With rumours of a new Star Trek movie spreading faster than the Borg across the Delta Quadrant, we've decided it's time to beam down our official rankings of the cinematic franchise so far. We'll start with the worst (so, Final Frontier, then) before working our way towards the very best.

Just think, one day, we'll probably have a Netflix-exclusive streaming-only Discovery movie to add to the rankings… Beam us up, Scotty!

13. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)

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"Of all the Star Trek movies, this is the worst," Roger Ebert said way back in 1989. Almost 30 years later, and this statement still applies. Following Leonard Nimoy's successful sittings in the director's chair, Captain William Shatner decided it was his turn. The resulting film almost destroyed the big screen Treks, with only a corporate decision to mark the 25th anniversary with a movie beaming the cast back into cinemas.

But we'll get to VI, for now we've got to confront Star Trek V – a film in which Shatner takes on God (sort of), for a battle in which cinema is the ultimate loser. Penned during a writers' strike, with a budget that made the first film's look generous, Frontier's terrible special effects and baffling plot ensured it was a flop with audiences and critics alike.

12. Star Trek X: Nemesis (2002)

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The worst of the Next Generation era somehow manages to waste a concept as glorious as 'Tom Hardy is the evil clone of Patrick Stewart' – a premise so good, we want it to be spun into a whole new movie.

But it won't feature this cast. Nemesis was the last ride for the Next Gen crew, who were launched into space (presumably) following the worst reviews of the series since the previous entry on our list. Maid In Manhattan beat it at the box office during its opening weekend. 'Nuff said.

11. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

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While this movie has its fans, we're definitely not amongst them. The first Star Trek movie is basically the most boring episode ever, but feature length. So badly paced, fans still call it 'Star Trek: The Slow Motion Picture,' it was the result of cobbling together a bunch of different script ideas from a cancelled spin-off series.

Still, it contained the first example of the 'villain is a cloud' trope, so that's something we guess?

10. Star Trek VII: Generations (1994)

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If JJ Abrams' Star Trek reboot demonstrated exactly how to bring a new cast in while paying respect to the previous crew, Generations is the prime example of how not to do it.

Picard's first movie should have been thrilling, especially as it featured his first-ever meeting with Shatner's Kirk, but it was all very plodding, without much to excite anyone in the audience who didn't already have a phaser in their pocket.

9. Star Trek IX: Insurrection (1998)

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The ninth Trek movie was also the third featuring the Next Gen crew, and there's a chance audience fatigue had set in for Insurrection – especially as there was plenty of high-end Trek content available for free on telly. It didn't help that the film's premise (an evil alien race are exploiting a friendly alien race for their planet's resources) felt like an extended episode of TNG.

Whatever the reason, Insurrection was a relative box office flop, making less money than First Contact and getting mixed reviews.

8. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)

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Now we get to the better-than-average stuff. Search For Spock was Leonard Nimoy's directorial debut (after he contractually died in Wrath Of Khan, getting his character's name in the title and on the director's seat was seen by fans as negotiation tactics worthy of a Vulcan), and it's mostly a success.

Despite the 'odd-numbered Star Trek movies are bad' rule, Search For Spock is clever and entertaining – and successful. Many credit it as bringing Trek back from the dead in the form of a movie series that could go longer than a trilogy, and a brand-new TV series (with Star Trek: The Next Generation launching a few years after Spock). Still, it's far from being the best on our list, with the usual pacing and SFX issues.

7. Star Trek XIII: Beyond (2016)

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After the divisive Into Darkness (well, we liked it – as you'll find out in a moment), Star Trek: Beyond decided to simplify things with an action-heavy take that elevated supporting characters into leading roles, while slightly forgetting to give former leads stuff to do (Zoe Saldana's Uhura being particularly badly served).

Still, it's fun stuff – with some truly glorious set-pieces. Our full review is here.

6. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

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The 25th-anniversary movie was a truly fitting send-off for most of the main cast (Kirk and Spock would appear in later instalments), proving to be their last journey into space.

Poignant, moving, and with a compelling plot that saw Kirk and McCoy charged with assassinating the Klingon High Chancellor and imprisoned, this is still only our third-favourite original Trek movie to revisit. You can probably guess what's ahead of it.

5. Star Trek XII: Into Darkness (2013)

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Yeah, sure – when you look closely at it, none of it actually makes any sense. And some of those callbacks are so on the nose they could be a new alien race that's just a massive nostril.

BUT, Into Darkness contains one of Benedict Cumberbatch's best performances, a very welcome Dark Knight vibe and some truly astonishing effects. Read our full review here.

4. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)

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Time travel was so big in the '80s, it was only a matter of… TIME… before the Enterprise crew got involved (this sentence works best if you read it in the style of Captain Kirk, thank you for your patience).

Leonard Nimoy came up the the premise – the gang had to go back to 1986 to rescue a whale, because of course they did – which may sound ropey on paper, but was actually mainly a conduit for some of the funniest gags of the series.

A joy from start to finish, and if you don't cry at the end, you might be Data.

3. Star Trek VIII: First Contact (1996)

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Taking a leaf out of Wrath Of Khan's book, The Next Generation's most impressive film used a villain from the television series, to impressive effect. Paramount finally realised that the cybernetic assimilators the Borg were the TNG's equivalent to the Klingons – the alien race with the biggest cinematic potential.

The result? The best action-entry into the series, which also happened to be the most accessible to new audiences, resulting one of the largest box office hauls in the series' history, which was as well-reviewed as it was successful.

2. Star Trek XI (2009)

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With Trek off the small screen as well as the big screen, it took the genius of JJ Abrams to resurrect the franchise and make it feel fresh again.

Yeah, there's a lot of lens flare, but there's also a lot of actual flair, with perfect casting, an opening sequence that ranks amongst the best of any individual scene in the Trek movies, and a perfect use of Leonard Nimoy's Spock.

The parallel universe premise was arguably the smartest touch, ensuring the crew finally wrestled free from the complicated canon that had previously alienated audiences.

1. Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan (1982)

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Come on, as if it was going to be anything else. Khan is still the greatest mix of the best elements of the original series with genuine cinematic brio, to the extent that it's regularly mentioned in the same breath as Godfather II and Aliens in terms of the most stunning sequels.

Improving on its predecessor in every single respect (whilst reusing some of that film's sets, because of its significantly lower budget), Khan's clever continuation of an episode from the original series 'Space Seed' (starring the same actor as Khan Noonien Singh, Ricardo Montalban) was a hit with fans, franchise newcomers and critics alike. It remains the best.

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