Star Trek 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		5.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		5.0
Overall		4.5

Star Trek 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Note: The included screenshots are sourced from a 1080p Blu-ray disc. Watch for 4K screenshots at a later date.

Paramount makes its way to the ever-growing UHD market with 2009's 'Star Trek,' the first reboot film directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Chris Pine as Kirk, Zachary Quinto as Spock, Karl Urban as Dr. McCoy, and Eric Bana as Nero. Can the UHD surpass the excellent 1080p Blu-ray first released in 2009? Read on...

Star Trek 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paramount makes the jump up to speed with its UHD debut, and it's a fitting one at that. 2009's Star Trek revitalized a beloved franchise and it's a slick, fun, very well made, and perfectly complimentary entry into the expanding Trek canon. There's also a new film on the way, all reasons why Paramount couldn't get this, and Star Trek Into Darkness, out the door fast enough. The studio's debut UHD/HDR 2160p disc doesn't disappoint. The presentation improves upon the movie's excellent, though slightly aged (is it really going on seven years since the movie's Blu-ray debut? Time truly does fly at warp speed) 1080p transfer. The UHD release retains a gorgeous cinematic texturing, boasting a refined and complimentary grain structure that accentuates every detail and visual effect. The image is otherwise clean and sharp, beyond a few soft shots that remain (Spock at film's end being the most obvious example). Skin textures are remarkable. Close-ups are so intimately complex as to astound; whether Romulan tattoos or fine pores and facial hair, any viewer would be hard-pressed to find a home video image -- 1080p or 2160p -- that can match this one's level of revealing intimacy. Clothing fabrics, whether civilian garb, the more complex and mesh-y Starfleet uniform tops, or the more rugged (and darkly colored) Romulan attire are beautifully complex. The many industrial interiors have plenty to reveal, from the murky and messy Romulan vessel interiors to the beer plant Star Fleet engineering areas, and the transfer never fails to find the smallest scuff or structural nuance. HDR-enhanced colors are vivid and alive, particularly as complimentary pops against the Enterprise's brightly white interior set pieces. The red, blue, and mustard-colored Starfleet uniforms offer plenty of punch, while any number of complimentary shades, like a red sports car or a green alien's skin, impress. Black levels are tight and flesh tones refined. Direct comparisons with the previous release produce a tangible increase in fine grain structure and presentation, enhanced details -- particularly faces and those Starfleet uniform fabrics -- and a more refined color palette that favors a more neutral presentation rather than a slightly more punchy flair.

Star Trek 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Star Trek warps onto Blu-ray with an excellent, but not quite wholly satisfying, Dolby Atmos (Dolby TrueHD 7.1 core) track that adds overhead channels to the traditional configuration. The previous release's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 track was a standard-bearer of its time. The added back surround channels add quite a bit of room for expansion, maneuverability, and fullness to the track. Raw sound detail is exquisite, from the hum of the ship to background ambience at a bar, from pitch battles to supportive bleeps and bloops heard from consoles scattered all around the bridge. Indeed, the track frequently transforms the listening area into the Enterprise bridge. The listener can pinpoint sound location with ease along the traditional two dimensional sound field. Music is likewise organic in its placement. Clarity is remarkable as Michael Giacchino's score saturates the stage with perfect execution. Action scenes are revealing. Whether pulsing phaser blasts, heavier torpedo launches, or the general mayhem of battle and all that entails the track never falters in delivering a realistic, immersive experience. Except overhead. Beyond a couple of fair overhead moments, such as when a shuttlecraft flies above when the cadets are being assigned to their ships, there's not much in the way of obvious and discrete top layer detailing. There's clearly some subtly interwoven and organic support details during battle scenes, but the lack of a fuller height presence is a bit disappointing, particularly when the track is practically screaming for it, such as when the elder Spock mind melds with Kirk and his voice scatters all over the listening area. Otherwise, the track is exquisite in execution and detail, including refined and natural dialogue that's always perfectly prioritized and center placed, beyond the few moments of natural extension beyond. The 4.5 audio score is more reflective of the Atmos track's inability to more richly and fully utilize the overheads, but the track is otherwise stellar.

Star Trek 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Star Trek's UHD release contains the same supplements found in the previous releases, included on both 1080p discs. A voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy is included with purchase. For more on the supplements, please click here. For convenience, below is a list of the supplemental content included, and where to find it:

Disc One:

• Audio Commentary: Director J.J. Abrams, Producers Bryan Burk and Damon Lindelof, and Writers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci.
• BD-Live

• To Boldly Go
• Casting
• A New Vision
• Starships
• Aliens
• Planets
• Props and Costumes
• Ben Burtt and the Sounds of Star Trek
• Score
• Gene Roddenberry's Vision
• Deleted Scenes
• Starfleet Vessel Simulator
• Gag Reel
• Trailers

Star Trek 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Star Trek is a fantastic film and a best-case-scenario reboot of the most iconic and quintessential Science Fiction franchise of all time. It's ridiculously entertaining and faithful to the source characters and universe while forging its own path for the modern era. Looking at it again years later, there are certainly a few things that don't work or don't make sense. There's some needless flair, not just the lens flare but the bug eyed nurse, for example, that just gets in the way of an otherwise powerful sequence. There are gaps in logic, too: why don't Vulcan or Earth defense forces just send a couple of fighters to destroy the arm of the drilling rig when a couple of rifle blasts can do the job, albeit too late? One would think an advanced civilization would notice a huge alien vessel cutting a hole into a planet's core and have some sort of immediate response that's not confined to bulky Federation space vessels. Yet on the whole the film holds up extraordinarily well, and through all the noise it gets to the heart of the characters that three TV seasons and six films (and a cartoon series and a seventh film featuring Captain Kirk) so carefully constructed. The film's UHD debut is excellent. While the Atmos track could use some fine-tuning, the video presentation is stellar. This, along with Star Trek Into Darkness, are two of the early must-own releases on the UHD format. Very highly recommended.