Captain's Blog - Epilogue

Well, this has been a treat. Having now watched these six films I can't believe it took me so long to finally get round to it.

The Star Trek films do not have the greatest reputation amongst the general cinemagoing masses, which is a major obstacle that the J.J. Abrams reboot had to overcome in order to be a success (a feat which it has certainly managed, as it currently stands as 2009's biggest earner). It's always said, as I've mentioned, that all the odd-numbered instalments suck and not even all the even-numbered ones are up to much; indeed only Khan, and to a much lesser extent, The Undiscovered Country and Next Generation entry First Contact, ever seem to be granted any level of respect at all.

I've found that reputation to be wholly undeserved. To my surprise but also delight, I enjoyed every single one of these films, and in particular, found I, II, III and VI to be excellent efforts indeed. My praise for The Motion Picture is probably the most against-the-consensus of those assessments, but while I can certainly admit its flaws, I wholeheartedly enjoyed it. I still think it's the only entry in the series that effectively articulates the sense of wonder inherent in space travel, and it also best captures Trek's central exploration theme. (Now having seen the subsequent five films I can however see how out of step it is with the rest of the Trek saga.)

I can truly understand now why Star Trek has held such allure for so many fans for over 40 years now. As of 2009, the franchise is commercially as strong as it ever has been, even if some hard-to-please diehards have complained about the liberties taken in the new film. As mentioned in my appraisal of The Undiscovered Country, I now find the prospect of watching the original series highly intriguing, and the recently released new DVDs give me the perfect opportunity to savour its '60s charms. Also I'd love to watch the Next Generation films, although I doubt that I will develop such an attachment to the new crew. Sadly those DVDs have gone out of print and Paramount show no signs of re-releasing them in the near future. Perhaps they will when Star Trek XII rolls round in 2011. And I might not even stop there - after all, there are plenty of Trek TV shows for me to catch up on. I've got a long way to go.

A ranking of my enjoyment of these films is pretty immaterial considering that I took so much pleasure out of viewing the series as a whole, but if pushed, I would give this order:

1. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
2. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
3. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
4. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
5. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
6. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier

It may be heresy to rank Khan as low as third, but in truth the order is fairly interchangeable. And, for what it's worth, Star Trek 2009 would probably slot in about 4th, a notch ahead of The Motion Picture.

I've journeyed where I've never gone before, and it's been a blast.