Obviously Wrath of Khan, Undiscovered Country, and First Contact are at the top in some order or another. But frankly the reboot films only manage to beat the worst of the original movies in my book. I tend to go by a simple "which one would I rather sit down and watch again" metric.
I'll fight people over Nemesis, too. I mean, it's probably my least liked of the Next Generation movies, but I'll watch it waaaaay before I put Final Frontier or Search for Spock in the player.
Incidentally, I didn't watch Search for Spock until years after seeing Wrath of Khan, and even though going in I knew to expect little from any ToS movie aside from II and VI, I was still disappointed.
ETA: ugh, that guy's reviews are worse than his rankings. He actually said the 2009 reboot was so shiny and awesome and pretty that you don't notice its flaws until after. Um, no it wasn't, and you're the reason we can't have nice things!
I always liked Search for Spock better than Wrath of Khan. But all these years later I'd be hard pressed to tell you why.
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"freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order."
- Justice Robert Jackson, West Virginia State Board of Ed. v. Barnette
I love Search for Spock, Voyage Home, and First Contact. Really I like all of them though, pre-reboot. I have nothing against the reboot, I just haven't watched them that many times.
The one and only thing that spoils Nemesis for me is that Picard's clone doesn't look even remotely similar to him, with those lips and everything. Shaving his head doesn't change that. Neither does pulling out the old photo. Why didn't they just let Patrick Stewart play both of them? They did this a million times in the series. Would have been awesome.
I think I'm not going to watch the rebooted movies any time soon. I just don't like the idea. But then, that's what I thought about the Star Trek: Enterprise series before I watched all of it. The one thing I hate about that is the godawful guitar theme song shit in the beginning. That is an abomination that belongs in some stupid teenage soap opera, if anywhere. Not in a Star Trek series. That has to be something instrumental and orchestral.
I thought the first reboot film was a fun bit of nothing at all. No real pathos, no particularly engaging story, just a lot of flash and bang, but fun enough to last one movie. The second, on the other hand ... I actually felt insulted as I walked out. Not because it wasn't worthy of the series (it wasn't), but because it wasn't even worthy of a fucking movie. Just a grab-bag of action scenes and half-digested themes from the previous films/series regurgitated onto pages that were passed off as a screenplay. Pah.
What spoiled Nemesis for me was ... well, a few things, but particularly the introduction of "B4" when there was a perfectly usable Lore that was disassembled and lying around Data's garage somewhere. I think it would've been awesome for Lore to have a redemptive story arc (Data needs to be in two places at once, so he reassembles Lore and asks for his help, and to everyone's surprise, Lore agrees and ends up sacrificing himself ... sorry, I don't write fanfic but that idea is stuck in my head). But no, Brent Spiner wanted Data dead, and so that's what had to happen.
Anyway, so I agree that the reboots don't belong anywhere in the ranking. Myself, I love the 3-movie story arc of II through IV, and even though III isn't stellar (heh), I didn't think it was a bad film. I also think that First Contact belongs somewhere in the top 3, even though it's the only Next Gen movie that gets anywhere near the top half.
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"Her eyes in certain light were violet, and all her teeth were even. That's a rare, fair feature: even teeth. She smiled to excess, but she chewed with real distinction." - Eleanor of Aquitaine
A few weeks back when I ranked them I totally left out the reboots. I even went back and read my own reviews of them. I think then I talked about them more favorably than I do now. But when looking at all the Traxness in toto, they just don't belong. Even above the so-called bad Trek movies.
What spoiled Nemesis for me was ... well, a few things, but particularly the introduction of "B4" when there was a perfectly usable Lore that was disassembled and lying around Data's garage somewhere. I think it would've been awesome for Lore to have a redemptive story arc (Data needs to be in two places at once, so he reassembles Lore and asks for his help, and to everyone's surprise, Lore agrees and ends up sacrificing himself ... sorry, I don't write fanfic but that idea is stuck in my head). But no, Brent Spiner wanted Data dead, and so that's what had to happen.
Or maybe Data is still the one to make the sacrifice but with Lore's help, and Lore seems genuinely touched or inspired and begins his redemptive arc… dang, that's a good idea.
The Fun and Free Course on the Science and Fiction of Star Trek
Syracuse University
Professor Anthony Rotolo
Free Online Course: SEPT - DEC 2015
Open to Everyone!
Live Sessions: Fall 2015
Stand By for Dates & Locations!
In #TrekClass, you will explore the human experience through the lens of the Final Frontier. Along the way, discover Star Trek's incredible impact on popular culture, space exploration, scientific discovery and technology innovation.
Here we have hWil hWheaton interviewing Peter Capaldi and Jenna Coleman for a Doctor Who thing. A bonus for us is how adorable and nerdy he was and is while piloting the Enterprise.
Currently hanging in the library for our quilt show. There are at least two librarians who want to steal it.
__________________
"freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order."
- Justice Robert Jackson, West Virginia State Board of Ed. v. Barnette
Here's the bigger version from Facebook so you can get a better look.
__________________
"freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order."
- Justice Robert Jackson, West Virginia State Board of Ed. v. Barnette