
Star Trek The Motion Pictures DVD Collection
"Spanning two decades and countless light years of interstellar adventure, Star
Trek: The Motion Pictures Collection is a testament to the enduring goodwill
of Gene Roddenberry’s optimistic sci-fi concept. Long before Star Wars
sparked an explosion of big-screen science fiction, Roddenberry had planned a
second Star Trek TV series; the project fizzled, but its pilot script
evolved into the first film in Paramount’s most lucrative movie franchise.
Despite its sluggish pace and bland "pajama" costuming, Star Trek:
The Motion Picture (1979) offered a welcomed reunion of the "Classic Trek"
cast, packed with Douglas Trumbull’s still-dazzling special effects. Trekkers
were even more ecstatic when The Wrath of Khan (1982) revived the spirit
of the original series, even though director Nicholas Meyer was a Trek
neophyte. With Leonard Nimoy directing, The Search for Spock (1984) began
where Khan left off, with a thrilling (albeit contrived) obligation to
resurrect the formerly ill-fated Mr. Spock.
A box-office smash, Nimoy’s The Voyage Home (1986) is the franchise’s
most accessible adventure–a high point offset by William Shatner’s
comparatively dreadful Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989). Meyer (and
his penchant for quoting Shakespeare) returned for The Undiscovered Country
(1991), a conspiracy thriller that put the series back on track, inspiring fans
to invoke the "even number" rule in rating their franchise favorites. Generations
(1994) gracefully passed the torch to TV’s The Next Generation, bidding
farewell to Captain Kirk with honor and integrity intact. Highlighted by the
evolving humanity of Brent Spiner’s android Lt. Cmdr. Data, First Contact
(1996) explored Star Trek history with a logical (hint) surprise
encounter, and Insurrection (1998) provided an …."
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