As tempting as it is to be cynical about major science fiction franchises, every single long-running film series has its ups and downs. There is no need to feel sorry for struggling multi-million dollar epics, but some combative science fiction films like 1977’s Star Wars, are hits from the start, while other franchises are constantly lagging behind. You might think Star Trek is an indestructible brand name, but as a film series, it’s a combative story of perseverance and adaptability.

After being released on Paramount+ in July, all 13 Star Trek films are now available to stream for free on Pluto TV. Here’s why you should watch them all, even the infamous ones.

Despite being around for nearly 60 years and producing nearly 800 hours of content, Star Trek is not considered an entertainment giant in the same sense as Star Wars and Marvel. There are two main reasons for this, which become clear when you watch the films. Star Trek is more overtly political than Marvel or Star Wars, and it changes its narrative at the drop of a hat.

The second point becomes clearest when you watch the Trek films in order. 1979 Star Trek: The Motion Picture was conceived as a pilot for a second live-action television series and the story has the characteristics of a classic Trek episode from the 1960s. It was directed by Robert Wise (The day the earth stood still And West Side Story), the film scans like 2001: A Space Odyssey with Star Trek nomenclature. Although it made money, it also cost a lot of money, and when it was time for Star Trek IIthe budget was cut and director Nicholas Meyer had to create an epic with a handful of interior sets. The result was 1982 The Wrath of the Khanwhich is shot like a submarine thriller from the Second World War, is centered on a revenge story and The original series nautical atmosphere.

The pivot point of The film To The anger is a microcosm that shows how different the Trek films can be. The franchise tried to capture the magic of anger with Nemesis in 2002 and Into the darkness in 2013, but other Trek films are deviations from the deviations. The search for Mr. Spock is essentially a mystical road trip film, while The journey home is an ecological time travel comedy. The final frontier is a commentary on religious extremism, while The undiscovered country is a political thriller that dissects Western prejudices and imperialist politics and also addresses the topic of aging.

These themes are found in Star Wars and Marvel films, but structurally, Star Wars and Marvel films are quite similar. There is a lot of fighting, and we can generally guess the climaxes of the story before they happen. Trek films are not like that. There is no fight at the end of The journey home. The remakes produced by JJ Abrams are a bit more formulaic, but even the most action-packed of them, Star Trek: Into Darknesscontains moments where Kirk and Spock hesitate to kill their enemy.

The film franchise attempts to bring the philosophy of the various Trek television series to the screen, which leads to some peculiarities. In the 1996 Star Trek: First ContactWhile he’s firing on the invading Borg, Captain Picard hides in the holodeck, dons a 1940s tuxedo, and acts like hard-boiled Sam Spade-esque detective Dixon Hill. No other sci-fi action movie would do this, but even in the middle of their biggest blockbusters, Star Trek always pauses to do something thoughtful, silly, or both.

On Pluto TV you can watch all Star Trek movies.