Rating: 
Summary: Star Trek II: Best of the Feature Film Series
Review: "Now, this is more like it!"
So wrote film critic Janet Maslin in June of 1982 when Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan opened nationwide.
You see, even though millions of Star Trek fans had flocked to see Star Trek: The Motion Picture in December of 1979, the reaction was, shall we say, mixed. Oh, sure, fans were happy to see Kirk, Spock, McCoy and the rest of the crew back in action. Yes, the redesigned USS Enterprise was impressive, as were all the visuals. And that Jerry Goldsmith score was just fabulous.
Yet, for all that, Star Trek I was also a big letdown. And even though the attempt of the producers to make an intelligent, non-Star Wars science fiction story was laudable, the first of the 10 feature films did not fire up the imagination. Wags, according to David Gerrold in his book The World of Star Trek, dubbed it Star Trek: The Motionless Picture and Spockalypse Now.
However, Paramount's accountants and executives did see good, if not Star Wars-sized, box office rentals, and they decided to give the franchise another chance. So they called in Harve Bennett, a well-known television producer, and asked him to take over from Gene Roddenberry as executive producer for the next Star Trek feature film.
Bennett took a look at most of the 79 Star Trek television episodes, seeking the formula that would make a second Star Trek movie soar and take audiences where "no one had gone before." Yet, ironically, the concept Bennett and co-writer Jack Sowards came up with was to make a sequel not to the first film, but to an episode which aired in 1967 "Space Seed."
In another brilliant stroke, Nicholas Meyer was hired to direct. New to the Star Trek universe, Meyer decided to start over almost as if the first feature did not exist. Although he would use stock footage from Star Trek I (which saved the studio tons of money), there would be new costumes, a new approach, and even a new score by James Horner.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (originally titled The Undiscovered Country, a Shakespearean reference to death) is a Horatio Hornblower-like story of Admiral Kirk's midlife crisis - at 52, he is now a flag officer and faculty member at Starfleet Academy in 23rd Century San Francisco. Unhappy at his desk job, he longs for command of a starship. His former ship, the Enterprise, is now a training ship commanded by his former first officer, Captain Spock.
It is also the story of Khan Noonian Singh, a tyrant from the late 20th Century who fled from Earth in the year 1996 after the Eugenics Wars (funny, we must have missed those on Fox or MSNBC) and was found by Kirk and Co. in the 2260s aboard SS Botany Bay, a sleeper ship. Revived - in one of those well-meant gestures by our heroes, Khan reverted to type and tried to take over the Enterprise. Only the triumvirate of Kirk, Spock and McCoy enabled the Enterprise to resist Khan and his followers, and he - along with Lt. Marla McGivers and his band of "supermen" - was exiled on Ceti Alpha VI.
Alas! For one of the neighboring planets exploded six months after Khan's exile, and the result was catastrophic. Khan's world was laid waste, and many of his people, including Lt. McGivers, died. And for 15 years, Khan bided his time, until a Federation starship on an unrelated mission arrives.
Star Trek II then becomes a classic revenge tale as Khan takes over the USS Reliant and battles Kirk for possession of the Genesis Device, a missile which can reconfigure entire planets. Starships duel, explosions flare up on screen, chaos ensues. Khan, of course, is thwarted, but not without great cost.
Of course, 21 years after the fact, we know Spock gets killed. We know, also, that this movie started a story arc that continued with The Search for Spock and The Voyage Home and that, at least for Spock, death is only temporary.
The Director's Edition of Star Trek II is subtly different from the theatrical and first - barebones - DVD versions. The story is the same....but this is the slightly longer edition seen originally in its ABC-TV network broadcast premiere in 1984. In this version we find out that the engineering cadet Peter Preston is Scotty's nephew. There are also bits of dialogue that are changed slightly, and some shots presented differently. There is also a great Director's commentary from Nick Meyer. He is a great speaker and very witty, at that. The text commentary by Mike and Denise Okuda is also informative and sometimes even funny. As in all DVDs with extra features discs, there are trailers, featurettes, and interviews with cast and crew.
Rating: 
Summary: My Favorite Trek Film
Review: I'll admit right now that I'm writing this review as a fan of the series and movies. That being said, let's talk about this movie.Star Trek II is a continuation of a Star Trek original series episode titled "Space Seed" which introduced us to the villian Khan (Khan Noonian Singh played by Ricardo Mantalban). Having seen this episode of the series is not a prerequisite for understanding the movie, but would probably make seeing the movie a little more enjoyable. The basic premise is that Khan was beaten by Kirk 15 years ago and now he's after revenge. Since Star Trek is about space travel you can bet that this time the two won't be slugging it out like Foreman and Ali which means fierce space battles. A sub-plot is that Kirk comes face-to-face with his son he hasn't seen since his birth (presumably - I'm not sure they mention it) and the mother of his child who wanted Kirk to stay away. This plays along with Kirk's uncertainty about his place in life and the way his life could have been. The production included on this DVD is likely different from what you will recall seeing in the theaters or on video. It has some slight scene alterations and a few extras that were only shown in the past on television. Technically speaking the movie employed special effects that were state-of-the-art during production. However the movie was released in 1982 so don't expect your socks to be knocked off, although the effects are far from lacking. For a film that is over 20 years old the picture quality is quite good. And if you have a suitable surroud sound system then you'll find the intense sound effects drawing you in. This DVD is a cut above the original DVD release (which I purchased before I knew the collector's edition was even in the works). This one includes an audio commentary by director Nick Meyers as well as a text commentary by Michael Okuda (which focuses on the more technical aspects). A second DVD included contains numerous cast interviews and production information as well as the trailer. My bottom line on this movie is that if you like science-fiction, you'll like this one.
Rating:
Summary: Practice Makes - Almost Perfect
Review: 'Star Trek' is a cult phenomenon. That statement alone would often drive away serious film buffs, but 'Star Trek II' transcends the archtype 'Saturday Matinee' film cliche. The first 'Trek' movie was super-ambitious, and was on a studio release time table that caused some very important elements of the original release to be left on the cutting room floor. Montalban is brilliant. Nimoy is brilliant. Shatner is unusually on-the-mark. I cried the first two times I saw this movie. The new edit restores some emotional relevance to the film as a whole. Rent it. Buy it. Unless your heart is made of stone, you won't be disappointed.
Rating:
Summary: This Edition Is Slightly Better
Review: I have always considered "Star Trek-The Motion Picture" my favorite Trek movie ever. However, its Director's Edition DVD, in my opinion, left much to be desired in spite of the nice reshooting of the visual effects. Now comes fan favorite -not mine -"Star Trek II- The Wrath Of Khan" in a Director's Edition DVD.
It may not have new effects shots, but it has interesting extended scenes that had some sort of substance, especially the relationship between Scotty (James Doohan) and Midshipman Peter Preston. But I have to admit that I liked this movie mostly because of Ricardo Montalban's portrayal of Khan, and his conflict with Kirk (William Shatner, in one of his really good performances -KHAAAAAN!!! KHAAAAAN!!! notwithstanding); in fact I recite 98% of Khan's lines by heart. Nicholas Meyer really did inject juice to this revenge story with an unexpecting ending.
I would have loved to see new FX shots, but this special edition -which I rate five stars -happens to be slightly better than the DVD of the first movie, in spite of the fact that I prefer the first movie to "Wrath Of Khan", despite the popularity it has garnered over the years.
Rating: 
Summary: This was the cheapest movie they ever did.....
Review: Well Star Trek II was the most difficult of the movies that the cast did. Everyone knew that Spock was going to die in this movie and toward the end of production, they had second thoughts about doing it. They changed some scenes to make sure there was some hope that Spock would return in the next feature. But during all that it was a very closed shoot. Paramount had slashed the budget for the film makers to work with, so they only used about five different sets in all for the whole feature, much of it was redone and remade over and over again and if you look closely you can see where the sets were remade with only moderate changes. So right there it was a sign of being cheap. A lot of footage from Star Trek; The Motion Picture was used in the early half of this film, to save on production costs. By contrast when Nick Meyer returned to direct Star Trek 6, nearly nine years later, he was working with a larger budget and made a much better movie then this. But at this time, Paramount was really playing it cheap with Star Trek movie production and it shows in this film, and the end result is not the most satisfying result.
Rating:
Summary: The pinnacle of feature-film Trek
Review: After the long and talky Star Trek: The Motion Picture (hereafter referred to as STTMP) turned off as many fans as it excited, and virtually poisoned the public at large from seeing another Star Trek movie, something had to be done. First off, the powers that be cut the budget; they hired Harve Bennett to produce, a TV veteran who could keep a tight rein on the budget; and they hired Nicholas Meyer, a veteran who with "Time After Time" a few years earlier, had proven he could handle science fiction convincingly. Bennett came up with the story idea after watching every episode of the original series to determine what might make for a good continued story. He settled on 'Space Seed', the story of Kirk's encounter with Khan Noonian Singh, a genetic superman from Earth's Eugenics Wars of the 1990's. The short story is, Khan falls in love with one of the Enterprise's crew, and turns her to his side as he and his people try to take over the Enterprise. They fail, and Kirk leaves them stranded on the idyllic Ceti Alpha V. Whew. . .the story Bennett concocted (and Meyer perfected in an uncredited rewrite) was that by a freak accident, Seti Alpha V is turned into a wasteland, Khan's love dies, and he blames Kirk. Another chance encounter allows Khan to leave the planet and take control of a starship. Thus Kirk finds himself subect to. . .the wrath of Khan! I'm not going to use this review to take the opportunity to say what's wrong with STTMP, because I am in a minority of people who likes the movie and thinks there is a lot to appreciate in it. Rather, looking at Star Trek II, it's impressive to see how much went right. Using only the refurbished Enterprise sets from the first movie (and a sizable chunk of special effects footage when the Enterprise leaves Spacedock), Director Meyer changes a lot both from STTMP and from the series. Trek II features the red military uniforms that would be used until the beginning of Generations, 12 years later. It also features the cast acting their ages, something glossed over in the first film. Meyer also gives the proceedings a more nautical flair than ever seen before. This actually feels like a ship, a sailing vessel. And it works nicely. Ultimately, the film is a meditation on aging, loss, regrets, and what those things can do to you. They can tear you up, like they do to Khan, or you can ultimately become better through them, as Kirk does. The movie is plotted tightly and is incredibly lean - everything works for the benefit of everything else in the story. In fact, it's done so well, it was probably the fifth time I'd seen it that I actually realized Kirk and Khan never came face-to-face; also, it wasn't tell I read IMDB.com's trivia section that I realized that the Reliant and Enterprise bridge sets are the same, with slight alterations. The whole movie is acted about as well as any Star Trek movie to date - William Shatner makes Kirk a flawed, believable character, and Ricardo Montalban, as Khan, takes what could have been a hammy, grandstanding part and manages to create a palpable sense of menace. Star Trek II is a pinnacle of sci-fi/action filmmaking that transcends its roots as a franchise film to just become a good movie.
Rating:
Summary: Possibly the best in the motion picture Trek series
Review: After the motion picture debut of Star Trek received mixed reviews from fans and critics alike, hardcore Trekkies responded immediately to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan with overwhelming glee. This is the character driven Trek that fans longed for, and finally got. This installment (which also began the trend of the even numbered Treks being better) finds the newly promoted Admiral Kirk at odds with an old nemesis (no pun intended) in Khan (Ricardo Montalban) who is seeking revenge on Kirk and his crew. The special effects were way ahead of their time, the acting is fantastic (Montalban especially), and the battles between starships epic, most of which are thanks to director Nicholas Meyer who would play a much larger hand in the future of the Star Trek universe. A young Kirstie Alley appears in her first film role as a young vulcan lieutenant being mentored by Spock. This Director's Edition DVD is worth noting as well; it is beyond everything Paramount's original full list price DVD had in terms of extras (in the latter's case, zilch), and, just like the rest of the Director's Edition films in the Trek series, is more than worth owning if you've ever considered yourself a Trek fan.
Rating:
Summary: Star Trek 2
Review: After the mixed reactions by Star Trek fans and critics alike about the first Star Trek movie, Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan was released in 1982. It instantly became a huge hit, not only with devoted fans and critics but also with people who weren't fans, and for good reason. Khan is back to seek revenge on Kirk and an incredible battle insues between the two "old friends". The part where the Enterprise and Khan's ship playing cat and mouse in a nebula was full of suspense and it was brilliant. This movie has everything that makes up a good film. Action, drama, suspense, emotion and great music. The ending was a complete shock to fans and it was indeed heartwrenching to see a beloved character die. But it was not to be, fortunatly. Many fans thought this was going to be the last Trek movie and here we are over 20 years later with now 10 movies made. Without a shadow of a doubt, Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan remains the most thrilling Trek film to date and most likely will be for a good long while.
Rating:
Summary: weak sequel.
Review: I know that this is a very popular entry in the Star Trek movie series and that it did well at the box office, better than the original movie anyway but I found this one slow and monotonous. It dragged on and on and I couldn't wait until it ended.Paramount re-released this sci-fi dog again as a Director's Edition and at a lower price. I haven't even looked at the extras on disc 2 yet because the movie just turned me off.MY friend paid for this as part of a Christmas present and I am glad that I didn't waste my money on it. It is only good if you want to own it as part of the Star Trek movies set.
The story is basically the sequel and conclusion to the Star Trek Original Series episode Space Seed which is one of the best episodes of the series.
Khan, is very angry at Kirk for having been banished to a planet where it is no secret that survival would be very hard. Kirk could have had him punished possibly worse for Khan taking over his ship and attempting to make mutineers out of the Enterprise's crew.
Star Trek 1 and 2 are boring, Trek 3 is a slight improvement, 4 is great, 5 is average but better than 2 and part 6 is great.
I give this DVD two stars. 1 for the movie and 1 for the extra features disc.
Summary:Stick with Space Seed unless you are dying to know what happened to Khan.
Rating:
Summary: My Most Watched Star Trek Movie
Review: Arguably the best this franchise has to offer. It is classic confilct with great characters. Richardo Montelbann is Magnificent as Khan. He's easily the 'single' greatest star trek villan in franchise history. An evolution beyond most of the one dimensional villans, he adds a sophistication to the plot that most ST films don't touch. What's more the main cast is together and in classic form. No hamming it up in this one. And who could forget the end: Spock's apparent ultimate sacrifice.......truely touching! A strong four stars.
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