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Monday, May 11, 2009
Reviewing ALL the Star Trek movies
Star Trek hit warp speed out of the gate, grossing $76.5 million since it opened late Thursday - that’s better than most expected, including myself.
Most everyone I’ve talked to has loved the movie, so my not-so-bold prediction is that Trek will have some legs at the box office. Put another way, I’m thinking Star Trek crosses $200 million easily. Last week’s big opener, Wolverine, will not.
Speaking of legs, Star Trek has developed some in this space as well. I offer my reviews of all the Star Trek movies and offer you the chance to respond.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture: Picture? Sure. Motion? Not really. I saw it on the big screen again recently, and while it’s visually impressive, the movie takes itself far too seriously and moves way too slowly. It’s watchable enough, but if the new Trek moves at warp speed, this movie moves at one-quarter impulse power. GRADE: B-
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn: I agree with most people who call this the best Trek movie. That ending still packs a wallop. GRADE: A
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock: A solid if undistinguished entry. Most everything in the film is good, not great, but Christopher Lloyd’s performance as the Klingon villain throws it off. Lloyd looks even sillier now, since one can’t help but wonder what “Great Scott!” would sound like in Klingon. GRADE: B
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: The highest-grossing of all the Trek movies (for now, anyway), this one about saving the whales so they can save us is even goofier than I remembered, but it’s still great fun. Comedy has rarely been Trek’s strong suit, but it works well here. GRADE: A-
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier: The nadir of Trek. Shatner directs about as well as he sings. “Row, row, row your boat” indeed. Ptooey. GRADE: D
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country: Very strong entry makes for an exciting and moving farewell to the original crew. Great villainous turn by Christopher Plummer. Only debit: Some fairly lame attempts at comedy. GRADE: A-
The Generations movies and more after the jump.
Star Trek: Generations: A solid if somewhat inauspicious big-screen debut for the Next Generation crew looks great, but the finale with Kirk and Picard is clunky when it should be the best part of the film. GRADE: B
Star Trek: First Contact: This very entertaining and exciting adventure brings in the Borg to samshing effect. This is the only better-than-decent movie the new crew got. Jonathan Frakes (AKA Commander Riker) directs very skillfully. GRADE: A
Star Trek: Insurrection: Frakes goes behind the camera again, but not nearly as successfully, let down by a mediocre script. Good performances make it OK but the complaint that this is a glorified TV show is pretty much correct. GRADE: B-
Star Trek: Nemesis: Not so much a disaster as it is eminently forgettable. I thought it was decent while I watched it and then it evaporated right away. Considering how good the new crew was, it’s a shame they didn’t get better movie scripts. GRADE: C+
Star Trek: Well, I already talked about that back here. GRADE: A
What do you think of the Trek movies? I still welcome comments on the new one.
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