Blu-ray Movie Reviews

When a massive Romulan ship, Narada, emerges from a spatial anomaly in the year 2233, the USS Kelvin is destroyed as George Kirk (Chris Hemsworth) manually flies the ship on a suicide mission so that his wife and newborn son, James, can escape. This event alters the space-time continuum, and as a result, James T. Kirk grows up without his father's influence, becoming quite the rabble-rouser. Fortunately, he meets Captain Christopher Pike (Bruce Greenwood), who persuades the young man to join Starfleet. The rest, as they say, is history.

In the future, we'll look back fondly on turn-of-the-century Hollywood and the decade of the reboot. First there was Bond, then the Caped Crusader, and now Star Trek. After a management shakeup at Paramount, the studio wanted to reinvigorate the franchise and turned to superstar director/producer J.J. Abrams to take it in a new direction. He enlisted screenwriting partners Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman to pen the script, and the two came up with the concept of giving the beloved characters of Kirk and Spock a rebirth—a bold move that paid off in spades.

With $257 million in box-office receipts, the film is by far the highest grossing of the 11 Star Trek films, and the new cast members not only resemble the originals in appearance, they can act, too. The three main characters of Kirk, Spock, and Bones are played by Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Karl Uban, who nail the mannerisms and spirit of the trio. We witness how the crew comes together, how Bones acquires his nickname, how Kirk beats the Kobayashi Maru test, and most importantly, how Kirk earns his Captain's pips.

Star Trek was one of only three movies I experienced theatrically this year, and the Blu-ray actually improves on what I saw in the theater. The 1080p encode features outstanding detail in both foregrounds and backgrounds, with facial pores on the actors and the weave in the Starfleet uniforms clearly visible. Colors are lifelike and natural, and black levels are inky and deep with well-resolved shadows—especially during the final battle inside the Narada.

The lossless Dolby TrueHD 5.1 soundtrack is an action junkie's delight, with an active surround soundstage, window-rattling bass, and in the quieter moments, shipboard ambient sounds that heighten the sense of "being there." My only complaint with the track is that, at times, it can be overpowering and obscure some of the dialog, but I'm willing to overlook this minor nuisance in an otherwise impressive track.

Disc one of the 3-disc set includes the movie along with a filmmaker commentary from producer/director J.J. Abrams, co-producer Damon Lindelof, executive producer Bryan Burk, co-executive producer and co-writer Alex Kurtzman, and co-writer Roberto Orci. The disc also offers BD-Live capabilities and features "NASA News," giving viewers access to the latest NASA news about real space exploration.

The second disc has a shipload of features—30 in total—all in HD. These include behind-the-scenes featurettes on reimagining the franchise; casting; aliens; composing the score; designing the starships; creating the planets, props, and costumes; an excellent piece with Ben Burtt about the sounds of Star Trek; deleted scenes; and a gag reel. Geeks will simply love the "Starfleet Vessel Simulator," which allows you to explore both the USS Enterprise and the Romulan Narada with 360-degree views, close-ups, and detailed tech information on both ships.

Disc three provides a digital copy of the film, a Xbox 360 Star Trek game, and weblinks to download the free trial game for the PC and PS3.

Some die-hard Trekkers have rebelled against the reboot and criticize the fast and loose approach that Abrams and company took with the Trek universe, but I completely disagree. Sure, the technology has been updated, but who cares? It's a fun movie that takes a big-tent approach to Star Trek for the first time, and it worked. The casting is perfect, and I can't wait for the sequel. Highly recommended.

Release Date: November 17, 2009
Studio: Paramount

Movie: 9/10
Picture: 10/10
Sound: 9/10

Review System

Source
Oppo BDP-83 Blu-ray player

Display
JVC DLA-RS1 projector
Stewart FireHawk screen (76.5" wide, 16:9)

Electronics
Onkyo Pro PR-SC885 pre/pro
Anthem PVA-7 power amplifier
Belkin PF60 power conditioner

Speakers
M&K S-150s (L, C, R)
M&K SS-150s (LS, RS, SBL, SBR)
SVS PC-Ultra subwoofer

Cables
Monoprice HDMI cables (source to pre/pro)
Best Deal analog-audio cables
PureLink HDC Fiber Optic HDMI Cable System (15 meters) from pre/pro to projector

Acoustical treatments from GIK Acoustics