Sometimes anything that comes after a big-time franchise can be called a rip-off, and sometimes it’s a justification used by those that think that things are a little too similar. But if that’s the case then Hollywood is full of rip-offs since quite a few stories manage to do the same thing that many stories before them have done, but using their own style. There are a few blatant rip-offs of Star Trek out there, and there are some that people still claim are carefully constructed homages that aren’t mean to insult or attack the reputation of the show, but instead are meant to show a definite love for the original series and movies that helped to start a great deal of what pop culture has become. But now and then there are movies that use elements from the show that are kind of hard to miss when they take certain elements from the movies that feel like a blatant jab. Some movies do it so well however that one can’t help but laugh.
Here are a few movies that have ripped off Star Trek in some way.
5. National Lampoon’s Senior Trip
If anyone can remember back to the insane crossing guard that was played by Kevin McDonald they’ll recall that he was a huge Trekkie and even had an entire bridge set up in his room, or his basement, whatever it was. But the guy even had a blow-up doll that he’d colored to make it look like Lieutenant Ohura. Not only this, but he was on a mission to kill the Romulan and Klingon leaders, which just happened to be the President of the United States and one of the students that had been selected to go and speak to the president concerning education reform in the United States.
4. The Last Starfighter
So this movie did manage to do its own thing, but there were plenty of elements that were used that could have been called rip-offs since everything from the aliens to the villains could be counted as rip-offs. But it’s a thin line that connects this movie to Star Trek even though it’s very likely that a lot of people could connect it without too much trouble. Thankfully a lot of movies did do their own thing, even though there are moments when one can see where they ‘borrowed’ something from Star Trek just like so many other movies tend to do from time to time.
3. Starship Troopers
This feels like it could be a very militaristic version of Star Trek since the whole Academy thing is there, but it’s backed by the Mobile Infantry that serves as its base. If Star Trek had gone any harder this is the future that could have awaited it, and it’s very likely that it wouldn’t have gone as far since there’s nothing pacifistic about this movie. Had the Vulcans, Romulans, or even the Borg encountered humans when they this kind of explosive technology it feels as though First Contact might have been a lot different since humans might have been seen to be just as savage as the Klingons.
2. Spaceballs
One of the only elements to be taken from Star Trek for this movie was the transporter and of course the Snotty character who was a dirt-poor man’s Scotty from the original series and the movies. But since this movie spoofed a few different movies it’s easy to find the humor in it and just laugh since no one does movies in this manner the way that Mel Brooks does, and he’s one of the only ones who could get away with it in such obvious fashion. The transporter scene actually could be said to be one of those accidents that people might be afraid would happen during transport as well since it’s a pretty interesting topic.
1. Galaxy Quest
The most blatant and yet funniest of all the rip-offs, if you really want to call it that, is Galaxy Quest as it took pretty everything from Star Trek and twisted it around just enough to make it unique to the movie. But pretty much every facet of those spoof movies is taken from Star Trek since it managed to create a different look and feel for each of the elements that it took. Plus, the cast was great enough that most people didn’t really care that it was so obviously a Star Trek knockoff. In fact, a lot of people would love to see this movie make a comeback even though Alan Rickman passed away a while back.
There are bound to be many more movies that will take from Star Trek in the years to come since it’s been a great example of what a movie can be and what can be done with certain effects. But so long as they’re given a unique look it’s fair to say that it’s not such a bad thing.the transporterThe Last Starfighter
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