Blu-ray Review: Star Trek Original Motion Picture Collection

Star Trek: Original Motion Picture Collection on Blu-Ray is the definitive collector’s release for any Trek fan. Although I am “hands-down” a Next Generation fan, the Star Trek films, featuring Kirk and Spock, occasionally make my Trek loyalties waffle. Starting with “Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan,” the second Star Trek film, the original series took a step into the darker realms of space. The stories still maintained the humorous banter between Kirk and his crew, but the actual events were much more grim and believable.

Out of the entire collection, there are only two films that fall short: “The Search for Spock” and “Star Trek: The Motion Picture.” The First Star Trek film was great movie for its time, but you can only watch it once. After you’ve learned the mystery of Vger, you’ll quickly lose your interest in this film. “The Search for Spock” was actually the first Trek film directed by Leonard Nemoy, and admittedly was my least favorite in the series for two reasons. The first is that Spock is non-existent in the film until the very last scene, where he says only a few lines. Kirk needs Spock’s stoicism to play off of to sell his jokes. But, the real reason the movie was painful to watch was the use of Christopher Lloyd as a Klingon and antagonist to the story. This must have felt like great casting on the part of production going into the movie, but in reality Lloyd did a horrible job playing a warrior Klingon. He presented a laughable villain instead of one who was a serious threat. Ironically, Nemoy’s next chance at directing was “The Voyage Home” which was one of the best Star Trek films of all time. So, I blame the script and casting for the film’s failure to impress.

The Blu-Ray release is robustly filled with special features. The coup de gras, however, is the Captain’s Summit, an additional Blu-Ray disc packed with the collection. This disc features Whoopi Goldberg interviewing William Shatner, Leonard Nemoy, Patrick Stewart and Jonathan Frakes. This is an awesome interview. It also shows that William Shatner’s ego transcends that of Captain Kirk. Repeatedly, Shatner puts his foot in his mouth when talking to Stewart and Frakes. At one point he announces that he has never watched the Next Generation, and is baffled when he learns that the series went on for one-hundred and seventy-six episodes. Also, Nemoy asks a question of Stewart that is never answered because Shatner cuts him, feeling his question is more important.

Both the picture and sound have been upgraded in this collector’s release and easily make this one must have series for any Trek fan and convention loyalist. This was the first time I was able to watch all six movies in succession. And, outside of “The Search for Spock,” I was overwhelmingly entertained the entire time.