Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) was the center of fourStar Trek: The Next Generationmovies, and my five favorite Picard movie scenes showcase theCaptain of the Enterprise’s heroism, humor, and commanding, dramatic power. Before taking over theStar Trekmovie franchise, Picard was the Captain of the USS Enterprise-D inseven seasons ofStar Trek: The Next Generation, which established Jean-Luc’s intelligence, compassion, wisdom, and devotion to the highest principles of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets.
Star Trek: The Next Generationjumped to the big screen in 1994’sStar Trek Generations, which featuredCaptain Picard meeting Captain James T. Kirk (William Shatner) fromStar Trek: The Original Series, andended with Kirk’s death. 1996’sStar Trek: First Contactwas a crowd-pleasing action spectacle where Picard faced his greatest enemies, the Borg. Captain Picard risked his Starfleet career to protect a race called the Ba’ku in 1998’sStar Trek: Insurrection. Finally, Picard faced his evil clone in 2002’sStar Trek: Nemesis.
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s movieschanged Captain Picard, turning Jean-Luc into an action hero who battles the main villain in each film’s action-packed final act. Picard is more aggressive and dynamic in his fourTNGmovies, as opposed to the stoic Captain who favored negotiation inStar Trek: The Next Generation.Yet Picard’s moral compass and dedication to doing what’s right never waver.Captain Picard is always trustworthy, admirable, and a joy to watchin his fourStar Trekmovies, especially in my five favorite scenes.
5Captain Picard Toasts Will Riker & Deanna Troi’s Wedding
Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
Star Trek: Nemesisis far from my favoriteStar Trekmovie, but it opens with an enjoyable moment: Captain Picard giving the best man toast at the wedding of Commander Will Riker (Jonathan Frakes) and Counselor Deanna Troi (Marina Sirtis). Picard is in fine spirits (perhaps fueled by Romulan ale), andJean-Luc delivers a jovial tribute to his First Officer and Counselor,who plan to depart the USS Enterprise-E to take command of the USS Titan. Jean-Luc draws warm laughter as he laments what Riker and Troi leaving will mean to him.
Star Trek: Nemesis Ending & Why It Killed TNG Movies Explained
Star Trek: Nemesis wasn’t trying to kill TNG movies, but bad decisions and poor timing sounded the death knell for Captain Picard’s movie franchise.
I find the rest ofStar Trek: Nemesisto be a dreary affair as Captain Picard meets his twisted clone,Shinzon (Tom Hardy), and prevents the new Romulan Praetor’s plot to attack the Federation. Picard has an uncharacteristic chase scene off-roading with Lt. Commander Data (Brent Spiner) and Lt. Commander Worf (Michael Dorn), andJean-Luc also has a few compelling moments facing off with Shinzonand trying to find the humanity in his doppelgänger.
It’s fun to see Jean-Luc let his hair down, so to speak.
To me, Captain Picard is at his best at the start ofStar Trek: Nemesis,and his toast to Riker and Troi reinforces that they and his other USS Enterprise crewmates are his family. It’s fun to see Jean-Luc let his hair down, so to speak, and tease Data while commanding the room with warmth and wit. SinceStar Trek: Nemesisliterally breaks Picard’s family apart,Jean-Luc gets one fine moment celebrating them with his wedding toast.
4Captain Picard Defies Admiral Dougherty
Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
Star Trek: Insurrectionhas its moments, and the standout scene for Captain Picard is when he confronts Admiral Dougherty (Anthony Zerbe) about his plans to forcibly relocate the Ba’ku people. Dougherty partnered with the Son’a to remove the Ba’ku from their planet in order to harness the energies of the Briar Patch, which is a literal fountain of youth. When Doughtery justifies his plot by noting the Ba’ku are"only 600 people,“Picard asks the Admiral how many does it have to be before it’s considered wrong?
Captain Picard’s 4 Star Trek Movie Villains Ranked Worst To Best
Captain Picard’s Enterprise faced a series of major league villains in Star Trek: The Next Generation’s movies, but who’s the baddest of them all?
Captain Picard’s memorable scenes inStar Trek: Insurrectioninclude his dancing a mambo, singing Gilbert and Sullivan, his climactic slugfest with the villainous Son’a leader Ru’afo (F. Murray Abraham), andJean-Luc’s romantic moments with Anij(Donna Murphy), his Ba’ku love interest. YetPicard confronting Admiral Dougherty reaffirms Jean-Luc’s commitment to the highest principles of the Federation, which Dougherty is conveniently forgetting so that his ends justify the means.
When it comes to doing what’s right, Captain Picard is inflexible.
In private, Picard removes his Captain’s pips, signaling his decision to commit insurrection and defend the Ba’ku. It’s a powerful reminder that when it comes to doing what’s right, Captain Picard is inflexible, andthis is what makes him one ofStar Trek’s greatest heroes.
3Captain Picard Experiences Christmas In The Nexus
Star Trek Generations (1994)
Star Trek Generationshas many memorable Captain Picard moments, and one of the most intriguing is when Jean-Luc is transported into the Nexus. Before becoming Jack Crusher’s (Ed Speleers) father inStar Trek: Picardseason 3, Jean-Luc famously never married or had children, preferring to dedicate his life to Starfleet and exploring the galaxy asCaptain of the Enterprise. The Nexus, an other-dimensional space ribbon capable of delivering a person’s heart’s desire,showed Picard a glimpse of the road not taken.
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Stuart Baird
Upon arriving in the Nexus, Captain Picard finds himself at Christmas with his family, including the wife and children he never had. Perhaps even more uplifting for Jean-Luc is thathis nephew, Rene (Christopher James Miller), is present.Rene died in a fire off-screen inStar Trek Generations,but his presence completes the storybook illusion of hearth and home that Jean-Luc never experienced in his adult life up to that point.
David Tristan Birkin played Rene Picard inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 4’s “Family,” and Birkin returned as the younger Jean-Luc inStar Trek: The Next Generationseason 6’s “Rascals.”
However, Captain Picard was only momentarily persuaded by the Nexus' Christmas illusion. An echo ofGuinan (Whoopi Goldberg)appeared to explain the rules of the Nexus to Jean-Luc, and Picard was quick to reject this fantasy and revert to his mission to stop Dr. Tolan Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from destroying Veridian III. Still,it was a lovely Christmas at the Picards while it lasted.
2Captain Picard Learns His Family Died
Perhaps Patrick Stewart’s most emotionally gutwrenching scene inStar Trek: The Next Generation’s movies is when Captain Picard learns his family was dead inStar Trek Generations.Star Trek: The Next Generationseason 4’s classic episode “Family” introduced Jean-Luc’s estranged older brother, Robert Picard (Jeremy Kemp), Robert’s wife Marie (Samantha Eggar), and his young son, Rene (David Tristan Birkin).Robert and Jean-Luc mended fences, and the elder brother helped his sibling cope with his traumafrom being assimilated by the Borg.
My 7 Favorite Captain Kirk Scenes In Star Trek Movies, Ranked
Captain James T. Kirk (sometimes Admiral Kirk) is the hero of 10 Star Trek movies in two timelines, and he has some classic moments.
However,Star Trek Generationsshockingly killed Robert Picard and his familyoff-screen when it is revealed they died in a fire at Chateau Picard in La Barre, France.Star Trek Generationsdelivers a heartbreaking moment of Jean-Luc looking through his photo albumand crying over his lost family, especially Rene. It’s the most deeply personal and resonant moment for Picard in hisStar Trekmovies, with Counselor Troi helping Jean-Luc make sense of his tragedy.
It was Patrick Stewart’s idea to kill off Jean-Luc’s family inStar Trek Generationsso that he would have an emotional scene to play, and to reinforce the Captain’s burden that he’s the last Picard.
Captain Picard has compelling scenes facing off with Dr. Tolian Soran, andStar Trek Generationshinges on the historic and entertaining interaction between Picard and Captain Kirk. To me, William Shatner is so charming as Kirk that he stealsStar Trek Generationswhen he’s on-screen. For Captain Picard’s best moment centering on his character and his personal loss,coping with his family’s death is Jean-Luc’s standout moment.
1Picard’s Captain Ahab Speech
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
Of all of Captain Picard’s memorable moments in theStar Trek: The Next Generationmovies, his absolute most iconic scene has to be Jean-Luc’s “Captain Ahab” speech inStar Trek: First Contact.This unforgettable scene reveals the depths of Picard’s hatred of the Borg and how unhinged he’s becomeas he seeks his revenge. Picard rasping,“The line must be drawn here! This far and no further! And I will make them pay for what they’ve done!“may be Picard’s most famous dialogue in theStar Trekmovies.
Captain Picard was assimilated by the Borg and turned into Locutus inStar Trek: The Next Generation’s classic two-parter, “The Best of Both Worlds.”
However,Lily Sloane (Alfre Woodard)provides the crucial counterbalance that brings the crazed Captain Picard back down to Earth. A 21st-century human swept up in Picard’s war with the Borg, Lily can clearly see how far off the deep end the Captain is heading, andshe aptly compares Jean-Luc to"Captain Ahab"who has to"hunt his whale.“Lily’s words do cut through Picard’s fury, and the introspective and compassionate Jean-Luc reasserts himself as he quotesMoby-Dickand realizes that he truly has become Captain Ahab.
10 Best Quotes From Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact is not just the best Star Trek: The Next Generation movie, it’s also one of the most quotable Star Trek movies.
Star Trek: First Contactis Captain Picard’s best movie, and, in truth, this ranking could have just been great Picard moments from director Jonathan Frakes' blockbuster. Picard is awesome when he’s explaining the tactile sensation of touching the Phoenix warp ship to Data, when he dons a tuxedo and opens fire with a Tommy gun as his holodeck gumshoe cosplay, Dixon Hill, and when Picard triumphantly snaps the dead Borg Queen’s (Alice Krige) spine. But"the line must be drawn here"is my all-time favorite Captain Picard moment inStar Trek: The Next Generation’s movies.
Star Trek: Generations
Cast
Star Trek: Generations bridges the original Star Trek series with The Next Generation crew. Directed by David Carson, the film features Captain Kirk (William Shatner) and Captain Picard (Patrick Stewart) joining forces to stop a villain named Soran (Malcolm McDowell) from destroying a star system. The narrative explores themes of legacy and transition while introducing fans to a climactic crossover of iconic characters.
Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: First Contact is the eighth feature film in the Star Trek franchise and the second to star the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation. Directed by Jonathan Frakes, the film follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard and his crew as they pursue the Borg to prevent them from altering Earth’s history by stopping Zephram Cochrane’s first warp flight and the subsequent first contact with an alien species.
Star Trek: Insurrection
Star Trek: Insurrection follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the USS Enterprise as they discover a conspiracy within the Federation to relocate a peaceful race from their planet in order to exploit its rejuvenating properties. Directed by Jonathan Frakes, the film explores themes of morality and resistance while showcasing the unique dynamics and principles that define the Star Trek universe.
Star Trek: Nemesis
Star Trek: Nemesis is the tenth installment in the Star Trek film series, directed by Stuart Baird. The film follows Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) and the crew of the USS Enterprise as they encounter a clone of Picard named Shinzon (Tom Hardy) who seizes control of the Romulan Empire. Picard must face his dark reflection while contending with a perilous threat to the Federation.
