William Shatner's Captain Kirk made his final appearance on Star Trek: Generations. He, Montgomery Scott (James Doohan) and Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) joined the Enterprise-B for its inaugural adventure, and Kirk saves the ship from a gravimetric field and is presumed dead. From that point forward, Kirk is trapped in the Nexus while the world goes on without him. But, asScreenrant writer Rachel Hulshult points out, Generations missed out on a HUGE opportunity by not bringing Kirk aboard Captain Picard's (Patrick Stewart) Enterprise.
Generations was, essentially, a way to pass the torch from The Original Series movies to The Next Generation movies. It was the final time that Captain Kirk would have an adventure in the universe, and while he was brought back to help save that same universe...again, his presence in the movie, if utilized properly, could have made such a big difference in how it was received.
Having Shatner in this movie should have been one of the major focuses. Pairing him with Captain PIcard aboard the Enterprise would have been more of a torch-passing moment than a fight with Macolm McDowell's character, Dr. Soran. To see the two captains on the bridge of that iconic ship, one who led her and one who currently leads her, would have been a truly classical moment.
Imagine Kirk's face on seeing the differences a hundred years brought to his ship. With Kirk able to see the advancements and Picard's crew in awe of Kirk, this would have made the movie about something other than just leaving The Original Seris in the dust. And I'm wholeheartedly in agreement with Hulshult's statement that "Star Trek: Generations blew it by not having Kirk aboard Picard's Enterprise." By utilizing Kirk, Picard and his crew, and the Enteprise as a team, Generations could have made history for a better reason than the death of Captain Kirk.