After last year saw the first four Star Trek films get remastered in 4K UHD, the remastered director's cut of the Star Trek: The Motion Picture is now available to stream exclusively on Paramount+. The 1979 movie saw the crew of Star Trek: The Original Series reunite on the big screen for the first time, completely reinvigorating the franchise a full decade after its television cancellation. While the flaws inherent to The Motion Picture remain, the remaster is a gorgeous transfer that puts the inaugural cinematic voyage of the Enterprise in its most impressive technical presentation to date.
Several years after the events of TOS, Admiral James T. Kirk retakes command of the refitted Enterprise. Rejoined by much of his old crew, the team embarks on a mission when a mysterious entity destroying all in its path moves towards the Earth. As Kirk copes with reacclimatizing to captaining a starship and the malfunctioning ship systems from the recent refit, Spock resurfaces after sensing the growing presence of the entity, learning it refers to itself as V'Ger. The Enterprise crew must overcome these growing pains as it intercepts V'Ger to learn its true purpose and how to save Earth from its destructive potential.
This 4K restoration is overseen by David C. Fein, Mike Matessino, and Daren R. Dochterman, all of whom previously worked with The Motion Picture director Robert Wise on the 2001 director's cut. Rather than superficially updating the 2001 DVD transfer of the extended cut, the Paramount+ remaster had the restoration team scan the original film negatives and examine the original storyboards before adding visual flourishes and color corrections to help bring the overall movie as close to Wise's intended vision as possible. The Motion Picture had infamously rushed post-production after replacing its initial visual effects production company and not pushing back its theatrical release date. This 4K remaster gives such a VFX-heavy project the time and attention it deserved all along.
While the director's cut runs approximately four minutes longer than the theatrical version, it is a considerably better-paced film, filling out character motivations and insight along with a relatively more engaging story. Compared to the 2001 DVD transfer, this iteration of the director's cut feels brighter and livelier, rather than the drab monochrome of the theatrical version with its interiors and characters constantly shrouded in shadow, virtually blending in with their similarly colored and toned environment. Similarly, CG animation has been touched up -- thankfully, not as distractingly as a certain other sci-fi franchise -- but noticeable enough that the improvement is visible.
As for The Motion Picture itself, the film has endured criticism for being too languidly paced and sterile in its muted performances ever since its release over 40 years ago. While this new remaster may not magically convert the masses to herald it as the best Star Trek feature film, it does help instill a grander sense of appreciation for what Wise and the production were trying to accomplish with the franchise. The Motion Picture is Star Trek at possibly its most cerebral, asking bigger questions about the nature of existence and sentience instead of delivering a swashbuckling adventure that audiences may have been hoping for at the time. Tonally, the movie is a little more 2001: A Space Odyssey than an episode of Star Trek itself.
Any hardcore Star Trek fan, particularly of the TOS era, is not going to want to miss the 4K remaster of The Motion Picture. This really is the definitive way to experience the film. The movie itself has always had a complicated place in the franchise's history, revitalizing it and representing it at its most philosophical yet earning a more divisive reception. This restoration won't completely bridge that divide, but it will quite literally shine a light on the proceedings and bring the movie closer to Wise's original vision. For those on the fence about getting a Paramount+ subscription, this may be the push needed for those with a soft spot for Star Trek to check out the premium streaming service.
Directed by Robert Wise, the Star Trek: The Motion Picture Director's Cut 4K UHD remaster is available to stream on Paramount+.