zwolanerd

I was part of the $70 million that Star Trek Into Darkness made over this past weekend. My 2¢ review is that I liked it, but I’m not so sure I feel these new movies are actual Star Trek. I mean, I know that that’s the point and everything, but it’s like I ordered a Culver’s burger because I love them and somebody swapped it out for a Five Guys burger. I still really like Five Guys burgers, but I wanted a Culver’s burger, dang it.

So I’m not including nuTrek in this list, which works out nicely because that leaves ten Trek movies, the perfect size for a Tuesday 10.

10. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) – I have a friend who loves this movie and I still like him even though he’s as wrong as a person ever was. Yes, I know that pronouncing judgment on a person’s personal tastes is exactly what we don’t do here at zwolanerd, but that’s just how wrong he is.  I mean, he quotes this movie, people.  Come on!

9. Star Trek Generations (1994) – From here on up I like all these movies, so it’s just a matter of “I like other ones better.” I liked having Kirk, Scotty, and Chekov show up, and I liked Kirk and Picard meeting, and I even liked the callback to Kirk’s line from STV where he knew he wouldn’t die if Spock and McCoy were with him.  So, yes, this movie makes one thing about V okay.

8. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) – I was in awe when I first saw this movie. Yes, it’s most people’s least favorite, but seeing the crew again (even in those ridiculous uniforms!) and the Enterprise was everything my little Trekkie heart desired. Fun story: I had gotten in trouble at school the day I Mom and Dad let me watch this movie on TV and I waited until after the movie was done to tell them, because I didn’t want them to tell me I couldn’t watch it. Also: the movie is three hours long on TV.

7. Star Trek Nemesis (2002) – This is the movie that introduced me to Thomas Hardy, so even Bane in The Dark Knight Rises is still “Picard, Jr.” to me. My least favorite part of this movie is the Data reboot, but I understand why they did it. I wish the TNG crew had made a couple more movies after this one :(

6. Star Trek: First Contact (1996) – This is the best one of the TNG movies by pretty much all accounts, and I can even agree with that, but it’s still not my favorite of them.

5. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998) – This is the choice that makes other Trekkies foam at the mouth. “It’s silly!” and “It’s like a long episode!” are the two biggest complaints about it, and I won’t argue with those things because those are reasons I like it.  There’s a warmth, humor, and heart to it that I respond to. Plus, Will and Deanna are supposed to be together, and it happening in this movie was long overdue. Furthermore, Captain Picard’s relationship with Anij is my favorite of his.

4. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) – The first videotape I ever bought, and the first Star Trek movie I ever saw, which is why you’ll find this one higher on my list than anyone else’s ever. Spock is my favorite Trek character ever, and any glimpse into Vulcan life and culture is (for the lack of a better word) fascinating to me.

3. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991) – You’ll appreciate this movie more if the majority of your life was spent in the Cold War. Also, if you like Shakespeare, knowing that someone took the time to translate Hamlet into Klingon should warm the cockles of your tIq.

2. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) – People who don’t like this movie don’t like joy.

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) – Still the best one. My wife and I are in the middle of this one (we sometimes have to watch movies over the course of a few days) because she’s never seen it, and it’s been a couple of years for me, too. Such a great idea to go back to an episode and pull out this great villain and use him this way, and Ricardo Montalban was just so fantastic in the role.

Once the new series gets to ten entries, I’ll see about doing a list of those.

 

Tags: Star Trek, Tuesday10

Written by: Mark