The Star Trekfranchise has never entirely met the potential of what was set up on television. While the original series and Star Trek: The Next Generationwere both revolutionary pieces of pop culture that fundamentally changed the way that science fiction media was consumed, the films have provided an adequate, and only occasionally extraordinary expansion of the universe. While Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khanand its darker take on the adventures of Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and Commander Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Star Trek VI: The Voyage Home, and it's more socially conscious environmentalist message certainly earned acclaim, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier and its laughable religious allegory and the disappointing conclusion to the story arc focused on the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation in Star Trek: Nemesis were met with more critical responses. However, there are many Star Trek films were simply dismissed as mediocre.
Collectively, eight Star Trek films are rated as “fresh,” on Rotten Tomatoes, with only five being listed as rotten. Financially, the films have never been on the same level as their competitors in the Star Wars franchise; 2009’s Star Trekis the saga’s highest-grossing chapter, and both its sequels Into Darkness and Beyond had similarly impressive numbers as a result of more significant budgets. However, financial success is no indication of quality, and it would be unfair to judge the Star Trek series based on its financial performance. Even the worst films in the series are generally more watchable than blockbuster franchises like Transformers, Ice Age, and Despicable Me that continue to rake in millions.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek: The Motion Picturewas released after the science fiction genre had just become “cool” again. Early-1970s sci-fi films such as THX-1138, A Clockwork Orange, Silent Running, Logan’s Run, and Fantastic Planet were more niche, cerebral projects that explored humanity’s overreliance on technology and presented a frightening version of the future. However, that all changed in 1977 with the release or Star Wars; George Lucas’ epic space opera inspired an immediate return to the more action-packed sci-fi of Buck Rogers and Flash Gordon, and later 1970s sci-fi films such as Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Superman: The Movie, Alien, and Moonraker worked to emulate that style.
Ironically, the success of more “mainstream” sci-fi that appealed to a broad audience didn’t really help Star Trek: The Motion Picture at all; in what seemed to studio marketers as the worst possible direction, The Motion Picture avoided the spectacle of the Star Wars films and took on a more cerebral approach to the genre that felt closer in line to what Stanley Kubrick had done with his 1968 masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey. Director Robert Wise took many of the same themes of humanity’s misplaced faith in technology that he had introduced in his 1951 sci-fi masterpiece The Day The Earth Stood Still and reframed them using the characters from Star Trek.
While some fans initially criticized The Motion Picture with the nickname “The Motionless Picture” due to its slow pace, the film holds up extremely well as a work or provocative sci-fi philosophy. There’s a respect for the original source material that is evident from the prolonged focus on Kirk boarding the Enterprise and reuniting with his crew. It also served the important role of introducing the gorgeous musical theme from composer Jerry Goldsmith, which received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek III: The Search for Spockhad to follow up one of the greatest cliffhangers in film history; the death of Spock in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was a hugely emotional moment for fans of the franchise, and it's one of the main reasons that the film is still largely regarded as not only the best Star Trek movie, but one of the greatest sequels of all-time. This put The Search For Spock in an unenviable position; would fans accept a retcon, even if it came from the man who had dedicated his life to playing the beloved Vulcan? Nimoy did his best to create a love letter to the character that showed why he resonated with fans.
In The Wrath of Khan, Spock dies to save the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise; it only made sense that his friends would be willing to destroy their beloved ship in order to get their friend back. As a director, Nimoy does a great job fleshing out elements of the Vulcans’ customs, complete with beautiful imagery associated with his homeworld. However, he’s equally respectful to Shatner, and gives Kirk some of the best moments he’s ever had on screen.
While Shatner’s acting is often criticized and mocked, he has never been better than during the heartbreaking death of his son David (Meritt Butrick). Kirk had been maturing as a father in the wake of Spock’s death, and seeing him lose the chance to be a parent somehow made The Wrath of Khan more tragic in retrospect. Christopher Lloyd’s performance as the evil Klingon warlord Kruge is certainly a memorable, if somewhat goofy entry in Star Trek’s rogue’s gallery.
Star Trek Into Darkness
Like The Motion Picture and The Search for Spock, Star Trek Into Darknesssuffered from being overly compared to The Wrath of Khan. Despite the best efforts by J.J. Abrams’ marketing team, to disguise the twist, it became clear that the new space terrorist “John Harrison” that was portrayed by Benedict Cumberbatch was in fact a new version of Khan.
However, the two films have completely different themes; Cumberbatch’s version of Khan is attempting to expose the Federation’s involvement in starting a new war with the Klingons, and staging acts of violence in order to justify mass genocide. It’s one of the more openly political entries in the Star Trek film series with its allusions to 9/11, the Iraq War, and the George Bush administration; in fact, the film is dedicated to veterans of post-9/11 combat.
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