Review of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) by Liam C — 13 Jun 2014

Now this is how it's done! As soon as the film starts it completely gets rid if any notion that this will be as slack as the precious installment and it got to the point a lot quicker, which probably explains why I thought this movie was very short.

I'm sure Paramount probably had a heart attack when they found out that the first major blockbuster for a legendary series like Star Trek did so averagely in terms of reviews. So, understandably, the budget for this one was much lower than the previous one and considering what they did with it, like making what people consider to be the best Star Trek film, is pretty impressive.

I still find it funny that the first movie is considered all but irrelevant by most fans, can you imagine if THIS was the first one? There's a scene pretty early on that showcases some really good character development and it's about getting older but, at least in my opinion, the movie forgets about it even before you can, yes, the general theme of this lingers throughout the movie and is the general theme, as are a few other things, I would have liked some more moments like this but perhaps I am expecting too much? Even so, the story that's on offer here is very strong and compelling, it's an utter thrill ride to watch, the ending especially.

Given the fact that the budget is significantly less than the previous movie, the visual effects really aren't as good as they were and it really took me by surprise how different everything looked, I'm not a graphics nut but it certainly something to comment on.

However, if they can make a compelling story with thrilling action sequences anyway then who am I to judge? Well done for doing what you were able to with the budget that you had. If the series wanted to stop here, it would work, considering what happened at the end, which I'm sure everyone knows by now but I dare not spoil just in the sheer chance that someone who doesn't know actually reads this, this could just end here but considering what the titles of the next two movies are, this seems like the only one where it's directly connected to another one and thus actually feels necessary to have sequels.

With an excellent plot, a major feeling of tension and fantastic character work by the actors involved, it isn't hard to see why a majority of fans consider this the best, I look forward to seeing it again.