The new Star Trek Motion Picture Trilogy set features three of the franchises most popular films, Wrath of Khan, The Search for Spock, and The Voyage Home (films II, III, and IV respectively). These films were chosen due to the fact that they have largely the same cast, the same writer, and each one begins immediately after the ending of the one prior, making them an inseparable and coherent trio of films. Each is digitally remastered and Wrath of Khan is fully restored. The audio for each film gets the full treatment here as well, making it the most notable difference overall. Also noteworthy is the fact that the version of Wrath of Khan included here is the theatrical release not the previously released director’s cut.
The best reason for buying this is simply the restored Wrath of Khan. This film is probably the favorite amongst both the casual and the die hard fan and rightfully so. This film has much more action than your average original cast Star Trek film and Khan is brilliant, blinded by his vengeance and ready to destroy everyone at any cost. The fact that it’s probably the best movie is but a side-note though to the fact that this looks amazing. It made me wonder how much better the BluRay might look actually. I have seen this film on a crappy VHS tapes so many times, that this version was like watching an entirely new film. Great stuff.
If you haven’t seen it then shame on you! I’m speaking of The Search for Spock, my favorite film in the Star Trek franchise. This film is easily one of the most intelligent films in the franchise, following Spock’s surprising rebirth on the Genesis planet (designed by Kirk’s son). I still remember being in the theater and thinking, “No freakin’ way are they gonna pull this off.” But they do and it’s all completely in line with what comes before and after. Christopher Lloyd, the Klingon nemesis, is absolutely brilliant here as is Leonard Nimoy who defines Spock for the ages in this film. The remastering looks good but its not that much different from the last release of the film. The audio is much improved though which makes the experience that much better.
The final film in this trio is The Voyage Home. For die hard fans this is one of the more controversial films but for casual fans it ranks right up there with Wrath of Khan in terms of mass audience accessibility. This is also the first film to not take itself so seriously and I have always loved that about it. In this film, the Enterprise is gone and the crew (now renegades) must find their way back to Earth after traveling back in time to capture two humpback whales which will supposedly save the planet. I know it sounds “out there” and it is, but there are some great moments and the film is a lot of fun. As one of the better shot films in the franchise, this one probably gains the least in terms of betterment.
Over 90 minutes of special features adorn this collection as well. As far as I can tell, they are all fairly new and I found them to be very interesting. I could have done without the commentaries, but I’m not much of a fan of that type of thing anyway. Star Trek and The Science Fiction Museum and Hall of Fame was my favorite by far. A conversation takes place between the host and the writer of the films, who previously had written for The Mod Squad, the television drama that put the original Star Trek series off the air! The tribute to Ricardo Montalban, who plays Khan in Star Trek II, was wonderful as well. It definitely makes you wonder why they never reprised his role. I mean, this is sci-fi, anything goes right?
With each subsequent DVD release of these popular Star Trek films, everything gets better. This time though, you’ll have to switch to BluRay to get anything better as these are probably about as excellent as DVDs will ever be. This is a must have set if you don’t already own the films, or if you don’t have all three. If you do already own the films, I’d consider this anyway as Wrath of Khan is such a huge improvement.
Reviewed by Mark Fisher
