Pointless Arguments #2: Better Sci-Fi Hexalogy: Star Wars or Star Trek?
The original trilogy crafted by George Lucas is one of the greatest movie trilogies of all time. The prequel trilogy was one of the largest disappointments ever conceived. The Star Trek films were in the background consistently spitting out movies. They were under the radar. Which six movie set is better as a whole? Why does anybody care? It's another pointless argument.
Which Sci-Fi universe shall come out on top?
Methodology
How do we find a fair way to do this? Well, we can use objective measures like box office numbers. But then Transformers would be a great movie franchise. Let's be honest. Transformers is garbage. So, let's use subjective numbers. But let's diversify. We will have three "judges." The Metacritic Critic Score, The Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score, and the IMDB User Score. We will divide the Metacritic score by 10, so that all the scores are on a ten point scale.
Each movie can earn up to 30 points for their respective movie franchise. The franchise with the most points at the end wins. We will go in order of the release of the movies comparing the two movies with each other. Thus, A New Hope will be compared with The Motion Picture, etc. If you disagree with the final result, then blame the voters and critics. Statsplit is not responsible for memories of one's youth being destroyed.
Star Wars vs. Star Trek: The Motion Picture
One of the greatest sci-fi masterpieces versus a "motion picture" for a television show. This one is not going to be close.
| Movie | Year | MC | RT | IMDB | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Wars | 1977 | 9.2 | 8.6 | 8.7 | 26.5 |
| Star Trek: The Motion Picture | 1979 | 4.8 | 5.7 | 6.4 | 16.9 |
The critics loved Star Wars and they hated Star Trek. Star Wars was fresh and Star Trek was rotten. Star Wars had the love of the people, while people were ambivalent about Star Trek. Star Wars was filled with action and Star Trek was dialogue heavy. Star Wars had the menacing Darth Vader. Star Trek had a massive cloud of energy.
The Score: Star Wars leads Star Trek: 26.5 - 16.9
The Empire Strikes Back vs. The Wrath of Khan
Both franchises come back with movies that outdo their predecessors. Both are good movies. Some argue that these films were the pinnacle of the franchises. But one is remembered more than the other.
| Movie | Year | MC | RT | IMDB | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Empire Strikes Back | 1980 | 8.1 | 8.6 | 8.8 | 25.5 |
| Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan | 1982 | 7.1 | 8.0 | 7.7 | 22.8 |
The critics liked both films, but it appears that they liked Star Wars a little bit more. This is also reflected by the average viewer. Star Wars continues to pull away. But, we have not reached the prequels yet.
The Score: Star Wars leads Star Trek: 52.0 - 39.7
Return Of The Jedi vs. The Search For Spock
Return Of The Jedi had Luke confront his father for the final time. The Search For Spock had Kirk and company trying to reunite Spock's spirit with his body. Both movies were steps down from their previous installations.
| Movie | Year | MC | RT | IMDB | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Return Of The Jedi | 1983 | 5.3 | 7.2 | 8.4 | 20.9 |
| Star Trek III: The Search For Spock | 1984 | 5.5 | 6.5 | 6.7 | 18.7 |
The criticism for both movies was mixed, with the Star Wars franchise getting its first real criticism to this point. Looking at the reviews, we can blame it on the Ewoks and the repetitive dialogue. Star Trek III actually gets a better Metacritic score, but still loses out due to the more populist options of Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB. But Star Trek still has time to catch up.
The Score: Star Wars leads Star Trek: 72.9 - 58.4
The Phantom Menace vs. The Voyage Home
Star Wars took a long break while Star Trek kept spitting out films at a pretty consistent rate. When Star Wars returned, there was massive disappointment after years of hype that would spread to the next two films. The Voyage Home acted as a final installation to the trilogy created by films 2-4.
| Movie | Year | MC | RT | IMDB | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace | 1999 | 5.1 | 6.0 | 6.5 | 17.6 |
| Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home | 1986 | 6.7 | 6.9 | 7.3 | 20.9 |
Star Trek finally sweeps all categories while George Luca's return directing is met with mediocre reviews from both critics and viewers. As disappointing as The Phantom Menace was, people don't appear to hate as much now as they did back in 1999. Star Trek catches up little but there is still a sizable gap.
The Score: Star Wars leads Star Trek: 90.5 - 79.3
Attack Of The Clones vs. The Final Frontier
Both of these films were arguably the worst in both franchises. The writing for Attack of the Clones was mediocre at best and The Final Frontier was considered a dull mess.
| Movie | Year | MC | RT | IMDB | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Wars Episode II: Attack Of The Clones | 2002 | 5.4 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 18.7 |
| Star Trek V: The Final Frontier | 1989 | 4.3 | 3.9 | 5.4 | 13.6 |
Apparently, people just accepted mediocre Star Wars for it was, reviews were mixed. Things were much worse for Star Trek. Rotten Tomatoes wrecks the film having an average critic score of 3.9. People hated this movie. This pretty much guarantees Star Wars the overall win.
The Score: Star Wars leads Star Trek: 109.2 - 92.9
Revenge Of The Sith vs. The Undiscovered Country
Both film series redeem themselves from their previous entries. These films served as the final story of Anakin Skywalker and the last adventures of the original crew of the Enterprise. Both franchises would continue in additional stories and in the case of Star Trek, a reboot.
| Movie | Year | MC | RT | IMDB | Total Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith | 2005 | 6.8 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 21.7 |
| Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country | 1991 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 7.2 | 20.5 |
Both films perform relatively well and received positive reviews. The more popular film has the edge and this could be seen throughout both franchises. People just like Star Wars more. Even when that Stars War is not the best. Maybe the popularity gives Star Wars an unfair advantage. But even the critics consistently liked Star Wars better. Sorry trekkies.
The Score: Star Wars beats Star Trek: 130.9 - 113.4
If you have any pointless arguments explored, feel free to leave them below. I would be happy to aid your position with loads of worthless statistics. Or I could destroy it.
Very good objective comparison, congrats!
Personally, I like Star Trek more.Call me a geek :)
The truth is that many of these movies were no better than Transformers :)
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It will be pointless to agree or disagree. 😆😛
exactly
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