Review of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) by Joseph S — 03 Oct 2011

Well, I defiantly have a lot to say about this film. Probably the first thing that I should talk about is the villain, Khan. A film can only be as good as its villain and this film is no exception. Khan (played by Ricardo Montalban) first appeared in an episode of the original Star Trek show, 'Space Seed,' the episode is referenced quite a bit so you might want to check out that episode before watching this movie. Montalban has good chemistry with Shatner, who plays Kirk, and it I made even more impressive when you realize that they never share the screen together and the only character interactions is through view screens and communicators. (Their scenes were filmed months apart.).

Khan's goals mirror that of Captain Ahab from 'Moby Dick'. They even share some of the same dialogue. Khan's blind pursuit of Kirk is similar to how Ahab pursues the whale and lets the hatred interfere with other goals. A good villain does not see themselves as villainous, they do villainous things but they always believe that they are doing it for righteous reasons. Khan believes that his pursuit of Kirk is noble because he blames Kirk for the death of his wife. (Again, watch 'Space Seed' and this film back-to-back and it will make much more sense).

The other part of this film that I like is the growing old theme, in my opinion, it is done best here than in any other film with an aged protagonist. 'Rocky Balboa' is close behind this and this is miles in front of 'Indiana Jones 4' and 'Die Hard 4' which barely mention the change in age. In the film, Kirk is upset about becoming older and longs to be young again. Another big part of the film is the death of Spock. It's a well done and emotional scene that is well acted by both Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. It fits in well with the theme of growing old (growing old leads to death) and in a way gives Kirk new life. (At the end of the film, he exclaims "I feel young.") It also fits in well with the theme of Star Trek that Spock, in death, has gone "where no man has gone before.".