Beam Me Up

All 13 Star Trek movies, ranked from worst to best

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Star Trek has (arguably) always worked better on TV than in theaters, but it's still one of the biggest sci-fi feature film franchises of all time

Here's our ranking of every Star Trek movie from worst to best.

13. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

Finding a space God and having a campfire singalong with Bones should have been awesome. Too bad Sean Connery didn't play Spock's brother like Shatner wanted.

12. Stark Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Centered on the most obvious twist in movie history, Into Darkness is only saved from last place because the giant "Killerprise" USS Vengeance is pretty dope.

11. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

With a rambling plot about a Picard clone (well-acted by Tom Hardy!) and detestable treatment of Deanna Troi, Nemesis nearly killed big-screen Star Trek forever.

10. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)

Insurrection would have been fine as a two-part episode of TNG. But as a movie, it somehow makes Captain Picard rebelling against the Federation seem boring.

9. Star Trek Generations (1994)

Kirk passes the torch to Picard in the first film to feature The Next Generation's cast, but you know the movie is in trouble when the best part features the cast riding telepathic dream horses.

8. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Glacially slow by modern standards, the first Star Trek movie gets props for its legendary Jerry Goldsmith score — and for committing to a premise about a NASA probe merging with a giant alien cloud of energy.

7. Star Trek (2009)

If you can get over a plot centered on something called "Red Matter," the first J.J. Abrams reboot is a fun action flick that brought old-school Trek back to the masses.

6. Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Star Trek Beyond admirably balances the goofiness and swift pace of the new continuity with the original show's' core ideas.

5. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Better than its reputation, The Search for Spock makes up for its slow pace with some of the movies' best character moments for the crew.

4. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)

The best Next Generation movie makes Picard versus the Borg gripping as hell and manages to tell an origin story for the entire franchise at the same time.

3. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

The Undiscovered Country turns a cold-war allegory into a gripping whodunnit that's also a perfect send-off for the classic crew. Bonus points for an amazing guest cast featuring Kim Catrall and Christopher Plummer.

2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

The one with the whales. This is the funniest Star Trek ever got (intentionally anyway) without losing sight of the message-driven strength of the classic show.

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

The best Trek movie of all time is also the only one that is a true sequel to an episode of The Original Series. Before J.J. Abrams, Nicholas Meyer artfully brought Star Trek into the mainstream with a meaty story that changed the characters forever.

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