All 13 Best Star Trek Movies In Order You Must Watch

Star Trek is one of the top-rated film and television franchises in the genre of science-fiction created by Gene Roddenberry. The original Star Trek television series made its debut on September 8, 1966, on the NBC network. It aired for three seasons and was canceled in 1969 due to poor ratings. It was later revived by two spin-offs, Star Trek: The Animated Series (1973-1974) and Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987-1994), and its first feature film Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

The Star Trek universe has now branched out into nine spin-off series and a film franchise of 13 films. The first six feature films are based on Star Trek: The Original Series, the next four are on Star Trek: The Next Generation and the remaining 3 are a part of a reboot series in which all the original characters are played by a new cast.

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We have created this detailed list of all the Star Trek movies so that you can enjoy them without getting confused about the timelines and characters.

Star Trek Movies:

Movies based on The Original Series

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)
Star Trek: The Voyage Home (1986)
Star Trek: The Final Frontier (1989)
Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

Movies based on The New Generation

Star Trek Generations (1994)
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Movies based on the Reboot

Star Trek (2009)
Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)
Star Trek Beyond (2016)

1. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

Release Date: December 7, 1979
Director: Robert Wise
Producer: Gene Roddenberry
Cast: William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), Persis Khambatta (Ilia), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), George Takei (Hikaru Sulu), Stephen Collins (Willard Decker), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott), and DeForest Kelley (Leonard McCoy).
IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 41%
Platform: Amazon Prime and Hulu

The film is set in the year 2270. The story starts “Epsilon Nine,” one of the monitoring stations of the “Starfleet” detects an anomalous cloud of cosmic energy heading towards Earth. The mysterious cloud destroys Klingon’s three new K’t’inga warships, and when Epsilon Nine tries to inspect, it disintegrates and evaporates into thin air. The United Federation of Planets assigns the starship “Enterprise” led by James T. Kirk, an ex-commanding officer who was recently promoted to Admiral, to fight this alien entity.

The “Enterprise” warship was undergoing a major revamp, which was overseen by the recently demoted commanding officer, Willard Decker. After failing its system tests, the ship malfunctions, and it’s science officer, Sonak, dies. The science officer is soon replaced by commander Spock. The starship “Enterprise” tries to intercept the cloud and, in doing so, gets attacked by a foreign vessel, which introduces itself as “V’Ger.” They kidnap the ship’s navigator Ilia and replaces her with her replica.

Later, Spock infiltrates the vessel, uses his mind-melding abilities, and learns that V’Ger is a living machine and a space probe of the 20th century named “Voyager 6,” which was assumed to be lost in a black hole. The probe was salvaged by these aliens who misinterpreted its programming as instructions to study the universe and return to its creators. It was found that Humans were the creators, and the existence of the ship was rendered meaningless. Lastly, Decker volunteers to merge with V’Ger and disappears into space.

2. Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Release Date: June 4, 1982
Director: Nicholas Meyer
Producer: Robert Sallin
Cast: William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott), Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), and Ricardo Montalbán (Khan Noonien Singh).
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 88%
Platform: Amazon Prime and Hulu

The plot begins in the year 2285, with Admiral James T. Kirk overseeing a simulation of captain Spock’s new cadets. At the same time, a starship named “Reliant” is out on a mission to test the “Genesis Device” on a dead planet. While evaluating a planet called “Ceti Alpha -VI,” two of “Reliant’s” officers, Commander Pavel Chekov and Captain Clark Terrell, get captured by a tyrant named “Khan Noonien Singh.” In the past, Kirk had banished Khan to “Celtic V” after he tried to take over his ship. Later, an explosion of a nearby planet causes the death of Khan’s wife.

Khan uses Chekov and Terrell by inoculating them with mind-controlling organisms and takes over Reliant. Hell-bent on getting revenge on Kirk, Khan decides to go to “Regula I,” a space station where Dr. Carol Marcus, Kirk’s ex-lover, and their son, David, are working on the “Genesis Device.”

On getting a distress call, Kirk sets a course to Regula I. On the way, they are ambushed by Khan, who almost destroys Kirk’s ship, Enterprise. Kirk plans a ruse and manages to escape and land on Regula I. Kirk and his crew trick Khan by directing both the ships, Reliant and Enterprise, into a nearby nebula, where Kirk uses his superior combat skills to defeat Khan. Khan activates the Genesis Device in order to cause an explosion, but Spock saves the day. In doing so, Spock gets exposed to lethal radiation and dies of radiation poisoning. The explosion gives rise to a new planet. In order to honor Spock, his coffin is set to orbit the new planet and eventually land on it.

3. Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

Release Date: June 1, 1984
Director: Leonard Nimoy
Producer: Harve Bennett
Cast: William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott), Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov), Merritt Butrick (David Marcus), and Kirstie Alley (Saavik)
IMDB Rating: 6.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 79%
Platform: Amazon Prime and Hulu

The story starts with the return of the starship “Enterprise,” after a battle with the tyrant, Khan Noonein Singh. The battle causes the death of James T. Kirk’s Vulcan friend, commander Spock, whose coffin was set to orbit the Genesis planet.

While inspecting Genesis on their vessel “Grissom,” David Marcus (Kirk’s son) and lieutenant Saavik discover a new life form. They find that Spock had been resurrected as an infant. Marcus confesses that he used an unstable “protomatter” while making the Genesis device, thereby causing rapid aging of Spock and the planet itself, which would ultimately lead to its destruction within hours.

Meanwhile, a commander named Kruge realizes that the device can be used as an ultimate weapon and destroys “Grissom” and take Marcus, Saavik, and Spock as hostages. At the same time, Kirk learns that before Spock’s death, he had transferred his spirit, “Katra” into Leonard McCoy’s body. If Spock’s Katra is not returned to his home planet, Vulcan, McCoy might die from carrying it.

Kirk and his crew steal the Enterprise in order to return to the Genesis planet to retrieve Spock’s body. Kruge released their arrivals and threatened to kill one of the hostages. Marcus gets killed while protecting Saavik and Spock. Ultimately, Kirk manages to kill Kruge’s crew by activating his vessel’s self-destruct system. Kirk and Kruge get into a fight where Kirk wins by pushing Kruge in lava. Everyone transport to Vulcan, where Spock’s Karta and body are reunited, and he is resurrected.

4. Star Trek: The Voyage Home (1986)

Release Date: November 26, 1986
Director: Leonard Nimoy
Producer: Harve Bennett
Cast: William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (Leonard McCoy), James Doohan(Montgomery Scott), Walter Koenig(Pavel Chekov), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), and Catherine Hicks (Dr. Gillian)
IMDB Rating: 7.3/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 81%
Platform: Popcorn Flix and IMDb Tv

After resurrecting Spock in the previous movie, Star Trek: The Search for Spock, Kirk, and his crew are stuck on the planet Vulcan. They plan to return to Earth, where they are to face a trial for stealing the USS Enterprise. Meanwhile, an unidentified probe starts orbiting around the Earth and starts sending out signals disabling Earth’s power grid and creating massive planetary storms around the Earth. Starfleet starts sending out distress signals warning vessels not to come close to Earth.

Kirk and his crew receive this warning, and Spock realizes that the signals sent out by the probe resemble the voices of the ancient humpback whales. Kirk decides to go back in time and capture a whale to intercept the signal. After arriving in the year 1986, Kirk and Spock set out to find a humpback whale while the rest of the crew stays back to build a tank. Uhura and Chekov decided to use a nuclear reactor to re-power their vessel, which lost most of its fuel due to the time travel.

After overcoming a few hurdles, Kirk and his crew manage to save a few whales from poachers and return back to their time. On returning, their ship loses power and crash lands into the San Francisco Bay. The rescued whales respond to the probe’s signal, and the probe vanishes in space. The charges against Kirk and his crew are dropped due to their contribution to saving the planet. Kirk gets demoted to the captain, and the crew departs on a new mission.

5. Star Trek: The Final Frontier (1989)

Release Date: June 9, 1989
Director: William Shatner
Producer: Harve Bennett
Cast: William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott), Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov), Laurence Luckinbill (Sybok), and Todd Bryant (Klaa)
IMDB Rating: 5.5/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 21%
Platform: Amazon Prime and Hulu

The film starts with the USS Enterprise’s crew enjoying their hard-earned leave after a shakedown mission. Suddenly, the Starfleet Command orders the Enterprise to go on a mission to rescue Klington and some Romulan diplomats who were taken hostage on a planet named “Nimbus III.” After learning about this mission, “Klaa,” a Klingon captain, decided to hunt Captain Kirk in order to achieve fame and glory.

On reaching Nimbus III, Kirk and his crew learn that the person behind this crisis is none other than Spock’s half-brother, Sybok. Sybok then informs the crew that the hostages were only taken to attract a vessel”, which he planned to use to travel to a far off planet called “Sha Ka Ree.” Sha Ka Ree was believed to be the planet where creation first took place and is located exactly in the middle of the galaxy, fortified by a barrier. Sybok uses his mind-melding abilities to destabilize the crew’s minds and make them susceptible to suggestion. However, Spock and Kirk remain unaffected.

Kirk and Sybok reach an understanding as Sybok realizes he needs Kirk to command his crew. Their ship somehow manages to breach the barrier, followed by Klaa’s warship, and everyone discovers the planet, Sha Ka Ree. After taking a shuttle to the surface, Sybok tries to summon the “Creator.” A mystical entity appears, which asks Sybok to bring the ship closer to the planet. Kirk questions the entity about this absurd demand and gets attacked for the same. Everyone then realizes that they have been deceived, and the barrier was actually meant to keep vessels from leaving. The entity tries to kill Kirk, but the Klingons manage to destroy it. Klaa is made to apologize to Kirk, and the crew returns home.

6. Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country(1991)

Release Date: December 6, 1991
Director: Nicholas Meyer
Producers: Ralph Winter and Steven-Charles Jaffe
Cast: William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott), Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov), Kim Cattrall (Valeris), and David Warner (Gorkon)
IMDB Rating: 7.2/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 82%
Platform: Amazon Prime and Hulu

The movie starts when a starship named “USS Excelsior” gets hit by a shock wave. They discover that a Klingon moon called Praxis has been destroyed, and the resulting explosion has taken down the Klingon’s home planet’s ozone layer. This leads to chaos in the Klingon empire. The Klingons decide to initiate peace with the United Federation of Planets.

The Starfleet decides to send USS Enterprise to meet Gorkon, the Klingon Chancellor, and bring him to Earth for negotiations. Captain Kirk is against this alliance as his son, David, was murdered by the Klingons. A series of events lead to Chancellor Gorkon’s death. Kirk and McCoy are wrongfully blamed by the Klingons and are sentenced to life imprisonment on Rura Penthe, a frozen asteroid.

On Rura Penthe, Kirk and McCoy are tricked by a shapeshifter named Martia, who was sent to make their deaths appear accidental. Kirk and McCoy are then rescued by Captain Spock, who had undertaken the investigation. On initiating a forced mind-meld, Spock discovers that a group of several officers had deliberately planned to sabotage the peace.

Both the ships rush to Khitomer in order to save the peace talks. Enterprise is then ordered back to Earth and get decommissioned. However, Kirk decides to go to a nearby star and announces that this was his last mission on the Enterprise.

7. Star Trek Generations (1994)

Release Date: November 18, 1994
Director: David Carson
Producer: Rick Berman
Cast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker), William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov), and LeVar Burton (Geordi La Forge)
IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 48%
Platform: Popcorn Flix and IMDb Tv

The movie starts with a scene in the year 2293. Three retired officers, including James T. Kirk, set out on a maiden voyage of the new “Enterprise-B.” Due to an emergency, they are required to go on a mission to rescue two “El-Aurian” ships ensnared by a ribbon of unknown energy. Enterprise manages to save a few refugees but, in turn, gets trapped in the energy ribbon. In order to escape, Kirk goes to engineering. The ship’s hull is hit by the ribbon, and Kirk is presumed dead.

The main plot starts about 78 years later, in the year 2371. A starship “Enterprise-D,” lead by Captain Jean-Luc Picard, receives a distress signal when an El-Aurian named Dr. Tolian Soran attempts to destroy a nearby star by shooting a probe at it. Soran is determined to enter the energy ribbon in order to reach the “Nexus,” which is assumed to be an extra-dimensional universe existing outside of normal space-time. Soran plans to destroy another star in an attempt to redirect the energy ribbon towards him on the planet “Veridian III.” Picard and his crew realize that the explosion would cause casualties on the nearby inhabited planets.

Picard demands a meeting with the Duras sisters, who later attack Enterprise. Enterprise gets severely damaged, and the crew is forced to evacuate to the “Saucer Section” of the ship, which crash-lands on Veridian III. Picard fails to stop Soran from launching the probe, and both of them enter the Nexus. Picard meets Kirk inside the Nexus. Together, they manage to kill Soran when Kirk sacrifices himself.

8. Star Trek: First Contact(1996)

Release Date: November 22, 1996
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Producer: Rick Berman, Marty Hornstein, and Peter Lauritson
Cast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker), Levar Burton (Geordi La Forge), Brent Spiner (Data), Gates McFadden (Beverly Crusher), and James Cromwell (Zefram Cochrane)
IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 92%
Platform: Popcorn Flix and IMDb Tv

USS Enterprise, led by Captain Jean Luc Picard, are ordered to patrol a neutral zone after a Borg threat is perceived by the Starfleet. The battle against the Borgs begins, and Picard realizes that the Borgs plan to take over Earth by changing the past through time travel. Enterprise follows a sphere ship into a temporal vortex, and time travels hundred years in the past. It was April 4, 2063, a day before Humans first met Aliens. Picard realizes that the Borgs were trying to prevent this “First Contact.”

Picard and his crew successfully stop the Borgs and neutralize the threat. Zefram Cochrane completes his warp flight, and the timeline is restored. The crew then sneaks out and returns to the future.

9. Star Trek: Insurrection(1998)

Release Date: December 11, 1998
Director: Jonathan Frakes
Producer: Rick Berman
Cast: Donna Murphy (Anij), Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker), Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Brent Spiner (Data), Marina Sirtis(Deanna Troi), and Murray Abraham (Ru’afo)
IMDB Rating: 6.6/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 54%
Platform: Amazon Prime and Hulu

The story starts with Lieutenant Commander “Data,” onboarding a ship lead by Admiral Dougherty, who is on an undercover mission to analyze and observe the peaceful Ba’ku people. Mid-mission, Data malfunctions and reveals his identity, and exposes the mission. Picard and his crew set out to retrieve Data. Admiral Dougherty’s repeated insistence that the Enterprise’s presence is not needed makes Picard suspicious of him.

The crew later learns that the particles emitting from the planet’s rings make the Ba’ku people relatively immortal and that they possess highly advanced technology. Picard finds out that Data’s malfunction is closely related to the Son’a attack. Since the Son’a people rely heavily on medicine for their well-being, they, along with some top federation officers, had planned to relocate all the Ba’ku people to another planet by force and claim it for themselves.

Picard and Riker plan to report this crip to the Starfleet. Dougherty allows the Sona leader Ahdar Ru’afo to destroy the Enterprise ship, but Riker saves the ship. Ru’afo orders his followers to start harvesting the particle from the planet’s rings immediately as their mission was now exposed. Picard, with the help of Son’s ally, Gallatin, comes up with a ruse to disable the harvesting vessel by activation its self-destruct mechanism, which leads to Ru’afo’s death. The Ba’ku elders thank Picard, and the Enterprise returns home.

10. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)

Release Date: December 13, 2002
Director: Stuart Baird
Producer: Rick Berman
Cast: Patrick Stewart (Jean-Luc Picard), Jonathan Frakes (William T. Riker), Brent Spiner (Data), Michael Dorn (Worf), and Marina Sirtis(Deanna Troi)
IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 38%
Platform: Popcorn Flix and IMDb Tv

The plot starts with an alliance between the Romulans and Remans. The Remans had been slaves to the Romulans for several years and were now demanding equality. The Remans were led by a rebel leader named Shinzon. Two officers are killed as they opposed the alliance.

Shortly, the USS Enterprise intercepts energy readings from Romulus, Picard and his crew arrive at the planet and discover that it had been taken over by Shinzon. It is later found that Shinzon was actually a robotic clone of Captain Picard, created by the Romulans for espionage purposes. This plan was canceled when Shinzon was still an infant and was hence abandoned. Shinzon then grows up to be the rebel leader of the Remans.

Shinzon had managed to create a warship named Scimitar, which he plans on using to destroy the federation. Shinzon tries to abduct Picard in an attempt to save his life by a blood transfusion. Data successfully rescue Picard. Enterprise and Scimitar engage in a battle, and both suffer heave damage. Picard boards the Scimitar and kills Shinzon. Data sacrifices himself in order to transport Picard back to Enterprise. Everyone mourns Data and return to Earth.

11. Star Trek (2009)

Release Date: May 8, 2009
Director: J. J. Abrams
Producer: J. J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine (James T. Kirk), Jimmy Bennett (Young Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Jacob Kogan (Young Spock), and Leonard Nimoy (Spock Prime)
IMDB Rating: 6.4/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 94%
Platform: FuboTV

A USS starship, “Kelvin,” had been ordered to inspect a peculiar lightning storm. Just as Kelvin gets close to the storm, it gets attacked y a Romulan warship “Narada.” Kelvin’s first officer, George Kirk, orders the crew to abandon the ship and programs Kelvin to collide with Narada. George Kirk dies in the process. Soon, Kirk’s wife bears a son, and thus the infamous James T. Kirk is born.

Seventeen years pass. And on a planet named Vulcan, Spock joins the Starfleet. Meanwhile, on Earth, Kirk also enrolls in the Starfleet academy. A few years later, Starfleet receives a distress signal from Vulcan. A lightning storm, similar to the one that had appeared years ago when kirk’s father died, had appeared. Kirk warns everyone that the storm is a trap.

On arriving at Vulcan, the crew discovers that “Narada” had started tampering with the planet’s core by drilling a hole into it. Although Kirk and Sulu succeed in disabling the drill, Vulcan’s core becomes unstable, causing it to form a black hole. Before the planet is destroyed, Kirk and his crew somehow save the planet’s High Council and Spock’s father, Sarek. Kirk rescues Pike by going aboard Narada and manages to get back to Enterprise in time. Nero, along with Narada, gets sucked into the black hole.

After returning to Earth, Kirk is promoted to commander, and Spock becomes the first officer under his command.

12. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Release Date: May 16, 2013
Director: J. J. Abrams
Producer: J. J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine (James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Spock), Karl Urban (Dr. Leonard McCoy), Zoe Saldana (Lieutenant Uhura), and Simon Pegg (Lieutenant Scott)
IMDB Rating: 7.7/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 84%
Platform: FX Now

The movie starts in the year 2259 when Captain Kirk is demoted to the first officer for breaking one of the prime directives in order to save some inhabitants and Spock. Officer Harewood, on orders by commander John Harrison, bombs London’s Section 31.

Kirk and Spock are reinstated and ordered on a mission to kill John Harrison. Kirk and his crew start moving towards the planet Kronos, where they are ambushed by Klingons. Harrison appears and fights the Klingons, thus saving Kirk and his crew. He then surrenders himself after being threatened to be killed by torpedoes. Later in the story, Harrison reveals that he is actually Khan Noonien Singh.

Enterprise is attacked by a massive warship, “Vengeance,” led by Admiral Marcus. Kirk tries to escape to Earth. Khan space jumps to Vengeance, assumes its control, and starts chasing Enterprise to Earth. Both ships crash on Earth after getting caught in the atmosphere. Kirk is severely injured, and the crew manages to capture Khan and use his blood’s regenerative properties and save him.

13. Star Trek Beyond (2016)

Release Date: July 22, 2016
Director: Justin Lin
Producer: J. J. Abrams
Cast: Chris Pine (Captain James T. Kirk), Zachary Quinto (Commander Spock), Karl Urban (Lieutenant Commander Leonard McCoy), Zoe Saldana (Lieutenant Nyota Uhura), Simon Pegg (Lieutenant Commander Montgomery Scott), and Kalara
IMDB Rating: 7.1/10
Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 86%
Platform: IMDb Tv

The plot starts when the USS Starship Enterprise sets off on a mission to rescue an officer named Kalara, who claims that her ship has been stranded on a nebular planet named Altamid. Enterprise is suddenly ambushed by several small ships, led by Krall. Enterprise crash-lands on Altamid. Later it is revealed that Kalara is actually Krall’s spy. Enterprise is forced to handover Abronath; an ancient relic Krall was after.

Krall uses the relic to assemble an ancient bio-weapon and moves on to destroy Yorktown. Kirk and his crew manage to power up the previously stranded ship, Franklin, and chase after Krall. Kirk learns that Krall’s real name is Balthazar Edison, the former captain of Franklin. Although Edison manages to activate the bio-weapon, Kirk somehow launches it into space along with Edison. Both Edison and the bio-weapon get disintegrated and disappear. The crew remembers that it is Kirk’s birthday and everyone starts celebrating.

Conclusion:

The Star Trek cinematic universe no doubt very complicated. At first, the different characters and timelines may seem a bit daunting. But once you start watching, all the pieces of the puzzle fall into place, and an impressive bigger picture is revealed. In order to become a true “Trekkie,” and get an even deeper experience of this universe, do watch Star Trek: The Original Series and all its spin-offs in chronological order. Let’s cross our fingers and hope that the next movie comes out soon. Happy Trekking!