Spanning two decades and countless light years of interstellar adventure, Star Trek: The Motion Pictures Collection is a testament to the enduring goodwill of Gene Roddenberry's optimistic sci-fi concept. Long before Star Wars sparked an explosion of big-screen science fiction, Roddenberry had planned a second Star Trek TV series; the project fizzled, but its pilot script evolved into the first film in Paramount's most lucrative movie franchise. Despite its sluggish pace and bland "pajama" costuming, Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) offered a welcomed reunion of the "Classic Trek" cast, packed with Douglas Trumbull's still-dazzling special effects. Trekkers were even more ecstatic when The Wrath of Khan (1982) revived the spirit of the original series, even though director Nicholas Meyer was a Trek neophyte. With Leonard Nimoy directing, The Search for Spock (1984) began where Khan left off, with a thrilling (albeit contrived) obligation to resurrect the formerly ill-fated Mr. Spock.

Definitely for those who love sci-fi adventure.

Star Trek: The Motion Picture- 3.5/5. Oft-criticized upon its release and still widely debated, TMP admittedly moves at a slow pace and doesn't exactly provide us with the warmth, humor, and wit we've come to expect from the series. That said, the film is an awesome visual and auditory experience; the abundant f/x were probably the greatest of its time (and still breathtaking today) and Jerry Goldsmith's rousing score is as catchy as ever. Most importantly, the movie just has the look and feel of a big-budget theatrical release, proving Star Trek could make the big-screen transition.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan- 4/5. Widely regarded as the best ST movie, I am quite impressed with just how well-crafted TWOK is. Not only does the film offer up strong characterizations and well-written drama, there are also plenty of great f/x and a climactic space battle that remains one of the best of its kind.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock- 4.5/5. Probably the most moving Star Trek film, TSFS is also a tense adventure highlighted by a rousing James Horner score and enough devastating moments to deliver a rollercoaster ride of thrills and emotion. I still tear up at the end.

Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home- 3.5/5. It's a funny and enjoyable flick, but it fades from memory pretty quickly and is easily the most flatly directed of the whole franchise.

Star Trek V: The Final Frontier- 3.5/5. A glorious mess, The Final Frontier is a mix of the surprisingly good and the amusingly bad, resulting in one very entertaining film. Its haphazardly written script and surprisingly mediocre f/x aside, the chemistry between Kirk, Spock, and Bones has never been stronger, and I would actually argue this flick delivers more laughs (intentional or not) than even The Voyage Home. It's also the only Trek flick that really delves into exploring the unknown, even inspiring a sense of awe for a moment or two (a lot of it thanks to Goldsmith's wonderful score, one of his best ever).

Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country- 4.5/5. My favorite of the original crew's movies, this is the complete package: thrilling action, tense political conflict, an engaging mystery, and plenty of great humor all wrap up this great send-off. Loved Cliff Eidelman's score, which manages to alternate between upbeat adventure and dark militarism.

Star Trek: Generations- 4.5/5. Probably the most thought-provoking Trek flick, Generations is an immensely entertaining adventure that showcases a memorable meeting between Captains Kirk and Picard. It also delivers the usual great f/x and fast-paced action (the space battle and crashlanding sequence is quite a pulse-pounder), and Dennis McCarthy's soaring music is my favorite of all the Star Trek scores.

Star Trek: First Contact- 4.5/5. Packed with flaws, but FC overrides them by delivering one of the most thrilling Trek experiences ever. From large-scale space battles to intense combat in tight corridors and even in zero-gravity, this is an action-packed thrill ride. Horror fans will also eat up the dark atmosphere and the creepy, zombie-like presence of the Borg, one of the best villians in science fiction history.

Star Trek: Insurrection- 3/5. It's a lesser film than most of the others, most notably because the villains are pretty lame and the plot simply lacks adventure. But the movie has a great sense of humor and enough decent action scenes to satisfy.

Star Trek: Nemesis- 2.5/5. In keeping with Trek tradition, the f/x are first-rate, the cast is reliable, and there are some exciting action scenes, but most of the film is a pretty dull stand-off between two starships. Nemesis simply lacks the strong characterizations of TWOK and the grand-scale excitement of The Undiscovered Country. And for a relatively plotless movie, the film still manages to pack in quite a few plot holes.

Star Trek Movies DVD Collection

This is a must have for all Star Trek fans who want a complete and quality set of every movie made. The audio and video is of high quality as are the additional DVD's with each movie. My only gripe is the overall size of the package. There are two DVD's per case but each case is rather wide making the whole collection take up considerable room in your DVD storage case or whatever you might use.

Great Deal

Needless to say, the movies are great and Amazon is great to do business with. The only complaint I have is with the packaging. The DVD cases are nearly as thick as a VHS case so there is no significant space savings here. Not that would be the primary reason for buying this set, just an observation. If you like Star Trek and want a complete set of the Star Trek movies, you can't go wrong with this one.