Star Trek’s top-rated film on Rotten Tomatoes isn’t The Wrath of Khan. This runs counter to the popular assumption among Trekkies that Wrath of Khan must sit at the top of any “best of Trek” list, but the Rotten Tomatoes data tells a different story, at least where critics are concerned. Rather, it’s J.J. Abrams’ 2009 reboot, Star Trek, which holds the highest Tomatometer rating of any Trek film to date.
Modern Trek, Modern Scores
There are two groups of expert reviews on Rotten Tomatoes: "fresh" and "rotten." The critics' reviews for the 2009 movie Star Trek were the greatest of all the movies in the series which led to the film's 94 percent Tomatometer rating.
That number puts it ahead of all the other Star Trek movies, even The Wrath of Khan (1982) with a score of 87 percent. First Contact (1996) currently registers at 93 percent, which is also lower on the Tomatometer but still very popular with fans. In fact, one needs only look at the Rotten Tomatoes Popcornmeter rating, formerly the RT audience score, to gauge how most fans feel.
In other words, the Abrams reboot doesn’t just edge out Wrath of Khan, it clears it by several percentage points, enough to give it an unambiguous lead in Rotten Tomatoes' eyes. (Continued...)