Paramount Home Entertainment, out now

The big screen adventures of the Enterprise-D and -E crew given the UHD treatment…

The simplest version of this review is, if you are a Next Generation fan, you need to upgrade your sets to these 4K editions. True, there aren’t multiple new extras to warrant the double (triple? quadruple?) dip, but the difference in quality of the movies themselves compared with the Blu-rays from over a decade ago is palpable from the very first shots of the bottle hurtling towards the Enterprise-B to the conclusion of Data’s journey (or so we all thought at the time). The fine detail in shots like the journey into Picard’s eye at the start of First Contact is as clear as it was on the cinema screen – and for the first time I felt as I did with it when I saw the film in London on release. The reds of the Starfleet uniforms in Generations glow, the countryside in Insurrection shines, and the darkness of the Romulan ship in Nemesis overwhelms (at least in some scenes – it can’t rectify some of the directorial choices!).

It’s fascinating watching these movies in light of the three seasons of Star Trek: Picard: Patrick Stewart particularly looks so young in Generations (and the de-aging that was used for flashbacks this season of Picard really doesn’t reflect reality), and seeing events in Nemesis unfold knowing what will happen to Data and Crusher over the years to come makes you see them very differently. Insurrection, I’m afraid, still feels like the weakest of the three – a TV two-parter that’s on the big screen – and First Contact’s horror elements are magnified in this new edition.

As far as extras go, we have the commentaries on the 4K discs, but everything else is on the accompanying Blu-rays, and it remains a strong addition. In retrospect, it’s perhaps a shame that we don’t have new commentaries from, say, Jonathan Frakes, Michael Chadbon or Terry Matalas bringing their 2023 perspective to the table, or even an equivalent of the “Behind the Sofa” segments of the Doctor Who Blu-ray Collection, where cast members sit and comment on the films. But that’s a minor gripe – and it won’t surprise me in the least to learn that these actually do exist but are being kept for the next big anniversary…

Verdict: Completing the 4K release of Star Trek’s big screen adventures with a stunning presentation of this quartet. 8/10

Paul Simpson

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