Like The Original Series, the characters of The Next Generation also had their stories expanded by a number of films. In this case, there was less of a time jump and the movies take place immediately after the show (concurrently with Deep Space Nine and Voyager).

These films struggle much more than the Original Series ones to build on the foundation of their source series and ultimately don’t add that much to it. Even the best film, First Contact, is essentially an action flick and doesn’t really lean into the core of Trek. That doesn’t stop it from being a good time, though.

Episodic or serial?

Episodic. The events of each film are largely independent and have only minor references to each other.

Idealistic or cynical?

Idealistic. The films are a bit darker than the series (literally and figuratively) but this is still very much the world of The Next Generation.

Worth watching?

You should definitely watch First Contact. It’s the best of the set and it has significant ramifications for later series.

The other films aren’t worth going out of your way for.

Anything else that should be watched first?

You should have a solid familiarity with The Next Generation. Knowing the main characters is enough to get by, but ideally you’d watch these after the series. In particular, you should watch “The Best of Both Worlds” (and “Part II”) before seeing First Contact.

What should be watched after this?

If you haven’t been going in airdate order and haven’t started them yet, head over to Deep Space Nine and then Voyager.

If you want more movies, there’s also The Kelvin Timeline.