Rating: 
Summary: Best of Trek
Review: Forget piddling arguments about which Trek movie is the best because ST2 transcends the Trek genre. It is one of the best science fiction movies of the last two decades. It can proudly occupy the short list which includes The Empire Strikes Back, Blade Runner, The Terminator. If T'Pau is like all of Vulcan in one package, then this Director's Edition of ST 2: The Wrath of Khan is like all of Star Trek in one package. It's the definitive Trek film and it has never looked or sounded better. Great cast interviews, original trailer and even a wonderfully nerdy interview with two Trek authors.
Rating:
Summary: Even if you already own the Box, worth the purchase!!!
Review: I know that "director's editions" of films are really nothing more than a clever ploy to get you to buy the same [darn] film over and over again (case in point: I have all of the Trek films on both VHS and DVD already), but I just couldn't contain myself when I heard the "director's edition" of _Wrath of Khan_ was coming out. This version of _Khan_ clears up the whole question of Scotty's concern for "Engineer's Mate, Peter Preston" (what: I'm the only person who was bothered by it!?) with extra footage that was left out of the theatrical release: Peter was Scotty's sister's youngest son (which makes him Scotty's nephew, right?)!The addition of more personal loss involving someone besides Spock or Kirk or McCoy (even though it is quickly forgotten among Kirk's family issues) makes the series come even more alive for me than before (and also adds some poignancy to Scotty's sympathetic distance in III when David is killed by those "Klingon bastards.") Even though the "director's edition" only amounts to a few extra minutes of (all-be-it important) dialogue, when teamed with Michael Okuda's text commentary (funny and insightful "Trek nerd stuff" if ever I've read it!) and the second disc's wonderful interviews and material surrounding the ascendency of Khan in our imaginations, it becomes well worth the money. If you're a fan of this film, you'll love seeing the extra footage!
Rating:
Summary: Great Director's Edition
Review: Ok, first off I consider this one of the best (if not THE best) Star Trek films ever made. So of course I purchased the Director's Edition DVD right when it came out and was I ever impressed! This is a great version. Interestingly, only about 5 minutes of footage were re-included (which somehow made it onto the TV version but never the feature film) and they don't change anything, they simply add a little more spice to some scenes and clear up the reason for the interest in that one particular young engineer who died after the attack. One great thing however was the Director's commentary of the film. Often these tend to lag a bit for me, they get these old actors and directors who are struggling to remember who they were playing or what they were trying to say 30 years ago and many of them simply sound like they're doing it for the money. Nick Meyer entertains throughout, telling stories about the shoot, the actors, the lore of Star Trek, and his philosophy of directing as if he just made the movie. His insights are sharp and to me actually contributed much to the film. And for those of you who are worried that he just goes on and on, don't. Meyer seems to pause at all the right times to just let us soak in the film for a moment before going back to his discussion. Worth it for this alone (I can hardly wait for the director's edition of Star Trek VI, Meyers other Star Trek film)! So if you are the sort who involuntarily scream "KHAN" at people who annoy you, you must get this version of the film! And if you don't understand what I just said with that last sentence then just pass it by.
Rating:
Summary: The Essence of Star Trek
Review: The most important Star Trek film to own on any media. The one that sums up Star Trek in 2 hours. This DVD edition just kicks it up a few hundred notches. As a 2nd generation Star Trek fan, I was just a small child when Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was originally released. Of course I enjoyed the battle scenes (the most of any Star Trek movie) and stuff blowing up and raising the shields, blah blah blah. I was shocked when Spock died at the end and of course being so young had not understood the whole idea of "anything can happen ... just wait for the sequel." When I grew up, I bought the original movie VHS set that originally included the first five motion pictures. Of course "Khan" was the one I kept digging out and watching again and again. After the Next Generation had their success both on television and on the big screen, I admit I hadn't watched this movie in years ... until this DVD came out. Not only is the audio cleaned up, the video excellent and several scenes added in (it's a Director's Edition of course) but it has several hours of additional interviews and other goodies. Even if you don't see the need to repurchase this movie as you have it on VHS, I would buy it anyway just for that.
Just being told that several cast members didn't even want to make another movie after the first one but made this one anyway is a tribute to how good the project was/is. It wasn't about money. It was about making something they could believe in. I never understood the significance of "Khan" on every future Star Trek project until I watched this DVD. It indeed is amazing how it nearly resurrected Star Trek and set the tone for now 2 decades of Star Trek goodness. So not only is it the coolest, most action packed of all Star Trek movies but it has stood the test of time, as it included everything we started watching Star Trek in the first place for. If you're a Star Trek fan, go buy it NOW. If you're not a Star Trek fan and never understood why so many people think it's such a big deal, buy it anyway. If you rent it first, you'll just be wasting your money. Yeah, it's that good.
Rating:
Summary: Best of the Trek films...
Review: If you're a Star Trek fan, you're probably familiar with the Even Number rule. That Trek films with even numbers (II, IV, VI and First Contact) are better than the odd-numbered films. Well, I don't think the quality of the film has anything to do with the numbering. This movie has things that few other Trek films do. First, a great villain. Khan is smart, deadly and insane. He's a superbly threatening foe. Kirk has to work hard to defeat him, and even then there's a terrible price to pay. The first Star Trek film ended with the line "The Human Adventure is just beginning." And this is the most human of the Trek films. Kirk has to come to terms with his age, his past mistakes and death. There's a very strong focus on the characters. And the Spock/McCoy banter has never been better. And with the terraforming Genesis device, there's a scientific element that's pretty interesting. Mind you, it's only a minor part of the film, but still it's always nice to see a bit of science in Trek. The Director's Edition DVD restores a few minutes of footage which doesn't hurt the film, but I think helps it more in theory than practice. I do like the added element of Preston being Scotty's nephew. As for extras, there's a philosophical commentary track by director Nicholas Meyer, a geeky text commentary by Mike Okuda, some great interviews about the making of the film (isn't Shatner a delightful egotist?), archival interviews, and a filler doc on some fans turned Trek novelists. All in all, a nice assortment of features. But the truly special feature is the film itself. The computers on the Enterprise might be dated, but otherwise, this film has aged very well.
Rating: 
Summary: Minor Changes In The Director's Edition
Review: Star Trek II has always been a very good and entertaining film and this DVD should appeal to most people. The extra scenes are quite brief but do add a bit more background to some of the characters. There are moments though when the additions seem almost superfluous, but on the whole add a bit more clarity to the story. Annoyingly, the sound quality changes between these added scenes and the original edition. At one moment in the film, there is a noticeable pop when the scene changes - something that shouldn't has got past quality control. The sound overall is still okay, but the remastering hasn't gotten the quality up to the level in the previous edition in the series, Star Trek - The Motion Picture - Director's Edition. One major bonus is of course, the extra features, and these are very well done. They are concise and interesting, and they don't, unlike some other DVD's, rely exclusively on one-on-one interviews with the production personnel and cast. There is a good mix of behind the scenes footage, especially in the documentary on the film's special effects. Overall a worthwhile purchase, only let down by the uneven quality of sound.
Rating:
Summary: Not really a "Director's" Cut, Just the " ABC TV " version
Review: First Off, I don't want to knock it. It is without a doubt,
the finest Trek film ever made. It is worth the price and
a fine addition to anyone's DVD collection. The extras are
very cool, and Audio/Video quality is excellent. I, like other young Star Trek fans at the time, Recorded
Star Trek II off of TV when it was Aired on ABC TV in 1985.
( I was 14, and could not afford the "official" VCR tape! )
This is the same EXACT version, with the exception of the
language and the Ceti eel/Chekov,s Ear scene restored to it. I was kind of disapointed that there was no "extra" footage
added beyond that. I am also disapointed that Star Trek III
will be re-released with no additional footage in October.
My personal opinion is that Paramount is trying to pass off
a "SPECIAL EDITION" without actually MAKING a special edition,
as Lucas did with his STAR WARS trilogy. While this is Star
Trek DVD is well worth owning, I'm afraid it is mistitled.
It should be " STAR TREK II : THE ABC CUT ".
Rating:
Summary: Finally....
Review: Great image quality, great sound, great features, added scenes, everything we've been waiting for. I'm curious if there's a difference in image quality from last years Wrath of Khan disc, but to me it looks great. Mild flicker, but overall a phenomenal picture for a movie made in 1982.
Rating:
Summary: A big improvement over the original DVD transfer
Review: I took the prior release to task for what I felt was a sub-par transfer (many review sites would have disagreed. But I saw this movie when it first came out and the first DVD transfer made it look like an old movie on the late show). However, the colors and sharpness on the new two-disc version are noticeably better. (The opening Kobyashi Maru sequence is a good example, if you have the prior DVD.) Above all it's a lot of fun. Ricardo Montalban reprises his role of 20th century despot Khan who the Enterprise crew first encountered during the original series ("Space Seed") Director Nicolas Meyer brought a much-needed freshness to the game after the somewhat blah Robert Wise film. Meyer had previously directed the charming thriller "Time after Time," which also came out on DVD on Aug. 6, 2002. So buy or rent this film and thrill to the days when movies weren't made by clueless studio marketing hacks, but by talented auteurs.
Rating:
Summary: The Best Star Trek Movie
Review: It was interesting to learn that this was the cheapest Star Trek movie ever made, since it is clearly the best one of all. If you're one of the few who have not yet seen this sci-fi masterpiece, you have no idea what you have missed. Ricardo Montalban as "Kahn Singh" is simply awesome in his masterful performance of the vengeance obsessed nemesis to James Tiberius Kirk, the man who left him and his band of genetically engineered super humans marooned on an obscure, but life supporting, planet (Ceti Alpha 5), which later had it's ecosphere devastated by the explosion of a nearby planet in the same solar system. In the struggle for survival that ensued on this newly hellish world, Kahn lost many of his people, including his beloved wife. We learn about this history after Captain Terrell, commanding officer of the USS Reliant, and his Executive Officer Pavel Chekov beam down to the surface during the course of a planet scouting mission intended to find a suitable test planet for the Genesis Device, a powerful new terraforming tool that has just been developed by Dr. Carol Marcus, a federation research scientist, and her team. Kahn and his people capture Terrell and Chekov, thereby seizing control of the USS Reliant as well. With his newly acquired starship, Kahn hatches a plan to lure the USS Enterprise to space station Regula 1, the research facility used by Dr. Marcus to develop Genesis. What ensues is a truly thrilling contest of wit, cunning, and tactics that centerpieces one of the most exciting features of the Star Trek universe - starship combat. The battles (which perfectly follow the tension-loaded classic style of prolonged capital ship engagements) are simply fantastic in this picture and lead, ultimately, to some very tragic consequences for all involved. The score sets the mood and tone perfectly, and is eerily chilling at points. This is quite simply the best Star Trek film ever made, and it deserves a spot in every sci-fi fan's video library.
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