Doctor Who, but it's too whimsical for my tastes, too.

 

[los2188]

Generations really was a huge disappointment, wasn't it? From the very start, they gave lines that were obviously written for Spock and McCoy to Scotty and Chekov. Then there was the business of the Nexus ... once he found out he could exit anywhere/any time he wanted, why didn't Picard simply go back to when they first picked up Soron at the Armagosa Array? "Ah, welcome aboard the Enterprise, Doctor Soron. Mr. Worf here will show you to your cell in the brig while we straighten out your affair with the Romulans and the Duras sisters. Oh, and we'll also be picking up your equipment on Veridian III as evidence." Or even earlier so he could buy his brother smoke detectors for Christmas.

The Nexus as a whole bothered me to be honest with you. I think they had a good idea for a story, but it wasn't executed properly. Scotty and Chekov really meant very little to the story and what little they meant was cut from the movie so I don't blame Nimoy and Kelley for saying no to the movie. I tried to reason that the reason why Picard didn't just arrest Soran like in ten forward was because he couldn't prove that Soran did anything wrong, but now that I read what you wrote, you're right. He could have proven that Soran was up to something. Since we know Soran is in the Nexus, Soran should be able to do whatever he wanted to do as well. What makes Picard so special? With all that said, I still kinda liked Generations especially with some of the deleted scenes. I remember it being much darker than what I had seen on TV and I kind of liked that, but as a whole I don't think that's what TNG was about.

 

[Harvey]

Tough call.

You have Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which brought back the crew of the Enterprise for the first time in ten years, and for the first time since early in the first season had Gene Roddenberry in a hands-on producing role...and still suffered from a whole wealth of problems.

You have Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, which placed William Shatner in charge and was hot off the heels of the widely popular and successful Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home.

You have Star Trek: Generations, which brought Kirk and Picard together at last, but with more of a whimper than a bang.

And you have Star Trek: Nemesis, written by a self-professed fan of the series (who was also an Academy-Award winning screenwriter), and turned out to be a complete mess that barely did service to any of the characters.

All four are disappointing in their own way.

 

[Galileo7]

GENERATIONS with the nexus, the death of both Kirk and the Galaxy Class 1701-D all did not work for me. IMHO.

 

[HaventGotALife]

The highest expectations I had were for Nemesis because the press was so good for the movie. Two Thumbs up, the actors talking about how the characters were back, the "learned" script, bringing in the writer, etc. It got me to the movie theatre and I walked away disappointed.

 

[los2188]

I'm reading a lot of you say that TMP was disappointing which I understand, but for me, I was only about 4 or 5 when I saw it which is to say I don't remember much from watching that movie, but at the same time I can understand why some of you say TMP. It's not a movie that I watch very often now, so maybe age has something to do with it as well. Even though I generally like Generations, as I've said before, the Nexus and to a point Kirk's death ruined the movie for me. The Nexus just creates this large hole that's pretty much impossible to get around. I really wish Nemesis would have included those "character moments." I still say that despite her acting ability, I would have loved to have had Sela in this movie behind Shinzon in some way or another. Could it not be said that if Sela where in this movie, that would have given Trek fans their dose of the Trek legacy, whereas Shinzon would have given casual or non Trek fans a decent villian?

 

[sonak]

I wonder how many folks here would say that Generations was a huge disappointment if Kirk hadn't died in it. That's what most of the criticism of this movie I hear is.

 

[JarodRussell]

Nemesis.

 

[HaventGotALife]

I wonder how many folks here would say that Generations was a huge disappointment if Kirk hadn't died in it. That's what most of the criticism of this movie I hear is.

The Nexus was a glorified Holodeck. The movie was all over the place with prisoner exchanges, conquering the Klingon empire, getting back to the Nexus, installing emotions, mourning Rene and Robert, repairing the chief engineer, blowing up the Enterprise, trying to stop a trip back to the Nexus, missing Starfleet and two minutes later (according to his perception) missing a woman, then getting back in the saddle, then dying. That's 10 minutes in Kirk's brain. Sheesh. The movie is just a mess. Too much done and too little detail made it look like a endless series of plot points instead of an interesting movie. No consequences and a lot of useless information.

 

[Phantassm]

Generations hands down. What a waste of a movie. The unnecessary destruction of the Ent-D, Kirk's stupid death and the nexus.

 

[Psion]

I wonder how many folks here would say that Generations was a huge disappointment if Kirk hadn't died in it. That's what most of the criticism of this movie I hear is.

Oh rubbish. Even if Kirk hadn't died, it would still have been stupid for Picard to use him as a hired thug. The problem isn't killing Kirk. It isn't even how pointless Kirk's death was. The problem is that from the moment Picard and Guinan worked out the meaning of the Nexus he should have chosen a completely different and earlier exit that would have saved the Enterprise D, Doctor Soran, and Robert and Rene. One week earlier and there's happy endings all around.

And then there's the goofy science -- extinguishing a star alters its gravitational influence? I don't think so, it still has all its original mass. Even if our sun went out, the Earth would continue to orbit it without the slightest disturbance ... other than suddenly getting cold. And how about how soon the lights went out for Veridian III when Soran launched his rocket at it's sun? Even if the missile had warp drive, light doesn't. It should take about five to ten minutes for anyone on the ground to see the sun go dark.

It's a bad movie. Data behaved like a jerk, Kirk was killed for nothing, the Enterprise was destroyed for nothing, and Malcolm McDowell wound up wasted. I do like the way the sets were lit, though. And Soran's line, "Time is the fire in which we all burn, Captain."

 

[HaventGotALife]

I wonder how many folks here would say that Generations was a huge disappointment if Kirk hadn't died in it. That's what most of the criticism of this movie I hear is.

Oh rubbish. Even if Kirk hadn't died, it would still have been stupid for Picard to use him as a hired thug. The problem isn't killing Kirk. It isn't even how pointless Kirk's death was. The problem is that from the moment Picard and Guinan worked out the meaning of the Nexus he should have chosen a completely different and earlier exit that would have saved the Enterprise D, Doctor Soran, and Robert and Rene. One week earlier and there's happy endings all around.

And then there's the goofy science -- extinguishing a star alters its gravitational influence? I don't think so, it still has all its original mass. Even if our sun went out, the Earth would continue to orbit it without the slightest disturbance ... other than suddenly getting cold. And how about how soon the lights went out for Veridian III when Soran launched his rocket at it's sun? Even if the missile had warp drive, light doesn't. It should take about five to ten minutes for anyone on the ground to see the sun go dark.

It's a bad movie. Data behaved like a jerk, Kirk was killed for nothing, the Enterprise was destroyed for nothing, and Malcolm McDowell wound up wasted. I do like the way the sets were lit, though. And Soran's line, "Time is the fire in which we all burn, Captain."

Well said! I always wondered why he chose the moment just before Soran succeeded. Go back to a time he's on the Enterprise and have him arrested. The Nexus is very flawed.

 

[Mage]

Nemesis is certainly not as good as it could've been, but it also had a few things that the other movies missed. The attraction between Picard and Crusher was seen for the first time since TNG, Data seemed a lot more like the Data from TNG, the senior staff meeting felt so much like something from the series. It was just such a pitty that bad directing and a muddled plot brought so much of the highlight down again. But I still enjoy watching Nemesis every now and then.

Personally, I just find The Final Frontier to be most disappointing of them all, expect for the camping scenes, I just can't help but smile.

 

[ChristopherPike]

Star Trek V is still entertaining despite its flaws and Shatner is at least trying to speak of something deep and meaningful. It wouldn't have been so bad, if the FX hadn't already been so outdated back in 1989 and there had been a stronger plan for the climax. The physical action sequences were generally great and the Original Series cast are always watchable, even when playing it for laughs. Sybok is possibly the most interesting villain in the whole series - a Religious Extremist, a man who genuinely believes what he's on an honourable quest. How do you deal with such a person? Delving into each character's pain followed by Enterprise's flight into the Great Barrier is the highlight of the movie. Then the climax starts off all beautifully sweeping panoramic shots of the planet, becomes quite sinister thanks to Goldsmith's excellent score, but soon degenerates into a threat by an old man in a beard. They should have gone for something a little less laughable, more unexpected and even horrific. Then proceeded with an escape and Kirk left to fend for himself against a shape-shifting rock creature. That would still have been disappointing after all the build up, but less a shambolic sign all the money had gone.

Star Trek 2009, if they don't build on the potential of it being a divergent universe... and end up ignoring all the possibility the two pivotal changes hold, come the sequel:

In the past, Nero bringing the Romulan threat forward 30-something years sooner, beginning the day Kirk was born. If destroying the U.S.S Kelvin was a 9/11 for the new universe, wouldn't that mean that Starfleet or the Federation immediately took repraisals against those they incorrectly thought were the clear and present danger? Because the truth - a time-travelling Nero wouldn't be all that plausable, until much later.

In the present, explore the fall out from the destruction of Vulcan and prove me wrong, that it wasn't just a cheap stunt to prove Star Trek is under new management. When writing out one of the icons of the franchise, I'd like all the consequences of that be foremost in the writers' minds - with an interesting new direction for Spock and his race.

Forget that this isn't the Original Series but an altered reality instead, and J.J. Abrams & his team will end up rehashing stories that already exist.

 

[DWF]

Well said! I always wondered why he chose the moment just before Soran succeeded. Go back to a time he's on the Enterprise and have him arrested. The Nexus is very flawed.

What law did Soran break to have him arrested in Ten-Forward?