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Another question that I get from time to time concerns what is the best star trek movie. This question tends to come from individuals who are not big fans of the show or are just starting to get into it. So, today I thought I’d take a moment to focus Star Trek DVD on some of the films in the running for best star trek movie ever made.

Now, obviously, this will be a somewhat objective exercise. Naturally, I have my personal favorites and that will impact my judgment somewhat here, however I don’t hold any major biases and I certainly am familiar enough with all of the Star Trek movies. So, for this post, I will assume that you haven’t seen any of the Star Trek films and are looking for a good entry point to become familiar with the series. I also have no bias as far as TNG vs. TOS or Picard vs. Kirk as I believe that, in and of itself, shouldn’t be a deciding factor in this kind of discussion.

I believe the best Star Trek movie debate comes down to just four finalists which, not surprisingly, are all even number films. (In case you haven’t heard of the Star Trek movie curse, it is a fact that the even numbered sequels have generally been much better than the odd numbered sequels. Make of that what you will.) I believe that the discussion for this honor must include the following films: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country and Star Trek: First Contact. I believe that nearly all Trekkies will agree that the title of best Star Trek movie must be awarded to one of the listed films. It is almost inconceivable to think that one of the other films could be mentioned as the best Star Trek movie over one of the above. However, there is a huge caveat here. I have not seen the new Star Trek movie (which has not yet been released) and I have been hearing fantastic buzz about it. I am hopeful that the new film will one day be included in the best Star Trek movie debate. But for now, it doesn’t make sense to include it.

So let’s look at each film and weigh its relative merits before making a determination of which is the best of the Star Trek universe. First up is Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan. Khan came at a time when the Star Trek franchise needed a hit. The first film had been a bore (though it did well at the box office) and if the series was going to continue it needed a shot in the arm. It got one it a big way. The powers that be brought a young writer/director, Nick Meyers, into the fold to both write the script and direct the film. Harv Bennet was additionally hired to produce the film. The result was fresh and energetic featuring a classicly theatrical story focusing on revenge and weaved about with many interesting themes.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is simply something different for the crew of the Enterprise. Here is a Star Trek movie that doesn’t have a single space battle and is light on special effects. The majority of the film takes place in San Francisco of the 1980s. The dialogue is sharp and funny and the fish out of water storyline works well. Again Nick Meyers was brought in to develop the screen play and he wrote the entire middle section which was set in the 1980s. As you’ll see with the even numbered Star Trek movies Nicholas Meyer had a strong hand in each of the ones featuring the original cast.

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country serves as an allegory to end of the cold war between the United States and the USSR which was a current event at the time of production. Again, Nick Meyers was brought on board to direct and co-write the screenplay. The story features political intrigue and some old fashioned “hamming it up” between William Shatner and Cristopher Plummer. It is a delightful entry into the franchise.

Star Trek: First Contact is the only film featuring the Next Generation crew that would get any consideration for the best Star Trek movie. This film features a story involving time travel, the Borg and humanity’s development of warp drive. While at times First Contact feels more like a zombie movie than a Star Trek film, it is crisp and well made. It is too bad that the other Star Trek movies featuring TNG cast were so badly bungled.

So of these four which is the best Star Trek movie? It really isn’t that tough for me to pick my favorite. I believe that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is the best of the lot. That’s my pick for the best Star Trek movie ever made. What’s yours? Leave a comment below to voice your opinion.