Star Trek Blu-ray Review

Does the Blu-ray boldly go where no man has gone before?

PACKAGE:  
Warping home on a 3-disc set, Star Trek features a well-rounded, entertaining set of supplemental material that is as enjoyable as it is informative.

Despite any criticism of the production, the additional content leaves no doubt that Abrams is a passionate filmmaker and dedicated towards making an entertaining product for fans.

The first BD-50 disc, which contains the film itself, also stores a rather crowded audio commentary track with Abrams, writers Orci and Kurtzman, and producers Bryan Burk and Damon Lindelof (of Lost fame). The breezy commentary, which isn’t as hectic as the body count would suggest, is surprisingly informative and made a second viewing of the film rather worthwhile.

The disc also has a live RSS feed from NASA, via BD-Live support. Only nerdlings and space junkies will find the addition worth talking about, but it’s neat little easter egg.

The second disc is where the fun begins. This disc is full of a myriad of features, including a detailed look at Abrams’ pre-production process, casting decisions, creature design, set design, props and costumes, sound and a retrospective on Gene Roddenberry.

Now, folks, this is great stuff. Each aspect of the film is broken down, and Abrams’ – along his talented crew – run a clinic on big budget filmmaking.

Oddly enough, the feature that tickled my nerd fancy the most was a chapter on legendary sound designer Ben Burtt, and the work he put into this new Trek flick. Burtt is something of a Trekkie, and his enthusiasm is infectious; anyone with a working knowledge of film history will undoubtedly enjoy Burtt’s commentary.

Also included are nine deleted scenes with optional commentary, chief among them is a pretty lengthy subplot involving the Klingons unfortunately cut from the theatrical release. And while it may surprise you that one of Trek’s most recognizable creations sit on the cutting room floor, Abrams offers sound reasoning for the exclusion.

The third and final disc not only offers a digital copy of the film, but a free trial for the Star Trek D-A-C videogame – and weblinks for specific platforms. It rounds out a terrific package of supplemental material that will keep fans and enthusiasts busy for hours, and one of the best sets Paramount has put together all year.

BIAS:

While Abrams’ reboot is the most approachable of all the Trek films (and the easiest to digest), it is far from perfect.

In fact, this new and improved Star Trek feels awfully similar to the first Trek motion picture, in that the pieces are put into place, but a compelling narrative is noticeably absent. Maybe a sequel will cure what ails this reboot.

The end result is a pretty disposable piece of pop-cinema, one that suffers from some bad storytelling choices and is, by far, the least cerebral of all the Trek films. It only exists to shuffle its attractive crew from action set piece to action set piece, attempting to reconfigure the classic Enterprise crew along the way.

If anything, it’s frustrating how great the film could have been be with just some simple tweaks, but its laundry list of nagging flaws bog down what is an enjoyable experience otherwise.

The Blu-ray is an exceptional one, and it props up what is a fairly lackluster movie, but it’s tough to recommend the set as a must-buy with so many other reference titles available.

In the end, I was won over by the excellent audio and video presentation, and some of the more enjoyable bonus features pressed on a Blu-ray disc this year.

I just wish this ship had more underneath the hood.

Verdict:  AVOID / CONSIDER / RENT / BUY / TREASURE

Editor’s Note: This is a review of a Region 1 release. Star Trek is also available in all Region 2 territories.

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One Response to “Star Trek Blu-ray Review”

1. Verizon Dare says:

   July 22, 2010 at 10:29 pm

   i believe it was a bit rushed, and disregarded some options that not many people discuss about. Everyone knows that almost all new smartphones have web, so why show that basic function at its bear minimum. Scroll up scroll down zoom in zoom out. Actually? which new phone doesnt try this? How bout speak about how the textual content rearranges itsself. Also the texting, very poor review. Why didnt you point out you need to use the mic and textual content together with your voice? Disregarded ALOT of other more vital options

   Reply