One of the best films of this year has finally made its way to Blu-ray and it is a disc worth picking up.
The most recent Star Trek film, directed by JJ Abrams, is a remarkable film. It is highly successful because it brought a whole new generation into the Star Trek universe and made it something that is cool instead of something that is reserved only for nerds. The plot took risks and made a truly bold reboot while at the same time creating a fun and action packed film that people count get behind.
It is set before the original series and re-introduces the original crew and tells of how they came together. However, due to the plot devices used, Abrams has been able to redefine, to an extent, who the crew is, while still retaining the core of what made them great. The film is lent a gravitas by the inclusion of Leonard Nimoy as Spock who has travelled back in time. Eric Bana is a formidable foe for the crew to face off against and each and every actor gives highly believable, memorable and endearing performances.
The transfer to Blu-ray is as perfect as you would expect. There is no undue film grain or colour inaccuracies and the sound is just as great as it was in the theatre. Both Dolby and DTS lossless formats are offered as well as the usual sound formats.
The set is three discs although only two are Blu-ray discs while the third contains a digital copy of the film, game demos and an interactive feature for PC. The first disc is the film itself with commentary by directors J.J. Abrams, writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Bryan Burk. Abrams and crew are enthusiastic for the project and it shows in the commentary. It is a shame there is no commentary from any of the actors in the film. It would be great to hear how they felt about jumping into such iconic shoes.
The second disc is chock full of features which are all excellent and highly interesting. The featurettes and the bridging videos explain every facete of the production and show off the challenges in bringing Star Trek to a new audience. The deleted scenes are fairly standard but there is one sequence that shows Nero (Eric Bana) while in a Klingon prison. During the commentary of the deleted scenes, Abrams hinted that we may well see Klingons in the sequel. There is also more of the Kobayashi Maru test explaining further how Kirk cheated the test.
The complete features list is as follows:
Commatary by director J.J. Abrams, writers Robert Orci and Alex Kurtzman, producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Bryan Burk
NASA News (BD-Live)
To Boldly Go
Casting
New Vision
Starships
Aliens
Planets
Props and Costumes
Ben Burtt and the Sounds of Star Trek
Score
Gene Roddenberry’s Vision
Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary
Starfleet Vessel Simulator
Gag Reel
Digital Copy
Star Trek D-A-C Free Trial Game for Xbox 360 + Weblinks to PC & PlayStation 3 versions
If you were a big fan of the film when it came to cinemas, this is definitely a Blu-ray disc worth owning. It has a good number of interesting features and the transfer is impeccable. There are quite a few people who still didn’t manage to see this film or dismissed it as being Star Trek but to those I have to say, you should check this film out. It isn’t anything like the Star Trek that has come before it and is an expertly crafted film.
