Ranking Chris Pine's Star Trek Movies: From Worst to Best

Introduction

Chris Pine stars as Captain James T. Kirk in J.J. Abrams’ rebooted Star Trek movies, leading the all-star crew of the USS Enterprise into perilous and high-octane adventure.

Star Trek (2009). Enterprise Crew. Anton Yelchin as Pavel Chekov, Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk, Simon Pegg as Montgomery Scotty Scott, Karl Urban as Dr Leonard Bones McCoy, John Cho as Hikaru Sulu, Zoe Saldaña as Nyota Uhura. With Zachary Quinto as Spock.

Introducing the alternate Kelvin timeline, Star Trek (2009) proved an excellent foundation for the franchise’s new movie series.

Star Trek (2009). Bruce Greenwood as Captain Christopher Pike, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, and John Cho as Hikaru Sulu.

Failing to heed the lesson of 2002's Star Trek: Nemesis, Star Trek Into Darkness attempted a remake of the much-loved Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, which spelled disaster for the Kelvin-verse movies.

Star Trek Into Darkness. Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Benedict Cumberbatch as Khan Noonien Singh and John Harrison.

Star Trek Beyond had the bones to reinvigorate the timeline’s trilogy but a mistimed release and lack of creative ambition resulted in a fun third installment that didn't quite deliver at the box office.

Sofia Boutella and Simon Pegg in Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Into Darkness

Star Trek Into Darkness, released on May 9, 2013, was the exciting but controversial follow-up to J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot. It reunited the young USS Enterprise crew for a fun, action-packed, thrilling space adventure.

Star Trek Into Darkness. Bruce Greenwood as Admiral Christopher Pike, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Chris Pine as Captain James T. Kirk.

The movie earned positive reviews from critics but didn’t meet audience expectations, quickly unravelling into a disjointed journey of disappointing and creative missteps.

Star Trek Into Darkness Kirk Chekov

The absence of character set-up and the attempt to remake Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan resulted in a film that didn’t work on its own merits, with the movie’s big pay-off moment falling flat.

Start trek into darkness carol underwear scene

Controversial creative choices, accusations of whitewashing, and character inconsistencies further contributed to the movie's problematic reception.

Star Trek Into Darkness, Zachary Quinto as Spock

Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek Beyond, released on July 22, 2016, is the follow-up movie that Star Trek Into Darkness could have been. It's an exciting, high-stakes, thrilling action-adventure that fondly remembers 1960s Star Trek and pushes creatively into new frontiers.

Kirk and Chekov in a forest on Altamid in Star Trek: Beyond.

The movie established a warmer tone alongside a comfortable onboard routine that works well to develop the crew, but it fell short of reaching its lofty ambitions and mislaid its energy with a confused villain story.

Star Trek Beyond - Uhura (Zoe Saldana) and Sulu (John Cho)

The underperformance and mistimed release of Star Trek Beyond, despite paying tribute to Leonard Nimoy and Anton Yelchin, were contributing factors to its reception.

Bones carries an injured Spock in Star Trek Beyond

Star Trek (2009)

J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek (2009) relaunched the franchise’s movie run and rejuvenated the overall franchise with a modern take and a timeline free of established events.

Star Trek (2009). Cadet James T Kirk Kobayashi Maru hearing. Chris Pine.

The movie delivered stunning aesthetics, spectacular visuals, and endless action sequences, establishing an alternate timeline that is accessible, stimulating, humorous, fresh, and bold.

Star Trek (2009). Zachary Quinto as Spock, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk.

Despite some creative missteps, the breakneck and revitalizing space adventure paved the way for a wealth of future Star Trek.

Star Trek (2009). Zachary Quinto as Spock, Chris Pine as James T. Kirk, Karl Urban as Dr. Leonard 'Bones' McCoy.