Hi Shittydaystrom, I’m from a mirror universe (btw please stop calling the evil one THE mirror universe, there’s at least six.)
I wanted to show you guys what the Star Trek movies are like in our dimension. Are they much different? Also in my universe, Shittydaystrom is the best Star Trek sub, so I hope it’s the same here :)
STAR TREK: The Still Picture (1979). This one was an artsy collab with renowned auteur George Lucas, and is 78 minutes of the camera pointed at an oil painting of the cast playing poker with some dogs while disco music plays. It made very little money and had a mixed reception. I like it, kind of, but partly because it’s so short and because of the timeless soundtrack.
STAR TREK II: The Joy of Khan (1982). Khan is super happy to meet Chekov for the first time when he lands on his paradise planet in between testing the Federation’s new Genocide Torpedo. In the end, the whole crew have a lovely party with Khan and friends, although Spock lives it up a bit too much and makes everyone feel uncomfortable.
Best line: “I feel… old.” Cruellest line is easily Spock to Kirk: "I've never really considered us friends."
Considered one of the worst Star Trek movies.
STAR TREK III: Avoiding Spock (1984). After the events of II, the crew attempt to hide from Spock with the help of the friendly Commander Kruge, who wants Kirk to form a better relationship with his son, David. In the end, Spock dies. Considered a good Trek film by most, with Spock’s death scene eliciting howls of laughter from young and old alike.
Best line is Kirk whispering to Kruge: “I… can’t get… enough… of you…”
STAR TREK IV: Staying Out Of It (1986). The least commercially successful Star Trek film and another stinker. When an ancient probe attacks Earth intending to exterminate all whales, the crew decide to just sort of wait and hope it all blows over. Kirk flirts with a Japanese chef who teaches him how to make whale tatsutaage.
Best line (hard to choose from this turgid script tbh): “I’m from outer space, but I work in Iowa.”
God I hate this movie. It’s no Star Trek V, that’s for sure.
STAR TREK V: The Initial Heartland (1989). Now this is cinema! Lavished with a huge budget, special effects by ILM, and a sizzling script by William Shatner (who also directs with panache and aplomb, and really lets his costars shine) this is considered one of the very best Trek flicks. In TIH, Kirk and co meet the brooding, unemotional Sybok, Spock’s secret full sister. In a 58 minute scene with only four cuts, Kirk passionately proves the existence of God to Sybok, before tracking down a Klingon commander (Kelsey Grammer) and murdering him for no reason.
Best line: “Why wouldn’t God need a starship?”
STAR TREK VI: The Familiar Country (1991). Sadly, back to Yawnsville with this one. Nick Meyer returns despite the execrable Joy of Khan and his direction here is woeful. After the Klingon moon Praxis (yeah, subtle) implodes, the Klingons declare war on the Federation, leading to dull action scene after dull action scene. The dialogue in this is atrocious, too. Maybe if they’d brought Spock back it’d be interesting, although he was never a popular character.
Oh, and Christopher Plummer plays a Klingon General who keeps asking Kirk to read him sonnets during battle. 2nd worst Trek movie IMO.
Best line: “I’ve always trusted Klingons and I always will. I can never repay them for what they did for my boy. How can history get past people like me? Pretty easily, actually, now I think about it.”