Joshua Tyler | updated
There have been many epic space battles in sci-fi movies and TV, but ultimately the best space battle will be decided between the two biggest franchises: Star Trek and Star Wars. Perhaps Babylon 5 would have been run with a bigger budget and modern computers. And if you’ve seen the 2004 reboot: Battlestar GalacticaYou know how exciting a Viper fight can be.
But at the end of the day, it comes down to Star Trek vs. Star Wars, and their approaches couldn’t be more different. Star Wars space battles are exciting dogfights in which fighter jets race through space against the backdrop of massive, stationary ships. Star Trek space battles are even more important as cruisers consider tactics and move with maximum efficiency and drama.
Which is better? This channel is on the Starfleet side and we’ll tell you why. This is Star Trek’s best space battle.
4. The Battle of Sector 001 in Star Trek: First Contact
Star Trek: Generations disappointed fans, and first contact It wastes no time righting the film’s wrongs, starting with a big-screen spaceship battle. generation Delivery failed.
With the Enterprise on its way, a desperate fleet tries to stop the Borg cube from reaching Earth. It is led by a task force. deep space nine The hero ship Defiant, commanded by everyone’s favorite Klingon, Worf. Despite leading a fleet containing Starfleet’s latest combat innovations, Earth’s defenders are completely overwhelmed and the situation is desperate.
On the verge of destruction, Worf gives orders to Ben. parks and resorts Pushing the Defiant at breakneck speeds will no doubt be reveling in the idea of an honorable death. At the last moment, the Enterprise suddenly appears and blunts the Borg Cube’s attack. This is the new Enterprise E, a ship specifically designed to take down the Borg as well as the Enterprise.
The Borg are long-time enemies of the Federation and have always had the upper hand in all previous encounters, and even though this shiny new Sovereign class Enterprise will be fighting them, that’s what audiences expect. Instead, the Enterprise kicks off the movie’s story in the biggest way possible by tearing the Borg cube to shreds, leading the Borg Queen to escape and instead begin a dangerous time travel plan.
3. The Battle of Jupiter in Star Trek: Picard Season 3
Struggling with television budgets in the 1980s Star Trek: The Next Generation Very little ship combat was shown on screen. This was done quickly or filmed in a way that addressed time constraints and the difficulties of using physical models.
at the time next generation The makers finally got the movie and most thought they would finally see what Enterpise D could do with a big screen budget. however Star Trek: Generations The script had the Enterprise D go out like a jerk due to lame technology involving protection frequencies and Riker’s poor decisions.
when Star Trek: Picard Season 3’s showrunner Terry Matalas decided to resurrect the Enterprise D, and this was an opportunity to right that wrong. Using state-of-the-art CGI, Matalas plunges the Enterprise D into the battle of a lifetime against a Borg Cube the size of the Death Star.
While it certainly wasn’t a coincidence, the Enterprise’s path to defeating it ended up being very similar to the Millennium Falcon’s fight against the second Death Star. return of the jedi. It might be a little silly in the context of Star Trek, but it’s a lot of fun, and by the time that happens, everything else about Picard season 3 is so good that you’ll totally get it.
Star Trek has never done anything like this before and probably never will again. This is one of the franchise’s most energetic space battle sequences.
2. Battle of Mutara Nebula in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
everything that happens in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan It leads to the Mutara Nebula.
Captain Kirk is on the verge of defeat, and he knows it’s his fault. He screwed up. He ignored Saavik’s warning and let Khan fall on him. People died, and the crew he left behind was lucky enough to be alive and breathing.
Both the Enterprise and Reliant are damaged and crippled, but the Enterprise’s situation is even worse, meaning the Reliant has the upper hand. The crew of the Enterprise are faced with a genius madman who will stop at nothing until he dies. It’s the perfect setup for the ultimate one-on-one starship battle, and it still holds up as the standard for space combat for many Star Trek fans.
It’s strange to think about it now, but in the past Khan’s WrathStar Trek has never shown audiences a full-blown starship battle. movie There was no actual combat, and the original series didn’t have the budget to show anything more than cutting back and forth between fuzzy ship models floating stationary in space.
From the beginning, Star Trek II Director Nicolas Meyer set out to change the direction of Star Trek by making a film inspired by naval tradition. His original script plan for the final ship battle was as follows: Khan’s Wrath It was like a slugfest, with cannons firing like ancient sailing ships. Reliant and Enterprise sat out in the open and traded sides until someone won.
Production designer Joe Jennings pointed out that this was wrong. He thought the spacecraft would go to each other at high speeds in an open space environment.
So, with the help of art director Mike Minor, he came up with the Battle of the Mutara Nebula, a situation where both ships are limping and have limited visibility. This allowed Meyer to film the final Enterprise vs. Reliant match, such as an intense submarine battle or a Master and Commander-type sailing chase shrouded in dense fog. The fact that this work was completed using only real models without CGI Khan’s Wrath The Battle of Mutara is even more impressive.
The setting is beautiful and visually unique. The strategies involved are interesting yet easy to understand.
Both commanders find themselves in situations where they are asked to put into practice the lessons they should have learned over the course of the film, bringing the film’s plot full circle. The battle is decided when Khan fails to adapt, and Kirk learns from his previous mistakes. , takes advice from his officers and wins. A victory that took the life of my best friend.
1. The return of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine’s “Angel’s Sacrifice”
Victory will only bring more death and war for our heroes. Losing this conflict means losing everything. This is the setting for Star Trek’s best space battle, Operation Return.
It takes place in season 6 of . Star Trek: Deep Space Nine It’s the finale of one of the biggest and best story arcs in franchise history. This episode is called “Angel’s Sacrifice”, and is the final episode in a series of six interconnected episodes, with all previous episodes ending with “To Be Continued”.
The battle is named after Starfleet’s chief strategist, Captain Benjamin Sisko. He plans a desperate attack to break through enemy lines and retake Deep Space Nine before the Dominion can secure reinforcements from the Gamma Quadrant.
The irony of Operation Return is that Sisko’s plan fails. Gul Dukat, commanding the Dominion fleet, saw through every strategic trick and succeeded in luring the overwhelming Federation fleet into a trap. Just as Han Solo takes the Death Star or Gandalf arrives at Helm’s Deep, Sisko survives and breaks through enemy lines, thanks to some unexpected last-minute assistance from Klingons flying out of the sun. But not until it’s too late.
The desperate futility of all that death and destruction only makes it more impactful. The good guys don’t win in the end thanks to Sisko’s battle plan, but only after witnessing one of the most striking, explosion-filled, spaceship-crushing crashes in Star Trek.
Over 200 Federation starships and Klingon birds of prey engage a much larger enemy fleet comprised of Carsassian and Dominion ships over the course of the episode’s lengthy space battle. In the era of motion-controlled practical models, this was something that was technically impossible to display on screen.
deep space nine Beginning in Season 3, they began experimenting with using computer-generated effects for spatial sequences. By the start of Season 6 in 1997, they had mastered it and become so confident in their abilities that the show decided to do something new with CGI. technology.
“Angel’s Sacrifice” was the first Star Trek episode to use computer-generated imagery exclusively. The series was such an enormous undertaking that two separate digital effects companies were hired to collaborate on its production. Digital Muse created the new ships needed for the Federation side in the battle, and Foundation Imaging created the Dominion fleet. Digital Muse then put together the first half of the battle, and Foundation Imaging animated the second half sequence where the Defiant breaks through to Deep Space Nine.
To ensure a degree of tactical realism, DS9’s creators consulted with military expert Dan Curry and former pilot Bradley Thompson to develop strategies for use by the struggling fleet.
Cool special effects and exploding spaceships aren’t enough to make a great space battle. “Angel’s Sacrifice” combined this with the incredible stakes the show had built up over six episodes, providing the ultimate reward for fans who had the patience to seething through the escalating tension.
It worked. all. When this scene aired in 1997, it was watched by 6.4 million viewers. “Angel’s Sacrifice” is now considered one of the best episodes of Star Trek.
The fight scenes were so beloved that when showrunner Ira Steven Behr had to select a scene from DS9 to remaster in high-definition HD, he chose it for a retrospective documentary. what we left behind. it’s the only deep space nine It’s a remastered sequence and the best Star Trek space battle to date.
