Star Trek Generations and First Contact, how were they critically received?

Films like First Contact and Generations had a somewhat better response from critics simply because the cast was different. Patrick Stewart is seen as a pretty good actor and the cast, instead of being ageing space heroes were young more vital and, therefore, led to a franchise that itself was younger and more vital.

There was a lot of scepticism as to whether or not the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation could carry on in the movie franchise, but they did so with a bang. You had not only the loyal audience who had been following the franchise since the early days of the TV show, but you had the whole new audience of people as well who had been watching the Next Generation. While Star Trek films have never in any incarnation been critical darlings the reviews got a little bit better.

The good news is that the cast of Star Trek: the Next Generation was a very popular cast. I think they've come onto their own and established themselves as their own stars within that franchise and I think by spacing out the movies, doing them every two or three or even four years, as opposed to one a year there certainly is enough appetite built up among fans that there's a guarantee that each film could do 50 to 60 million dollars rather easily. And as long as they can contain the costs I think Paramount will continue to keep the franchise alive.