Star Trek: Generations remains a landmark in the franchise for a number of reasons. It concluded the original series and launched The Next Generation. It also marked the first time William Shatner and Patrick Stewart appeared on screen together, with the two faces of Star Trek standing shoulder to shoulder in an iconic meeting that few would have thought possible.
In the Shatner and Stewart pairing, their characters James Kirk and Jean-Luc Picard would team up to fight Tolian Soran and his desire to enter the Nexus. It was a solid film, but it fell short in the third and final act. The two heroes confront Soran, played wonderfully by Malcolm McDowell, leading to Kirk’s death and Shatner’s final appearance in Star Trek.
Kirk’s death was controversial for many reasons, but the one that is most remembered is simply the manner in which he died. In the film, he is stuck to a metal structure that collapses around him. As he fights for his life, the structure collapses and he falls down a mountain. It is a very unheroic death.
This is the biggest criticism of the film and prompted Cinemablend to ask Shatner if he would change the way things went. Shanter, however, knows the moment has passed and says:
“Probably not. The moment is over. It’s over. I did my best. I would have liked a few more tries. But, and then when I say, that’s what I meant, I’ve heard people say, actually just before you came on. No, no, I got that. That’s what I got. So, you know, it goes into the realm of. Er, nonsense. Sounds cruel. That’s the realm of fantasy.”
– t
The way Shatner’s Kirk ended is not ideal. It’s almost a malpractice the way they did it. Sadly, no matter how bad that moment was, you can’t erase it from the show’s timeline. Unless you go out and cherry pick moments to delete or remake.
However, if you decide to clean up the canon timeline, there are even more egregious moments in Star Trek that should be undone beyond Kirk’s death. While Kirk’s death isn’t great, at this point the matter is more than settled. The only thing to do now is try to give Chris Pine’s Kirk a better send-off should they go in that direction for the fourth film.
