Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Welcome back to “Star Trek Month,” where today we will be looking at the vast improvement over the first movie and the one that you should start the movie series out with, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” released in 1982.

At a time when the underwhelming “Star Trek: The Motion Picture” was released, the starting of the “Star Trek” movies needed an improvement, which is what “The Wrath of Khan” gave. While still having the thematic elements of the late-60s TV series and using the original and loved USS Enterprise crew, “Star Trek II” added a lot of action, adventure and suspense, putting life into a concept that had been left declining by the first movie. A lot of people like to declare this the best “Star Trek” movie and even the strongest any movie adaptation of the series that fans loved.

Unlike the first movie where the uniforms were pastel and clinical white, this one had a nicer burgundy uniform. James Berardinelli stated in his review, “The ship also seems smaller and homier than three years ago, although there's a definite warlike aspect to its comforts (witness the detail shown as the Enterprise prepares for the film's climactic battle).” The characters also appear more relaxed here, and the three-way friendship/rivalry between Admiral Kirk, Spock and McCoy heeds back to the best moments of the show. Director Nicholas Meyer, along with writers Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards, has taken quite some work to revive the humanity of “Star Trek.”

The film is a follow up to the first episode of the 22^nd season (“Space Seed”). Here, the villain Khan, played by the late Ricardo Montalban, in an enjoyable over-the-top performance, and his comrades have escaped from the barren planet where then-Captain Kirk imprisoned him fifteen-some years ago. Khan, once a brilliant, fascinating leader, has become a bitter psychopath, driven only to revenge. He blames Kirk for the death of his wife and his own life being ruined, and plans to execute revenge – in blood. After taking over a Federation starship, Khan steals Genesis, a possible doomsday weapon created by Kirk’s son, David (Merritt Butrick), and former girlfriend, Carol (Bibi Besch), and traps the Enterprise into a carefully-executed trap.

The “Star Trek” cast does what fans expect them to do. Berardinelli said this about William Shatner: “William Shatner, not generally regarded as a top-flight actor, fits comfortably into this role, mixing heroic arrogance with surprising vulnerability. Of the seven Star Trek features in which he has appeared, Shatner does his best work here.” As always, the late Nimoy plays Spock with a spark of sarcastic humor, and the late Kelley proves to be his perfect, inconsistent foil. Familiar faces James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei and Nichelle Nicols have all returned, although only Koenig has more than a few empty scenes.

Along with bringing back Montalban’s enjoyable performance as Khan (Berardinelli stated, “This is a fun performance to watch, principally because it's so campy”), “Star Trek II” introduces three important new characters. The first is Saavik, played by Kristie Alley from the famous TV show “Cheers,” the half-Vulcan understudy of Spock. Then there are a couple of characters out of Kirk’s past – a son and a former girlfriend. Berardinelli said, “However, while Alley steals scenes as Saavik, both Bibi Besch and Merritt Butrick are flat and unappealing, causing the entire "Kirk's family" subplot to flounder. Fortunately, it's afforded only token screen time.”

“The Wrath of Khan” is a top-notch, fast-paced thrill ride that can be enjoyed equally by Trekkies and viewers who have never seen the show. There are several tense, well-shot battle scenes that show impressive special effects and a great score by James Horner. Berardinelli stated, “The ending, which I won't reveal (although everyone probably knows it by now) is tender and poignant -- proof that Star Trek can still touch the heart.” You might even know what I am talking about, but I won’t say. “The Wrath of Khan” shows the possible characteristic in the “Star Trek” idea as useful to the big screen. Berardinelli ended his review by saying, “It's unfortunate that none of the other films in this long-running series have come close to the level achieved by this marvelous example of entertainment.” A lot of people say that, but I beg to differ. Not to say that I hate this movie, I think this is one of the best. As the month goes on, I will reveal my personal favorite.

In the end, if you haven’t seen this movie, you shouldn’t even be reading my review. Skip the first movie and go to this one. You will be thoroughly enjoyed by it, I promise you. Not only will you like Khan and the film’s pacing, but the interactions between the characters really help this film out. Only downside are the special effects and some of the acting. Plus, Shatner and Montalban don’t have any screen time together. Their scenes had to be shot separately, so you don’t get a face-to-face encounter, but that’s fine. There's also the famous "Khan" scream that Shatner famously delivered in this movie.

Happy Independence Day once again my online readers. Wednesday I will look at the only good odd numbered movie in “Star Trek Month.”