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

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

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Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The best
Review: Without a doubt, the best of the series, with splendid effects, great story, and delicous preformance by Ricardo montalban The final shootout will have you on the edge of your seat. END

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Revenge Is A Dish Best Served Cold
Review: "I have been & always shall be your friend. Live long & prosper."

"Of my friend..., I can only say this. Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels. His was the most- .... human.

- Captain Spock says goodbye to his close friend while Admiral Kirk honors the fallen in "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan".

After 22 summers (to the day) "Star Trek II:The Wrath of Khan" is still the movie that "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" wanted to be and after ten films in the "Star Trek" saga, "II" is still the film that all other "Trek" films are measured up to (for me personally, this one is tied for first with "Star Trek: First Contact").

Admiral Kirk and the crew of The Enterprise face an old enemy (Khan Noonian Singh) from the television series (see the episode entitled "Space Seed").

Simplistic plot, but, what makes the film work so well is:

1. - The crew act there age & try not to be the young crew they tried to be in "The Motion Picture".

2. - Admiral Kirk has a mid-life crisis as his past catches up with him in the form of the son he hardly knows.

3. - Khan seeks revenge for the death of his wife (the Enterprise historian from the T.V. episode). Wouldn't you?

4. - Aside from the senior staff, The Enterprise crew is made of cadets, giving the film an extra element of danger(the plotpoint w/ Scotty's cadet nephew is one of the extended scenes in the film).

5. - The senior staff, unlike in the T.V. series, is expendable (Scotty gets a bout of radation poisining, Checkov becomes Khan's hostage, and Spock, ..., well you know. I won't give that away for the 2 people who haven't watched the film).

6. - The Genesis Project is one of the most dangerous of all "Trek" weapons, yet, it was never meant to be one.

7. - The battle in the Mutara Nebula is classic "Star Trek" all the way (the Nebula is featured again in one of the episodes from "Star Trek: The Next Generation". I think, it might be The Best of Both Worlds Part I).

8. - Cherish what you have before its gone and a renewed sense of purpose is never a bad thing.

Quite a lot of detail was put into this film.
Gone are the disco style uniforms from the previous film. In its place, are the now classic, military/naval style uniforms complete with rank pips and badges.
The effects are a lot better than in "TMP". The first digital effects featured in a film are of the Genesis Proposal and were made by Pixar (the company would go on to super success with, the 1995 film, "Toy Story").

Origianlly titled the "Undiscovered Country", but, was replaced by the title "Vengeance of Khan". It was retitled to "The Wrath of Khan" when Paramount found out that the last "Star Wars" film would be titled "Revenge of The Jedi" (that would be changed to "Return of The Jedi").

This 2 disc extended edition of "Star Trek II" has everything but the kitchen sink thrown in (its lightyears ahead of the drab first DVD release). What I like most about these special releases is the triva track option that can run at the bottom of the screen without blocking out any of the screen itself.

This version of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan", is a 2 disc set that will live long & prosper. Steady as she goes, Mr. Sulu.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: One for the ages
Review: Back when "The Wrath of Khan" first hit the theaters, I remember thinking that Khan now ranks with the best movie bad guys of all time. I think Ricardo Montalban may have turned out the best performance of his career by bringing complexity, passion, pathos, and humanity all at once to the role of Khan. I'll never be able to read Moby Dick the same way ever again - "He tasks me, and I shall have him... I'll chase him 'round the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom, and 'round perdition's flames before I give him up!" Sure, I'm an avowed lifelong trek fan, but I don't think I'm exagggerating this by much.

On a more objective note, the movie works very well at multiple levels...

The soundtrack itself is exceptional and, at the time, somewhat ground-breaking for the movie industry. This is evidenced by the fact that subsequent soundtracks in the sci-fi genre seem to have borrowed from Horner's original score. I think it was a shame that "Khan" was not nominated for an Oscar in the original score category.

The visual effects, which were state of the art at the time, still hold up over twenty years later. It serves as a good example and reminder that movies used to have good special effects even in the pre-computer era.

The acting was also superior. I already mentioned that Montalban may have given the performance of his life as "Khan", but I don't think it ends there. William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and DeForest Kelley also recaptured the feel of the cameraderie from the original series. I am aware that Shatner is often criticized for being overly-dramatic, but my opinion is that this may also rank among the top two or three performance of Shatner's career as well (including the TV show). One of the more memorable moments came following Khan's failed attempt to have Chekov and Terrell kill Kirk: [Kirk to Khan] "You've managed to kill just about everyone else, but like a poor marksman you keep missing the mark.", which was, of course, followed by Kirk's timeless "KHAAAANNNN!!!" exclamatory. The acting was so good, IMHO, that the audience doesn't really notice that Kirk and Khan never really meet face-to-face, and the movie doesn't suffer because of it.

The Director's Edition DVD comes with a well-produced disc of supplementary material (interviews, commentaries, etc.) as well. I particularly liked the recent interviews with the actors on their recollections from when the movie was being produced. My favorite interview was Ricardo Montalban telling how horrified he was upon realizing how much he sounded like Mr. Roarke from Fantasy Island when he started reading his lines for the first time - "This is going to be a disaster! The audience is going to laugh at me!" He then tells of how he fixed the problem by requesting a copy of the original TV show "Space Seed" where the crew of the Enterprise first encountered Khan, and watching it over and over again until he began to recall his original work with the character. Shatner also delivers a pretty good interview as he describes how he'll one day make Nimoy and Harve Bennett pay for not letting him in on the secret that by the time the movie had been shot that they already had plans to bring Spock back. Whether or not Shatner really knew is irrelevant - the interview is delivered w/ a deadpan that leaves the viewer in stitches. There is also a good piece about how the visual effects were accomplished.

Overall, I rate "The Wrath of Khan" as the best movie in the entire series of Star Trek theatrical releases, and one of the better movies ever produced in the sci-fi genre as a whole.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: KHAN RULES!
Review: True Trekkers know that Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, is the best Star Trek film ever made. A sci-fi take on "A Tale of Two Cities," it has meanings on multiple levels.
And after years of waiting, a director's cut that does the film justice. This two-disc set is packed with great features including a documentary about the film's special effects. The FX may seem seem outdated, but, in fact, they marked a milestone in filmmaking. Star Trek II featured the first 3-D computer graphic imagery (CGI) ever used in a motion picture to create ts "Genesis Effect". video scene. Best of all, the widescreen movie features numerous scenes that were cut (why?) from the home video and original DVD release. The last time many of these scenes have been seen was when the film aired on television about 12 years ago. Among the new storylines re-inserted are the dialogue introducing Scotty's nephew. The added scenes aren't much, maybe only 3 minutes of footage total. But they add so much to the story, the film becomes even more emotional.
The sound quality on the director's cut DVD is also bar none. For true Star Trek fans, or sci fans in general, this is a must-have DVD!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: A great film for trekkies everywhere
Review: If you haven't heard this quote, "The needs of the many, outweigh the needs of the few or the one". Then, you should check this film out. When this film came out, it's surpassed every trekkie's expectation. The film's main storyline revolves around this quote. It's one great film.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Good film to say the least
Review: Montalban makes a great villain, the story has just enough consistency with the Space Seed ep it spawned from, the original regular series cast all turn in good performances (though I feel Shatner's finest TRek film performance was in the first Trek movie) and the direcrtion is good despite slow pacing.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The Best of the Start Trek Movies
Review: This movie stands alone as one that would have succeeded outside of the Star Trek world. Ricardo Montalban does a fantastic job as Khan, even if you had not seen his performance in the original series.

This is basically the Moby Dick story in space. If you are a fan of the original series, it's a lot of fun to see how the original crew has bonded over time.

No Sci-Fi library should be without this classic.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: REVENGE TOPS THE MENU
Review: If ever you've doubted that revenge is a good thing, then you should study this film carefully. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. You'll note the TLC that goes into forming this cluster of hatred and vengeance. The diabolical plans that man can conceive of. The timing, deceit, and trickery that define humanity; and the (nearly) flawless execution of evil. I'm so proud of us all.Khan, a super-human genetic mutant, and his ragtag crew, are apparently abandoned on a desolate planet by Captain James T. Kirk. At the time a thriving planet, full of life, this "abandonment" actually offered Khan a chance at redemption; and finally realize that slipped opportunity to cultivate the society Khan had envisioned. A cataclysmic event renders the planet nearly unihabitable. Khan's wife dies. Kirk fails to check on Khan's progress as he had promised he would. Eventually Starfleet returns to the system in search of a dead planet onwhere to test "The Genisis Project"; a project believed to form instant life where there is none.Seizing upon this chance opportunity to escape desolate conditions, and, square things with Captain Kirk (now an Admiral), Khan lures the Admiral to his wasteland where Khan's plans for revenge seems to be in perfect form. "Revenge is a dish best served cold". An oversight by Khan and his crew gives Kirk the opening he needs, to turn the tide and destroy Khan. Does Kirk's plan fail too? You decide. A tragic event gives Kirk pause. What he won, was it worth what he lost? Exciting, nicely ponderous, and visually stunning.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: The one they should have started with!
Review: This is the movie that the Star Trek motion pictures should have started with. It was a perfect place to pick up and continue a story line. After all, Kirk has more enemies than all the tribbles in the galaxy. There is plenty of action alongside comedy relief. And yes, the uniforms are much better in this film than in TMP!

Even if you've never watched an episode of Star Trek you will be able to follow the story well. This is a must have for Star Trek fans of all ages. Montalban gives an excellent performance even though quite a few years have gone by since he orignated his role and he's obviously kept himself in good shape despite his chronic back problems.

The acting is much better here than TMP. Everyone actually looks as if they are glad to be on the set. And why shouldn't they be? One little t.v. show has brought them more dough than they ever thought they'd see.

You'll enjoy this one. Live long and prosper!!

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Star Trek Heaven
Review: The Creme de la Creme of the Star Trek movies.
It's got it all...the story, the suspence, the humour, the emotion, and an awsome soundtrack. The villain is great......Khan has brought more emotion into his part than his earlier parts on the Star Trek series, and really seems to relish the role as a man tortured by what James T Kirt did to him. Shatner is on top form, showing us a breadth of acting talent, with a very moving scene with him and pointy ears.
This a a really moving film and you don't have to be a Trek fan to appreciate the quality of the film.
Watch it NOW or i'll banish you to Seti Alpha 7.


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