Project Enterprise: God!

5. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) I had mercifully retained no memory of this movie, other than that it was probably time for these guys to hang it up. After all, at this point The Next Generation had been on TV for two years. Get it? NEXT GENERATION? Nevertheless they made this movie. And Shatner's one of three guys credited with the story. Ruh-roh. The whole scene at the campfire at the beginning was excruciating.

Overall: D+ This is harsher than I expected, but truly they seem to have indulged all the worst tendencies about the series and it's becoming all about Kirk's mortality. Yuck.

Plot: C- The idea of Spock's heretofore-unknown older brother being a messiah figure who's going to lead everyone else to God had some promise -- but just serves as an opening to a bunch of mawkish scenes (though I did appreciate Kirk proclaiming "I need my pain!").

Costumes: D- Two steps back. Now Kirk's red tunic is some kind of velour-y plush material, unlike everyone else who's still stuck with the polyester. At least he ditched the pleated shirt. And McCoy's jaunty scarf -- which he wears while out camping??? -- is just ... no.

New cast members: B- Sybok was actually pretty good. Nothing like an extroverted messianic Vulcan. And he gets serious points for his IMDB listing, which shows he played four different characters on Murder She Wrote. Which, I know, has nothing to do with Star Trek. But is still awesome.

F/X: D+ For some reason, the effects suddenly look like they're from a 1960s TV show. Those had their charm when they were on a 1960s TV show. And the Wizard of Oz stuff for God? That had its charm when it was in a 1936 movie.

Series ranking: 1. Wrath of Khan 2. The Voyage Home. 3. The Search for Spock. 4. The Motion Picture 5. The Final Frontier.

Project Enterprise: The pre-return of Khan

12. Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) OK, it's my Wrath of Khan thing again. I know this movie got raves and deservedly so -- I was into it every minute in the theater. It's got great pacing, good performances, a formidable villain -- everything you want from a Star Trek movie. But. It just doesn't have the heart of Wrath of Khan. This could be because once, again, I'm way too attached to that movie. I understand the reboot thing. I applaud it. But something about replacing the gloriously over-the-top Ricardo Montalban with the cerebral Benedict Cumberbatch just didn't quite work for me. To wit: Kirk's big death scene in the warp core chamber? I didn't take that seriously at all.

Overall: A- It's a good movie. It's just the second-best Star Trek movie featuring Khan, that's all. And it's the second-best of the Abrams era -- I love an origin story.

Plot: A- It's one thing to tamper with the text. It's another to change the whole nature of an iconic character. Admiral Marcus as an opponent wasn't bad. So, yeah, good movie.

Costumes: B+ I liked the references to the velour-y uniform jerseys from the show's early days. Otherwise -- nothing special.

Extra Cast Members: A- Cumberbatch -- adore him as Sherlock. Just don't see him as Khan. But it's still fun to watch and, even better, listen to him. Admiral Marcus was fine, Carol Marcus quite good -- even  though in this timeline she has inexplicably acquired a British accent.

F/X: B+ Khan's attack on Starfleet headquarters was good. Ship crashing into Starfleet headquarters better. Big finale fight scene on the hovercraft? Just a top-of-the-train fight, set in the not-too-distant future.

Series ranking: 1. Wrath of Khan 2. Star Trek 3. First Contact 4. Star Trek Into Darkness 5. The Voyage Home 6. Nemesis 7. Insurrection. 8. Generations 9. The Undiscovered Country 10. The Search for Spock 11. The Motion Picture 12. The Final Frontier