Disc 1 on the Blu-ray Special Edition the feature presentation of STAR TREK shines vividly in an excellent audio and visual transfer of the film to high-definition video.  Depending on your local theater's quality, you may actually find the film looks sharper and sounds clearer in full 1080p image and 5.1 Dolby TrueHD sound.  Images show a wide range of well-modulated highlights (crucial for not letting Abrams' overabundant lens flares wash out scenes) and deep black shadows evidenced in the dank interiors of Nero's squid-ship Narada.  As the making-of featurettes show, Abrams also used a great deal of camera shake in his cinematography to emphasize the frenetic action, and yet this HD transfer exhibits no discernible jaggy artifacts amid the quick-cut shots.  Likewise, the dialog track remains clean and clear above the high-impact sound effects which make fine use of the 5.1 audio channels and give your subwoofer a good shakedown.  In short, TREK loses nothing in the translation to Blu-ray home viewing and stands out amid a growing library of excellent HD editions of technically ambitious feature films.

The feature is backed up by a fun yet focused Commentary Track by Abrams, Orci, Kurtzman, producer Damon Lindelof and executive producer Bryan Burk, who demonstrate the good humor and camaraderie which they've enjoyed on several joint film and TV adventures.  The group takes turns interrupting each other to offer production insights and story editing choices, they stay remarkably on track while offering plenty of laughs which keep the commentary light and easy to follow for the entire 126-minute run time.  There's a good deal of admiring their own work (often rightly so), but keep your ears peeled for discussions about why some scenes were cut from the film and how such deletions changed the story (example: turning young Jim Kirk's older brother George - aka Sam - into a kid named Johnny, and how their evil uncle became a step-father in voiceover).  You'll also learn how the U.S.S. Kelvin got its name and registry number, why Young Kirk is being chased by a 'robocop' and other entertaining, mildly educational facts behind the film, so keep those hailing frequencies open!

Disc 2 is packed with over three hours of bonus material spanning 30 Behind-the-Scenes Featurettes, and all presented in high-definition — a real added value since it's always disappointing to watch two hours of a screen-filling HD movie, then watch its making-of documentaries in puny low-res standard definition.  These featurettes often take full advantage of Blu-ray technology too with Branching Pods of related material, which can be viewed in two ways: when viewing in All Play mode, Starfleet insignia icons appear on screen which prompt you to to select them for a branched-off sub topic, or the Pods can be viewed separately as can each chapter of that subject's featurettes.  A prime example arises in the first Featurette compilation To Boldly Go, discussing the genesis of this new TREK mission: after Orci, Kurtzman and Abrams describe getting Nimoy to return as Spock, a branching pod addresses The Shatner Conundrum which explains why it wasn't feasible to seek William Shatner's return as well.  If you prefer the overall flow of a lengthy featurette, you can opt out of Branching Pods or ignore them as the cues arise, then view the pod material separately.  Most pod clips like Warp Explained or Pain Job are prolonged factoids which may be of more interest to die-hard fans than general audiences, getting technical about production facets, so they're given as side dishes to the main documentary course.  Then some are just included for sheer entertainment value, as with Savage Pressure which introduces First Assistant Director Tommy Gormley, but spends much of its time showing the cast imitating his Scots accent.  Point in fact, the difference between the two viewing experiences is minimal in learning the production secrets of STAR TREK, but kudos to PHE for providing the option in Blu-ray mode.

Highlights of these thirteen main Featurette topics include: the aforementioned To Boldly Go, which assembles this new STAR TREK crew behind and in front of cameras to relaunch the franchise; Casting which illustrates how the pressure felt by the filmmakers to fill such iconic character roles were alleviated by the chemistry shown between the growing cast of talented actors; and A New Vision delves into J.J. Abrams' approach to making this a new-yet-familiar TREK universe, while boldly making its own mark on the franchise by exploring a new, unwritten future.  Two other subjects offered slight disappointment: Ben Burtt and the Sounds of Star Trek didn't take viewers very deep into his creative process of helping create a new audio experience for the film, and Score gave composer Michael Giacchino a very short window of praise and documentation of his immeasurable contribution to revitalized TREK.  I know there is a huge following of film scores and soundtracks among both Trek fans and film lovers in general, yet the latter featurette skims the surface of his compositional efforts — surprising since so much of his score for the film introduced new themes and character motifs which were simple repeats of Alexander Courage's iconic title music.

The nine Deleted Scenes typically prove why such scenes are written and filmed with the knowledge they probably will get cut out of the final film, but some such changes like revisiting Young Kirk, Johnny and Uncle Frank or expanding the Dorm Room and Kobayashi Maru (original version) scenes shed light on TREK's evolving story line.  Note how reshoots of Jimmy Bennett as Young Kirk in the Corvette chase would have made the Uncle Frank scene a continuity nightmare to keep in the film as well!  Exclusion of some brief scenes between Gaila the Orion girl and Jim Kirk also had noted effect on his character likeability, so be sure to view with Commentary 'on' to glean these insights.

Another Blu-ray exclusive is the Starfleet Vessel Simulator, an interactive tour around and inside both the Enterprise flagship and Nero's behemoth nightmare, the Narada.   This turned out to be a surprisingly low-tech bonus feature which I found odd considering the wealth of CG data existing for each ship.  While offering highly detailed views of the ships' exteriors from limited 360° angles, this is not a free fly-around tour of either craft: stationary viewing angles are pre-selected so that data points may appear for interactive inspection by viewers.  Though some such points of interest offer extra material — you can fire phaser turrets. launch photo torpedoes, or view video clips — most such data nodes deliver brief text paragraphs to educate the newest of fans in ship features.  Beyond a limited visual reference to each ship, I doubt die-hard Trekkers will view the simulators more than once.   A neat idea but not fully realized in its cool potential, which makes it the least satisfying bonus feature offered.

Similarly the Gag Reel deviates slightly from the typical bonus feature fare only in that at least half of the reel illustrates the playful glee which apparently was enjoyed and embodied by cast and crew alike.  As noted in several of the featurettes, Abrams apparently prefers a low-pressure yet professional filmmaking environment, and this lighthearted approach made for several spontaneous moments of prank-pulling and improvisation between actors.  Thankfully Abrams and team continue the tradition of smashing one lead actor in the face with a swish-closing door, but you'll have to watch to learn who got smacked.

Disc 3 wraps up the Blu-ray set with a Digital Copy of the feature film, available to transfer to your compatible PC, Mac or portable device with the enclosed download code to take STAR TREK on your next away team adventure.  Also included is the STAR TREK D-A-C Free Trial Game for XBox360, plus weblinks to access STAR TREK D-A-C trial versions for PC and PlayStation Network platforms.  Of course Paramount also offers additional STAR TREK content — including NASA News real-time updates on space exploration missions — via Blu-ray's BD-Live feature, accessible on all compatible later-gen Blu-ray players with internet access.

In short, this 3-Disc Blu-ray Special Edition presents STAR TREK in all its high-definition glory both during the feature film and for hours afterward as you explore the making of this 2009 box-office hit!  With prices dropping on good quality Blu-ray players this season, this may well be one of those home entertainment titles which prompts you to upgrade to high definition if you haven't already.  If you're already aboard the HD format, you'll enjoy an exclusive presentation of J.J. Abrams' film which most closely recreates the seat-shaking, sense-dazzling experience you felt in theaters this summer, now beamed directly into your media room.  FILMEDGE and MISSION:TREK 2009 urge you to boldly go Blu when you take home STAR TREK this week!