--- title: "Star Trek: Generations: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/star-trek-generations/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/star-trek-generations" critics_score: 41 critics_reviews: 11 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): what the critics said Critics' score 41 from 11 reviews: 2 positive, 2 mixed, 7 negative. 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. ## The New York Times — Janet Maslin Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 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. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/18/movies/film-review-a-major-star-date-in-enterprise-history.html) ## Variety Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 14 November 1994. 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 the review](https://variety.com/1994/film/reviews/star-trek-generations-1200439393/) ## Empire — Angie Errigo Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 27 April 2006. 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 the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/star-trek-vii-generations-review/) ## Los Angeles Times — Kenneth Turan Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 17 November 1994. 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 the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-star-trek-generations-review-19941117-snap-story.html) ## RogerEbert.com — Roger Ebert Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 1994. 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 the review](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/star-trek-generations-1994) ## The Hollywood Reporter — Phil Pirrello Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2019. 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 the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-features/how-star-trek-generations-killed-franchise-1255759/) ## Time Out — NF Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 22 August 2013. 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 the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/star-trek-generations) ## Den of Geek — Chris Cummins Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 18 November 2019. 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 the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/does-star-trek-generations-deserve-another-chance/) ## The Wrap — Russ Fischer Fi1m's normalised score 45/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2021. 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 the review](https://www.thewrap.com/star-trek-movies-ranked-worst-to-best/) ## Collider — Matt Goldberg Fi1m's normalised score 30/100 (inferred from the text). 8 September 2020. 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 the review](https://collider.com/star-trek-movies-ranked/) ## /Film — Witney Seibold Fi1m's normalised score 20/100 (inferred from the text). 17 December 2023. 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 the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/1469105/star-trek-generations-most-useless-star-trek-movie/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/star-trek-generations.md