Review of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) by Richard R — 12 Aug 2012

[SIZE=3]Many devotees of the [I]Star Trek[/I] universe claim that the highpoint of the series' representation on film is [I]Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan[/I]. My own vote would tend to go to the tongue-in-cheek, marvelously entertaining [I]Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home[/I], or perhaps to the deeper and darker [I]Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country[/I]. However, [I]The Wrath of Khan[/I] is certainly the most action-packed, emotionally powerful entry in the series. Director Nicholas Meyer wisely decided to follow up on a plot explored in one of the original [I]Star Trek[/I] television episodes, and more importantly, he returns to the tone and spirit of the show, which was completely absent from the 1979 debacle [I]Star Trek: The Motion Picture[/I]. As [I]The Wrath of Khan[/I] begins, our old friends have advanced in both age and status: Kirk (William Shatner) is now an Admiral, while Spock (Leonard Nimoy) has been promoted to Captain. Much to Kirk's dismay, the Enterprise has been relegated to the status of training vehicle for young Starfleet cadets. The early scenes in [I]The Wrath of Khan[/I] are among the most enjoyable in the film, as Kirk and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) engage in a little verbal sparring over Kirk's feelings of middle-aged anxiety. As the crew of the Enterprise grows increasingly restless, another spaceship happens upon a deserted planet where they discover Khan (Ricardo Montalban), a malicious man who holds a tremendous grudge against Kirk and vows to track him down. The majority of [I]Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan[/I] is an extended cat-and-mouse game, with Khan using a starship to do battle with the Enterprise and exact terrible vengeance on Admiral Kirk and his crew. Although the movie is primarily intended as an action film set in outer space, we are often entertained by the quieter moments of character development: we learn, for example, that Kirk has a son. The battle of wits between Khan and Kirk is riveting because Montalban is one of the few actors alive who can out-ham William Shatner. [I]The Wrath of Khan[/I] eventually builds to the most moving and powerful conclusion in any [I]Star Trek[/I] film: Spock's death scene, in which the stoic Vulcan utters the timeless line "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few." If [I]The Wrath of Khan[/I] is not quite the best of the series, it is because its story is basically a simple and repetitive revenge yarn, rather than a plot motivated by ideas. Even though it is lacking in depth, [I]Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan[/I] is still a compelling and entertaining science-fiction film that will satisfy Trekkies and non-Trekkies alike.

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