Star Trek: Generations (1994)

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.