The first three advance reviews of the forthcoming STAR TREK NEMESIS DVD have arrived (look for TrekWeb's review this Friday) and the critics' impressions of the disc are clearly influenced by their opinion of the feature itself, which has received considerable debate since its theatrical release last December. The one-disc release hits U.S. stores next Tuesday, May 20th, and includes seven deleted scenes, audio commentary by director
Stuart Baird, and four all-new production featurettes.
Writing for DVDFile, Peter Bracke says the disc is an opportunity to discover that the film is unfairly pegged with a poor reputation.
"I remain puzzled as to why NEMESIS seems to have taken the brunt of the punishment," Bracke writes. "It is certainly a perfectly fine entry in the big-screen Trek sweepstakes, and it is hard to imagine anyone not preferring it over The Final Frontier or the dismal Insurrection. Taken on its own terms, Nemesis is a spiffy little space adventure..."
Bracke also says the disc's digital transfer of the film is excellent.
"Everything I want to see in a great DVD transfer is here. Pristine print, rock solid blacks, excellent contrast and vivid, vibrant colors. Hues are dead on with no smearing, noise or inaccurate fleshtones. Detail is splendid, with excellent shadow delineation even in the darkest scenes, which this flick is full of. It is smooth, finely texture and wonderfully sharp. I'd say this is about the best Trek transfer I've yet seen, with even the blown-out panoramas of the Data android planet sequence coming through perfectly."
Bracke says the discs special features are merely run of the mill, however.
"Ah, studio myopia. Perhaps I'm just jaded, but it seems that more and more these days, the big studio DVD releases lack any sort of perspective or humility. Case in point is Star Trek Nemesis. Everything here is perfectly fine - we've got the commentary, the featurettes, the deleted scenes...all omitting just one little factoid. Nemesis totally bombed at the box office and is probably responsible for sinking the whole Trek big-screen empire. Whoops! Just make sure you don't mention that..."
Over at DVD Answers, Tom Woodward takes a different tack on the film but gives the disc a 7/10 overall.
"For me, STAR TREK films have always been about the character interaction between the crew," Woodward writes. "Unfortunately NEMESIS decides to put that on the back burner and instead focuses on the plethora of action set pieces. This is perfectly demonstrated with the car chase (yes, car chase) across Kolarus III which feels completely out of place and included simply because it would ‘look cool.’"
Woodward is also impressed with the visual and audio quality of the disc and likes the audio commentary and featurettes.
"Considering the comparatively poor theatrical take, Paramount has still given Star Trek: Nemesis a pretty well rounded disc. First and foremost is an audio commentary with director Stuart Baird. Seeing as Baird is a bit of an outsider in regards to trek, the commentary makes for quite interesting listening."
Woodward says some of the deleted scenes could've made the picture better and the final result is a final TNG movie that's less than it could have been.
"The final voyage of the Enterprise should have been about the characters, and unfortunately many are all but ignored here. Despite this Paramount have put together a pretty solid first release of Star Trek Nemesis with a great visual and audio presentation. I emphasise first as I’m sure we’ll be seeing another release a few years down the line with even more deleted scenes and supplemental features!"
Aaron Beierle writing for DVD Talk recommends the disc as well, rating the visual and audio quality superb and the film and bonus features moderate to good.
"While I'm not sure how much longer TREK can go forward, I certainly don't understand the somewhat negative reaction this picture seemed to receive upon theatrical release. I found it to be an entertaining feature, with solid effects and action, along with good performances. The DVD offers outstanding picture and sound, along with a few fine supplemental features."
You can reach the DVD File review here, the DVD Answers review here, and the DVD Talk review here. Look for TrekWeb's review this Friday.
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