Original Cast Star Trek Films - which is your favourite?

[Dandontdare]

My twopenn'orth:

The Motion Picture - it was very exciting at the time purely because they were all back (woohoo) - but on rewatching I can't get over those endless boring shots of the enterprise gliding out of space dock at 2mph.

Wrath of Khan - the best by far. Genuine action and tension.

Search for Spock - hard to separate from Khan as it's one story spread over two films, it's almost as good but not quite as it doesn't have Ricardo Montalban.

Voyage home - Great fun, the best example of light-hearted trek.

Final Frontier. Kirk vs God - Awful. Who let Shatner behind the camera?

Undiscovered country - pretty good, but a little light on plot, and as SBT says, too much effort went into foreshadowing of TNG.

Generations - great, two star trek  movies for the price of one.

First contact - awesome. 'nuff said

Insurrection/Nemesis - almost unwatchably bad.

So just taking the originals in order of preference: 2 - 3 - 4 - 1 - 6- 5

[TordelBack]

I love that SBT rates Motion Picture No. 1, and then calls Search for Spock 'ponderous'.  I've just spent a happy 5 minutes re-running both pictures in my head in an effort to re-assess.  Nobody's movie opinions make me think harder than Steev's!

[Jim_Campbell]

Insurrection/Nemesis - almost unwatchably bad.

To the extent that, on reading this thread, I struggled to recall whether there were one or two TNG movies after the (excellent) First Contact and whether or not I'd seen them. Turns out there were two and I'd seen them both. Apparently.

Cheers

Jim

[TordelBack]

Turns out there were two and I'd seen them both. Apparently.

That's a  very co-operative and supportive memory you have there Mr. C.  Can I borrow it?

[Tiplodocus]

I love endless shots of the Enterprise gliding in and out of space dock, the rings of Saturn, through nebula...


First Contact rules for me - it has Enterprise pr0n, it has space battles, it has great action sequences, it has great character interplay, lovely scenery down on Earth and it has Data getting a blow job. And for all the running and shooting, it remains in character as Star Trek (and Picard acting out of "Star Trek" character - just pretend they never resolved his feelings towards the Borg in the show - is his arc).

Then Motion Picture.

But frankly, I'm happy to watch them all.

I even have a soft spot for Insurrection and Nemesis but they are in pretty much the same vein as the JJ Abrams Trek movies; i.e.  it's the Enterprise but who are those strange people crewing it and gleefully punching and killing everything in sight?

[dweezil2]

Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan is easily my favourite a Trek film.

A genuinely exciting film with one of the best screen baddies ever committed to film, superbly played by the legendary Ricardo Montalbán.

I'm a big fan of Star Trek: The Motion Picture; a real attempt at cerebral Sci-Fi within the Trek universe, that the recent J.J. Abrams movies have sadly jettisoned.

Also have a soft spot for The Voyage Home, with its pertinent Eco message and The Undiscovered Country, with its timely disintegration of communism allegory.

[shaolin_monkey]

I love Wrath of Khan, but also have watched it too many times.  However, regardless of that, whenever I hear Kirk say 'the most...human', and then Scotty on the bagpipes, I just can't help but blub into my pint.  Every. Bloody. Time.

Voyage Home is definitely my next best, just because it's so silly and funny.  Everyone in it is clearly having fun, and it just plays to the strengths of the series.

Search for Spock is third.  Overall I didn't think it was amazing, but there are some key moments that elevate it.  The destruction of the Enterprise, followed by them stood watching it's descent through the atmosphere:

[Witnessing the destruction of the Enterprise]

Kirk: My God, Bones... what have I done?

McCoy: What you had to do, what you always do. Turn death into a fighting chance to live.

After that it is all downhill.  Undiscovered Country was watchable.  Star Trek 5 was a bit dull.  I hated Generations, particularly the (final) death scene of Kirk.  The following TNG films just seemed like episodes with a little more money spent on them, not really the exciting spectacles you'd expect from a cinematic sci-fi experience.

[Dandontdare]

I love Wrath of Khan, but also have watched it too many times.  However, regardless of that, whenever I hear Kirk say 'the most...human', and then Scotty on the bagpipes, I just can't help but blub into my pint.  Every. Bloody. Time.

I've always thought this was one of the most racially insulting eulogies ever!

though I do like the youtube mash up with Monty Python & the Holy Grail."I'm not dead!"

[TordelBack]

First Contact rules for me - it has Enterprise pr0n, it has space battles, it has great action sequences, it has great character interplay, lovely scenery down on Earth and it has Data getting a blow job. And for all the running and shooting, it remains in character as Star Trek (and Picard acting out of "Star Trek" character - just pretend they never resolved his feelings towards the Borg in the show - is his arc).

If we're expanding the field to include the Next Generation films then out of those four First Contact is simply uncontested - as Tips eloquently summarises, it manages to be proper Star Trek as well as a decent SF action flick and managing some affectionate humour at TNG's expense. It has a universally charismatic guest cast in Cromwell, Krieg and Woodard, and amusing cameos from Picardo, Dwight Schultz and Ethan Phillips.  People may moan about it diminishing the Borg by giving the collective a Queen and allowing one of their cubes to be defeated in a straight fight, but it is more properly a satisfying end to their story.  It was their subsequent appearances that were the actual problem. 

Also has some great little bits: Worf's "Little?", Lilly's "Jean-Luc, blow up the damn ship!", an adorable squiffy Troi, Cochrane's "Hot damn, you're heroic!", and who could fail to love the closing scenes of the Vulcans watching Cochrane's drunken dancing? 

My own favourite bit is Picard listening to Berlioz-turned-up-to-11 in the opening sequence, an excellent contrast and parallel with Cochrane's in-car Steppenwolf at the climax.

[shaolin_monkey]

I love Wrath of Khan, but also have watched it too many times.  However, regardless of that, whenever I hear Kirk say 'the most...human', and then Scotty on the bagpipes, I just can't help but blub into my pint.  Every. Bloody. Time.

I've always thought this was one of the most racially insulting eulogies ever!

To who, humans, Vulcans, Canadians or Scottish?

[Dandontdare]

to vulcans - after years of patiently indulging all the insults and educating his colleagues about vulcans, the best compliment they can come up with is "most human".

[Recrewt]

to vulcans - after years of patiently indulging all the insults and educating his colleagues about vulcans, the best compliment they can come up with is "most human".

Really?  Spock is half-human himself though isn't he.  It never struck me as a racial insult.

I never make it that long anyway, when Spock is in the radiation chamber and he tells Kirk 'I have been and always shall be your friend.' and holds his hand up with the vulcan salute that's me gone. 

In many ways, it would be best if Wrath of Khan was the end of Spock.  I am more than happy that he returned but it would have been a really bold move if they stuck to his death.

[von Boom]

Could you imagine if there had been an internet in 1982? The death of Spock would have caused an epic meltdown.

[Professor Bear]

Could you imagine if there had been an internet in 1982?

It was called Teletext.

[TordelBack]

Read an article about the making of Search for Spock, where they explained how the destruction of the Enterprise was to be the big closely-guarded surprise to top/match Spock's death in WoK. 

Only for it to be shown in the trailer.