When Star Trek Into Darkness warped into theaters in May, I gave my fourth 10/10 rating. That movie had a great screenplay, outstanding visual effects, and solid performances by the cast. Since then, no movie in 2013 has matched the excellency of Star Trek Into Darkness and I was thus anticipating the Blu-ray release. September 10th came and the Blu-ray was in my hands. Besides the unfortunate lack of a commentary or any deleted scenes or outtakes, Star Trek Into Darkness is a great Blu-ray that fans of the film should definitely pick up.
Star Trek Into Darkness is still the masterpiece I fell in love with back in May. It’s well written screenplay, great performances, and beautiful visual effects managed to suck me in on the third viewing (on a much smaller screen nonetheless). It’s not a perfect movie but it achieved everything it was trying to be. You may disagree with my 10/10 rating and that’s perfectly fine but as somebody who was disappointed with 2013’s offerings at the time, it was a joy to see a movie that went above and beyond what was expected. If you’re looking for a hell of a fun time, look no further than Star Trek Into Darkness, easily my favorite movie of the year so far.
Visually, Star Trek Into Darkness is a stunning film and the Blu-ray thankfully matches that quality. The letterbox is quite jarring (unfortunately the IMAX scenes don’t get rid of the letterbox like The Dark Knight Rises Blu-ray), but in between the lines we get a gorgeous presentation. The colors pop (which can sometimes be a bad thing with J.J.’s lens flares) and the environments look sharp. The 3D presentation is also well done with a few moments where I was very impressed. The 3D is also consistent, never dropping too much in quality from beginning to end. The sound was also great with the dialogue blending in well with the environmental noises and Michael Giacchino’s great score.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jJMYAJ3_0uw[/youtube]
The Bonus Features on the Star Trek Into Darkness Blu-ray are:
A 42-minute making-of feature that is broken up into seven parts. We see the creation of all the scenes in the film with great behind the scenes footage. I love this! Being able to see most of the scenes in the film being created was a joy especially seeing all the practical effects that were used. I’m actually blown away by the amount of practical effects in the film, much much more than I thought. This feature is a must watch for fans of the film.
The Mission Continues (1 minute) is a “commercial” for the Veteran program that helped make one of the final scenes in Star Trek Into Darkness. It’s a great cause and nice to see featured on the Blu-ray.
The lack of a commentary certainly stinks but so much great info was given in the 42-minute making-of feature that it’s hard to complain. There aren’t any outtakes, deleted scenes, or even a trailer but the 42-minute feature was satisfying. The Blu-ray also comes with a DVD and Digital Copy which works with iTunes or Ultraviolet.
THE VERDICT
The letterbox sucks and there isn’t a whole lot of bonus content but Star Trek Into Darkness is a great Blu-ray that should satisfy both casual and hardcore fans of the film. The film looks great in both 2D and 3D and the 42-minute feature gives a lot of great content. Fans of the film should be pleased.
For reviews and more from me, Petey Oneto, you can check out my blog but be sure to check back to Resident Entertainment for more of my posts in the future.