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Star Trek:Insurrection
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The Movie:
I was never a big fan of the "Star Trek" films and have not been a part the whole pop culture phenomenon it has become. I understood what people saw in them, though: classic characters and storylines, the kind of characters that are timeless and familiar in the midst of (usually) great storytelling. Although this film was only fairly enjoyable, I did like some of the touches that the filmmakers put together: the film throws you into the middle of the story so that we're excited, wanting to catch up. And then, of course, they have to throw in the characters singing a song and just ruin it all.
The 9th film in this series, "Insurrection", focuses on the crew of the Enterprise protecting a small world full of people who have figured out the secret of immortality from a group of alien beings who want to destroy them. It's a bit new-agey, it's certainly hokey, but I enjoyed it nonetheless; the performances are enjoyable and the film is paced well, moving along at a brisk clip.
Special Effects are the name of the game for "Insurrection" and effects are very well done by Sony Pictures Imageworks and Blue Sky/VIFX. I enjoyed the film, a solid mix of enjoyable acting, technology and screenplay. It isn't the best of the series, but even the worst of the "Star Trek" series is more entertaining than a lot of average films. Critics said that "Insurrection" didn't have enough in the way of action, but I was more than satisfied with the amount of action. A lot of "Star Trek" films seem to be about the wonder and awe that we have about the world around us, and that feeling is still apparent here, more than in recent "Trek" films.
THE DVD:
VIDEO QUALITY: Paramount has done a really solid job on this anamorphic DVD; they've done some really strong anamorphic work already("Days Of Heaven", back in March) and thankfully, it seems as if it's part of their future plans. Although not at 100%, it's certainly up around 95% or so; it's a beautiful 2.35:1 image, free of all but a couple of extremely small instances of shimmering. There's nothing wrong with the print itself; it's simply stunning with nothing at all problematic. Colors and images in general are thrillingly vibrant and goregous. Hopefully, all of the future Paramount material can look just as good as this beautiful work by them. Color saturation, contrast and flesh tones are perfect throughout. Detail in images is really nice, even in low light scenes. This really is the best Paramount disc I've ever seen.
SOUND: Excellent! Strong, rich bass powers many of the sequences and the score sounds wonderfully vibrant as well. Surround is agressive and effective, enveloping the viewer in strong, fantastic sound. Dialogue sounds excellent as well; natural and clear without any problems whatsoever.
MENUS: Enjoyable, but fairly basic main menu based around the poster art.
EXTRAS:The trailer and a short production featurette.
Overall: A really solid work by Paramount and if this kind of transfer is what they're capable of, then I'll be thrilled to see what they can come up with in the near future. If only they could start putting out some extras with discs, they'd be completely wonderful.
GRADES:
The Film: 85/B = (425/500 possible points)
Video: 95/A = (380/400 possible points)
Audio: 95/A = (380/400 possible points)
Extras: 75/C = (225/300 possible points)
Menus: 75/C = (150/200 possible points)
Value: 85/B = (255/300 possible points)
Presentation:85/B+ = (85/100 possible points)
TOTAL POINTS:1900/2200
Overall:86.36%/B
Final Thought: An excellent looking DVD, well worth a look, and if you're a "Trek" fan, you definitely won't be dissapointed. Hopefully Paramount can continue doing this kind of excellent work from now on.
