The best Star Trek movie, by the numbers, is Star Trek (2009), followed by First Contact (1996) and The Wrath of Khan (1982). The worst of the 13 theatrical films is The Final Frontier (1989). We averaged four scores for every movie: the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer and Popcornmeter, the Metascore and the IMDb rating. The 2025 streaming movie Section 31 would rank below all 13.
Updated November 6, 2026 · Scores from Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and IMDb, checked November 6, 2026
Looking for the order to watch them in? That’s our Star Trek watch order. This page answers a different question: which ones are worth your time.
Table of Contents
Star Trek movies ranked at a glance
| # | Movie | Score | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Star Trek (2009) | 86.5 | Leads or ties on all four scores |
| 2 | First Contact (1996) | 82.3 | Best Next Generation film |
| 3 | The Wrath of Khan (1982) | 80.5 | Best villain, best ending |
| 4 | Into Darkness (2013) | 80.5 | Critics liked it, fans didn’t |
| 5 | The Voyage Home (1986) | 76.5 | The funny one, with whales |
| 6 | The Undiscovered Country (1991) | 76.3 | The original crew’s farewell |
| 7 | Beyond (2016) | 75.8 | Plays like a classic episode |
| 8 | The Search for Spock (1984) | 68.5 | Solid middle of a trilogy |
| 9 | Generations (1994) | 56.3 | Kirk meets Picard |
| 10 | Insurrection (1998) | 56.0 | A TV episode on a big screen |
| 11 | The Motion Picture (1979) | 52.0 | Beautiful but slow |
| 12 | Nemesis (2002) | 50.0 | A grim goodbye for The Next Generation |
| 13 | The Final Frontier (1989) | 36.5 | Lowest on all four scores |
How we ranked the Star Trek movies
Each movie gets one NerdSnack score out of 100: the average of its Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (critics), its Popcornmeter (audiences), its Metascore (critics) and its IMDb rating times 10 (audiences). That gives critics and fans equal weight. We checked all four on November 6, 2026; they shift a little over time.
The Wrath of Khan and Into Darkness tie at 80.5. We broke the tie with the Rotten Tomatoes critics’ average rating, where Wrath of Khan leads 8.2 to 7.4 out of 10.
The list covers the 13 theatrical releases. “Kelvin” means the three films with Chris Pine’s crew, set in an alternate timeline named after the USS Kelvin. All 13 back to back run about 25 hours.
| # | Movie | Crew | Runtime |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Star Trek (2009) | Kelvin | 2h 7m |
| 2 | First Contact (1996) | Next Generation | 1h 51m |
| 3 | The Wrath of Khan (1982) | Original Series | 1h 53m |
| 4 | Into Darkness (2013) | Kelvin | 2h 12m |
| 5 | The Voyage Home (1986) | Original Series | 1h 59m |
| 6 | The Undiscovered Country (1991) | Original Series | 1h 50m |
| 7 | Beyond (2016) | Kelvin | 2h 2m |
| 8 | The Search for Spock (1984) | Original Series | 1h 45m |
| 9 | Generations (1994) | Next Generation (with Kirk) | 1h 58m |
| 10 | Insurrection (1998) | Next Generation | 1h 43m |
| 11 | The Motion Picture (1979) | Original Series | 2h 12m |
| 12 | Nemesis (2002) | Next Generation | 1h 56m |
| 13 | The Final Frontier (1989) | Original Series | 1h 47m |
Runtimes are theatrical cuts.
Every Star Trek movie, ranked from best to worst
1. Star Trek (2009)
Kelvin · 2h 7m · Directed by J.J. Abrams
Tomatometer 94% · Popcornmeter 91% · Metascore 82 · IMDb 7.9 · Score: 86.5
J.J. Abrams recast the original crew, with Chris Pine as Kirk and Zachary Quinto as Spock, and Leonard Nimoy came back as the older Spock. It leads or ties on all four scores and is the only Star Trek film to win an Oscar (Best Makeup). Start here if you’ve never seen Star Trek: its alternate timeline needs no homework.
2. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Next Generation · 1h 51m · Directed by Jonathan Frakes
Tomatometer 94% · Popcornmeter 89% · Metascore 70 · IMDb 7.6 · Score: 82.3
The Borg travel back to 2063 to stop humanity’s first warp flight, and Picard’s crew follows them in the new Enterprise-E. Jonathan Frakes, who plays Riker, directed it, and it’s the one Next Generation movie that works even if you’ve never seen the show. It’s also the best showcase for Picard, who tops our best Star Trek captains list.
3. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Original Series · 1h 53m · Directed by Nicholas Meyer
Tomatometer 87% · Popcornmeter 90% · Metascore 68 · IMDb 7.7 · Score: 80.5
Ricardo Montalbán’s Khan, the villain from the original series episode “Space Seed,” comes back for revenge, and the ending is one of the most famous scenes in Star Trek. Its critics’ average on Rotten Tomatoes (8.2 out of 10) is the second-highest of any Trek film; a 68 Metascore is what keeps it out of the top two. If a friend will only watch one Star Trek movie, this is the one we’d pick.
4. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Kelvin · 2h 12m · Directed by J.J. Abrams
Tomatometer 84% · Popcornmeter 89% · Metascore 72 · IMDb 7.7 · Score: 80.5
Benedict Cumberbatch plays Khan in a louder reworking of Wrath of Khan ideas. Critics and general audiences liked it, but longtime fans didn’t: at a Star Trek convention in Las Vegas in August 2013, attendees voted it last of all the Trek films, behind even the parody Galaxy Quest. Watch it for the action, not the story.
5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
Original Series · 1h 59m · Directed by Leonard Nimoy
Tomatometer 81% · Popcornmeter 81% · Metascore 71 · IMDb 7.3 · Score: 76.5
The crew flies back to 1986 San Francisco to find humpback whales, the only thing that can answer an alien probe threatening Earth. Leonard Nimoy directed, and it’s the funniest Star Trek film. Show this one to friends who think they don’t like Star Trek.
6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Original Series · 1h 50m · Directed by Nicholas Meyer
Tomatometer 83% · Popcornmeter 84% · Metascore 65 · IMDb 7.3 · Score: 76.3
Kirk and McCoy are framed for the murder of the Klingon chancellor on the eve of peace talks, and Christopher Plummer steals scenes as General Chang. Nicholas Meyer, who directed Wrath of Khan, came back for the original crew’s last film together, so save it for the end of an Original Series run.
7. Star Trek Beyond (2016)
Kelvin · 2h 2m · Directed by Justin Lin
Tomatometer 86% · Popcornmeter 79% · Metascore 68 · IMDb 7.0 · Score: 75.8
A swarm of alien ships tears the Enterprise apart and strands the crew on a planet with Idris Elba’s Krall. Simon Pegg, who plays Scotty, co-wrote it, and it feels the most like an episode of the original show. It came out for Star Trek’s 50th anniversary, and it’s the most underrated of the three Kelvin films.
8. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Original Series · 1h 45m · Directed by Leonard Nimoy
Tomatometer 78% · Popcornmeter 71% · Metascore 58 · IMDb 6.7 · Score: 68.5
Kirk steals the Enterprise to bring Spock back, and the rescue costs him more than a ship. Leonard Nimoy directed, and Christopher Lloyd plays the Klingon commander Kruge. It’s the middle of a three-film story, so watch it right after Wrath of Khan and before The Voyage Home.
9. Star Trek Generations (1994)
Next Generation, with Kirk · 1h 58m · Directed by David Carson
Tomatometer 47% · Popcornmeter 57% · Metascore 55 · IMDb 6.6 · Score: 56.3
Kirk and Picard meet across 78 years to stop Malcolm McDowell’s Soran, who will do anything to get back into the Nexus, an energy ribbon that feels like paradise. Seeing the two captains together is the reason to watch; the story around them is thin. It’s for Next Generation fans who want the handoff from the original crew.
10. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Next Generation · 1h 43m · Directed by Jonathan Frakes
Tomatometer 52% · Popcornmeter 44% · Metascore 64 · IMDb 6.4 · Score: 56.0
Picard defies Starfleet to protect the Ba’ku, a small, peaceful people whose planet keeps them young. Jonathan Frakes directed again, and it plays like a pleasant two-part TV episode with a bigger budget. Fine for Next Generation fans, easy to skip for everyone else.
11. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Original Series · 2h 12m · Directed by Robert Wise
Tomatometer 51% · Popcornmeter 43% · Metascore 50 · IMDb 6.4 · Score: 52.0
Kirk reunites the crew to stop V’Ger, a huge cloud heading for Earth, in a slow, effects-heavy film. Critics and audiences are split on it, and the pace tests your patience. It’s for viewers who love slow, 2001-style science fiction.
12. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Next Generation · 1h 56m · Directed by Stuart Baird
Tomatometer 37% · Popcornmeter 48% · Metascore 51 · IMDb 6.4 · Score: 50.0
Tom Hardy plays Shinzon, a younger clone of Picard, in the Next Generation crew’s last movie. It’s grim, and it made less money than any other Star Trek film ($67.3 million worldwide). Watch it only to finish the crew’s story; Picard season 3 (2023) gives them a better goodbye.
13. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
Original Series · 1h 47m · Directed by William Shatner
Tomatometer 23% · Popcornmeter 25% · Metascore 43 · IMDb 5.5 · Score: 36.5
William Shatner directed this one, sending the crew to the center of the galaxy with Spock’s half-brother Sybok, who is searching for the place where creation began. It won three Razzies, including Worst Picture, and it scores lowest of the 13 on all four sites. The campfire scenes with Kirk, Spock and McCoy are the only part worth seeing.
Is the Star Trek odd-numbered movie curse real?
Mostly, for the first ten films. Fans have long said the odd-numbered Star Trek movies are the weak ones, and our scores agree: the even-numbered films from II to X average 73.1, the odd-numbered ones from I to IX average 53.9, and every even film from II to VIII beats every odd film from I to IX.
Nemesis, the 10th film, broke the pattern at 50.0. The Kelvin films ignored it completely: Star Trek (2009), the 11th, ranks first.
Which Star Trek crew has the best movies?
The Kelvin crew, by a wide margin. Its three films average 80.9, the six Original Series films average 65.0, and the four Next Generation films average 61.1. First Contact is the only Next Generation movie in our top eight.
Where does Star Trek: Section 31 rank?
Below all 13. Section 31 is a Paramount+ original movie that premiered on January 24, 2025, so it isn’t on the theatrical list. Michelle Yeoh returns as Philippa Georgiou from Discovery, who joins Section 31, Starfleet’s secret division.
Paramount+ · 1h 35m · Directed by Olatunde Osunsanmi
Tomatometer 24% · Popcornmeter 15% · Metascore 37 · IMDb 3.8 · Score: 28.5
It drew five Razzie nominations in January 2026 and won none. Skip it unless you’re a big Georgiou fan.
Is there a new Star Trek movie coming?
Yes, but it’s early. In November 2025, Paramount hired Jonathan Goldstein and John Francis Daley, the directors of Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, to write, produce and direct a new Star Trek movie. Variety reported that it won’t continue the Chris Pine films or bring back that cast, and that it isn’t connected to any earlier show or movie.
Paramount said again at CinemaCon in April 2026 that a new film is in the works. At San Diego Comic-Con in July 2026, the pair said the script was still in progress, and Goldstein said the story is set a bit further into the future than Star Trek has gone before.
As of November 6, 2026, there’s no title, cast or release date. A fourth Kelvin movie and a Star Trek origin film from director Toby Haynes were both in development before this one; Variety reported in November 2025 that both had stalled, and neither has a release date.
Playing Magic? The Magic: The Gathering Star Trek set is out November 13, 2026. Start with our guide to the four Star Trek Commander decks.
Read next: Star Trek Watch Order · The 10 Best Star Trek Captains, Ranked · Every Big Geek Movie Coming in 2027
Sources: scores from Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and IMDb, checked November 6, 2026; runtimes from IMDb (The Motion Picture’s theatrical runtime from Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic); box office from The Numbers; plot and crew details from Memory Alpha; new-movie reporting from Variety (November 14, 2025), Nerdist (CinemaCon, April 2026) and TrekMovie via Redshirts Always Die (Comic-Con, July 2026). Images: Paramount Pictures, via TMDB.
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