All 14 Star Trek Movies, Ranked By Rotten Tomatoes Score

While the "Star Trek" franchise may have started on television, it's been producing fan-favorite movies expanding its universe since 1979. These movies feature characters from the various shows that the iconic science fiction has produced, continuing their canonical adventures on a grander scale than a typical television episode. "Star Trek" movies have created some of the most memorable and enduring scenes in the entire franchise, which have then been reflected in the shows.

But, as with all multi-film franchises, not all "Star Trek" movies are created equal, unfortunately. For every fantastic movie in the series, there has been one that has come up short of fan and critic expectations. For the purposes of this list, we're going to examine how the aggregate critics' scores for the "Star Trek" film series stacks up across its extensive history. Here are all 14 "Star Trek" movies, ranked by Rotten Tomatoes score, from worst to best.

After being introduced in "Star Trek: Discovery," the Mirror Universe antihero Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) starred in her own straight-to-streaming movie "Star Trek: Section 31." Living incognito in the 24th century after her time on the USS Discovery, Georgiou agrees to participate in a black ops raid on a space station outside of Federation jurisdiction. The mission is disrupted by a mysterious masked figure, with Georgiou realizing a Mirror Universe superweapon is involved. Leading a crew of misfit personalities, Georgiou sets out to stop their enigmatic adversary and discover how a dangerous part of her universe ended up in this reality.

The first reactions to "Star Trek: Section 31" were brutal, dismissing it as little more than a glorified television movie unbecoming of the franchise's first feature film in nine years. Though Yeoh's performance was praised, the story was criticized for being shallow and uninspired, while the action sequences failed to generate any excitement. Upon its premiere, "Section 31" broke a horrible Rotten Tomatoes record for the franchise as its lowest-scoring movie, but its score has improved slightly since then. A cheap send-off for Yeoh's swaggering antihero, "Section 31" is a "Star Trek" project that's best left by the wayside.

The only entry in the franchise directed by original star William Shatner, 1989's "Star Trek V: The Final Frontier" took the characters into a surprisingly religious direction. The movie reveals Spock (Leonard Nimoy) has a long-lost half-brother, Sybok (Laurence Luckinbill), who is obsessed with locating God in the cosmos. To accomplish this, Sybok hijacks the Enterprise, using his telepathic powers to relieve the crew of their inner demons and join his cause. Traveling to the center of the universe, however, what Sybok and the crew discover is far more sinister than he anticipated.

By multiple accounts, the making of "The Final Frontier" was a troubled production that almost killed the franchise. Beyond the behind-the-scenes headaches, the meshing of "Star Trek" with the overtly theological was a poor narrative choice that the movie itself never overcomes. Shatner offered a non-apology for his directorial work, blaming the movie's limited production budget on failing to realize the story's creative vision. Whoever's fault it is, "The Final Frontier" brought the franchise's cinematic momentum to a grinding halt, though didn't derail it completely.

The final big screen outing of the "Star Trek: The Next Generation" cast, 2002's "Star Trek: Nemesis" proved to be a disappointing farewell. As the Enterprise crew stands at a crossroads, Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) discovers the Romulan Empire secretly cloned him, with the clone now a young man named Shinzon (Tom Hardy). After Shinzon seizes control of the Romulan government, he invites Picard to meet with him personally under the auspices of finally brokering peace with the Federation. This proves to be a trap, with Shinzon intending to stabilize his degenerative condition with Picard's DNA before launching an attack on Earth with a Romulan superweapon.

According to longtime "Star Trek" actor and filmmaker Jonathan Frakes, "Star Trek Nemesis" suffered from putting too much focus on Shinzon and an uncooperative director in Stuart Baird. But there are deeper issues with the movie, which often tries too hard to be cool and action-packed, compared to what the franchise is known for. It didn't help that, for as much screen time as he had, Shinzon is one of the worst "Star Trek" villains ever. Fortunately, the "TNG" crew reunited for the coda they deserved in "Star Trek: Picard" because "Nemesis" does them all a deep disservice.

1994's "Star Trek Generations" marked a changing of the guard for the franchise's cinematic prospects, as "The Next Generation" came to an end and turned to the movies. Passing the torch was a returning Jim Kirk (William Shatner), who embarked on a time-bending adventure with Picard, which proved to be Kirk's heroic undoing. The time-displaced Kirk and Picard work together to stop madman Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from diverting a cosmic nexus, with Soran's plot involving the death of millions. This mission comes as the Enterprise is inconveniently targeted by a pair of villainous Klingon sisters who violently oppose the Federation's alliance with the Klingon Empire.

While "Star Trek Generations" isn't necessarily a bad movie, it's definitely an uneven one that clumsily handles the "TNG" crew's transition to the big screen. The Enterprise-D's scuttling and Kirk's death both feel like forced inclusions to make the story feel more grandiose than it actually is. For as ambitious as the intra-franchise crossover was, the movie itself was only a modest box office hit while critical reception was mixed. There would be greater things in store cinematically for the "TNG" crew, with "Generations" not quite living up to its own potential.

A decade after their cancellation, the cast of "Star Trek: The Original Series" reconvened for 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." The movie has the crew reassemble on the Enterprise to confront the advancing cosmic entity V'Ger, which destroys everything in its path on its way to Earth. Though Admiral Kirk is initially unfamiliar with the changes made to his old ship, he assumes command from its current captain Willard Decker (Stephen Collins).

Though "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" was a box office hit, it felt like a flop in the eyes of the cast and crew. The movie's production was reportedly another behind-the-scenes nightmare for the team and, while financially successful, was tepidly received by audiences. In retrospect, the movie perhaps gets too much flak for being perceived as boring, but its middling reputation has endured for decades. "The Motion Picture" was a shaky revival for the franchise, but did just well enough to convince the studio to give it a sequel.

The last "Star Trek" movie directed by Jonathan Frakes was 1998's "Star Trek: Insurrection," the "TNG" crew's third cinematic outing. Picard learns that Data (Brent Spiner) has apparently gone rogue while on a scientific observation mission on a planet of great importance to Starfleet. Investigating further, Picard and the crew discover that the planet's natural conditions have healing and youth-restoring properties. Learning that Starfleet and their powerful new allies, the Sona, plan to forcibly relocate the native population, the Enterprise takes an ethical stand to foil this scheme.

The sequel to "First Contact" had initially been pitched as a darker and more intense story than what was ultimately approved by the creative team. What finally made it to the screen was a tired tale that felt more like a glorified episode of "The Next Generation" than a cinematically scoped adventure. The action never quite feels as thrilling as it should and the movie's attempts at humor similarly ring hollow. With their penultimate movie, the "TNG" crew started to visibly lose momentum, something visible throughout "Insurrection."

Though Spock's death in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" was intended to be permanent, Leonard Nimoy's renewed interest in the franchise led to his continued participation. This went beyond Nimoy reprising his role as Spock but also directing 1984's "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock." Taking place immediately after "The Wrath of Khan," the sequel has Kirk and his friends try to reunite Spock's soul with his body to bring him peace. Located on the forbidden Genesis planet, Kirk discovers Spock has been resurrected by the planet's unique origins, however, the Klingons inconveniently are also on the scene.

While "The Search for Spock" doesn't feel as evenly executed or grandiose as its predecessor, it's still a solid sequel. Nimoy proves himself an adept director, something he hones further during his time with the franchise. The movie is also the tonally darkest the films starring the "TOS" cast gets, with Kirk paying a heavy cost to resurrect his best friend. While not living up to the bar established by its predecessor, "The Search for Spock" is a competently made sequel.

After the bitter elements in "The Search for Spock," the franchise went in a much more light-hearted direction for its 1986 sequel "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." This tonal change was part of returning director Leonard Nimoy's six rules in helming the movie and served the project well. While en route back to Earth, the Enterprise learns that the planet is being stricken by a mysterious probe emitting noises resembling those of long-extinct whales. The Enterprise travels back to 1986 San Francisco to recover whales, bring them back to the 23rd century, and communicate with the probe.

While the decision to have Leonard Nimoy as the movie's director reportedly caused tension, that isn't perceivable at all within "The Voyage Home" itself. Instead, the movie is "Star Trek" at its most comedic on the big screen, having plenty of fun with its time-displaced premise. This sequel could've felt like a campy departure but, fortunately, it revels in the fish-out-of-water charm of its characters. Genuinely funny while delivering an eco-friendly message to the audience, "The Voyage Home" is an all-around improvement over its predecessor.

The swan song for the full "TOS" cast was 1991's "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country," which centered on the prospect of peace between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. After enduring a severe ecological disaster, the desperate Klingon Chancellor Gorkon (David Warner) offers an armistice with the Federation. Spock volunteers the Enterprise to represent Starfleet during the ensuing peace talks, to the barely contained chagrin of the crew. However, after Gorkon is assassinated, Kirk and Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) are blamed for the killing, while the crew works to clear their names and ensure peace is achieved.

"The Undiscovered Country" paints the "TOS" crew in a different light, with their idealism having given way to conservative cynicism in how they approach the Klingons. The end of the Cold War commentary runs prominently through the 1991 movie, even if the crew's initial reaction to it feels out-of-character. Fueling this is returning director Nicholas Meyer, who brings a more grounded perspective to the franchise than he had in "The Wrath of Khan" while maintaining the sci-fi spectacle. An oddly muted end to the "TOS" era, "The Undiscovered Country" is a huge improvement over "Star Trek V" as it offers its ensemble a narrative coda.

After successfully rebooting the franchise, the Kelvin Timeline introduced in 2009's "Star Trek" continued with its 2013 direct sequel "Star Trek Into Darkness." Shortly after Kirk (Chris Pine) is relieved of command for violating the Prime Directive, Starfleet Command is attacked by the mysterious Khan Noonien Singh (Benedict Cumberbatch). Hungry for revenge, Kirk agrees to a dangerous mission that takes the Enterprise deep into Klingon territory where Khan is hiding out. However, after bringing Khan into custody, Kirk realizes there are figures within Starfleet who have their own sinister agendas.

A very loose retread of "The Wrath of Khan," to the point where that film's director, Nicholas Meyer, was reportedly annoyed, "Star Trek Into Darkness" is a divisive entry. Critics appreciated the more morally compromised portrayal of Starfleet and the movie's heightened emphasis on explosive sci-fi action. In retrospect, even filmmaker J.J. Abrams was candid about the movie's problems, observing that the script needed more work. But for all its flaws, "Star Trek Into Darkness" is an entertaining remix of Khan in the Kelvin Timeline as long as one doesn't think too hard about it.

The Kelvin Timeline trilogy came to an end with 2016's "Star Trek Beyond," opening with the destruction of the Enterprise. Crashing on the remote planet of Altamid, much of the surviving crew is taken prisoner by the villainous Krall (Idris Elba). The senior officers who avoided capture are divided across the planet trying to find a way to rescue the crew and defeat Krall. Regrouping at the wreckage of the USS Franklin, the makeshift team learns the truth about Krall and his plan to attack the Federation.

Compared to its immediate predecessors, "Star Trek Beyond" featured a new writing team and a fresh director in Justin Lin, giving the film series a much-needed shot in the arm. The 2016 film mixes the action-oriented sensibilities that started with the reboot with more familiar franchise elements to great effect. At the same time, the movie also features the Kelvin Timeline crew at their most existential, facing personal crossroads right before Krall's attack. A solid one-and-done adventure, "Star Trek Beyond" provides a satisfying flick for both newer and returning "Star Trek" fans.

Though "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" had been a commercial success, it hadn't reignited fan interest in the franchise as much as the studio hoped. Fortunately, its 1982 sequel, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan," righted the ship completely, connecting with fans and critics alike. Marooned on a remote planet for years, genetically enhanced Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán) escapes and sets his sights on Kirk and the Enterprise crew. Distracted by his advancing age, Kirk is caught off-guard and has to outwit his old enemy, but at a tremendous cost.

"The Wrath of Khan" was made under a major time crunch and nearly sabotaged by Gene Roddenberry, the franchise's creator, so it's a wonder the movie came out at all. What "The Wrath of Khan" does so well is evoke a fan-favorite episode from "The Original Series," with its adversary all the more personal for the returning characters. This classic callback is meshed with a logical continuation of Kirk's story along with one of the most emotional moments in the franchise. "The Wrath of Khan" demonstrated what "Star Trek" was capable of cinematically and set the template accordingly for the franchise moving forward.

The Borg Collective were one of the most effective villains throughout "Star Trek: The Next Generation," so it was a cinch that they'd get to the big screen eventually. This cinematic potential was realized in 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact," directed by Jonathan Frakes and written by Brannon Braga and Ronald D. Moore. During an all-out attack on Earth, the Borg travel back to the 21st century to assimilate humanity when it's at its weakest. The Enterprise follows in close pursuit, with Picard visibly obsessed with ensuring that his most personal enemies are destroyed for good.

Just as "The Wrath of Khan" was a course-correction for a financially successful but fan-derided "The Motion Picture," so too did "First Contact" revitalize the movie series after "Generations." Already a formidable foe, the Borg were never more terrifying than they were in this 1996 flick, with Alice Krige deliciously bringing their leader, the Borg Queen, to life. The main cast gels together well also, capturing a group of familiar friends up against intense pressure testing their bonds as the crisis escalates. "First Contact" is Patrick Stewart's favorite "Star Trek" movie and for good reason, given how well it blends sci-fi action with heart.

After the conclusion of "Star Trek: Enterprise" is 2005, the franchise's second life felt like it had petered out completely. Filmmaker J.J. Abrams, fresh off the success of reviving the "Mission: Impossible" franchise with "Mission: Impossible III," turned his attention to another big Paramount property. Rather than rebooting the franchise wholesale, the creative team opted to create an alternate timeline populated by new takes on the classic characters. This involved Romulans traveling back in time and creating this divergent timeline, with Kirk, now a rebellious young man, who finds a way to his destiny commanding the Enterprise.

What really reinvigorated the franchise was the movie's perfect cast, led by a supremely confident Chris Pine as the Kelvin Timeline Kirk. Each of the ensemble brings a familiarity to the characters that they play, without feeling like a derivative impression. Abrams also brings an enormous amount of sci-fi spectacle to the franchise, the most it had ever seen, a sensibility that he doubled down on in its sequel. A rebirth to a classic property that had been floundering for years, the 2009 "Star Trek" brings new blood to an old future.