Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan (Director's Edition)

Rating:
Summary: "Kirk your still alive my old friend" -KHAN
Review: THis is plain and simple the best Star Trek made. It shows everything that haas made Trek the phenomenom it is. Ricarldo Montalban is incredible as Kirk old enemy bent on revenge. Action packed and keeps you on the edge of your seat all the way through. The end will leave a lump in your throat as Spock gives the ultimate sacrifice for his crewmates and best friend. Well acted performances around. You will watch this one over and over

Rating:
Summary: "I Can See Why This Film Is A Classic"
Review: "Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan" explores the demension of these characters and takes the "Star Trek" saga to a different level. What happened to the "Star Trek" saga, well Nicholas Meyer directed only a few of the "Star Trek" films, and maybe thats why some of these film are horrible. I hate "Star Trek" now, they replaced Admiral James t. Kirk(yes I said his full name) with Patrick Stewart, who plays a different captain, what were these guy's thinking(I think it maybe Patrick Stewart, I haven't kept up). "The Wrath Of Khan" quotes the most famous line of them all,"Revenge is a dish best served cold." I love that line, it should be in the hall of fame of famous lines, like that line in "Titanic" "I'M THE KING OF THE WORLD."

THE PLOT

It is the 23rd century. The Federation Starship U.S.S. Enterprise is on a routine training and Admiral James Kirk(William Shatner) seems resigned to the fact that this may well be his last mission of his career. But Khan is back.

This is a very good film, but it doesn't even compare to "The Search for Spock", that is my favorite "Star Trek" film.

Rating:
Summary: The WORST of the Films Featuring the Original Crew.
Review: THE STORY: The genetically engineered superhuman Khan returns to seek vengeance on Kirk in this sequel to the television episode "Space Seed."

COMMENDATION: One good thing I can definitely say about this movie is that it has a very serious and mature vibe; it's not campy in any way, shape or form (unlike say, Star Trek V: The Final Frontier). This is no doubt one of the main reasons this film is generally regarded so highly amongst Trek fans. It lacks, however, the cinematic epic-ness of The Motion Picture, the first film in the series.

CAN'T BUY IT: The logical errors contained in this story abound: Why is it necessary that so many senior officers appear in a mere cadet simulation (the Kobayashi Maru)? Why use live explosives in a simulator? Are these officers actors in their spare time (it certainly looks like it; Spock in particular hams it up)? How could Starfleet and their cartographers not realize that an entire planet is missing in the Ceti Alpha system? How could Chekov not realize this since he's a trained navigator? Why didn't Chekov realize that the Ceti Alpha system was the system in which Khan and his clan were marooned by his former captain (even assuming he WASN'T aboard the Enterprise during the 1st season, he would have certainly gotten word from the rest of the crew, in particular from his Helmsman buddy Sulu)? How did the multi-ethnic supermen of "Space Seed" turn into a bunch of blond Aryans? Why would Scotty melodramatically bring his wounded nephew to the Bridge instead of Sickbay? Why does the ear slug simply leave Chekov instead of killing him (as the creatures did to twenty of Khan's people)? In an era that highly respects all life-forms why would Kirk unhesitatingly kill the ear slug like an old women trampling on a tarantula? How could Kirk not notice that Spock, his right-hand man, had left the Bridge? Why doesn't Spock just put on an enviromental space suit before entering the radioactive chamber? I could go on but I'll be merciful. As great as these errors are, they could easily be ignored or forgiven if the story itself were any good.

FINAL ANALYSIS: I've watched this movie (or tryed to) about five times now -- I guess I keep hoping that I may have missed something -- and I have yet to get through the whole pic in one sitting. The film and cast look great, especially Ricardo Montalban as Khan, but the story itself is just plain dull; it doesn't involve you. The original TV series may have had cheap sets, but it had great writers (e.g. Gene Roddenberry, Gene Coon, D.C. Fontana, etc.) who were always able to make the characters and story come alive. Here we have the exact opposite: Great sets, costumes and special effects, but a lousy story and dialogue. Case in point: Khan himself. In "Space Seed" the writers (Gene Coon and Carey Wilbur) made the effort to really flesh out his character in many great scenes and well-written dialogue. There's very little of this in The Wrath of Khan. Although, once again, I admit that Khan and his followers LOOK great, but SO WHAT! Give us some story and character-defining dialogue, please! All Khan seems to do in this movie is scowl at "Kiirrrrk" with angry, beady eyes. Gene Roddenberry himself was disappointed with the movie and honestly stated that the TV Khan was a much deeper and better character than the movie Khan, except that Montalban pulled it off (my feelings EXACTLY).

Oh, at the very end (if you can make it that far) the creators attempt to give meaning and depth to a lousy story by needlessly killing off Spock in a boring self-sacrificial scene. In fact, the ending seems to drag on forever. Apparently, killing off Spock was a lure to draw Leonard Nimoy back into the Trek fold for one final film since he stated he had no interest in participating in a sequel ("If you appear in this movie we'll give Spock a great death scene at the end, so you'll never have to worry about playing Spock ever again"). For those not in the know, Nimoy was not very happy at the time for being pigeonholed as Spock by an ever-growing legion of Trek fanatics. In the mid-70's he even wrote a book titled "I Am Not Spock." (Little did Nimoy know that he would go on to assume a paternal, nurturing role over the rest of the series -- which inludes four more feature film sequels).

The Wrath of Khan easily wins it for Most Overrated Trek Movie. Seriously, I have no idea why so many Trek fans rate this flick so highly -- many going so far as to suggest that it's the best of the six films featuring the original cast. On the contrary, it's most certainly the worst of the six. I give it two stars (a generous rating) only because the film looks good and takes its subject serious; also because I love Star Trek and the character of Khan so much. In reality it's an abysmal failure -- a soporific dud of stunning dreadfulness. Believe me, I WANTED to savor this movie; it had such great potential, but it was not to be. Staunch Trek fundamentalists (i.e. cookie-cutter automatons) will no doubt gnash their teeth in seething anger for the heresy of this review but, hey, the truth hurts.

Needless to say, the popular idea that only the even-numbered Trek films are good is a colossal myth.

Rating:
Summary: The Best Of The Star Trek Motion Pictures
Review: A good rule to remember with the Star Trek motion pictures is to watch only the even numbered ones (2, 4, and 6) and avoid the odd numbered ones (1, 3, and 5.) Taken all together, this is the best Star Trek to be released on motion picture. It offers a pleasant recap of unfinished business presented in the original TV series and, it has all the requirements for a great film in terms of direction, script, and cinematography.

The film addresses the uncertain fate of Kahn (Ricardo Montalban) and his minions who first appeared in the original episode titled 'Space Seed.' Kahn is a product of the past when the Earth was embroyled in a eugenic war. Kahn and his followers were banished from Earth and sent to roam empty space in their ship, The Botany Bay, in cryogenic freeze. After running into the Enterprise and coming out of his slumber, Kahn sought to take over Kirk's ship but his plot was foiled: Kahn and his crew were placed on the uninhabited planet of City Alpha 5 to spend the rest of their days in exile. The film starts at a much later period where Federation men accidentally run into Kahn's colony. Kahn escapes and seeks vengeance on Kirk for having abandoned him on a desolate planet. With guile and cruelty, Kahn seizes a new machine that can be transformed into the most destructive weapon the Federation has ever seen. Will Kirk and his crew stop him in time?

Ricardo Montalban is definitely the shining star in this movie. His expressions of rage and obsession are quite impressive. The rest of the cast (Shatner, Kelley, Nimoy, etc.) perform their usual Enterprise routine pretty well. The film has a fast-moving plot with a good script and great special effects. This is truly the gem of all Star Trek motion picture films.