--- title: "Star Trek: Generations" year: 1994 kind: "film" canonical: "https://film.one/film/star-trek-generations" fi1m_score: 48 critics_score: 41 critics_reviews: 11 published: "2026-09-16T23:43:58.770016+00:00" updated: "2026-09-16T23:43:59.143228+00:00" region: "US" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Star Trek: Generations (1994) Directed by David Carson · 1h 58m · MPA PG · Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Thriller **Fi1m score: 48** · Critics 41 from 11 reviews *In a sentence:* Malcolm McDowell blows up suns to get back to a place he liked, and we understood the impulse by the second hour > Patrick Stewart’s crew take over the cinema series with a good villain, a fine first ten minutes and a script that cannot decide whether it is a thriller, a wake or a party for the fans. Watchable, handsome in a murky way, and never once urgent. ## Synopsis Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner), Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) and Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) are guests at the launch of a new Enterprise under Captain John Harriman (Alan Ruck), and the maiden voyage turns into a rescue at the Nexus. Decades later, Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) commands another Enterprise, on which Data (Brent Spiner) has just had an emotion chip fitted. The crew are led to Dr. Tolian Soran (Malcolm McDowell), a scientist who means to get into the Nexus, whatever it costs the stars in his way. Picard, grieving news from home, has to work out what Soran wants before he takes it. ## Review The job of *Star Trek: Generations* is to hand the cinema series from William Shatner’s crew to Patrick Stewart’s, and the film knows it. Rick Berman’s story, written up by Ronald D. Moore and Brannon Braga, opens with Captain James T. Kirk (Shatner) at the launch of a new Enterprise, passes the ship’s name to Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Stewart), and spends its 118 minutes trying to make a plot out of the handover. There is a villain, a threat and a ship in trouble, and none of it feels pressing. It is a decent television two-parter with bigger effects and dimmer lighting. The opening is the best stretch. Kirk, Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) and Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) watch from the bridge while its new captain, John Harriman (Alan Ruck), tries to look as if he is in charge, and Ruck plays the humiliation well. The maiden voyage runs into the Nexus, and the rescue that follows is tense in a way the film never manages again. Peter E. Berger cuts it fast, Dennis McCarthy’s score keeps to the brass, and Shatner, given a last chance to be the man who fixes things, takes it without fuss. Then the film leaps forward and settles in with the television crew, rather too comfortably. Data (Brent Spiner) has an emotion chip fitted and spends the middle hour laughing at nothing, trying drinks he dislikes and hiding under a console. Some of it is funny; most of it is Spiner doing a sketch. Worf (Michael Dorn) is promoted on a holodeck sailing ship and walked off a plank, and the joke is that people get wet. Riker (Jonathan Frakes), La Forge (LeVar Burton), Crusher (Gates McFadden) and Troi (Marina Sirtis) get a scene or two apiece. Stewart is the reason the middle holds at all. Picard receives news of a death in his family early on and the film gives him one long scene in his quarters with Troi. He plays it small, never raising his voice, and we were moved more than we expected to be by a man in a starship uniform looking through a box of photographs. Then the film cuts to Data and a cocktail, and the feeling goes. McDowell’s Soran is the other reason. He wants to get into the Nexus, and is prepared to knock stars out of the sky to do it, and McDowell plays him tired rather than mad, a man who has done the sums and finds them regrettable. His two scenes with Stewart, arguing about what time does to a person, are the only ones in the film where two people want something from each other. He is not on screen enough, and when he is the film keeps cutting away to check on the Klingons. John A. Alonzo, who shot [*Chinatown*](https://film.one/film/chinatown), lights the Enterprise like a house at night: slats of light through blinds, deep shadow across the bridge, faces half lit. A bridge that looked like an open-plan office on television now looks like a submarine, and we kept wanting somebody to switch on a lamp. Herman F. Zimmerman’s sets and Robert Blackman’s uniforms are the television ones, better made, and the film’s biggest effect, the saucer coming down through an atmosphere, is a fine piece of model work that arrives after the story has run out of things to say. The second half takes a turn we will not describe, except that it brings the two captains together and gives them little to do. *Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan* was about growing old and had one villain who hated one man. This one is about growing old too, says so several times, and never finds a story to carry the idea. Most critics were harder on it than we are, and their complaint, that it is a film for people who already know these characters, is fair. If you do, there is a decent evening here: Ruck’s ten minutes, McDowell’s weary menace, Stewart with the photographs. For anyone else it is 118 minutes of pleasant people in a dark room talking about the Nexus, and the PG certificate is exact. *Fi1m score 48, published 16 September 2026.* ## What the critics say Most critics find Star Trek: Generations a disappointment: a handover from the original crew to the Next Generation that serves neither cast well. What praise there is gathers around the look of the film. The cinematography, the saucer crash sequence and the effects work are singled out even by reviewers who dislike everything else, Malcolm McDowell’s villain gets a good word, and Data’s emotion chip subplot is mentioned kindly more than once. The reservations are about story. The Nexus plot is called confusing or impenetrable, the pacing uneven, the humour low, and several critics object to in-jokes and fan service standing where a narrative should be. The spread is fairly wide. Variety and The New York Times, writing on release, think it has enough spectacle to satisfy the faithful, and Den of Geek argues it is better than its reputation. Later reassessments are harsher, with /Film the lowest, and few think the meeting of Kirk and Picard justifies the film built around it. ### Reviews we read (11) - **The New York Times**, Janet Maslin (70/100, inferred): The most ambitious Star Trek film yet for mixing original and Next Generation casts via temporal flux, though it is flabby and impenetrable in places. It offers enough pomp, spectacle and high-tech dialogue to sustain the franchise, with Shatner's Kirk providing star appeal alongside Stewart's Picard. [Read](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/18/movies/film-review-a-major-star-date-in-enterprise-history.html) - **Variety** (70/100, inferred): It may not boldly go where no man has gone before but has enough verve, imagination and familiarity to satisfy Trekkers. The first bigscreen outing for the Next Generation crew should succeed at the box office, with director David Carson capturing the Trek look effectively despite some fractures in execution. [Read](https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/star-trek-generations-1200439393/) - **Empire**, Angie Errigo (30/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a disappointment as the handover from the original crew to the Next Generation, criticizing the incomprehensible plot, poor pacing, uneven character use and lowbrow humor, while noting occasional strong special effects. [Read](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/star-trek-vii-generations-review/) - **Los Angeles Times**, Kenneth Turan (30/100, inferred): The film feels like a religious ritual for fans rather than a conventional movie, retracing footsteps and relying heavily on audience knowledge of the two TV series. It offers familiar Enterprise adventures with Kirk and Picard meeting, plus Data's emotion chip subplot, but lacks bold new territory. [Read](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-star-trek-generations-review-19941117-snap-story.html) - **RogerEbert.com**, Roger Ebert (30/100, inferred): The film is undone by its self-referential narcissism and in-jokes aimed at fans, preventing it from telling a strong story. It features a temporal nexus plot involving Kirk and Picard but prioritizes franchise callbacks over coherent narrative. [Read](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/star-trek-generations-1994) - **The Hollywood Reporter**, Phil Pirrello (30/100, inferred): The critic describes the film as a noble misfire that nearly stalled the franchise, hampered by studio mandates and underwhelming story choices such as an eggs scene. The saucer crash sequence and Data's emotion chip subplot receive praise amid the overall disappointment. [Read](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/how-star-trek-generations-killed-franchise-1255759/) - **Time Out**, NF (30/100, inferred): The film is described as the dullest in the Star Trek series. The critic notes the plot's shift from the original crew to the Next Generation crew as it follows a villain seeking the Nexus. [Read](https://www.timeout.com/movies/star-trek-generations) - **Den of Geek**, Chris Cummins (60/100, inferred): The critic views the film as uneven but better than its reputation suggests, with real moments of adventure and emotion. They single out Malcolm McDowell's villainous performance and the film's strong cinematography for praise while criticizing the confusing Nexus concept and the underwhelming death of Kirk. [Read](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/does-star-trek-generations-deserve-another-chance/) - **The Wrap**, Russ Fischer (45/100, inferred): The critic finds the film visually impressive thanks to its cinematography and nostalgic opening, but criticizes the weak script, uneven pacing, and disappointing conclusion for Kirk. [Read](https://www.thewrap.com/star-trek-movies-ranked-worst-to-best/) - **Collider**, Matt Goldberg (30/100, inferred): The film exists mainly to pass a torch that did not need passing and serves neither the original nor TNG cast well. It bungles a potentially compelling story about duty and sacrifice with scattershot tone and poor narrative structure. [Read](https://collider.com/star-trek-movies-ranked/) - **/Film**, Witney Seibold (20/100, inferred): The critic finds the film a disappointing and unnecessary attempt to pass the torch from the original series to The Next Generation crew by forcing a meeting between Kirk and Picard. They single out the limp fan service and lack of epic scope or originality compared to the preceding TV series finale as major flaws. [Read](https://www.slashfilm.com/1469105/star-trek-generations-most-useless-star-trek-movie/) ## Details - **Director:** David Carson - **Director:** David Carson - **Writer:** Brannon Braga, Ronald D. Moore - **Story:** Rick Berman - **Cinematography:** John A. Alonzo - **Editor:** Peter E. Berger - **Music:** Dennis McCarthy - **Production design:** Herman F. Zimmerman - **Costume design:** Robert Blackman - **Producer:** Peter Lauritson, Rick Berman - **Cast:** Patrick Stewart as Captain Jean-Luc Picard; Jonathan Frakes as Commander William T. Riker; Brent Spiner as Lt. Commander Data; LeVar Burton as Lt. Commander Geordi La Forge; Michael Dorn as Lt. Commander Worf; Gates McFadden as Dr. Beverly Crusher; Marina Sirtis as Counselor Deanna Troi; William Shatner as Captain James T. Kirk - **Runtime:** 1h 58m - **Certificate (MPA):** PG - **Release (the US):** 18 November 1994 - **Genres:** Science Fiction, Action, Adventure, Thriller - **Budget:** $38 million - **Box office:** $118 million - **Trailer:** https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUieGh1fHSI ## Where to watch in the US - Paramount+: streaming, hd - Amazon Prime Video: add-on, uhd - The Roku Channel: add-on, hd - Hulu: add-on, hd - Amazon Prime Video: rent $3.99, hd - Amazon Prime Video: buy $14.99, hd *Checked 2026-09-16.* Also available in: AE, AR, AT, AU, BE, BG, BR, CA, CH, CL, CO, CZ, DE, DK, EE, ES, FI, FR, GB, GR, HK, HR, HU, IE, IL, IN, IT, JP, KR, LT, MX, MY, NL, NO, NZ, PA, PH, PL, PT, RO, RS, SE, SG, SI, SK, TH, TR, UA, US, VN, ZA. Add `?region=XX` to this URL for another country. ## If you liked this - *Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan* (1982): The series film about ageing that finds a story to carry it - *Star Trek: First Contact* (1996), Fi1m 82: The same crew, the next film, and this time with somewhere to go — [Fi1m page](https://film.one/film/star-trek-first-contact.md) - *Galaxy Quest* (1999): A comedy about a cast who cannot escape their starship, made with real affection - *Sunshine* (2007): A crew, a dying star and a plan; tense where this one drifts - *Ikarie XB-1* (1963): Czech deep-space voyage, patient and strange, that the television series clearly watched --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/film/star-trek-generations