The best Star Trek movies are among the finest sci-fi films ever made. Unfortunately, not all of them will have you seeing stars. We’re biased toward the TOS movies, and even they have their ups and downs. But you can check out our list below to get the best of what the movie side of the Star Trek franchise has to offer.
Best Star Trek movies as of 2025
Below, we’ve assembled a list of the best Star Trek movies to date. Unfortunately, it’s uncertain whether we’ll ever get a bigger pool from which to choose. Today is a far cry from the 1980s and 90s, when we got a new Star Trek film every 2-3 years. The TNG films went out with a whimper in 2002 with Star Trek: Nemesis, and the J.J. Abrams reboot movies didn’t manage to capture enough of an audience to turn much of a profit.
So, we don’t know when the next Star Trek movie will come. Various projects have been in development hell or outright canceled. But at least we have the films below to look back on fondly.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Generally considered the best of the thirteen Star Trek movies, The Wrath of Khan was initially shaping up to be something of a nightmare when it came to the script. The franchise really couldn’t afford another failure after the first Star Trek (which we’ve still included on this list — but we’ll get to that later).
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan opens with Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) and a crew made up mostly of cadets on a training mission aboard the USS Enterprise. While Kirk is dealing with the personal struggles of aging and an overall sense of purposelessness, a much bigger problem shows up in the form of Khan Noonien Singh — a genetically engineered tyrant who was exiled by Kirk years ago in the Star Trek episode “Space Seed.” After escaping exile, Khan takes control of the starship Reliant. From there, we get a deadly game of cat and mouse between Khan and Kirk.
While this one started rocky during pre-production and could have been an abysmal film, fortunately, director-genius Nicholas Meyer came on board, taking the best parts from the multiple drafts into a unified script in a 12-day writing sprint. His vision pushed the film in a more action-adventure direction, something that feels somewhere between Indiana Jones and Star Wars. There might even be a hint of the Goonies to it. While many other Star Trek movies are often judged by their quality within the franchise, The Wrath of Khan can stand as a great movie in its own right.
Star Trek: IV: The Voyage Home
The 1986 film Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home, directed by Leonard Nimoy, wraps up the storyline that began with The Wrath of Khan and continued in Star Trek III. While Wrath of Khan may still hold the crown as the best Star Trek movie, The Voyage Home might be the most fun. Unlike the vengeance-driven heaviness of Wrath of Khan — relatively heavy, anyway; we still count it as a family-friendly action film — or the cerebral space mysticism of the first Star Trek movie, The Voyage Home leans into comedic dialogue and time-travel hijinks. Also, this one’s about saving whales.
The story picks up after the events of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock. Admiral Kirk and his crew are headed back to Earth to face the consequences of stealing and destroying the Enterprise and violating Starfleet regulations. But before they can return, a mysterious alien probe begins sending out signals that disable power systems and start to evaporate Earth’s oceans. The crew soon realizes that the probe is attempting to communicate with humpback whales, which have been extinct for centuries.
The only way to answer the probe and save Earth is to return the whalesong. But to do that, they’ll need some whales. Cue the time travel: the crew heads back to 1986 San Francisco, where they must find two humpback whales and bring them back to the future. The whole thing is incredibly silly, and the actors who, by this point, have had plenty of time to play these characters really sink into the comedy.
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
So, as mentioned above, this one has a reputation for being a bad Star Trek movie. It’s not the worst, though — sorry, Final Frontier. But despite being panned by fans and critics alike, you should watch it for yourself. There wouldn’t be a Star Trek film franchise without it, even if it is a little too cerebral and slow-paced for some.
The 1979 movie centers its conflict around a mysterious alien cloud heading toward Earth, destroying everything in its path. Admiral James T. Kirk returns to command the USS Enterprise. Alongside his crew, including Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Scotty (James Doohan), and McCoy (DeForest Kelley), Kirk must intercept this destructive entity before it reaches Earth.
Also worth mentioning: this was originally meant to be a pilot for a new TV relaunch. That probably explains some of the drawn-out pacing and why it feels like it’s taking its time getting anywhere. It wasn’t built to be a fast-moving blockbuster. It was meant to reintroduce the world of Star Trek. Some people even compare this one to Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Big comparison, we know. But are we calling that a bad movie just because it’s slow? No. And if you are…take a time out. The Motion Picture isn’t space action; it’s space fiction. Whether you love it or fall asleep halfway through, it’s still essential, and that’s why it’s on this list.
Star Trek: VI: The Undiscovered Country
The (personal opinion again) second-best Star Trek movie, The Undiscovered Country, works exceptionally well as a standalone, unlike Wrath of Khan, which is more or less part of a larger episodic arc. Released in 1991, the film tags along with Captain Kirk and the crew of the USS Enterprise as they escort Klingon Chancellor Gorkon to Earth to negotiate a historic peace treaty. But, of course, peace doesn’t come easily. Things start to get dark when the Enterprise appears to fire on a Klingon ship. Gorkon is assassinated in the chaos, and Kirk and Dr. McCoy are arrested for the crime. Spock is left to uncover the truth and save the fragile peace from collapsing.
Even from the synopsis alone, you can tell this one doesn’t require a lot of backstory about the Star Trek series, previous films, or even the characters. You can hop right in and have a great time. It’s a murder mystery, political thriller, sci-fi adventure, and Cold War allegory all rolled into one. Solid watch.
Star Trek: First Contact
First Contact sees Sir Patrick Stewart back as Picard after his first Star Trek movie appearance in 1994’s Generations (which gets a lot of hate). But there is nothing to hate about Sir Patrick Stewart, and we couldn’t have a list without him. That said, even without him, this is the best TNG film and his best performance in those films. Aside from that, First Contact brought action-horror energy to the entire Star Trek movie franchise in a way nothing else had before. The only real criticism is that the A and B plot jumps can be a little jarring.
In First Contact, the crew of the USS Enterprise-E chases a Borg ship through a temporal rift to stop the Borg from conquering Earth in the past. Now stuck in the 21st century, Geordi La Forge (LeVar Burton) teams up with Zefram Cochrane (James Cromwell), the reluctant inventor of warp drive, to make sure humanity’s first contact with aliens still happens. Meanwhile, Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) and Commander Data (Brent Spiner) face off with the Borg Queen (Alice Krige), who’s trying to seize control of the Enterprise from the inside. The whole movie gives us action, suspense, catchy dialogue, top-tier acting, and also Alfre Woodard.
How we chose the best Star Trek movies
With thirteen films to choose from, we decided to stick with the original film series and include one Next Generation entry based on its quality. Not that we have anything against the Kelvin timeline — but if you’re getting into Star Trek, these feel like the most essential ones to watch. We based our picks on a mix of critical and fan reception, standout performances, and how well each movie holds up today. We always like to factor in rewatchability as well.
You can stream the Star Trek movies on Paramount+.
