After a terrorist kills Christopher Pike and escapes with extra-super-duper beaming to the Klingon home world, Kirk is sent to kill him. Kirk decides instead to capture this mysterious man… OK, it’s Khan. We all know it is Khan. The second Abrams-verse Trek film has all the same positives as the first, and all the
Star Trek: Beyond (2016)
Kirk, tiring of the coolest job in the universe, and Spock, planning to help breed new Vulcans, are interrupted from their angst by the survivor of a crashed ship. Their rescue mission turns out to be a trap as a bland villain with a “must destroy everything for no good reason” plan takes much of
Star Trek III:Â The Search for Spock (1984)
Kirk discovers that Spock’s soul is trapped in Bones, so the remaining bridge crew swipe the Enterprise to travel back to the Genesis planet to attempt to put Spock’s mind and body back together. Meanwhile a Klingon captain has set his sights on Genesis as a great weapon and will do anything to get it.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005)
The biggest mistake of Revenge of the Sith is making it so self-serious. It wants to be a Shakespeare tragedy, which is odd for a series based on afternoon serials. The second biggest was Hayden Christensen. Granted, the actor never had a chance, But Ewan McGregor managed to elevate his poor dialog while Christensen drags
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
The Borg travel back in time to assimilate humanity and disrupt Earth’s first warp drive test. The Enterprise follows to stop them, with Picard having Borg flashbacks and the Borg Queen attempting to seduce Data. Like multiple of the films that came before it, a cast member takes over the director’s chair. This time it
Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002)
This film has a vast advantage over the other two prequel films: it has parallel stories. The Anakin stuff is again pretty bad, with Christensen putting in a career-mutilating performance as he and Natalie Portman utter uncomfortable “romantic” dialog. But with this film, if we removed the bad material, there’s still something left. Obi-Wan has
Star Trek:Â Nemesis (2002)
Nemesis is better than it has any right to be. This is faint praise as it shouldn’t be any good at all. That it is watchable (on free cable—it is not worth actually paying for) is a miracle. There were no good decisions made in constructing this film: An unemotional and unnecessary wedding scene. Yet
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983)
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Star Wars 7 is a construction more than a film, made up of pieces from the other six films (mainly the original three and primarily A New Hope). It’s all homages and repeats. It’s well done, with every aspect meticulously crafted. We may have seen it all before, but the new paint looks good. The
Star Trek: Generations (1994)
Captain Kirk is pulled into a giant space-time ribbon so that he can later meet Captain Picard. There’s also some things about a mad scientist and grumpy Klingons, but they don’t matter. Call it, Fan Service, The Motion Picture. The plot, what there is of it, is based on who signed a contract (Leonard Nimoy,
Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Note: For those grabbing torches and pitchforks, I am giving Empire a good rating. I know here is where people will get upset with me as many want to rank Empire as #1, but it just doesn’t belong there. Yes, the cinematography is a little better, but it was good in Star Wars {A New Hope}. Yes, the acting