As my colleague Joshua Zyber already wrote excellent coverage for this film (and the franchise as a whole), I’ll largely leave his words to speak for this review as well (even if I may be a little more forgiving). For my own sake, I’ve always liked Star Trek: Generations. It’s far from perfect, but it’s not terrible or anywhere near the worst Trek film we’ve ever seen. It was saddled (literally and figuratively) with being a bridge film from the OG crew’s cinematic run to the Next Generation team. Its biggest issue (in my opinion) is that the thoughtful meditative plot feels undercooked while trying to fit in big cinematic action setpieces. In the rush to get this to theaters ASAP, the story relies on a number of logical leaps to get by and it doesn't always stick the landing. In its goal to have Picard and Kirk share some screen time, their adventure is decidedly small-scale for what should have been a truly grand iconic passing of the torch. At least Malcolm McDowell delivers some scene-chewing villainy and Data finally got that pesky emotion chip installed! 3/5
It may be heavier on action than the average Next Generation episode, but it also finds time to be thoughtful and ponderous. In true grand Trek form, it explores interesting issues and needles around with them a little but doesn’t get so bogged down that it becomes a numbing slog. There’s heart, humor, and plenty of thrilling action-packed set pieces to keep the blood pumping and your attention firmly fixed on the screen. I wouldn’t call this the greatest Star Trek cinematic adventure, but it’s up at the top of the heap with the best efforts of the Original Crew and Kelvin Crew films. 4/5
Much like the maligned Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, this is a film that thinks it has big ideas and themes to explore, but only enough plot and interesting action to sustain your average series episode. Insurrection has some thoughts about mortality and humanity’s use and abuse of natural resources without consequence, but its plot doesn’t justly service these notions. Like the people in The Village, the Ba’ku are too simple and primitive to be interesting while the Son’a are too cartoonish to be menacing or threatening. After the thrilling pulse-pounding First Contact, this film feels like it chugged down a Valium with a whiskey chaser and settled in for the night. 2/5
All good things must come to an end, and we can only hope they end gracefully and fitfully. No one likes to see their heroes depart, but we can hope they’re able to go out strong. I don’t think Star Trek: Nemesis was intended to be the final cinematic voyage of Picard and his crew, but it sadly ended up that way after a dismal box office performance. As what has been a common theme for this round of films, Nemesis was a victim of competing ideals for a franchise with an identity crisis. One of my production professors at the time put it succinctly, “It’s a movie trying to hold onto the television series while also trying to be Star Wars.” 3/5
Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray
Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection gathers up the four films of Picard's crew in one big eight-disc 4K UHD + Blu-ray + Digital Box set. Each film has a BD-66 for the 4K version with a Region Free BD-50 disc for the remastered 1080p presentation. The discs are housed in an 8-Disc case with indentical slipcover artwork and each disc gets its own tray to rest on without being stacked. The Digigital Copy slip has individual codes for each film, but this being a Paramount release it is not Movies Anywhere compatable and will port only to a single streaming platform like Vudu or iTunes. Each disc loads to a static image main menu with standard navigation options.
Star Trek: Generations:
After a waxy edge-enhanced mess of a 1080p Blu-ray, Paramount continues their winning work on Trek by affording Generations an excellent 2160p Dolby Vision (and HDR10) transfer. From the clearly improved detail levels to the naturally cinematic film grain, this is an immediately clear upgrade. Makeup effects, details in the Enterprise D model, and Malcolm McDowell’s scar are all great enhancements to look out for. I was especially impressed with the practical effects model work of the saucer separation crash landing sequence. This film was in the sweet spot era where practical effects and models still were dominant over CGI and that sense of visual weight and volume is made all the more real in this excellent transfer.
HDR grade is right on point without overpowering contrast, blacks, or supping up the colors to unnatural levels. Black levels are deep with impressive shadow gradience to give the image a nice sense of three-dimensional depth. Whites are crisp and clean without blooming - most evidenced by Kirk’s bold white shirt under his uniform vest. Colors are bold with natural primary saturation with healthy skin tones. That said, it’s quite obvious that certain cast members had some tanning work done. All around, start to finish, this is another excellent Trek transfer.
Star Trek: First Contact:
As the best film of the Next Generation franchise it shouldn’t be any surprise that Star Trek: First Contact is the star 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. The film had an okay first Blu-ray outing but left a lot to be desired. Thankfully this wait for a new transfer was worth it. Enjoying a robust 2160p Dolby Vision transfer, the film simply looks better than ever with an impressive range of clean details, bold colors, deep inky blacks, and a naturally cinematic film grain presence - all of which were missing on that last Blu-ray. From the first shots of the Borg cube to the Borg Queen and her mindless minions to the people at the Montana missile complex, fine details are terrific. Facial features, hair styling, and makeup all look incredible. I really enjoyed seeing the Oscar-nominated Borg makeup and the little imperfections in the skin and the various cybernetic implants in full 4K glory. Some of the early CGI work - especially around a particular substance in the final act - can look a little dated and dodgy, but a lot of it still holds up well, including Alice Krige’s iconic entrance.
With HDR (both Dolby Vision and HDR10), the film’s color scheme looks much healthier than the past disc. From the color designations for the crew’s uniforms to the lighting accents of the Enterprise-E’s helm, primaries are lovely enjoying a full range of shades while keeping skin tones healthy… for humans at least. Black levels are also greatly improved here with the Borg-held deck levels showing nice deep inky shades with some creepy shadows giving the image a terrific feel of three-dimensional depth. After some dodgy Paramount catalog releases over the years, it’s nice to see that with recent outings like Dragonslayer and the previous Trek discs they can deliver a great 4K disc. First Contact is easily the highlight of the Next Generation films.
Star Trek: Insurrection:
With the want for a lighter cheerier adventure, Star Trek: Insurrection manages to deliver an often beautiful 2160p HDR (Dolby Vision and HDR10) transfer. Much of this film is brightly lit with lovely exterior locations and it’s quite often stunning to look at. Details for the Ba’ku homes and village, the Son’a’s stretched faces, and your average human, android, or Klingon look terrific. Fine film grain is apparent throughout and looks appropriately cinematic without appearing smoothed over or modulated like some other Paramount catalog titles.
Dolby Vision aids this film’s visual appeal allowing for a better range of colors, better black levels, with bright bold whites. The outdoor scenes generally look the best with a great sense of depth to the image. Night sequences look better this outing than past discs with nice inky black levels and much-improved shadows - especially when Picard is leading the Ba'ku through the caves. Whites are nice and crisp without blooming issues. This film had a bit more CGI effects to it but there are still plenty of practical effects working to give the bigger action sequences some weight. A couple of the effects shots can look a bit dated, Data pealing off his Invisibility Cloak early in the film is an example, but for the most part, there aren’t any serious offenders. All around another worthwhile upgrade.
Star Trek: Nemesis:
After the bright and cheery-looking Insurrection, Nemesis went dark… literally. This is a very dark-looking film as a key character is adverse to bright lights, so it's often steeped in pitch black with dynamic ominous shadows - and it looks great in 4K with Dolby Vision HDR. I heard it joked this lighting scheme was done so Paramount didn’t have to pay to paint the sets. True or not, when the lights are on, the film looks terrific with impressive details in facial features, costumes, and the slick makeup and creature effects for the Remans. CGI work is also a little stronger here than past films. Some of the CGI ship models can look a little weightless, but a lof of the effects hold up beautifully. Fine film grain is present throughout and there isn’t any signs of troublesome modulation or smoothing.
Dolby Vision (and HDR10) work well for this outing, especially because of the film’s deep black levels and frequent shadowed imagery. The blacks are deep, ominous, and inky but offer some excellent shadow separation and depth. Even in the darkest scenes, it feels like there’s more to the background than past releases. Colors are bold with beautiful primaries with healthy natural skin shades. Whites are crisp and clear without issue. Once again this is another excellent Trek transfer for 4K leaving the film looking better than ever on disc.
Star Trek: Generations:
As has been the case with previous Trek outings on 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray, Generations utilizes an impressive Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio mix offering a notable upgrade over the TrueHD 5.1 track from the old Blu-ray (the included remastered Blu-ray also enjoys this 7.1 track). I know some lament the lack of a more expansive object-based track like an Atmos mix but this track is still aggressive and engaging throughout with plenty of heft for the bigger action sequences while letting quieter conversational moments register. Levels are spot on, so no worries about adjusting as you go along. With a constantly active soundscape to work with, your front/center and surround channels feel appropriately immersive. Again, the more exciting and action-packed the sequence is the more active the surround stage, but even in quiet scenes within the Nexus, there’s a welcome feel for atmosphere and imaging. Dialog is clean and clear without issue and Jerry Goldsmith’s score is another excellent piece of work for the franchise.
Star Trek: First Contact:
As has been the case with the other Star Trek 4K releases, Star Trek: First Contact enjoys a robust, active Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio mix. Yeah, I don’t get the decision not to go full Atmos either, but what can you do? With that in mind, it's not like this track sucks on toast either. In fact, it’s an excellent mix all around. From the opening fight with the Borg cube to the Zero-G assault on the deflector array to Cochrane’s fateful first warp flight, this track is fully active. I found the low-end response even better for this outing than Generations giving those explosions and quantum torpedos plenty of heft and rumble in the subs. The Front/Center channels carry most of the workload but since this film has more action, there’s plenty of movement and imaging through the soundscape. Those quiet conversational moments between Picard and Lili or a drunken Troi still hold plenty of surround atmospherics to keep channels engaged. Dialog is clean and clear throughout without issue. This film also features one of my favorite Goldsmith scores and it sounds magnificent throughout.
Star Trek: Insurrection:
Continuing the trend, Star Trek: Insurrection beams down with an active and often impressive Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track. While not as active as First Contact, there’s plenty of surround immersion to enjoy. The last half of the film picks up offering a nice soundstage to play in with plenty of front/center, side, and rear activity. The assault on the Ba’ku with the teleporting drones and laser blasts is a solid sequence giving the mix a full range to play with while rumbling the low end. Given the number of quiet conversational moments, there’s not a lot of big explosive material to highlight, but even the simple activity of the Ba’ku village is enough to keep the channels working. Dialog is clean and clear without issue. Once again Goldsmith’s score gets ample opportunity to shine with another all-around solid audio mix. Maybe not the best of these latest Trek releases, but certainly an improvement over the old TrueHD 5.1 tracks
Star Trek: Nemesis:
Star Trek: Nemesis also enjoys a full-throated active and engaging Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track. As silly as that dune buggy blaster battle race was, it sounds fantastic! Much like First Contact, a little more action goes a long way with this mix. The soundscape feels wide and expansive for those big open sequences in the desert or in Shinzon’s main hall but then can tighten up and feel claustrophobic for the battle on the Scimitar. Blaster fire and explosions and the hum of warp engines add some fun rumble into the subs. Dialog is clean and clear throughout without issue - Tom Hardy doesn’t do a goofy voice in this film. As the final completed score from Jerry Goldsmith before he passed away, it’s a great piece of work and sounds teriffic in this mix. There are quiet conversational moments that keep things relatively front/center focused, but there’s enough small activity in the sides and music in the rears to keep your channels engaged throughout. (The remastered Blu-ray enjoys this same excellent new 7.1 track as well).
Star Trek: Generations:
4K UHD Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Star Trek: First Contact:
4K UHD Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Star Trek: Insurrection:
4K UHD Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Star Trek: Nemesis:
4K UHD Disc
Blu-ray Disc
Star Trek: The Next Generation Motion Picture Collection brings the last four Star Trek films to 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray. Generations, First Contact, Insurrection, and Nemesis round out the cinematic missions for Patrick Stewart’s tenure as captain of the Enterprise. The films range from good to amazing to pretty bad to just mediocre. Thankfully the latest season of Picard is delivering a suitable cast reunion. It’s a shame their big-screen adventures couldn’t have been as grand. But as far as 4K discs go, these films each earn high marks. If you’re after all of the films, this four-film eight-disc box set is the most convenient way to add them to the collection. Each film earns an excellent Dolby Vision transfer with Dolby TrueHD 7.1 track to match complete with hours of bonus features. But since only one or two are really worth revisiting on a regular basis, the mileage of this set over picking up the individual single-title editions may vary for film fans. Recommended
