star trek wrath of khan plot

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan was the novelization of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan . Written by Vonda N. McIntyre , it was first published by Pocket Books in paperback – as #7 in the numbered series – in July 1982 .

• 1.1 Prologue
• 1.2 Chapter 1
• 1.3 Chapter 2
• 2 Background information
• 3 Characters
• 4.1 Chronology
• 5 External link

Summary [ ]

Prologue [ ].

Lieutenant jg Saavik takes the no-win scenario test, and loses.

Chapter 1 [ ]

Rear Admiral James T. Kirk ends the scenario and surveys the destruction. After conversing with his former senior staff , he attends a cadet debriefing. He bids Captain Spock farewell after receiving Spock's gift of A Tale of Two Cities .

Chapter 2 [ ]

Commander Pavel Chekov records a log entry aboard Reliant .

Background information [ ]

• Saavik is revealed to be half- Romulan . This information originated from the script; however, it did not appear in the final cut of the film.
• A brief romantic interest between Saavik and David Marcus is suggested in the novel.
• Saavik also helps out Peter Preston with his studies, and the young Peter has a crush on her. When Preston dies Saavik has a deep emotional reaction to his death, locking herself in a room and throwing a chair and crying. Preston is also revealed to be the nephew of Montgomery Scott which was cut from the original theatrical version of the film.
• Ceti Alpha V and Regula I are referred to repeatedly as "Alpha Ceti V" and "Regulus I" in the novel.
• A subplot involving the Regula I science staff is also prominent in the novelization, centering around two young physicists, Del March and Vance Madison. The deaths and torture of the science staff is given much more detail as well.
• Joachim's character is fleshed out more and he is more merciful when the Regula I science staff are being tortured.
• Jedda is a Deltan , as in the early drafts of the film's screenplay.
• The novel revealed that Chekov had the night watch on the Enterprise when Khan was on board and that Chekov had feelings for Marla McGivers.
• Hikaru Sulu is mentioned to be promoted to captain, and going to get his own command soon. This was deleted from the film, but Sulu indeed get his own command later, in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country .
• The Science Fiction Book Club released a special edition of the novel in hardback in November 1982 .
• UK and Australian editions were published by Futura Publications ; Titan Books later republished the Pocket edition as part of its UK distribution of Pocket TOS titles.

Characters [ ]

Although Sulu wore commander insignia in the movie, the novel portrays him as (possibly figuratively) wearing an "extra braid" indicating his recent captaincy.

In the script and the novelization Preston is clearly stated to be the nephew of Scott, however this information was cut from the original theatrical print of the film. It was restored in a 1985 ABC TV airing of the film, as well as the later 2002 Director's Edition DVD .

In the original script and the novelization Jedda is a Deltan . However in the movie he is portrayed as a Human.

Although described as helmsman in the novel, Stoney sits at a science station in the film.

This character was seen in the movie; see Unnamed USS Enterprise (NCC-1701) personnel .

Captain Flynn first appeared, as a security commander, in The Entropy Effect (also by McIntyre).

Christine Chapel

References [ ]

There didn't seem to be a class ship named USS Galaxy at this point. Each ship was named after the galaxy they were investigating. It wasn't revealed if these ships were simply taking scans of the galaxies and then returning, or if they actually were headed towards them. The latter would seem to be ruled out by Star Trek: The Next Generation , where warp speeds still couldn't propel us to other galaxies in less than a few generations – unless these ships were meant to be generational vessels.

The novel contains the description of Reliant used in the script, describing it as an older starship.

In the novel Dreadnought! , Flynn was mentioned as captain of USS Magellan , and Magellanic Clouds is later referred to as Magellan in the Search for Spock novelization.

Chronology [ ]

• 1996 Botany Bay launched
• 2233 – James Kirk born
• 2267 – Khan found
• 2283 – Romulan ale bottled
• 2285 – Kirk's 52nd birthday

External link [ ]

• The Wrath of Khan at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• 1 Bell Riots
• 2 Obi Ndefo
• 3 Gabriel Bell

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Summary

Lights, camera, action.

Even in the 23rd century, midlife crises happen.

So it is for James T. Kirk (William Shatner): space cowboy, smirky savior of the universe and current Starfleet admiral. We first find him in the midst of training a new crew for the starship Enterprise : a crew intended to replace him and his buddies. (Ouch.)

A morose birthday celebration is followed by a low-key training exercise meant to put those fresh young cadets through the paces of a starship cruise with the safety rails firmly in place.

Elsewhere, one of Kirk's former junior officers, Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Chekov's current commanding officer Captain Terrell (Paul Winfield) are surveying planets for a super-secret science project: the Genesis Device, an engineered missile that can be fired at a dead planet and instantly turn it into a paradise. Terrell's ship, the Reliant , is off looking for the right dead planet to test the thing.

But, like all such Frankenstein-like creations, the Genesis Device has a wrinkle: shooting it at a dead planet gets you a paradise. Shooting it at a living one gets you a paradise… after it destroys every living thing on that planet first.

They find more than they bargained for. After detecting life forms on a planet that's supposed to be rock-infested emptiness, they beam down to find a squad of marooned bad guys. They were left there by Kirk back in his young, stud-muffin days and promptly forgotten about while the formerly livable environment took a turn for the sand-stormy.

Led by the implacable unfrozen 20th-century madman Khan (Ricardo Montalban), they stick a pair of mind-control ear worms in Chekov and Terrell (and yes, it's just that squicky) before seizing control of the Reliant and heading off to carve them up some Kirk steaks.

Kirk and his crew learn about this when they get a garbled message from Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), former flame and the scientist in charge of Genesis, who demands to know why Kirk is "taking Genesis away" from her. Turns out, that's just Khan…trying to draw Kirk out and get hold of the Genesis Device himself.

It works. Kirk and the Enterprise think that Carol is in some kind of trouble, and Starfleet agrees. The ship goes on its merry way, only to cross paths with the Reliant , which was lying in wait for them. (Space pirates; what are you gonna do?).

Khan phasers the righteous snot out of the Enterprise …and would have finished the job were it not for Kirk's fast thinking and the Reliant 's eminently hackable shields system. Both ships retreat, damaged beyond the ability to continue the fight. The Enterprise limps its way to space station Regula One, headquarters of Project Genesis, with the Reliant threatening to return and finish the job at any moment.

Kirk and an away team beam over to the space station, where they find a lot of dead doctors and Chekov and Terrell…still secretly under the influence of the ear worms. He also finds the transporter room with coordinates seemingly in the middle of a nearby dead moon. After a terse conversation with Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) about the progress of repairs to the Enterprise —bad news, apparently—they follow the transporter coordinates to see what's what.

There, they find an underground cavern occupied by Dr. Marcus, her son David (Merritt Butrick), and a doctor moonlighting as one of the series' infamous Red Shirts…along with the Genesis Device. Chekov and Terrell take the opportunity to spring a trap: killing the Red Shirt and revealing their status as Khan's personal zombots. Khan, who's been listening the whole time, orders them to kill Kirk.

That's apparently a bridge too far. Terrell, fighting the ear worm's influence, phasers himself into oblivion rather than shoot Kirk, while Chekov collapses and sends the ear worm slinking out of his brain for Kirk to conveniently phaser. Khan settles for the draw, beams the Genesis Device onboard the Reliant and heads off looking to finish the job on…the Enterprise , leaving Kirk and Co. stranded in the cavern for all time.

Kirk and Dr. Marcus have a heart to heart about their relationship, getting older, and the fact that David—who really doesn't like Kirk much—is actually Kirk's son (which Mom has kept secret from him). They take a look at the bountiful wonderland in the rest of the cave, courtesy of an earlier stage of the Genesis experiment, then Kirk checks back in with Spock.

Things are better than they had first suggested, and the ship has enough power to beam them back up. Kirk and Spock had super-cleverly spoken in code (suspecting, rightly, that Khan would be listening in) and fooled their nemesis into believing the Enterprise was more damaged than it was.

Sadly, it's still pretty damaged. Warp power is inoperative—otherwise, they'd kick on the afterburners and come back with a whole fleet to whomp Khan's buckwhacking hiney—and they don't have as much firepower as the Reliant either. But there's the Mutara Nebula nearby, which would render phaser lock and shields inoperative and basically give the two ships a level playing field. Kirk and the gang head toward it with all deliberate speed and then goad Khan into following them.

It's game on inside the nebula as the two ships circle each other looking for an edge. Spock finally suggests one by noting that Khan thinks two-dimensionally, like a ship at sea, rather than three-dimensionally, like a spaceship in a nebula.

The Enterprise hits the "reduce altitude" button and waits for the Reliant to pass over it, then pops up behind it and phasers it into the Stone Age. High fives and Romulan ales all around.

Kirk and the gang prepare to beam aboard and take Khan into custody…

…except that Khan has an ace up his sleeve: the Genesis Device, which he starts building up to a detonation which will destroy the Reliant and the Enterprise along with it. They need warp speed in three minutes in order to escape the explosion…which is something they just can't do with their busted engines.

As the ship tries desperately to limp away, Spock takes matters into his own hands. He heads down to the engine room, then uses his Vulcan nerve pinch to disable Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley), who's standing between him and the irradiated doohickey preventing the ship from going.

He enters the irradiated engine core to fix the damage and restore light speed just in the nick of time…taking Cherobyl levels of radiation in the process.

The Enterprise speeds away as the Genesis Device goes off, destroying Khan and the Reliant and imbuing the nearby planetoid Nebula One with its mojo. The planet reshapes itself into a bountiful swath of green and Kirk starts up with the high-fives again…until he gets a comm call from McCoy, telling him to get his butt down to the engine room before Spock's organs turn to goo.

Kirk and Spock have a final, tearful good-bye through the clear walls of the engine core, with Spock accepting his fate and admonishing Kirk not to grieve, since "the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one." What a hero.

A funeral service is held, and Spock's body is placed in a photon torpedo and launched at the newly formed Genesis Planet.

Kirk, attempting to read a copy of A Tale of Two Cities (which Spock gave him on his birthday) is interrupted by David. The young Dr. Marcus encourages him to listen to the wisdom of Spock's last words, and also that he is "proud…very proud, to be your son." He and Kirk embrace, and Kirk returns to the bridge to watch the sunrise on the new world, rejuvenated and at peace.

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

The peculiar thing about Spock is that, being half human and half Vulcan and therefore possessing about half the usual quota of human emotions, he consistently, if dispassionately, behaves as if he possessed very heroic human emotions indeed. He makes a choice in “Star Trek II” that would be made only by a hero, a fool, or a Vulcan. And when he makes his decision, the movie rises to one of its best scenes, because the “ Star Trek ” stories have always been best when they centered around their characters. Although I liked the special effects in the first movie, they were probably not the point; fans of the TV series wanted to see their favorite characters again, and “Trek II” understood that desire and acted on it. 

Time has passed since the last episode. Kirk has retired to an administrative post. Spock is commanding the Enterprise, with a lot of new faces in the crew. The ship is on a mission concerning the Genesis device, a new invention which, if I understand it correctly, is capable of seeding a barren planet with luxuriant life. A sister ship, the USS Reliant, is scouting for lifeless planets and finds one that seems to be dead, but its instruments pick up a small speck of life. Crew members investigate, and find the planet inhabited by an outlaw named Khan, who was exiled there years ago by Kirk, and has brooded of vengeance ever since. 

Khan is played as a cauldron of resentment by Ricardo Montalban , and his performance is so strong that he helps illustrate a general principle involving not only Star Trek but “ Star Wars ” (1977) and all the epic serials, especially the “James Bond” movies: Each film is only as good as its villain. Since the heroes and the gimmicks tend to repeat from film to film, only a great villain can transform a good try into a triumph. In a curious way, Khan captures our sympathy, even though he is an evil man who introduces loathsome creatures into the ear canals of two Enterprise crew members. Montalban doesn’t overact. He plays the character as a man of deeply wounded pride, whose bond of hatred with Admiral Kirk is stronger even than his traditional villain’s desire to rule the universe. 

There is a battle in outer space in this movie, a particularly inept one that owes more to “Captain Video” than to state-of-the-art special effects. I always love it when they give us spaceships capable of leaping across the universe, and then arm them with weapons so puny that a direct hit merely blows up a few control boards and knocks people off their feet. Somehow, though, I don’t much care if the battles aren’t that amazing, because the story doesn’t depend on them. It’s about a sacrifice made by Spock, and it draws on the sentiment and audience identification developed over the years by the TV series. 

Perhaps because of that bond, and the sense that an episode may be over but the Enterprise will carry on, the movie doesn’t feel that it needs an ending in a conventional sense. The film closes with the usual “Star Trek” end narration, all about the ship’s mission and its quest, and we are obviously being set up for a sequel. You could almost argue that the last few minutes of “Trek II” are a trailer for “Trek III”, but, no, that wouldn’t be in the spirit of the Enterprise, would it?

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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Star trek ii: the wrath of khan.

Theatrical release: 6/4/1982 [PG]; 1 hr. 56 min. Screenplay by Jack B. Sowards Story by Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards Produced by Robert Sallin Directed by Nicholas Meyer

Review by Jamahl Epsicokhan

August 15, 2002

Review Text

Kirk stares at the reading glasses with a certain trepidation, looking upon his birthday gift on the cusp of brooding.

"Dammit, Jim, what the hell's the matter with you?" grumbles McCoy. "Other people have birthdays. Why are we treating yours like a funeral?"

The moment comes in an early scene that represents one of the most important decisions made at the outset of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan — and one of the most important decisions in the entire Star Trek canon. These characters — who became iconic and generally simplified throughout the episodic TV run (as well as Star Trek: The Motion Picture ) — have suddenly become real people with real fears. Their limitations, human vulnerability, and the realization of their mortality come crashing down on us. We realize that Kirk has become the microcosm of an aging institution: The Star Trek franchise has grown older, and knows that its subjects must as well.

Bones bluntly tells Kirk that it was a mistake he let Starfleet kick him upstairs into the bureaucratic admiral's desk job, and that he should get back his command as soon as possible, "before you become part of this collection — before you really do grow old." Later, in the aftermath of a surprise attack, Kirk will reluctantly put on these glasses so he can read a computer console. He won't want to do it (amusingly muttering "damn" under his breath), but he'll do it anyway.

Star Trek II is often heralded as the best of the Trek films, and for good reason. Here's the Trek movie that joins epic sci-fi with straightforward simplicity; serious intentions with the winks of irreverence; and sincere emotional payoffs within the structural confines of a scenery-chewing popcorn revenge picture. Why does this work? For one, it has an engaging story that rarely labors. But in the final analysis, I think it comes down to the issue orbiting Kirk — the fact that aging has given him the realization that life is perhaps not as simple as he once thought it was. A crucial decision Spock makes at the end of the film will cement this fact.

In the DVD commentary, director Nicholas Meyer says that his original title of the film was Star Trek II: The Undiscovered Country . It's a title that would not be used (though it would eventually resurface for Meyer's return to the franchise in Star Trek VI ), but it would've made a lot of sense here. The undiscovered country in Hamlet is death, and that's exactly what much of Star Trek II serves as a reminder of (also life, which is presented as the flip side of the same coin, which it is).

The movie begins and ends on notes that remind us that things are not the way they used to be. If the TV series was self-contained and episodic, Star Trek II argues for a film series that would take on a new tone where actions have consequences, characters become more complicated, and movies are chapters rather than episodes. As the story's opening minutes show an aging Kirk who feels painfully old even though he may not be, the closing minutes show him somewhat rejuvenated, but only after paying a costly price.

Time has not stood still. Kirk now instructs a new generation of rookies who will crew the relaunch of the Enterprise under Spock's command. Chekov has moved on to first officer of the Reliant . But even if time has marched forward, Kirk and his crew find themselves plagued by a figure from Kirk's past — the obsessive Khan, who wants his revenge ... served as cold as possible.

If the beginning and end of the film serve as a meditation on mortality and the passage of time, the middle is more an exercise in storytelling simplicity. Khan is not a particularly complex character, which is part of what makes him effective. His exile has embittered him beyond all reason; he simply blames Kirk and takes his thirst for vengeance to the point of monomania. "He tasks me," Khan says to his most trusted lieutenant. "He tasks me, and I shall have him." He steals the Reliant and cleverly stages a crisis to lure the Enterprise into a trap. He also hopes to gain control of Project Genesis, an experimental science intended to create life, but with the potential side effects of an Armageddon weapon.

Khan is still the best and most memorable of the Star Trek villains, in no small part because of Ricardo Montalban's performance, which has just the right balance of obsessive quirkiness and scaled-back restraint. Khan's dialog is colorful and entertaining; like all great villains, he's often even more fun to watch than what's going on around him, as when he gloats to Kirk about beating him. Montalban doesn't go overboard, but rather just far enough; if it's scenery chewing (and sometimes it is), it's of the most effective kind.

Khan's surprise attack on the Enterprise reveals Kirk at his most trusting and least cautious, and it's a mistake that hangs over Kirk's head for much of the movie. Refreshing, how the story presents Kirk as human and fallible; we can sympathize with his dilemma. When Scotty's nephew dies from battle injuries, it's a human toll for Kirk that's not only a result of Khan's deviousness but also Kirk's own command decisions.

The cat-and-mouse games involving the two ships provide plenty of interest. One of the most satisfying scenes comes when Kirk and Spock use the Reliant 's prefix code to drop its shields in what is to Khan a counterstrike as surprising as the attack he launched upon the Enterprise . There's also the final hunt through the murky Mutara Nebula — still a virtuoso sequence — which seamlessly integrates special effects into the story, supplying enough tension and suspense to play as a good submarine movie. The effects hold up well, in part because they are straightforward rather than elaborate, and because the Enterprise retains the scale and elegance it had in the first film: Rather than darting through the frame like a fighter jet, it's a huge ship that moves slowly. I like that the battle sequences are characterized by big ships that look as if they must tack in order to turn. James Horner's terrific score (for this film as well as the third installment) is perhaps the franchise's best overall (with all due respect to Jerry Goldsmith); I'd still like to see Horner return to score a Trek film.

To many, where Star Trek: The Motion Picture went astray was in its efforts to deliver an epic sci-fi story at the expense of character interaction when what most people wanted to see were the familiar characters in a story that was suited to the Star Trek universe. This is, in short, precisely what The Wrath of Khan seeks to set right and why it remains the generally regarded favorite. Fans want to see scenes like the one where Spock and McCoy argue philosophical points over Project Genesis — a classic, if brief, Spock/Bones exchange if I've ever seen one. Similarly, Kirk and Spock have a scene that resonates early in the film, where Spock famously explains that "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few" — a philosophy that, at the end, he will apply in practice with the utmost Vulcan logical detachment.

The film also develops Kirk in ways we were perhaps not expecting. We learn not only about his qualms with age but of his past with Carol Marcus and the fact that they have a son, David — who doesn't much like Kirk today. Shatner is often derided for his penchant for overacting. (Indeed, one of my all-time favorite franchise moments of melodramatic camp comes in this movie when Kirk shouts "KHAAAAAN!" into his communicator.) But it should be noted that Shatner gives one of his best performances in this movie. He's restrained and credible in his most crucial scenes, like the one with Carol inside the Regula tunnels where Kirk quietly takes stock of his situation regarding David and ponders "my life that could've been."

Also well conceived is the film's running theme on the Kobayashi Maru simulation exam — something that pays off with true story significance. The no-win scenario opens the movie with Saavik at the helm of a simulation that ends in disaster. We're told that back in Kirk's training days he beat the exam. How? By cheating, of course — reprogramming the simulator to make it possible to rescue the survivors. It's of no small irony that Kirk's face-off with Khan forces him to attempt cheating death again for real. He finds, however, that life deals him all-too-real consequences.

This of course brings us to the defining moment in Star Trek II — Spock's decision to sacrifice himself to save the Enterprise from the Genesis Device explosion. It's a decision he's able to reach using pure logic, and yet it's impossible not to be moved by it based on the pure selflessness of his act. Fittingly, by using Vulcan logic, Spock is able to do something that is nothing short of heroically human.

Spock's death would be heartbreaking to anyone familiar with the Trek universe. It's almost unthinkable: How could they kill Spock , perhaps the franchise's most beloved character? Spock's death and subsequent funeral are scenes that manage to generate substantial, genuine emotional power. And it's Shatner who must carry these scenes, because the audience is in Kirk's shoes, saying goodbye to a well-known friend.

It's also through Kirk that we see how Spock's death filters through the movie's other elements, like the Kobayashi Maru scenario: Kirk cheated that scenario but now finds — as he reveals to David — that he was not prepared for such a loss. Even if Kirk doesn't believe in losing, there are indeed no-win scenarios in life. And yet the movie finds for Kirk a sort of personal redemption in the notion that as he loses his friend, he regains his son. And even as Spock lies dying, the Genesis planet is being born; Meyer cuts between this death and birth in a sequence that reinforces the movie's central theme of the cycle and duality of life and death.

Released in 1982 when I was very young, and seen over the years on TV and VHS, The Wrath of Khan is one of those movies where I can't remember a time when I hadn't seen it. For me, this DVD release mainly constitutes a format upgrade (Dolby Digital, widescreen, superior image quality, etc.) and a chance to revisit a film I've seen so many times and know so well.

Unlike last year's reissue of Star Trek: The Motion Picture , this DVD cut sports nothing that qualifies as "significant" in terms of changes from the theatrical cut. The snippets of footage that have been edited back in have already been made available in various TV editions. (Perhaps most noteworthy are those lines that establish the doomed young cadet as being Scotty's nephew, omitted from the theatrical cut.) Considering how few there were, it's a wonder why such brief scenes would be cut from the film in the first place, but restoring these minor points does not represent a significant change. Most (like me) are likely to be attracted to this release because of the restoration and sound mix for DVD, and the separate bonus materials.

But it also provides a chance to look at this film in a little more depth. What I find myself discovering is the Trek film that best captures the spirit of the original cast and series, and a film that by its end even manages to say some things that are somewhat profound.

Previous: Star Trek: The Motion Picture Next: Star Trek III: The Search for Spock

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130 comments on this post.

My first Trek experience in the cinema and I cried like a baby when Spock died. This would be a great film even if you didn't have any emotional attachment to the characters, the fact that we do knocks this way out of the park.

When I first saw this, it was a special treat from my dad, who took me. As Spock lay dying I glanced at him to see tears in his eyes and when we reached Kirk's emotional eulogy (...his was the most... human), I cried, too. It was embarassing until we reached the bright, sunlit lobby of the theatre and I saw just how many grown men were still wiping at their faces. This is the most emotionally-resonant that Trek has ever been, and the most devastating. If I'm in the right frame of mind, I can still be moved to tears during Kirk's eulogy (I'm 41 now) even knowing that it all gets 'undone' in the next movie.

It is a credit to the greatness of this movie that the movie I believe to be the second greatest Star Trek movie, number 11 (second only to this one, of course), achieves part of its impact from skillful borrowing of this movie's terrific material. I am thinking of the following scene in movie 11: Kirk has been brought before the Commander of Starfleet to address the allegation that he violated an ethical rule by changing the conditions of the Kobayashi Maru test (by installing a subroutine in the test, a test written by Spock, no less), thus allowing him to win the test, and allowing him to escape having to face the no-win scenario. Kirk, haled before the Commander, demands to confront his accuser (that would be Spock, who programmed the test). The dialogue that ensues is a terrific gloss on the Kobayashi Maru material in film #2: Kirk states (as he did in movie 2) that he does not believe in the no-win scenario (no surprise there), but that the test itself is a cheat, since there is no way to win by playing under its rules. Spcok wryly, with steely annoyance, dismsses this (quite valid) point, stating that Kirk missed the point of WHAT facing a no-win scenario is supposed to impute to a cadet, pedagogically: it is supposed to reveal whether, in the face of certain death, a Captain will freak out, or go down with the ship, or perhaps run...... The problem with the test (and what should have been Kirk's rejoinder) is that life is not a simulation, and the test does not play out exactly the same way for all who take it (some get further along than others, presumably; this variable makes the existence of a valid control group impossible; we will never know how ANY would-be captain X would respond to situation Y, as opposed to how Captain Z would). This does not mean the test has no instructive value, but points to the fact (part of Kirk's unspoken argument) that the test is flawed. What a delight to see this discourse in movie 11 - a discourse that extends and enriches a subtle philosophical discussion that in film II ultimately manifested it dramatically. But if the concept of the test were not already established - if Meyer (who did an uncredited re-write of the entire script) did not place it there, there would be nothing to add upon. Bravi ti hun for having come up with a script of such intelligent and accessible construction

IMHO,it was a mistake to kill Spock at the end of this wonderful movie. This set the stage for the third movie, which I think was a weak movie. The Voyage Home could have been done either way.

1982 was an amazing year for the science fiction/fantasy genre as it gave us classics such as E.T., Blade Runner, The Dark Crystal, The Secret of NIMH, Poltergeist, & (Carpenter's) The Thing. Not all of these made money at the box office, but all of them have become classics that have stood the test of time. In the midst of this very formidable competition came this great film, which not only set the course (if you'll pardon the pun) for the remaining original series Trek films (of the 4 that followed only the dismal Trek V didn't follow up on the events of "Khan") but also revitalized Trek altogether. Roddenberry may have been kicked upstairs but he eventually used the clout of the success of Treks II through IV to create TNG (which would've never gotten the green light prior to Trek II). Hence, we have this film to thank for TNG and the following series.

reviewreviewer1

I am not enough into Trek yet, and only saw Space Seed, and not this film, and only read about it, so taae this for what it is, but why hasn`t aanyone comented on how this film cheaply ruins the beautifull ope ending of Space Sed, I mean realy?? In the end of Space Seed Kirk and Kahn were respectfull rivals, and we had a beaurifull sense of wonder what would happen too Kahn, and then in II we see, oh uh yeah there was the most implausible, convinient and rare disaster pssible so Kahn suffered instead of livingheapily ever after, and Kahn is Kirk`s rival againm cause Kirk for no reason didn`t check on him,, I mean that is a great hour of t flushed down the toilet if you ask me, who agrees?/?? Also again take this for what it is!!!

Since we've all beaten this film to death over the past 30 years, I'll only say this: I cannot believe how well this film (and screenplay) have aged. This may be my favorite sci-fi screenplay of all time (not just ST), if only because in over 50 viewings I have yet to find a single element about it that I don't like. From a story, dialogue, and action perspective, it's about as close to perfect as a script can get.

Since Kirk knew that rescue was just "hours, not days" away, why did he shriek "Khaaaaaaaan" as if Khan's claim that he was stranded forever was remotely true...was it just for show? It was of course for dramatic effect, but it was also ridiculous. But that aside, still the best film of the franchise, and I doubt it will ever lose that title.

Plus, I hope the fact that Reliant can "outrun us" and "outgun us" (us being the Enterprise) has to do with the lingering damage the flagship suffered, rather than being generally true.

Being an ex-Star Trek nerd (now I'm just a nerd), i think Star Trek: The Motion picture and Wrath of Khan somehow recreate the two different approaches to Star Trek taken in the first two TV pilot episodes, The Cage and Where No Man Has Gone Before. One is cerebral (and maybe even profound) and the other is more action packed and entertaining. As a kid, I loved Khan and hated TMP, but as an adult, I think TMP is genius and Khan rather silly. You can also see Star Trek 2, 3 and 4 as three parts of the same movie because it involves a continuing storyline. Er, now I realise why I don't have a girlfriend.

Admiral Archer

I believe that STAR TREK is not simply one thing or another. It is not specifically Science-fiction, nor is it specifically action-adventure. In that sense, I have come to believe that Star Trek is unique on several levels. For instance, I used to think that DS9 and Voyager were not Star Trek, because they were not set on a ship with the name Enterprise, their intros did not include the "To boldly go" monologue, and the general premise of each series was considerably different than what I considered iconic Trek, aka TOS and TNG. However, after thorough consideration, this is not correct. DS9 and Voyager each include special elements and the soul of what made Star Trek so wonderful in the first place. The same is true with the films. TMP was a much more cerebral film, much more thought provoking and philosophical. TWOK was the traditional swashbuckling Kirk-beats-em-up style film. And to me, which film you like best indicates what you prefer to see in Star Trek. If you prefer TMP, chances are you also prefer more thoughtful, philosophical stories that deal strictly with the human condition. If you prefer TWOK, you enjoy Star Trek for it's unique action-adventure style, and the general family feel of the crew. There are several other parallels; for instance, in the case of pilot episodes,"The Cage" was far more cerebral and thought-provoking, much like TMP; however, "Where No Man Has Gone Before" was more about swashbuckling action, and the sense of family that the rest of TOS had. Another similar comparison is, indeed, TOS and TNG. TNG was considered "boring" by many, much like TMP and "The Cage", for the same reasons of more intellectual, philosophical stories. TOS, on the other hand, fits better with stories like "Where No Man Has Gone Before" and TWOK. Depending on which of these types of stories you prefer, you may like Star Trek for varying reasons. I myself tend to lean toward the treaditional Sci-fi type stories, such as The Cage/TMP/TNG, but again, that's just the kind of Star Trek fan that I am.

FanWriter45

Robert Wise and Nicholas Meyer... They are both great directors. But, being a great director doesn't mean that their Mothers brought them up with something basic, like etiquette and tact. Nick should have been a little more respectful to Mr. Wise. Yeah, Nick. Your movies will entertain. But Robert's are American Icons. "West Side Story" "The Hindenburg" "The Day the Earth Stood Still" "The Andromeda Strain" among so many others...

When was Meyer disrespectful to Wise? You know, they did a joint dvd commentary for "The Day the Earth Stood Still," fwiw. I wonder: if Spock had remained in command (instead of throwing a bone to his friend, still brooding about his birthday), would he have raised shields? How would Khan's surprise attack have played out?

Stubb: "...in over 50 viewings I have yet to find a single element about it that I don't like." For #51, pay attention to the scene when Reliant is heading to the first battle. Chekov and Terrell stand in the background... after they should've been left behind at Regula One. And why did Khan leave them as moles anyway? Did he lack confidence in his first attempt to kill Kirk, so he used them as backup? And how did they cross interstellar distances with the Millennium Falcon's hyperdrive... er, Enterprise's warp drive inoperative? And Spock's hours/days code is notoriously silly. Plus, the travel pod docks in Engineering but they go aboard in the torpedo bay! All of which serve as reminders that, as Pauline Kael is credited with sayin, "Great movies are rarely perfect movies."

@Grumpy: The Enterprise crew routinely traveled great distances at warp and impulse in TOS and the movies. If you watch Star Trek IV, it seems like they were planning on traveling from Earth to Vulcan on impulse, until they learned of the emergency. TOS and the early movies were not known for good science. If you really want to identify a flaw in WOK, it's Saavik. Kirstie Alley played the character as a half-Romulan -- that's how it was written. It's why she swears, it's why she cries and it's why Bones (in the turbolift) says "Wonderful thing that Romulan Ale," which makes no sense as the movie was cut. Why they took out that bit of backstory of Saavik never made much sense to me. She even looks different than most Vulcans. Oh, and in ST: III, Kruge simply calls her a "woman", after he identifies Spock as a Vulcan and David Marcus as a human. Oh, and why did Scotty bring the dying engineer's assistant to the bridge? Shouldn't he have gone to sick bay?

My memory of opening day: I was in line for the first show on opening day in Groton, Ct. for TWOK. I remember by the time we arrived any hopes of being first in line were quickly dashed hours before showtime. It was a beautiful sunny afternoon and there was a sort of "party" atmosphere which just made the long wait a lot less tedious. As far back as we were, any ability to judge the actual length of the line became impossible (later in the summer I returned for another viewing and found myself at the end of a line that stretched around the side of the building). At some point, when the theater realized they had enough people in line for every scheduled showing, someone came out and asked if we wouldn't mind if they started the first movie immediately... and the massive audience, already in a good mood, roared its approval. Soon after, the line started moving and I was very happy to find that my pals and I had still arrived early enough to make it into the first audience. At 23 years of age and a life long fan of the series, all I knew going into TWOK was that Ricardo Mantalban was reprising his role as Khan, a character from Space Seed I knew very well. My point being, of course, the comparative lack of forehand knowledge and storyline detail. I hadn't even seen a television trailer, if there were any, before arriving. I wasn't "spoiled," in other words. Indeed, I got my first close up look at the movie poster inside the lobby with its few bits of story elements which were just enough to whet my appetite for what was to become the audience participation and movie experience of a lifetime.

I've always interpreted Saavik as half-Romulan, even if that part was cut out - just because it wasn't explicitly stated doesn't mean it isn't true. The novelization has her being half-Romulan, and the way Kirstie Alley plays her, it seems there is a lot of barely contained emotion, as if she is only trying - not all that well - to contain her emotions. Amazing Grace always feels wrong if it is not played on the bagpipes. When we were watching the movie in the theaters, we didn't know that Spock was going to come back, it's a different experience than rewatching today when you know he comes back. Still, even knowing that you just need to watch one more movie to get him back, we can still share in the emotions of the crew. I think it is the little tremble in Sulu's voice that gets to me.

I think the biggest compliment I can give this film is that I've watched it with people who no nothing of Star Trek, and they still enjoy it. It's not just a great Star Trek movie, it's a great movie!

STEVEN LYLE JORDAN

We know that Wrath was developed from the original series episode Space Seed, in which Khan and his followers, products of the Eugenics Wars, were discovered in a stolen sleeper ship hundreds of years after they (take note) lost their war to rule Earth. These so-called physical and intellectual supermen then tried to take over the Enterprise, but (again) lost, and were banished by Captain Kirk to a small uninhabited planet “to rule.” Which should tell you right off that these guys weren't the great s#!+s they thought they were. Fast-forward about 25 years, to a movie that depicts the Enterprise being used as a training vessel (yeah… for the most celebrated ship in the Federation fleet, and recently refit to-boot, that makes sense), and the Reliant, a survey vessel from the same Federation that is apparently not smart enough to notice that the solar system they’ve entered, which has been mapped by Federation ships before (including the Enterprise) is now missing a planet. In fact, another planet has supposedly been moved out of its original orbit (something else the crew of the Reliant should have noticed), but instead of changing the temperature severely, the planet gets stoopid dust storms. Naturally, they find the surviving members of Khan’s group, but can’t say the words “Beam us out!” fast enough to avoid being captured. Khan—the leader of “superior intellect”—has responded to the decaying quality of “his” planet, and the death of his non-genetically-improved wife, by apparently going insane, caring about nothing save the death of the man who bested him, James T. Kirk… even if it means the death of the last of his followers in the process. Instead of accepting change and hardship, he’s gone from super-intelligent leader to vengeful sociopath despot. A great deal of my angst over this movie is in its bad story and sloppy editing, leaving characters hollow and pointless, and diminishing any salient story points to utter twaddle: - Saavik has her part Romulan heritage left on the cutting room floor (yeah, didn’t know she was supposed to be half-Romulan… did ya?); - Characters like Scotty’s nephew become nameless footnotes, lessening the impact of their later death scenes and wasting perfectly good pathos; - Chekov and Terrell can’t just beam out of Khan’s world before Khan’s guys can cross a few dozen yards of sand to catch them; - Khan “remembers” Chekov, despite the fact that they never met in the original Trek episode; - Khan, the man of “superior intellect,” apparently responded to the loss of his wife and the change in his planet by going insane with thoughts of revenge on Kirk… but none of his “superior” followers, including his son, have the stones to explain his obsession to him, or take steps to prevent their all being destroyed by the man; - “Superior intellect” Khan on the Reliant could have had earworm-controlled Captain Terrell greet Enterprise and bring them within transporter range; whereupon Khan could have beamed over with his crew, taken over a superior starship and killed Kirk and crew personally. Instead, he pulls a sneak attack with a science vessel against a heavy cruiser, which he doesn’t know isn’t staffed by a shipful of professionals. The man exhibits the plotting ability of Daffy Duck. - Khan’s son is the only one of the baddies group, other than Khan, who utters a word through the entire movie (besides “Aaugh!” when the Reliant is attacked—apparently genetic supermen make great redshirts); - Khan’s followers are no better than slabs of meat (even the women), and in the end, we feel nothing about their being blown up… even Khan’s son’s death elicits no more than a yawn from the audience; - We discover Kirk had fathered a son and never met him, nor kept in touch with him or his mother… and we’re supposed to actually care; - The scientists are smart enough to hide the Genesis device on what appears to be a lifeless moon. The scientists then demonstrate they are not smart enough to hide with the device; - One of the worms Khan dropped in Chekov’s ear could have been dropped into the ear of just one of the scientists in order to find the genesis device, preventing the need to torture the rest of them. At the end, Starfleet-hater David tells Kirk that he’s “proud to be your son.” Why? All Kirk did was show up too late to save his scientist friends, beat up his son upon their first meeting, best Khan by conning him into making bad strategic decisions, get his ship beat to hell and a few random trainees killed or traumatized for life, and lose his best friend while saving his own skin. What’s to be so proud of? And let’s face it, the whole Moby Dick theme (with lines from Melville’s book intentionally altered to use celestial references that Khan couldn’t possibly know) is just mondo lame… even when it’s presented by Ricardo Montalban, the one man in the universe who seems to be able to out-overact William Shatner. Throughout, we suffer through cheap cinematic gags, like the radio dialog obviously written to make sure the slower viewers can follow the action from one scene to another; horror-movie shtick like Bones being distracted by a loose lab rat (Federation scientists still use lab rats?), then backing into the bloody dangling arms of a scientist, accompanied by a bloody close-up and embarrassingly-cliche “boo!” musical cue; the (eww!) worm-in-the-ear bit; the big ancient book and granny-glasses as elephant-obvious metaphors for how old Kirk and crew are getting; and the ridiculous new Star Fleet uniforms, obviously designed to look good in technicolor, maybe in a dress parade, and when a cadet wants to leave a bloody handprint on the breast, but not good for much else. And I don’t even want to get into the most blatant sci-fi gag, the only thing more predictable than a death of a Star Trek redshirt: The death of a Black man in a science fiction movie; not to mention that Black man being Paul Winfield, the single most doomed Black man in SF movie history! The only cinematic gag I appreciated was James Horner’s music, which was tailor-made for dramatic presentations like this (all the same, you could make a drinking game out of the signature musical elements Horner loves to reuse, in every SF and adventure movie he does). So, we come to the part that everyone says is the best part of the movie: The starship fights. Okay, considering this is the first time in the history of the franchise that we see the Enterprise (or any other starship in the Trek franchise) taking serious modern-special-effects battle damage, the battles were notable and memorable. Beyond that… meh. We see two starships close enough to spit at each other, but which still miss each other with regularity. We see those ships in a nebula, in reality a collection of mass and gasses that are spaced light-years apart… but here, a nebula is depicted like a technicolor fog bank a few miles wide. We get the whole “Khan displays two-dimensional thinking” bit, and we’re supposed to buy the premise that a “superior intellect” leader who could rule a world (albeit temporarily), steal away on a sleeper ship, steal a starship, who has presumably thought about attacking and killing Kirk for many moons, who knows how space works, and who’s probably heard of submarines, has never figured out three-dimensional warfare. We see the old TV-series holdover of having bridge equipment blow up when a piece of ship dozens of decks away gets hit with a phaser blast… so you know they’re connected. And finally, we have the Tech-Of-The-Day, a device the size of a man that can change the life-potential of entire planets; and the stereotypical “countdown to disaster” when the genesis device is started—but they never just go off, do they? No, we have to suffer a melodramatic countdown for it to happen. But the Enterprise is crippled… oh noes! Will they die? No, because Spock manages to get the engines fixed mere seconds before it’s too late. Whew. And oh, yeah, Spock is now going to die of radiation poisoning. On a ship that runs on antimatter, in which everyone in engineering is dressed like the Michelin Man to protect them from something, but no one goes where Spock dares to tread without a suit, and after we’ve seen radiation sicknesses cured with hyposprays in episodes of the original series… You see where this is going, I’m sure. Khan isn’t consistent to Star Trek, not the original series et al nor the particular episode in which it was birthed. It’s not consistent with science fiction, not even the Trek brand of sci-fi. And on top of that, it’s just not well put-together cinematically. Everything in this movie just comes off as being contrived in order to push some incredibly obvious emotional buttons, while ignoring how much (or little) sense they make. It’s showy, it’s pretty, it has more colorful Star Fleet uniforms… and it’s stupid. It’s about as realistic as The Blues Brothers, complete with stupid Nazis. And this is the movie that fans declare is the best Trek film ever. IqnaH QaD. (Go look it up.) It’s funny how Trek fans, who like to proclaim the intellectual superiority of their program of choice, are amazingly unsophisticated when it comes to their preferred Trek movies. The even-numbered movies that most cite as “the best” are in fact the worst when it comes to science fiction realism, Trek continuity and downright story quality. And Khan leads the pack of guilty movies (okay, it’s second, right after The Voyage Home, and barely preceding the disaster right after that, The Final Frontier… but it has the virtue of being iconic of all of them). The Wrath of Khan was a redshirts movie: Let’s do stupid stuff and beat up on each other, yargh! It was designed to impress Star Wars fans, who (let’s face it) weren’t nearly that concerned with trifles like science and storylines. It was fluff… pure, unadulterated fluff. It was designed to sell tickets and T-shirts (which it did, and very well). You want good Trek movies? Star Trek: Generations is probably the best, in my opinion; followed by Star Trek: Insurrection. These movies had action, but they also had stories consistent with Trek continuity and the pseudo-science fiction universe that Trek was based within, paid close attention to the established behavior of Trek characters and didn’t go in any phenomenally stupid plot directions. Were they perfect? No; but let’s face it, Star Trek has never been a “perfect” show. But Star Trek has (almost) always had a way to look at the future that was thoughtful, humble and optimistic, and both Generations and Insurrection embodied that attitude.

Obviously some world-class trolling there. I mean, not everyone has to agree what's good or bad, so when criticism crosses into "anyone who likes this is unsophisticated," there's no other word for it. Trolling. And trolls must not be fed. I'm reminded of Film Crit Hulk's essay about "tangible details." filmcrithulk.wordpress.com/2011/06/07/hulk-essay-your-ass-tangible-details-and-the-nature-of-criticism/ The point being that lists of reasons for an opinion are usually post-hoc rationalizations. A clue is when the reasons come from outside the text. For instance, "Star Trek II sucks because it ignores Saavik's Romulan heritage" is not an opinion anyone could form while watching the movie.

...Therefore, anyone who cites that (or similar tangible details) must either 1) have other, unexpressed reasons for holding that opinion or 2) does not sincerely hold that opinion at all. Thus, trolling. But it inspired me to revisit the "tangible details" essay, so it's not all bad.

@Grumpy ; I happen to think the majority of Steven's claims are overstated to the point of losing whatever original point he was trying to make, but that does not make him a troll. TWoK is a really great action movie with excellent characterisation and some very moving scenes, but he's not wrong in saying that it many ways fails to capture the spirit and tone of Star Trek. TWoK is a the perfect Star Trek movie for mass audiences, and that's why, I think, Mr Jordan finds the sci-fi elements of the film to be unsophisticated. And compared to the best Trek film, TMP, he's right! Now, I can't get behind his claims about the acting, the themes, or character arcs--those were handled extremely well. I also think Generations and Insurrection were fucking awful--though Insurrection at least managed to be more of a Star Trek movie than the action schlock most of the TNG films put out. I don't like this idea of dismissing the dissenter as a troll.

@Elliott - TMP.... best ST film?!! I will agree with you about TWoK though. It's scifi-lite wrapped into an action movie. But the truth is that after a brilliant sci-fi series you don't want a 2 hour sci-fi movie... what you want is for 2 more hours with characters you love, and the easiest way to do that is to make it a product the masses will like (so the franchise doesn't fall apart) to while still giving the fans their favorite characters. I actually think that when you try to make something that is truly a sci-fi plot line into a 2 hour movie it ends up losing something (namely you spend so much time on the concept you don't end up with an amazing character piece). Since in the end what I really want is 2 hours with my characters, I actually don't think Generations is a fail. Data and Picard's storylines in that movie are actually pretty good. It probably wasn't "theatrical" enough to be a movie (if it was a 2 part episode in S7 people would have rated it 4 stars)... but I like it. First Contact took TWoK approach, and that's why it is my favorite TNG movie. It really had nice pieces for almost every character and did nice things for the ST mythos in general (Vulcans at first contact, the new Enterprise, etc.) It wasn't awesome sci-fi, but it was good to the characters and the universe. That's probably why I think ST6 is my favorite. As for Insurrection, it wasn't bad... but it probably would have worked better as a 2 part episode also.

As for Nemesis... since they finally decided to use the Romulans (TNG's Klingons basically)... they needed to make Nemesis into TNG's Undiscovered Country. Instead we get a random race that happens to live with the Romulans that we've never seen before, a human villain (that is a clone of Picard) and a cross between Lore and a Pakled? Sigh.... It's STILL more watchable (to me) than TMP or STV... but only barely.

Baron Samedi

@Grumpy thanks for the link to the Hulk essay, it was an excellent read and quite relevant to the rant you were responding to.

Pardon me for being dismissive. I cannot diagnose true trolling without knowing a poster's motivation. Film Crit Hulk "never met nor read a critic who write a piece one way or other for sole purpose of just trying to get rise out of people," but we know Internet commenters might. I have no way of knowing if Mr. Jordan is pulling such a stunt, but after reading his points one by one, I decided I could safely dismiss them all. Not because his conclusion challenges the conventional wisdom (I agree ST2 is overrated, and I've nitpicked its flaws) but because his reasoning is so far out that a point-by-point rebuttal would waste my time. Especially if it's a prank.

@Robert : First Contact is the only decent film in TNG's output and it's all about the details; structurally, VIII and IX are nearly identical: 1) Philosophical A-Plot, Action B-Plot, splitting the crew 2) Action schlock and corny 1-liners 3) Picard being Bruce Willis 4) Dubious villain 5) Data struggles with emotions 6) Non-regular female lead opposite Picard The reason First Contact succeeds where Insurrection fails is all in the details of these components: FIRST CONTACT 1) The philosophical-historical plot is well-handled, true to Gene's vision, amiably portrayed and imbued with a real sense of adventure befitting the big screen; the B Plot is sort of dumb, but at least has the big-budget gizmos and shininess to make it enjoyable. 2) The schlock is at least dressed up nicely with beautiful special effects and makeup on the Borg. 3) Picard finds himself the action hero by circumstance and his violent impulses are justified by a psychological aberration connected to the B Plot 4) While the Borg Queen's motivations are, as I said, dubious, she gets some good dialogue and is put to critical use. Plus the Zombie-Movie vibe of the other Borg make up for her shortcomings 5) The movie does right what "Descent" did so wrong, so it's a retread from the series that *improves* upon it. 6) Alfre Woodard's Lily is a magnificent presence on screen and a perfect "everyman" character for the non-Trek audience to relate to. She has an arc, learns a lesson and teaches a lesson through a believable, flushed-out character. INSURRECTION: 1) The A plot is atrociously underdeveloped and weak, making the Federation look like weenies and the Ba'ku like horrible monsters (and fails to realise this irony). The B plot is anæmic with floppy battles and rote action. 2) The 1-liners are everywhere and incredibly irritating. The schlock is unimaginative and low-budget, almost B-Movie in its execution. 3) Picard inserts himself as the action hero with only the flimsy excuse of "rebellious instincts" for any kind of justification. All he does is shoot things and dive into lakes and blow stuff up. Not the Picard I know. 4) Ruafo is an absolute joke and a waste of Abraham's talent. 5) Data's big arc is learning how to play...I don't have the words to sum up why that's such an insult to this character, but good God, WHAT AN INSULT TO THIS CHARACTER 6) JC Penny Lady (to borrow from RedLetterMedia) is incredibly boring and, like the main moral plotline, we're expected to just swallow whatever new-age bullshit "wisdom" she spouts out. And of course, she was so boring that they had to tack on a romance with Picard which was just as hollow and meaningless as everything else. In short, for the most part, First Contact felt like an action movie for the TNG crew that *earned* its action, getting there by exploring who the characters really were and what the show was about. Insurrection (much like the Abrams' movies, but with no budget) feels like a generic action movie with a tacked-on (and really poorly thought-out) morality tale that happened to involve the TNG crew.

Generic action movie != unwatchable though. There are a few unwatchable Trek movies :) FC is obviously far and away the best TNG outing though, agreed.

@Robert :"TMP.... best ST film?!!" Hell, yes! Without reservation, it's my favourite film. I'd rank them, at least right now like this : I II VIII VI IV III IX VII V XI XII

Dammit, missed Nemesis: I II VIII VI IV III IX VIII V X XI XII

Note to commenters: check your work on uneditable sites ... I II VIII VI IV III IX VII V X XI XII

I just wanted to say that I love that you all used Roman numerals.

Without having rewatched, II VIII IV I VI III VII XI IX V X (not listed: XII (not seen yet))

I'm starting to feel like "Master and Commander: Far Side of the World" belongs in this list as a kind of spiritual 'prequel' to the Star Trek franchise. I'm not sure if anyone else agrees, but I think that this movie is VERY Star Trek in nature: federation esque-identity with a military hierarchy set on foreign waters (analogous to space travel), tight relationship between senior officers, a genuine sense of adventure and scientific exploration (the Galapagos island scene is as good as any away mission) and gritty political intrigue that casts world-powers as close competitors in the Alpha-Quadrant, er uh Pacific ocean. I believe a kind of Star Trek movie marathon would start well with this flick! Call me crazy!

bhbor, you should check out the book series (by Patrick O'Brian) that movie was based on. The movie (which was great, as far as it went) used portions of a few volumes--the two named in yhe title, plus a couple others--but there are TWENTY books (plus an uncompleted one) in all!

Nick Morrissey

This movie just gained an extra shot of emotional resonance with Nimoy's passing...

Spock had his realization that logic alone was not enough in the previous film, but overall seems content with his place in the world: captain, instructor, mentor. He is secure in his personal philosophy and has a place in the world -- which is probably why, ultimately, he can die at the film's end. V'Ger mirrored the main characters but Spock was even more heavily linked to V'Ger than Kirk was, and so his existential crisis was at least temporarily resolved. Kirk, on the other hand, reluctantly acknowledged Decker's heroism and is willing to devote himself to "raising" the next generation of command officers, with Saavik as the primary representative thereof. But there is still a big missing something. He is getting older, too old perhaps to command a starship, and he has neither any family nor any permanent, ongoing work and legacy. The clock ticks away in his apartment. Time is running out. So what are the three things that would terrify a single man as he enters middle age? Why, an old man, a powerful woman, and a young man about to supplant him. And all three are half-forgotten remnants of Kirk's past, old wounds he tells McCoy he doesn't want reopened. Khan the villain of the piece is not just an old man, but perhaps the oldest human alive. (I presume that he's the oldest of the Botany Bay stock, though I can't be certain.) In terms of his body's age, Khan is only maybe a decade older than Kirk (that's the difference between Montalban and Shatner's ages), but in chronological time Khan comes from the twentieth century. Not only that, but Khan, as established in Space Seed, is essentially the last of the quasi-benevolent despots; after Khan came the Col. Greens, the Encounter at Farpoint kangaroo courts, the destruction of WWIII, before First Contact finally started Earth toward healing. But in Space Seed Kirk, Scotty, Bones et al. admit a kind of admiration for what Khan accomplished, even as they admit to Spock that it is wrong to find him admirable; he was a man of culture who instituted "reforms" in the lands he conquered, establishing universities and hospitals. In a lot of ways, and in keeping with the Genesis theme, Khan, as of Space Seed anyway, reminds me a bit of a Biblical patriarch in addition to being an Alexander/Napoleon-type: he desires and even requires total rule and domination, but there is room in his world for mercy and even love for the "family" that he creates. This model of manhood, in Trekdom, of the man as total, undisputed ruler over all he surveys, and who views himself as a benevolent leader, is something that finally gets quashed with Khan. In Space Seed, it turns out that not just Kirk et al. but also McGivers finds herself seduced by that ancient model. There is no room in the 23rd century democratic egalitarianism for Khan's model of absolute ruler, but the instinct for it still exists, and giving Khan a place to rule himself ala Milton's Satan (and allowing his people, and McGivers for that matter) a place to live that out was both an ethical solution to a difficult problem and a way of suppressing without finally destroying that urge. Here's what I think: Kirk the adventurer is the ethical, 23rd-century ideal, version of Khan. He has the instincts of a conquerer but channels them into meeting new peoples, gaining new information, and solving problems. The problem is that in order to "conquer" without actually conquering, to solve problems in the short-term without definitely imposing his rule, Kirk acts, makes huge command decisions that will affect dozens of lives, and then leave, and never returns. This combines with Kirk's mindset that he can cheat death at any time to produce the idea of invincibility, and to reinforce the belief that his solutions are always the correct ones, while he also...leaves and avoids taking full responsibility. And we get major and minor variations of this pattern in this film. In terms of command-style ruling decisions, there is the fate of Khan and his people on Ceti Alpha V. In terms of Kirk's personal life, there are Carol and David Marcus. That Kirk has a child actually does make sense to me, given his brash womanizing, though it's worth noting that this womanizing became more frequent as the TV series went on; on the one hand, that Kirk actually did father a child makes his disinterest in consequences worse, but on the other hand I think Kirk's capacity for denial does make some sense. He staves off existential dread by exploring more, and solving more problems, until eventually he realizes that he has nothing to show for it. Let's note, too, that Carol specifically asked Kirk to stay away from David, as he relates; I can imagine a few different ways that could have gone, but I suspect that the basic reason is that Kirk didn't know exactly how to lead a life with Carol with both of them pursuing their careers -- which forms quite a contrast to Khan and McGivers, who gave up her career and, eventually, her life to go be his wife, consort and acolyte. While the film is obviously 23rd century, I think that there is something in here about the difficult role of fatherhood in mid-to-late 20th century; the old model of fatherhood of man as patriarch, man as head of the household, is represented by Khan, and is dying off, and it leaves men with Khanlike instincts uncertain how to function as equals with their lovers and so mostly finding themselves alienated from them and their children, ala Kirk here. So Khan's titular wrath comes down to anger that his "family" was destroyed: his wife died. (Did he have any children who died?) He lost his future, and could just barely survive. Khan WAS a prince, back in the twentieth century, and was unable to function in a world in which he wasn't the ruler, but was willing to settle for "ruling" over a small family/tribe, something of a compromise to the times. And then this was ripped away from him. The displacement of the planet due to the destruction of Ceti Alpha VI (which gets called back later, to an extent, both in the Genesis Planet's destruction in STIII and also in the destruction of Praxis the moon in STVI) is a disaster which an insurance company might call an Act of God, and as in Moby Dick Khan's obsessive anger is at the untameable forces of nature and his ability to maintain control. It gets directed onto Kirk because Kirk is at least a human representative of the forces which Khan can't control, and he can hardly launch a campaign against God for destroying his planet and killing his wife, first of all because He probably doesn't exist, and if he did even Khan wouldn't believe he could actually take him on. He has something of a legitimate beef against Kirk for abandoning him and his to a fate; while the original deal was that Khan might not survive, the deal still depended on Ceti Alpha V being *difficult* but not impossible to live on, and that Khan was marooned on a planet with no actual possibility of asking for help does mean that perhaps Kirk should have checked in on him. But really, Khan is angry at both the universe and possibly, deep down, himself, because he is reaping the benefits of demanding absolute rulership; a Federation prison would have been safer, it turns out, no? The point is made with regularity as the film goes on that Khan really could stop at any time after he's gotten the Genesis planet and become his own God, make a new planet to rule over with his remaining people, but Khan cannot do this knowing that Kirk is out there, because by this point I don't think Khan even really *wants* to start again, only to run the risk of losing it. He is angry at the universe for what he has lost, and for giving him a challenge that really was outside the scope of his intellect and strength. "How we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life." But I think that symbolically, Khan's wrath mirrors Kirk's anger, bubbling to the surface, about his encroaching mortality, and what he has lost. Note that the loss of his wife and the destruction of his "family" is, notably, an EXACT THING that Kirk actually failed to hang onto. Kirk specifically AVOIDED cultivating a family, and he has no real idea what to do with the blood relative he has. Khan encounters not just the Marcuses' Genesis project, but also Chekov, a protege of Kirk's sent off into the world where Kirk might not see him again (until he rejoins the crew). Kirk's desire to escape consequences and responsibility is also, as I suggested earlier, a genuine uncertainty of HOW to be a responsible lover and father, especially in a world in which he CANNOT have absolute rulership. Kirk does not trust authority all that much, and does not believe in someone having absolute rulership, but that is the main way he knows how to lead; note that even later in the film, when he gets beamed up after playing a trick on Khan regarding how long before he can beam back up, he didn't bother telling the Marcuses about the trick until it was beam-up time, even though surely they could use that information; he is uncomfortable trusting Saavik to command the ship out of spacedock; etc. It's hard to imagine Kirk as a husband and father NOT being tyrannical, at least the Kirk as we know him, not because he approves of absolute rulership in personal affairs but because that is how he knows how to operate. That his nearest friends in the world are also his inferior officers (though at least McCoy is not a line officer and has the medical authority to relieve Kirk) similarly speaks to Kirk's control issues. So Kirk is frustrated because he can no longer have adventures, but he is also frustrated because the possibility to have a loving family has passed him by, just as it has Khan -- except that unlike Khan, it was no Act of God but Kirk's own immaturity that prevented him from forming relationships. And Khan, the symbol of old age and also ancient patriarchal authority, comes to destroy him specifically because of his irresponsibility (i.e. in not checking back in with them), which also happens to be partly about the limits of Kirk's power and authority (Kirk acted as if the Ceti Alpha V situation were within his power, but it turns out it was well without it). I think that this mirrors Kirk's anger at himself for not taking responsibility, but part of the problem is that I suspect Kirk's irresponsibility really is because I think the only way he can envision himself behaving "responsibly" is to go full-on "tin-plated dictator with delusions of godhood," as the Klingon said in The Trouble with Tribbles, to rule over his "family" like Khan. Notably, Kirk spends all his time on a starship, which is associated, at least to a degree, with the military. His experience, which is the one thing he has over Khan, is with battle strategy. In this adventure is fighting, and ultimately death -- which Kirk encounters regularly, and sometimes even doles out, but never experiences himself. It's not all there is to his job in Starfleet, but it is a lot of it. And so that Carol and David's project is Genesis is pretty interesting. Assuming David is the only child Kirk fathered, Carol really does symbolically represent Life to Kirk, and so for her and David's project to be about the creation of life, which is deeply foreign territory to Kirk, him being estranged from them and all. I think it's also interesting that Khan can only really use the Genesis device for destruction, because he is nearing the end of his life and embittered, and what he had thought of as his last shot to create life (with McGivers) is now gone. I suspect that there is something male/female about the starship battle/Genesis device organization, but it is not strictly a matter of male adventurism/death-dealing/defying and female creation, since the genders are reversed in the younger generation -- Saavik is training for Starfleet and dealing with death, David training in Genesis. So Kirk's alienation from, and reconciliation with, Carol and David has something to do with Kirk being cut off from the flow of life. The only way Kirk can feel alive is by defying death through risk/adventure. So is there a way out? Are the options to remain an irresponsible boy-child into one's forties and fifties, messing with the universe a bit and then running away, or to become a mad tyrant who needs to control the universe? Obviously there is a way out, and it's Spock. Spock is depicted almost entirely in heroic terms in this film, with the one possible exception being that I think McCoy has a point in the brief Genesis debate scene that Spock is far too cold about the frightening implications of Genesis. Normally Spock is depicted as a flawed hero. I think the reason this is an exception has to do with the nature of Kirk's dilemma in this picture, and the other films in the series do have Spock's flaws more readily on display. In this film, though, Spock is willing to cede control, willing to teach others, willing to live without adventure and willing to sacrifice himself when need be. Kirk is not a bad man, but he is unwilling to sacrifice himself and others, which leads to some of the disastrous situations in this film -- he proposed an "ideal solution" for Khan and then never bothered to consider what would happen if his ideal situation fell through; he fathered a child and then stayed away while claiming that it's what Carol wanted. His problem, and what I think nags at him, is that his need to win in all situations means that he goes into denial at the possibility of loss. Unlike Khan, Kirk has the good sense not to go after and try to destroy people when he is threatened with a loss, but he shuts his mind off about situations that might go south the moment he exits. In this film, Spock eventually realizes that the ship cannot be saved by Kirk's strategies, and simply acts without Kirk's say-so, going to engineering and sacrificing himself to save the ship. I actually agree that this could have been depicted a tiny bit better (WHY DOESN'T SPOCK WEAR A RADIATION SUIT) but I don't have a big problem with that, and the actual scenes of Spock's death, with the glass separating him and Kirk, and the funeral scene, are extraordinary (especially the former) and among the best in the Trek canon, which as has been mentioned above gain an extra punch with Leonard Nimoy's passing. At the very end, Kirk says that he feels young. Why does he feel young? His friend just died! But I think that's exactly it. Kirk says that he has never faced death before, "not like this," which could be interpreted as poor continuity given how many "He's dead, Jim"s there were, and his brother's death in "Operation -- Annihilate!" and the deaths he witnessed in his youth as told in "The Conscience of the King," and plus the deaths that he blamed on himself in "Obsession." Still, of these, the only one Kirk really blamed HIMSELF for was "Obsession," and that was self-blame for a mistake when he was a VERY young officer, and which he eventually realizes wasn't his fault anyway. I think that there IS something different about Spock's death. For one, Kirk really does seem to me to be closer to Spock even than to his brother. Given that Kirk never did establish a family, with Carol or anyone else, Spock is the nearest thing to a life partner Kirk has. I think he also recognizes that Spock stepped in to solve Kirk's no-win scenario for him. Spock, in other words, taught Kirk to deal with death by just openly confronting it, recognizing that it has to happen, and logically accepting it. Spock's sacrifice is as much for Kirk himself as for the overall ship, which is similar to his sacrifice for Kirk early on, of giving Kirk command. And so Kirk actually experiences Spock's death partly as his own...and survives. He lost his best friend, largely because of his own past piling up on him (via Khan, Carol, David), and this makes death seem real, which ALSO makes life seem real in the process. He can look at David more clearly now; having lived through Spock's death, Kirk is able to confront his mistakes and regrets and not be afraid of the losses he has suffered due to his own mistakes. And really, Kirk, who has never dealt with death which he really interpreted at least partly as HIS OWN death, or death which is TRULY on his hands (even those who died under his command), finds that he is not driven mad by it, as Khan was, but can live through it, and that means he is no longer so totally afraid, and is free to live himself. That Khan blows himself up with the Genesis device, and destroys himself in an effort to destroy Kirk, but also gives new life through the process, also makes a certain amount of symbolic sense. Khan represents the part of Kirk who wants to destroy Kirk for his failure to take charge of his life, and for the tragedies that have befallen him. That part of Kirk needs to be defeated, and needs to die, for Kirk to be "reborn." And that allows for Spock's own death/rebirth. If one prefers not to see other characters as symbolic of traits in the protagonist, I think it's worth saying instead that Khan's ultimate self-destruction also gives Kirk the recognition of the self-defeating nature of going for control and domination and anger as a response to a no-win scenario, and to death itself. There are definitely some significant flaws in this movie especially as science-fiction. The rapidly shifting properties of the Genesis Device, which eventually can make a planet in the middle of a nebula (?!?!?) are probably the most frustrating. But I think these things are relatively minor, especially if one views the film as a myth about aging, death and loss. There is actually a lot more to say about the particulars of how the film works but I will stop writing there. 4 stars.

Captain Jon

I am posting my review for TWoK here just as I did for TMP. Please feel free to check out my "full experience" review (pictures) on my blog captainjonreviews.blogspot.com. I'm currently in the process of writing a review for TSFS and hope to post that in the coming days with a review for each film coming as I review them. Enjoy! Synopsis Admiral James T. Kirk returns to the U.S.S. Enterprise, which has been turned into a training ship for a group of Starfleet cadets. Unhappy in his new post and not in command of a starship, Kirk struggles with aging and death when an old nemesis, Khan, escapes after fifteen years of imprisonment on a desolate world and seeks revenge on Kirk for the death of his wife. Review Despite it's mixed critical reception, the highly anticipated of Gene Roddenberry's most popular creation returned in 1979's Star Trek: The Motion Picture with a global box office haul of over $130 million. Happy with the movie's success, Paramount Pictures gave the green-light to a sequel. Their biggest stipulation, however, was that it be made for significantly less than the $46 million price tag of the first film. Feeling that his constant request for rewrites added to TMP's soaring budget, Gene Roddenberry was removed from any direct involvement in the sequel. The script he had written in which the Enterprise crew follows a group of Klingons into the past to alter Earth's future by preventing the assassination of John F. Kennedy was rejected and Roddenberry was "promoted" to being an executive consultant. With Roddenberry out of the way, Paramount turned to TV producer Harvey Bennett to make Star Trek II despite having never seen an episode of the series. In preparing for the project, Bennett watched all 79 episodes and selected Space Seed as the basis for their story bringing back Ricardo Montalban's Khan in as the villain. Bennett hired multiple writers who each drafted various versions of the story which involved the return of Khan. Yet, they couldn't settle on a script with which everyone was happy. Thus Bennett turned to writer/director Nicholas Meyer for help. Meyer took the best elements of each script and cobbled them together in his own draft, writing the screenplay for free and uncredited in less than 12 days. Meyer envisioned his film as "Hornblower in space" and highlighted the nautical qualities of the Star Trek series and, more importantly, realized the characters as human. To accomplish this, Meyer acknowledged the passage of time and allowed the crew of the Enterprise to grow. No longer are our heroes "gallavanting around the cosmos" but are now instructing the next generation of explorers. James T. Kirk, once again an admiral, somberly celebrates his birthday in which Dr. McCoy presents him with a pair of glasses to help him read as he gets older. This little tidbit may seem small but is incredibly significant for the character of Kirk who has always been portrayed as invulnerable. Also introduced is David, Kirk's son with the scientist Carol Marcus. In David, Kirk sees the life he could have had and makes him feel much older. William Shatner's performance is strong and mellow. His confidence is rocky as he grapples with aging but as the story progresses he gradually regains it as he recognizes that with age comes wisdom and experience. Kirk's growth across The Wrath of Khan may not seem very groundbreaking nowadays but in 1982 when many TV characters were static and unchanging, this was incredibly remarkable. The script not only packs in more characterization than The Motion Picture but adds more action as well. Featuring two of Star Trek's finest space battles, The Wrath of Khan boosts action similar to old sailing ships on the high seas with an emphasis placed on tactical strategy over brute force. This approach is quite fitting with Kirk's character growth as it's through his acceptance of aging and wisdom that he's able to defeat Khan. Though many of the visual effects are reused in much of the film's early scenes, the climactic battle features great FX in the purple-blue clouds of the Mutara Nebula. The action is packed with suspense and thrills that make it quite memorable. Accompanying The Wrath of Khan is a fantastic score by future-Oscar Winner James Horner who captures the beauty and dangers of space in a way that distinguishes the music from Jerry Goldsmith's classic soundtrack without departing too far from that successful template. Acting-wise The Wrath of Khan is spot on across the board. DeForest Kelley's Dr. McCoy is given a much more prominent role and does well, at his best when sharing the screen with Shatner. James Doohan's Scotty doesn't get much screen time but he makes the most of it, even managing to display more emotion than what we're used to from the miracle worker engineer. Even though some of the supporting characters such as Chekov, Sulu and Uhura don't have much to do, the performances from Koenig, Takei and Nichols are more energetic and a big improvement over The Motion Picture. The additions to the cast are also perfect. Merritt Buttrick not only looks like he could be the offspring of Shatner and Bisch, he also carries his part well. Bibi Besch is also perfect in her limited screen time as Carol Marcus. When Nicholas Meyer cast the role, he wanted someone who could not only convey the brains of a scientist but also someone beautiful enough for the audience to buy that she could once old the heart of James T. Kirk. In Besch, Meyers succeeds. Paul Winfield is good as Captain Terrell, portraying cool and confidence. Considering most "other captains" would later be portrayed as weak to show how much better our captains our, Winfield's performance is welcome. The two biggest additions to the cast are Kirstie Alley as Saavik and Ricardo Montalban as Khan. Despite portraying a Vulcan, Alley is never stiff and gives the impression that beneath the surface is plenty of sass and wit waiting to bubble to the surface. Alley's Saavik is instantly loveable and fits right in with the series cast. Of course, The Wrath of Khan probably wouldn't be anywhere near as successful as it is without Montalban. He chews the scenery from the moment he appears and never lets up. Though the role is entirely fueled by hate and vengeance, Montalban gives anything but a one-note performance, adding plenty of charm and menace in a role infused with undertones of Captain Ahab. To this day, Ricardo Montalban's Khan is still Star Trek's most memorable villain. Just as The Wrath of Khan wouldn't be the same without Khan, not would it be without Leonard Nimoy's Spock and the emotional payoff in the movie's climax. In The Motion Picture, Nimoy seemed uninterested in his performance. Wishing to be done with the role of Spock, Nimoy requested his character be killed off. Early drafts featured the death as a surprising twist in the opening act. But here Nimoy features it as the film's emotional climax to great effect, making it not only Star Trek's best character deaths but likely one of the best in all feature films. Nimoy's performance is much more engaged and more along the lines of his portrayal of the character that made him so loved in the 60's series. Spock's death serves not only the plot but also the ultimate character growth of Kirk as he's forced to face death in a way he never has before. Always has Kirk cheated his way out of facing death. But not here as he has to learn a lesson that he tried to teach Saavik early on in the movie; that how you face death is as important as how you face life. It's this deep and insightful exploration of challenging themes that has always been a crucial part of Star Trek and The Wrath of Khan tackles the theme of death like the franchise never had before. Both Shatner and Nimoy are excellent in Spock's death scene in which he makes the ultimate sacrifice to save the ship and crew. Neither is over-the-top, their performances subtle yet powerful. It's a great and emotional scene that is just as powerful today as it was in 1982. After 33 years, The Wrath of Khan remains the standard which all Star Trek films have strived to achieve, each with their varying levels of success. It's this attempt to emulate what worked in The Wrath of Khan which solidifies it's status as a great movie. Packed with thrilling actions, incredible performances and mature storytelling, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan remains a timeless classic. Writing: 2.0 / 2.0 Characters: 2.0 / 2.0 Acting: 2.0 / 2.0 Entertainment: 2.0 / 2.0 Music: 1.0 / 1.0 Visuals: .75 / 1.0 TOTAL: 9.75 / 10

Have to agree, this is my favorite of the Trek films and still the one to beat to this day. It's hard to pick my single favorite moment in all of Trek canon, but the moment when Kirk sends the prefix code to lower the Reliant's shields is a truly delicious, fist-pumping "YES!" moment even if only a momentary victory. It definitely belongs in the top 5.

With all these comments, only Jammer has mentioned the reason I think this movie is so great: Ricardo Montalban. His performance here is absolutely fantastic, by far the best performance of any guest actor on Star Trek ever. Every scene he's in, his presence is so commanding you can't help but focus on him. Khan is simply larger than life, not just a person but a villain, a force, an ominous presence that simply cannot be ignored. He makes even Kirk look smaller in comparison. I heard an interview with Montalban once talking about this role in the movie. He said that the director allowed him to go almost, but not quite, over the top in his performance. And you can see that with every line he says. He never quite reaches the level of ham (unlike Shatner with his infamous "Khaaannn!" shout), so he always seems sincere and always feels like a real person. Yet, despite that, his presence is calculated, showman-like, theatrical. I mean, consider this line: "He tasks me... he tasks me and I shall have him. I'll chase him round the moons of Nibia and around Antares' Maelstrom and around Perdition's flames before I give him up." That line could have been a huge dud; it sounds kinda cheesy when typed out like this (and yes, I know it's a classical reference). Yet, when Khan says it, it is chilling, it is threatening, it is brilliant. A part of me is sad that Khan wasn't a TNG-era villain. I'd have paid good money for a 2-hour movie of nothing more than Patrick Stewart and Ricardo Montalban quoting Moby Dick at each other. But I digress, back to Khan. Like I said, Montalban played him as a theatrical, larger than life villain. Not only was it a brilliant performance that was a joy to watch, but it really makes sense for the character to be played that way. Despite the title, wrath is not the deadly sin that Khan is guilty of, it's pride. It's sheer arrogance in his knowledge that he was genetically superior to the rest of humanity. He is stronger, he is smarter. And in his mind, that makes him flat out better, at everything. So he spends this movie quoting Moby Dick, putting himself in the position of Ahab. Now, Khan isn't an idiot, he knows Ahab is not supposed to be a hero, not supposed to be someone to identify with. Khan knows that the point of the book was that Ahab's quest for revenge resulted in poor decisions that led to his own doom. So why is he identifying with Ahab here? Why is he putting himself in the position of being the idiot making horrible decisions that will lead to his own death? Simple, he thinks he's better than Ahab. And part of that means he can succeed in his insane vengeance against Kirk where Ahab fails. This whole plot is basically an adrenaline high for Khan, a way of showing off. Vengeance may be bad for mere mortals, but not for the brilliance that is Khan. Khan can make irrational decisions and come away with victory. Khan can gloat over the hero without it backfiring on him. Khan can make all the same choices that Ahab made, and come out smelling like a rose. Because he is superior to Ahab. He is superior to Kirk. He is so freaking smart that he can outsmart Kirk even when he's being stupid. That's why he's quoting Moby Dick. That's why he's being theatrical and larger than life. He's showing off. To Kirk, to his crew, to himself. He doesn't just want to rule the galaxy or even defeat Kirk. He wants to rub Kirk's nose in it. He wants to play life on the difficult setting, putting artificial difficulties into his scheme just so that he can show how easily he can overcome them. And he's enjoying every moment of it. If he had simply listened to Joachim at every step, he would be free to terrorize the galaxy with his ultimate weapon. But he couldn't resist showing off. He couldn't resist toying with and humiliating Kirk. And that was why, in the end, he failed. Because he failed to recognize his own limitations. He failed to check his pride. And it's a darn good thing he failed to do that, because it made this movie so much better. It's why there's no villain in the Star Trek pantheon that can live up to Montalban's Khan. Not Kruge, not Chang, not the Borg Queen (though they may have their style points), and certainly not Sybok or clonePicard or CumberKhan. Above of else, a villain should be interesting to watch. And you simply cannot stop watching Khan, from the moment he slowly peels off his desert protective clothing to his last dying gasps.

Everyone and their Grandma always points to the "Khaaaan" yell as THE definative hammy shatner/Kirk delivery, but no one seems to get that he only did that in response to Khan telling him that he'll go back to the dead in space Enterprise and blow it up, leaving him stranded. Which Kirk KNOWS isn't going to happen cause the Enterprise is fine and'll be right around the corner. The KHAAAAAAN!" was purely for the Khan's benefit, selling the ruse of the crew to him.

Latex Zebra

Not sure why so many of Khan's crew members or his "beloved wife" had to die after the Ceti Eel get's in their head. A simple blood transfusion from Khan and they'd all be right as rain. Very disappointed.

@ Zebra, That's what they get for ripping off that neat Abrams movie.

Nolan, you are absolutely correct!! That actually make Kirk's "performance" even better!! (IMO) Latex Zebra, HAHAHA!! good one!!

Everything Wrong With Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6x8B8sawTI

I have to say I shared Khan's incredulity at learning that Chekov never spoke of him to his Captain or crew. I mean they're in the Seti Alpha system, the same star system where they abandoned the 20th Century genetically enhanced warlord 15 years ago. Oh I know they mistook the specific planet for Seti Alpha VI rather than V, but seriously, when they were scouting star systems for Genesis, it merited not even an "oh yeah, isn't that the star system?" from anyone? Not even as a matter of idle curiosity?

@ Jason R., Do you think it's plausible to suggest that Chekhov legitimately just forgot all about that incident until he saw the name "Botany Bay" and then realized his history with that system? We have to assume that in his 5-year tour with the Enterprise he visited hundreds and even thousands of worlds, many of which were important and others of which were uninhabited or otherwise routine exploration. He probably never forgot the incident with Khan, but I wouldn't be surprised that he forgot the name of the system long before this. "Ceti Alpha system? Huh, that rings a bell. Anyhow back to work..." As for the crew not receiving an alert about Khan's presence when they entered the system, that's a question mark. Normally you'd think it would be a big deal to take note of humanoid life when entering any system, especially when they're scouting for potential use of a powerful destructive energy one planet away (supposedly) from where Khan was dropped off. My only conclusion, then, is that Kirk omitted the entire incident from the record and didn't file what happened with Starfleet. On the one hand it would seem bizarre, given the danger the crew faced in "Space Seed", to fail to make any kind of report about the retaking of the ship and so forth. But on the other hand Kirk had a problem. If Kirk sent Khan back to the Federation for trial he could potentially (a) get off with some kind of insanity plea (cryofreeze effects, etc.), (b) go to prison and be released eventually, (c) escape and wreak havoc elsewhere, or (d) attract too much curiosity from the wrong kinds of people who would have use for such super-powered criminals. On a human level it would be awful in a way to have them sit in a Federation prison because I think Kirk and Spock both recognized that there was a real greatness in Khan even though it had to be opposed, and that it would be somehow shameful to have such a tiger be in a little cage for the rest of his life. And so they left Khan on Ceti Alpha 5. And yet now there was another problem: If Kirk were to file a report Starfleet would no doubt send a ship immediately to collect the supermen and try them for crimes. Or worse, send ships with the intention of studying them, making public displays of their punishment, or other such humiliating results. Kirk's creative answer of letting them rule their own little planet would not have been accepted by the bureaucrats. And so I must conclude that Kirk never filed any report and probably ordered the crew never to speak of it to anyone, so that Khan and the others could be left alone.

Chekov wasn't part of the bridge crew when they met Khan...

@ Latex Zebra, "Chekov wasn't part of the bridge crew when they met Khan..." That was an oversight on the part of the writers, not an actual reason why Chekhov wouldn't remember the planet. You might notice that Khan also recognized Chekhov, which pretty much means they retconned the cast list in "Space Seed" to include Chekhov. I've heard Walter Koenig say that this was a goof and not a plot point.

But it's not a problem at all. Just because *we* didn't see Chekov on the bridge, doesn't mean he wasn't on the *ship*.

RandomThoughts

Heya Everyone Well, I'd like to think Chekov was on the ship then, just not important enough to be a part of the bridge crew. But there is a line in one of the episodes, Catspaw, where DeSalle is in charge, and he talks down to Checkov somewhat, who replies something along the lines of "...I'm not that green". I always thought that meant he was just recently on the ship. Best to think that during Khan's initial visit, Chekov was down in waste extraction or some such thing. Via Memory Alpha: Koenig has joked many times that he believes Chekov accidentally made Khan wait an uncomfortable amount of time to use the bathroom. :) Heh, I just had to chuckle at the memory of Chekov's so, so bad Beatles wig... Your mileage may vary... RT

Peter it is interesting to think that Kirk would have not reported his encounter with Khan, but that is exceedingly unlikely. How would he explain the disappearance of the crew-woman he abandoned on Seti Alpha 5 with Khan? What would her family be told? It seems to me that Seti Alpha 5 should have been quarantined with a beacon or something warning wayward ships from landing - much like they did with the world from The Cage or I'd imagine they did with Armis's world. Speaking of which, I'm always amused at how the various Enterprises kept accumulating these trinkets and oddities throughout the universe and how they are never heard from again - from the Guardian of Forever to Armis to Kevin Uxbridge, to Dysonsphere - don't you just wonder if anyone ever deigns to follow up on these things?

Responding to Paul (only about 4 years too late....) "Oh, and why did Scotty bring the dying engineer's assistant to the bridge? Shouldn't he have gone to sick bay?" That always bugged me as well, because I thought it made no sense for Scotty to take a dead cadet up to the bridge just to eulogize him, until I learned recently that scenes were cut from the film establishing that the dead cadet was Scotty's nephew. He died in engineering so taking him to sickbay would have been meaningless. If you know that the cadet is a close relative, it makes sense to me that the emotional character we know as Scotty would take him to a place where he could grieve among friends and let them know that his nephew did his duty. I don't know that I've enjoyed reading a comment stream about a Trek movie/episode more than this one. There is a whole gamut with the movie goof-hounds that like to look for plot-holes and inconsistencies, the defenders of Trek-as-cerebral-commentary-on-the-order-of-man-in-the-cosmos (who generally prefer contemplations like Star Trek I), and popcorn-guzzling simpletons like me who found this to be a tour-de-force of satisfying overacting, cool plot-twists, good old-fashioned action and heart-wrenching consequences for characters that I've grown to love and admire (insofar as you can love fictional characters, of course). There are many reasons I watch movies. I like being moved, thrilled, provoked and challenged - but above all, if it's going to be worth 2 hours of my time, I'd better be entertained. And if you weren't entertained by this one, remind me never to sit next to you at a party.

Quarkissnyder

I just watched this movie for the first time since it was first released. I was amazed at how much I liked it--more, I think, then when it first came out. Maybe it's teh contract to the ST movies of recent years. WoK had few distracting special effects, action sequences that you could actually follow what was going on, a plot that not only made sense but was written with the idea of character development. I can quibble over some of the details but overall this was a really well-crafted movie.

Given Shatner's pechance for overacting and strange speech patterns, Spock's death and the funeral was nothing short of a masterpiece of subdued emotion, subtlety, and low-key grief, perfect for this storied relationship. Where many movies would give the big "NOOOOooooo! SPPPpooooockkk!" at the death scene, this gives us a quiet "no..." as if all energy had been drained from Shatner's body (as indeed it would for us if we watched our best friend die). Where many stories would give this flowery, hammy speech with sobbing, crying, huge proclamations, this gives us one of the most stoic Shatner's quietly stating "Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most... human." And the quivering of the voice leading up to the one crack just focused all of the sadness and grief that the character of Kirk must have been holding in, into that one small moment of vulnerability, where he shows his crew just how hard this hit him, how that invincible mask dropped for just a moment. And the way Shatner follows through with this scene sells the emotional moment so subtly, yet so powerfully, I think it is one of the best moments in all the Star Trek franchise.

@STEVEN LYLE JORDAN "Khan’s son is the only one of the baddies group, other than Khan, who utters a word through the entire movie (besides “Aaugh!” when the Reliant is attacked—apparently genetic supermen make great redshirts);" FWIW, Joachim is supposed (apocryphally) to be the son of Joaquin, who was one of his only henchmen in Space Seed to have lines as well.

I had an interesting thought about Kirk's quote near the end, that "of all the souls I've encountered in my travels, his was the most... human" may actually be inappropriate and even offensive to non humans, given the context of the Federation. Clearly meant as a huge complement, It would be like me, if in an attempt to complement a dead black friend, had said at a funeral "of all the souls I've met in my travels, his was the most... white". In the future context of the Star Trek setting, what Kirk says is similar. I like how the TNG era keeps the optimistic view of the future but without having the characters going around implying that the other races should strive to be more human. I'm not trying to nit pick, I appreciate the line for what it is but I just thought this was an interesting thought.

@Brian, this idea was acknowledged pretty much head-on with a follow-up in "Star Trek VI." Kirk: "Spock, you want to know something? Everybody's human." Spock: "I find that remark ... insulting." Got a big laugh in the theater, too.

Also, Kirk's line is meant to have an ironic double meaning. In the sense of 'being like a Human' the idea was always that Spock chose not to be one, and Kirk knows that. The other meaning, though, is that "human" in the sense of "virtuous", as in a phrase like "he's a real human being!" It's meant not to connote genetics or 'all-too-human' traits, which can include pettiness and fear, but rather to connote what is in the best of us. And it's certainly a Trek maxim that what's best in us is shared by the other races, such as cooperation and good will. That's what the UFP stands for, and within that context Kirk is implying that Spock embodies good values, even though he says it by using a non-literal idiom.

@ Peter, I do get it, I understand what was meant by it but I just thought it interesting to adopt a point of view of a citizen of the future to consider the implications of that remark. Using the name of one's own race/nationality to denote virtue/excellence is at best a little conceited, and at worst could be offensive to aliens. Imagine what I would think if on a trip to Germany I told my German friend "You are such a great guy, you're almost American!". Sure, the sentiment would be appreciated but it would cause some well deserved double takes of the situation and would make it seem to the Germans that Americans are conceited jackasses to use the term "American" to denote excellence and virtue.

@ Brian, Yeah, I know what you mean. I think a better analogy, though, would be (in reference to being a G.I. Joe fan) to say to a German, "Wow, you're like a real American hero!" Now the term wouldn't exactly be a propos, but I think it would be clearly understood to be a compliment rather than a backhanded statement about Germany. The more I think of it, the more Kirk's comment is exactly the right one to make, because for years he and Bones poke pun at Spock by insisting that things he does are human, and this time he says it again but as a badge of honor to contrast with all the times they said it as an insult/jab. Saying it here isn't merely a human-language bias, it's symmetry with TOS.

Hello Everyone! @Brian @Peter G. I always thought Kirk meant Spock (half human) lived up to human ideals even better than the full humans normally do. I believe other races, knowing his lineage and the context, would understand what he meant by that and appreciate it. Regarding color for the analogy, this is about species and not race. Apples and oranges. I do understand the concept of the thought, but I do not believe it applies here (in my humble opinion). Regards... RT

While I admire the technical brilliance and tight action/thriller story of TWOK, the only thing that impresses me as specifically great Star Trek (as opposed to a very good movie) was the characterization. This includes everything from Kirk's depression at getting old to Khan's dedication to revenge to Spock's death and his friend's reactions. Yes their is the Genesis Project, but The Search for Spock made that much more central to it's plot. Unlike many Trek fans, TSFS is my favorite TOS-era Star Trek film. It has big, wild ideas like The Motion Picture and action and suspense like Khan. The Motion Picture always struck me as a good idea for an intellectually stimulating episode but lacking the 2001: A Space Odyssey profundity it aspires to. TWOK seems to me to have too many plot elements that could just as easily be done with submarines or airplanes. Terrorist with a grudge gets ahold of a powerful military vehicle and goes after the hero. The Search for Spock also has the distinction of introducing something like the "proud warrior race" Klingons which became a beloved staple of the show. Yes, that particular crew were the bad guys, but they had real courage and joy in being warriors. Had they encountered V-Ger, they would have proudly flown at it with all guns blazing expecting to be remembered fondly for such an interesting death. Perhaps they would have had a last drink of blood wine while Kruge looked forward to meeting Valkris in the afterlife. By the way, her death scene brought a tear to my eyes the first couple times. The Vulcan Katra was also a nice concept to develop, in my opinion. We always knew the Vulcans had strong if not all-powerful psychic gifts. The original crew rebelling together against authority to save Spock was a good example of the venerable tradition of Starfleet officers being insubordinate when they know they're right and forgiven in they convince their superiors after the fact. Whether any organization could actually function this way or not, it's classic Trek. Michael Burnham in the current series seems to be at least on a long path to redemption. Finally, I loved the reveal of the living Spock at the end as well as the elaborate scenes of Vulcan. The Vulcan culture looks very interesting and should be developed in more detail.

For any Trek/BSG fans lurking, I think you'd all appreciate this bout between Khan and Adama: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cR6Y2IkcqmI Jammer - this is very much along the lines of the Star Trek vs Star Wars video you posted on your blog a long time ago. :)

Best film of the series by far. Montalban did an amazing job as a more than believable villain. I never full understood the hatred for Kirk. Kirk, after all, did give him a fresh start and had no idea that the planet he chose was going to have problems. Yes, Kirk did not check back on him, but the whole decision by Kirk was supposed to be forgotten. Nonetheless, above average film acting by a TV star.

@ Stinger, Based on Khan's weakness in the film - his overwhelming pride and vanity - I think it's safe to assume that his hatred of Kirk comes from the fact that Kirk beat him in Space Seed. True, it wasn't Kirk alone, but it was his leadership principally, and I think the idea that a normal should overcome the mighty Khan would rankle on his pride forever. He no doubt felt the same about the Earthers who expelled him originally, and in fact this point is the one where he slips up in Space Seed when Kirk prods him to a vain outburst.

My brother will die of his cancer soon, but whether that days or months is not clear. He asked me to watch as much Star Trek with him as he has energy for. I’m seeing nearly all of it for the first time in recent months. We watched this movie last night, and except for the creepy brain slugs, it was very enjoyable. I didn’t know this was the movie where Spock died so it was a relative surprise.

I'm very sorry. :( I wish you two all the best

I also wish you comfort and any good memories you can forge together in this hard time.

Thank you, Booming and Lupe. He wanted to introduce Dad to Firefly, so that’s “their show” and we’re watching some TOS, DS9, and the feature films as he has interest and energy. It’s slow going so we might do as much as a film a day, or 1.5 eps (he falls asleep easily).

These are some good shows and movies. :) I feel the need to mention so that you not stumble into it unprepared that there is a DS9 episode which basically deals with what you are experiencing called "Ties of Blood and Water" (ep 19 se 5). It is a very good but also very sad episode. Good luck.

how can anybody go this long without mentioning THAT EAR SCENE? Have to say I was very pleased (and disturbed) with the continuation of subjecting Chekov to the worst mind control and disgusting torture possible like they had during the series. Anyway, that scene is AMAZING. Gave me a phobia I’ve never gotten over. But damn... it’s worth it.

Sarjenka's Brother

I just watched this again for probably the fifth or sixth time. I'm with the crowd on this one: Still the best "Trek" movie out there. So many great lines and themes. I still love the ending line: "How do I feel? I feel young."

For as smart as Khan believes he was, he lost over half his crew on the planet because of an ear bug? And not once did he think to stick cotton in their ears? Kirk bragged that he beat the no win scenario, and it was revealed he cheated, by changing the conditions to make it possible to rescue the crew. He didn't go in detail how he did it, but it was explained in the reboot. That should had been left unexplained because it made no sense. How could a cadet be allowed to take that test three times, then get in trouble by cheating the 4th time? And over the many years, every person would know that the test was rigged and can't be one. You would think each person would just go along with the program. You pretend like it was a hard decision in what to do, fail, then continue on in class since no one can actually fail the test. Not sure why Kirk didn't do the same. From what I recall from The Space Seed, the entire crew were genetically engineered. So Khan was just one of many super smart people. Anyone of them could had been the head cheese if they were thawed first. Wouldn't there been huge conflicts and fights to the death between each of them by constantly competing for alpha status? That would had been the time to challenge Khan, which his second in command did, and take control of the ship, but didn't. Khan failed because he was an unstable egomaniac bent on revenge. My favorite film, was First Contact, but this is easily #2.

I just watched this and was blown away how well it stood up and how tight the whole movie is. I'm a TNG fan first and foremost but this is my favorite movie. Khan is such a great villain, but I love Kirk and Spock outsmart him as a TEAM. And they use his arrogance and ignorance on modern actions (IE that ships can really go 3D and the regulations) to defeat him.

Oh and the death of Spock was so well done. Just all around great writing and acting for that scene.

A fantastic Star Trek movie, I don't have too much to add, so I'll just endorse what @Skeptical has written, Skeptical: "the reason I think this movie is so great: Ricardo Montalban. His performance here is absolutely fantastic, by far the best performance of any guest actor on Star Trek ever. Every scene he's in, his presence is so commanding you can't help but focus on him. Khan is simply larger than life, not just a person but a villain, a force, an ominous presence that simply cannot be ignored." Amen. As I wrote in my comments to "Space Seed," Man is an animal. Khan had animal magnetism par excellence. https://www.jammersreviews.com/st-tos/s1/spaceseed.php Khan makes this movie. And William Shatner, for all the talk of his insane ego, let's Khan shine. Instead of the bombast for which people like to caricature him, The Shat treats us to a subtle and nuanced performance. Fun fact: Kirk and Khan are never in the same room for the entire movie! Compare that with the ridiculously mediocre portrayal by Benedict Cumberbatch in the Abrams film, https://youtu.be/b690L5LhKSQ Benedict-Khan running around like a common criminal, no one pays him a second glance. Zero charisma. Zero gravity. Zero charm. A pale (pun intended) imitation of The Great Montal-Khan. But at least he has magic blood (LOL @Latex Zebra). I will disagree with @K'Elvis. I quite enjoyed the two back-to-back renditions of Amazing Grace during Spock's funeral. I understand your desire for live bagpipes, but as Kirk told Lincoln back in "The Savage Curtain," LINCOLN: Strange. Where are the musicians? KIRK: That's taped music, sir. A starship on active duty never carries an honour detachment. https://youtu.be/7JWe3hCes1o?t=32 Not my favorite Star Trek movie. A few glaring continuity mistakes, not much philosophical depth, but I wouldn't change a thing. Four stars - well deserved.

My dad used to have a VHS tape of this movie, and on the back of the cover there was an image of Khan with his face covered in blood. This was disturbing to me as a little kid, so my dad told me that it was actually spaghetti sauce, not blood. And I believed it. (I also remember being scared by the image of the Balok puppet in the TOS end credits - I would hide behind the couch as soon as an episode ended because I knew that creepy bastard would appear soon) Anyways, Star Trek II is (IMO) the best Trek movie, and among the best pieces of Trek media, period. It's exciting, stylish, and emotional, with cinematography and special effects that hold up even 40 years later, and a fantastic score on top of all that. It might not be as cerebral as some fans would like their Star Trek to be, but I think there's room for all kinds of stories in the Trek universe. And when you compare it to later, action-oriented Trek movies which don't have a tenth of its brains, its craft, or its heart, it's clear just how well Star Trek II works.

The Chronek

What more is there to say? It's a classic film; not just a Trek film, but a classic of the science fiction genre. Arthur C. Clarke, who knew a thing or two of genre, famously regretted not ranking it higher after he wrote a list of his favorite science fiction films. After decades of seeing TWOK on cable, VHS and DVD, I finally had the chance to see it on a big screen during Gen Con 2010, when the downtown Indy movie theater showed a double feature of this and The Search for Spock. That it could still evoke such reaction and such emotion from an audience who had likely seen the film multiple times before is a testament to its quality and staying power. It still remains one of my favorite experiences of seeing a film in a theater.

I've seen WoK three or four times over the years, but the last viewing was very long ago. Just watched it again today, and my god does it hold up beautifully. What an incredible movie. The writing, the production design, the character interactions, even the special effects (which still look great, 39 years later). It's damn near perfect.

I love star trek, all the classic series. Enterprise, TOS, TNG, ds9 and even Voyager (although it's my least favorite). I have to make that clear because ...I do not like this movie....at all. I think it makes zero sense, I think the plot is so flawed and full of whole that it's painful to watch. You have scenes that are a MESS. One in particular has an extra being shown unintentionally getting hit by a phaser shot meant for Kirk or kirks son and it shows him vaporizing but never actually showed the character in focus or pretty much at all before they moment. It happens so fast I remember rewinding several times upon my first viewing trying to make sense of it. I still to this day have NO IDEA who that was supposed to be. Problems like this are everywhere. Khan never met Chekhov and yet we are made to believe Khan recognizes him. Why were they ever sent anywhere near where Khan was left without being extremely careful. It's just not believable that they would mistake that planet for another. And I refuse to even point out of incredibly stupid plot holes of the Genesis. Spock sacrificing himself is the only saving grace as it's the only believable or meaningful thing that happens. I've heard so many trek fans praise this film and I really do wish I could join them...I've tried and tried to rewatch and figure out what others are seeing that I am missing.....but it's always the MESS that I originally thought it was.

I am no sure I ever saw this on a movie theater. It did not leave a great impact like Blade Runner ( I went out very confused askin myself what on earth I I just seen? Was it good or was it bad? And many years later realising It was fantastik, end footnote ). Today I must say its a very solid good ScyFi and Trek. The best? Probably. Most of my arguments have been listed before. My surprise was Kristie Alley. It was a good choise to bring in a new charakter to contrast the "old guard". Even if not Oscaar worthy she did a very good Savik. Half romulan or not, we had in those day not seen much of females Vulcans. Why should they not be slightly difrent from men. I do like T'Pol better but Savik was good. It is a pity that she did not get the possibility to develop her role. I saw Allley in some other films and was not so impressed. In this she managed to take the room, that she probably was given, very acceptable. Some might beleeive that there are no "no win scanrios". Alley's payment fight was a "both loose scenario". PS I have almost forgottten what producer and Robin Curtis managed to do with her later on. She must have faded out, a pity.

I agree with @Admiral Archer about TMP being a much more cerebral film, much more thought provoking and philosophical and TWOK being the traditional swashbuckling Kirk-beats-em-up style film, and for me TMP is the real 4 stars movie between the two — but I would like to point out that it is not because me liking more the first type of films: instead, it is because TWOK is in fact a very poor movie at what it aimed for. @STEVEN LYLE JORDAN made a good list of problems of TWOK, but I would be more succinct: it's a "Kirk-beats-em-up" film where Kirk doesn't beat shit up. He is just a palid character, moping aroung because he is old and have to wear glasses, dressed in that stupid uniform (omg, this movie managed to have wrost uniforms then those white pijamas on TMP)... He just doesn't do anything great, bold or inspiring as commander of Enterprise this time. At the end, it's hard to agree with Bones that Kirk should got back his command as soon as possible... TWOK sucks because, if you really think about it, it's conclusion is that maybe Kirk should really be in his bureaucratic admiral's desk job after all.

Rewatched it and love it again. Biggest reactions The movie was so different from TMP, though with some appropriate echoing, and yet it also really benefited from also not trying to just be Star Wars. Both the writing of and Montalban as Khan were masteful (although he maybe says old friend one time too many). A big part of the success was also that Meyer and his approach did seem generally fond of the show and yet not reverential toward it.

I've loved this movie for decades like so many of us. Just rewatched it with my 13yo daughter, first time for her. She is autistic and relates to Spock, so was especially affected by his death scene. One thing I did cringe at this time is how they didn't manage to keep "the Eighties" out of the costuming. The outfits Khan and his people wore were pretty silly; and Kirk's son had a freaking sweater tied around his neck for chrissakes.

Oh, also: so how DID they survive after the environmental devastation, with no source of food?

@ SlackerInc, "The outfits Khan and his people wore were pretty silly" My assumption is they were copying the aesthetic from Mad Max. If that's true then it's not so much an 80's style as an 80's conception of a post-apocalyptic style. "Oh, also: so how DID they survive after the environmental devastation, with no source of food?" Due to their superior intellect, of course.

It's ironic that Carol Marcus tries to excuse hiding a child from Kirk by claiming that he didn't want David and she didn't want him bouncing around the universe, meanwhile she used him in order to try and play god, while turning him against Starfleet.

@The Man Considering that Carol was committing immorality with Kirk, I don't put anything past either one of them

@ Sean, "Considering that Carol was committing immorality with Kirk, I don't put anything past either one of them" I normally ignore these types of posts, but I've got to ask: is it your belief that people of your faith are immune to committing acts of immorality? Or even more specifically, that you personally are? Please feel free to not respond if this question is too direct. I am trying to actually understand what your remark could possibly mean.

@Peter G No one is immune. We all need to be vigilant against any and all vices. But I can say this-I am about 50 years old. I am unmarried and I am no better than anyone else. I have avoided the pitfall of immorality, as have many others (although I will grant you that the vast majority of my friends are married-and among my age peers have been so for some decades) So, no-we are IMMUNE to it. But we prayerfully fight against wrong urges, and don't expose ourselves to temptations. And Peter, thanks for asking! I am not here to argue of course, but I am always willing to answer legitimate questions-I personally have never been a private person, so I don't mind answering questions about myself, and/or my beliefs and values

@Peter "Or even more specifically, that you personally are?" Be that as it may but he surely seems to think that he has enough moral superiority to repeatedly sit in judgement on others.

@Sean "But I can say this-I am about 50 years old. I am unmarried and I am no better than anyone else." Refreshing to hear your humility when so many others are busy chastising others.

@ Sean, "No one is immune" If that is so, I'm not sure what it means to say that "Considering that Carol was committing immorality with Kirk, I don't put anything past either one of them". Do you mean that once someone commits an act of immorality once, they are capable of anything and are automatically in a category of some sort that you and others like you are not? Why are Kirk and Carol capable of anything, but not you? " I have avoided the pitfall of immorality" I thought I would bring up this detail - am I correct in assuming that by "immorality" you specifically and solely mean acts of sexual immorality? I ask this because in common English usage this is not what the term means, but going strictly by how the term is used in some English translations of the New Testament, this is a common way of interpreting that word.

@Peter Well, these are 2 fictional characters that we know little about, but from their actions, and backstory of Carol from SW books, this pair aren't two people who slipped, instead, they have committed immoral conduct multiple times. Still, I can't say they are irredeemable-especially since this aspect hasn't been touched on really in the show or books that I know of. So, in answer to your question-it wasn't "once" And yes, I was referring to sexual immorality specifically earlier. Note: I may not see responses for awhile-I just watched another episode or 2 of Voyager, so I checked the comments, but work, and other responsibilities are getting busier for me-I may not watch Trek for some time (nor check this site-which I tend to do after viewing an episode)

@Rahul Thanks. I appreciate it

Rahul defending misogynistic homophobes. #63153 I wonder if Rahul would defend racists as well?! "But I can say this-I am about 50 years old. I am unmarried" Impossible?! What woman wouldn't want to live in a modern form of servitude?! " Still, I can't say they are irredeemable" JESUS! Sure, Kirk saved the galaxy a few times but hey EXTRAMARITAL SEX!!! Oh and Kirk has had sex with tons of ladies. Does the bible specify if it is still immoral if you have sex with aliens?? Loophole?? Is there a point were you had too much extramarital sex ?? Like 50 ladies? Don't worry Sean, you do not have to answer that. It's rhetorical.

Let's have a little thought experiment. Sean is part of a religious group that believes that women should be under the control of men. Either the pater familias or the husband. Sean also believes that homosexuality should not pursued ever. Every homosexual act is evil. Does this mean he is a bad person? So... Let's imagine somebody would be part of a religious organization. Let's call it KKK. Being part of this group means you think that a certain group of people is worth far less than another because of inborn characteristics. Does this mean this person would a bad person? If you answer the first question with no and the second with yes, then you say that blacks are worth more than women and homosexuals. Of course, there are black women and homosexuals, so what you are really stating is, that you think heterosexual men are worth more than women and homosexuals.

@Booming Booming, why are you turning this thread into a personal attack? Not only have you done so, you have made assumptions about Sean's beliefs that not only haven't been expressed in this thread, but I can't even find in any of his comments of the last two years. All you are doing is hijacking this conversation and turning it into mudslinging. Stop it.

To play a little devil’s advocate here, calling a woman who commits “immorality” as untrustworthy sounds like a personal attack as well. I mean, any woman reading these comments who has engaged in non-married sex is having their entire character torn down. I’d say that’s pretty personal. So if you want to chide @booming for coming back at that, then I think it’s only fair to point out that @Sean threw the first stone. That all being said, I’m not sure how any of this relates to Khan’s plan for revenge and what not.

@Henson He is a Jehovas Witness. Are you not bothered by organizations that preach homophobia and misogyny? I guess nobody wants to answer the two questions of my thought experiment. I'm not surprised. Many heterosexual men don't really care about homophobia or misogyny and that is why we have safe spaces.

@Booming I see. All Jehovas Witnesses are the same, then. No individuals, only collectives. I have no idea what the Jehovas Witnesses believe in, and even if I did, I have no idea if Sean agrees with any particular one of those beliefs. I judge him by what he says here, not by what I imagine him to say. If you want to criticize his religious sect, then do it (so long as it's on topic! Remember, this is a Star Trek thread.). But don't criticize him for things he hasn't said. @idh2023 The difference is, Sean is making an argument about fictional characters and their behavior. You can disagree, you can even think that it's a deplorable position, but it's not targeting any individual person on this site, let alone any real person at all. Booming is making an accusation directly about a person on this comment thread. As a side note, it's also worth pointing out that Sean did not single out Carol as the only character he is criticizing for this 'immorality', but both Carol AND Kirk. So I think it's unfair to characterize his argument as being specifically about women.

I think Booming is just cranky and needs more sleepy. Such topics normally incense Booming, and rightly so, but the response is way out of proportion with what was actually said and meant.

That’s a very generous interpretation of an argument. Calling out Marcus and Kirk’s alleged immoral relationship, but then ignoring the obvious real world extrapolation that naturally follows seems pretty incomplete. By calling those characters immoral and thus inherently shady, one is by proxy calling real world people those same insults. It’s very difficult not to get personal in such a context. Additionally, if a person’s personal beliefs are used as the basis for a blanket statement such as not “putting anything past” individuals who engage in certain “immoralities”, then it’s on those personal beliefs that the following arguments are gonna hinge upon. They either justify where they get off besmirching people’s characters or they back off. Expecting otherwise is ignoring the true content of the discussion. But I will agree that we seem to be a little far afield of Star Trek stuff.

I personally do agree that there is something shady going on when someone declines to tell someone else they have a son. I don't think this shadiness is explainable as a result of having committed some other immoral action (even if we did agree it was immoral). However we could perhaps suggest strong correlations between certain kinds of actions. For instance maybe we could suggest there's correlation between sleeping around and having children with multiple partners; or correlations between having unprotected sex and having abortions. That would just be quantitative analysis, which I have no problem with. In that sense perhaps you might suggest that Kirk is likelier than your average guy to have children he doesn't know about. And I think that would be completely fair criticism (if it is in fact a criticism). The logical link I was questioning is two people committing an act (or multiple acts) of sexual immorality, and that being causally linked to both having dishonest characters. That's the connection I don't see. Now with a little more backstory maybe Carol Marcus could have been a bit of backlash for all of Kirk's misadventures over the years; she told him she was in love, he told her he was dedicated to his ship, and she took that as a sign he wanted no future with her. Maybe that would have been enough to explain why she'd feel Kirk wanted nothing to do with a potential son of his. But we don't actually get that backstory. And honestly I'm not completely sure how to feel about the idea that Carol might have been right. Kirk wasn't a settling down type, but I also don't see him as dishonorable or shrinking away from a responsibility. Watching this movie as a kid, and now as an adult, I never got the idea we were actually supposed to consider that Kirk did anything wrong. And actually Carol never seems to have much moral agency either. The plot treats it more like "tah-dah! you have a son, now the stakes are raised with Khan". David's emo insolence toward everyone also makes it hard to sympathize with him or to see Kirk as perhaps having been thoughtless and deserving of a rebuke. So I guess my questions toward Sean had in mind that to extract some kind of moral statement about Kirk or Carol you kind of have to set the movie aside and use your own head canon morality and impose that on the story. Something like 'Carol would do something shady, because I personally view her past conduct as shady.' But since the writers didn't have that idea in mind it doesn't help to explain the story we're given or extract meaning from the dialogue. I actually wouldn't have minded a 'Kirk has to face the consequences of his choices' story, but I don't really think this is that one. The 'facing death' concept is his challenge here, but that's different altogether from re-assessing past choices.

@Henson Homophobia and male control of females are important aspects of his believe system. You can look it up on that jw.org page, he posted. Of course abortion is murder, no exceptions. Transgender are expected to de-transition or are banned and so and so and so on. Oh yeah and also no blood transfusions. Then there is that "Higher education can lead to moral and spiritual dangers." Jehovas Witness have the lowest level of tertiary education of all religious groups in the US. https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesses/faq/jw-education-school/#link2 But hey, Sean would just have to say. That he has no problem with gay people being in happy and loving relationships and that women should be treated equally in all things. Easy. "God’s gift of a woman was unique in that she was to be the man’s perfect helper." https://www.jw.org/en/library/magazines/w20140815/role-of-women-in-jehovahs-purpose/ Oh and disclaimer. While I have listened to horrible stories from women over the last week, I actually had two heterosexual guys do really amazing things, as well. So, yeah. #notallmen

and to add, Henson, because you are essentially making that argument. So if Sean was part of the KKK but would behave nicely here would you respect him and have casual conversations with him?

I just logged onto my computer, and I see that I got an email from someone here saying that I was being "attacked" online. Frankly, I have blocked several people's comments on here (meaning that if their name comes up in a comment, I can not see it) I'm not sure which one it is, but I know that several people here do not like my beliefs and go out of their way to attack it. Thank you for coming to my defence (you know who you are), but there really is no need. That said, if someone disagrees with me (about my opinions of the show, or even my beliefs), that is fine-everyone has free choice. I even welcome others' thoughts on the episodes even when they don't agree with mine. But I am not here to get into arguments. I suggest, you don't engage with people who do, especially not in defence of me (although I do apppreciate your good intentions)

I guess that answers the question where Jammers loyalties lie. As you were.

@Booming: "I guess that answers the question where Jammers loyalties lie." Not sure what this is supposed to mean. I have said nothing on this thread. Why am I being dragged into it?

@Sean: "I just logged onto my computer, and I see that I got an email from someone here saying that I was being "attacked" online." I want to set the record straight. There are NO emails disclosed to other users if you've provided it in the comment form, and I have NOT emailed anyone about this thread. So unless there are people who know each other apart from this site already, and they already have each other's email addresses and know their pseudonyms here, the statement above is impossible. Privacy is an important topic online and I want it made clear to everyone that your email address will NEVER be shared with a third party if you provide it on this site.

Dirty Dancer

You're being dragged into this, Jammer, because several people on this site are unhinged and spiteful.

Ok, that's on me then, Jammer. I apologize. It seemed like you would be the only person that would have access to that information because Sean never provided his mail address. And to anybody else who participated, minus Idh2023, and Peter somewhat, you cannot even bring yourself to condemn someone for being part of a misogynistic and homophobic hate group. What a disappointment you are.

"you cannot even bring yourself to condemn someone for being part of a misogynistic and homophobic hate group." Just to clarify are you talking about the Jehovah's. Witnesses?

"Ok, that's on me then, Jammer. I apologize. It seemed like you would be the only person that would have access to that information because Sean never provided his mail address." @Booming: Well, maybe don't jump to the worst possible conclusion. Maybe Sean knows someone in real life who also posts on this site. Or maybe he's just a liar. (No, impossible -- Jehovah's Witnesses can't lie, har har.) But to assume I reached out to him to inform him he was being "attacked" flies in the face of all evidence of how I conduct things around here, and, frankly, you should know better. But that is part of the problem around here, and everywhere -- assuming the worst of people because they don't echo your viewpoints or rally to your side.

Just objectively looking at this latest brouhaha on this site -- I gather what we have is (as much as is possible through an anonymous online forum), an obvious example of an attempt to ridicule, bully, suppress somebody who I've now learned is a deeply religious person (Jehovah's Witness) in Sean. And the corollary to that is everybody must unconditionally and unanimously adhere to some other ideal, likely controversial, whether they want to or not. Just trying to keep things very general here. I don't read the comments or replies to a certain individual who has been called by many troll, cancer, pariah etc. But I checked out what @Henson replied and wanted to commend him for exposing the intolerance, hatred and bigotry of the individual who has come with a few over-the-top, outrageous attempts to this attempt at suppression. Is this not classic communism -- to attack any belief in faith / religion / spirituality that does not conform to some other ideal or narrative? It seems the moment the communist got wind that Sean was a Jehovah's Witness -- it went into attack mode. So that's the objective part from what I gather. Personally I find this communist's behaviour disgusting and abhorrent beyond words. I shudder to think what this communist would do if he got his hands on Sean in real life -- probably throw him into a gulag. @Sean, I'm sure you've encountered this kind treatment before for your faith - but I'm one who firmly believes in the preservation of freedom of religion / spirituality.

Around and around you go. Have you ever stopped to consider that this parochial and unproductive behavior is precisely what Gene Roddenberry, perhaps naively, was attempting to look beyond?

@Jammer I wasn't going to address this issue again, but there is just one thing I want to say-I am very sorry if it seemed I was implying that you were the one emailing me. For the record, it wasn't you (which I am sure you know) and I am not going to say who it was, how I know the person, or anything else. As I said before, I am not here to either argue, or be the catalyst for others to do so. @Rahul I am sure I am missing part of the conversation, but I just want to say thank you, but please don't argue with anyone on my account.

@Jammer I have listened to quite few rape and sexual assault stories last week and also told a few. I also have an inflamed tooth. Still, you are right. I should have known better. I'm sorry. @Jason Yes.

KazonCrayon

"I was referring to sexual immorality specifically earlier. " It is not immoral or illegal to have sex out of wedlock, or for a mother to raise a child alone, or for a mother to not inform a father of a child. Carol Marcus is not 'sexually immoral'.

"@Jason Yes." Not sure how much experience you have with Jehovah's Witnesses but I have known a few and they were exceedingly decent kindly people. Calling them a "hate group" is frankly, an astonishing claim from where I'm sitting.

@Jason So you think that nice people cannot be part of a hate groups?? Here is the definition of the SPLC "A hate group is an organization that—based on its official statements or principles, the statements of its leaders, or its activities—has beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics." That certainly fits Jehovah's witnesses.

"@Jason So you think that nice people cannot be part of a hate groups??" I think JW, like most organized religions, have doctrines that would be considered hateful in various quarters. But calling them a "hate group" invokes groups like the KKK or neo Nazis or the Taliban. I don't see the JW as falling anywhere in that category. I am going to be charitable here since I know English isn't your first language and presume that you maybe didn't understand what "hate group" means to most English speakers or alternatively, you have no experience whatsoever with JW followers.

@Jason I have looked at the doctrines of the Inet page Sean has posted links to. JW.org and affiliates. Just google Jehovah's Witnesses homosexuality or transsexualty. I find what they write about women also pretty insulting. As the title of the pew link implies, religious people become more accepting. You want to guess which one is by far the most intolerant? https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2015/12/18/most-u-s-christian-groups-grow-more-accepting-of-homosexuality/ If there was a group in which 80% thought that Jews shouldn't be accepted in society and throw anybody out who has Jewish blood, would you call that group an antisemtic hate group? Keep in mind that they really nice, though.

@Booming all I can say is that doctrinally most of the major religions including most of this planet's population would fail your test. You may as well say that Jews are a "hate group". It's the same thing. As an aside, have had personal and business dealings with members of the Jehovah's Witness group and they are some of the least hateful people I have come across. I am informing you that your characterization of them as a "hate group" is risible, not to mention bigoted.

EventualZen

@Sean @Booming Zen From The Future: Forgive my friend Booming, she did too much LDS in the '20s.

@Jason I thought you were an atheist? Hate group or not, they preach homophobia and misogyny among many other whicked things. It's true, most religions would fail the "women and LGBT people are treated as equals" test but that's really not a me problem. There are the mainline protestant who are perfectly fine in my opinion. Probably a few others as well. @EventualZen hahaha. I got that one. :)

"I thought you were an atheist? Hate group or not, they preach homophobia and misogyny among many other whicked things." As I mentioned that describes the belief system of most of the people living on this planet. I am an atheist. But I don't have some burning desire to attack anyone whose beliefs are a potential, if not actual, threat which is akin to those genetically enhanced kids from TNG's Natural Selection or Nomad maybe. I don't need to sterilize peoples' wrong thoughts. Calling them a "hate group" like the KKK is a bit over the line.

This is such a fantastic movie, easily the most complete film in the Star Trek series, and it holds its own against other heavy hitters in the sci-fi/action genre. It’s fair to say that TWOK is a near perfect movie. The character work, pacing, action, and overall execution are all top notch, and the crew of the Enterprise are at their most charming throughout. This is technically an action film, particularly in comparison to TMP, but there’s a great deal of depth as well. The literary connections are both obvious and subtle, and drive home the principle themes that are repeatedly touched on. There’s, of course, the overt reference to Melville’s Moby Dick, with Khan doing his best Ahab, quotes and all. The parallels here run the risk of veering into super cheese territory, but Ricardo Montalban is able to deliver them with the necessary gravitas and menace to really sell his obsession. But Khan is driven by more than mere revenge lust, he’s also a prisoner to his own ego, unable to stop despite all reason simply because he can’t let go of the fact that Kirk, a lowly inferior, defeated him into exile. The moment of realization when Khan hears Chekov say *Admiral* Kirk is a great beat, the contrast between Khan’s desolation and Kirk’s ascendancy is too much for the “superior intellect” to bear. After that he’s a rabid fool, blind and vulnerable in the face of his own megalomania, but lethally dangerous at the same time. Ironically, Kirk being elevated to Admiral isn’t viewed as an advancement worthy of jealousy in his or his friend’s eyes. The more prestigious title is just a reminder of his age, especially on his birthday. Evidently he’s been in a noticeable midlife crisis-esque funk, for which McCoy chides him: Get back your command, says the acerbic doctor, or else you’ll start to die, now here, let’s get drunk. This is my kind of doctor. Spock joins the dogpile, giving Kirk a dusty copie of A Tale of Two Cities, and here we get a pretty strong implication of one of the main themes of the movie: duality. Life and death, age and youth, past and future, the best of times the worst of times. While Spock is cagey about the meaning of his gift, there is apparently a message in there somewhere, perhaps alluded to when Spock goes further, later telling Kirk directly that “commanding a starship is your first, best destiny. Anything else is a waste of material”. Pair this with what Dickens wrote, stating that there is “no sadder sight than the man of good abilities and good emotions, incapable of their directed exercise, incapable of his own help and his own happiness, sensible to the blight on him, and resigning himself to let it eat him away." Kirk needs a ship, he needs the action, in a messed up way he needs Khan. TWOK does an excellent job of creating very layered characters. Later in the film’s finale, Spock famously sacrifices himself to save the Enterprise, thereby clearing the way for Kirk to reclaim his captaincy, much like Carton steps in for Darnay on the guillotine at the end of A Tale of Two Cities. In both cases a sacrifice grants renewed life and the fulfillment of potential for the characters involved. Kirk ponders this as he recalls the book’s final line: “it is a far, far better thing that I do than I have ever done. It is a far far better rest that I go to than I have ever known.” He’s regained his proper destiny, he’s been made young again, but at a terrible cost. The ship to ship combat in TWOK is some of my all time favorite. It’s moody and measured, full of tension broken by sudden bursts of visceral conflict. Definitely reminiscent of Balance of Terror, and similarly excellent. I also love the cat and mouse game between the Enterprise and the Reliant, in which, even when one side has the upper hand, the other always has a card to play. This is an extremely well written film on just about every level. Just because I want to be fair, I will level some criticism at TWOK. Chekov, Carol Marcus, and David all running afoul of Khan has the feel of small universe syndrome. It’s quite a coincidence that all these people attached to Kirk would cross paths out in space. This is a very minor gripe that I didn’t even think about while watching the movie, so meh. It’s also a bit problematic that Kirk never checked up on Khan and his merry band of lunatics, one would think that the disaster that befell the ceti alpha system might have caught someone’s attention, perhaps warranting a phone call or something. I guess we’re to understand that the ceti alpha system is extremely remote. Here’s some random thoughts: -Chekov meeting/recognizing Khan is not an error unless you want it to be. There’s no mention one way or another as to where Chekov was during Space Seed, so it’s perfectly reasonable that he was serving on the Enterprise, perhaps in auxiliary control or somewhere below decks, and got a couple eyefuls of Khan that we the audience never witnessed. Khan could easily have seen Chekov as well, and very likely read crew personnel files searching for potential allies, which, being all genetically enhanced, he would easily memorize. So…why is this a continuity error? I don’t get it. To make it a mistake you have to apply head canon. To make it fit continuity you have to apply head canon. So, might as well align our head canon with what we know definitively, which is that Khan and Chekov recognize each other but don’t really *know* each other. Therefore the probability is that Chekov was serving on the Enterprise during space seed. -Carol Marcus says Starfleet has kept the peace for a hundred years. She might want to have a chat with the meatheads who wrote Discovery. -is cheating at the Kobayashi test an acceptable path to take? It’s more of a psych test than anything else, so if your instinct is to win by cheating, the assessment of your psychology would still be in play. -I hope William Shatner didn’t take it personally that he was, symbolically at least, the stand in for a big fat whale. -is regula I still a dead moon with a thriving paradise inside? -Kirk yelling KHAN! is an interesting moment given that he was working his own scheme. Kirk was genuinely upset, but he was also playing Khan to throw him off guard. Kirk got really method in his acting. The word is given, 4/4 creepy brain slugs.

@Idh2023 -- terrific write-up / analysis. Whole-heartedly agree. TWOK is one of my favorite movies of all time and critically / objectively speaking definitely worth 4 stars. So many elements make this outstanding from the familiar villain, his backstory, Kirk's mid-life crisis, Spock's self-sacrifice, starship battle scene, the acting etc. etc. It really all came together so well. I don't think it would have to be Kirk personally checking up on Khan in Ceti Alpha -- it could be any of a number of Federation ships. But maybe a line or two about the disaster in the CA system could have been thrown in. And one could easily assume Chekov was on the Enterprise at the time of "Space Seed" -- just that he was in a more junior and therefore anonymous role. Hard to find any faults with TWOK.

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

After Star Trek: The Motion Picture was released, it made money, and everyone at Paramount was happy. Trek fans were delighted, too. But everyone wanted more. Paramount brought in producer Harve Bennett to take on the helm of the franchise, and do it at significant savings. Bennett was a TV veteran and knew how to craft stories and keep costs down.

They spent $11 million and earned almost $80 million in 1982, which was the sixth-highest grossing film in the United States for the year.

Bennett watched all of the original series looking for a villain who could match wits with Kirk and Spock. He found it in the first season — 22nd episode. “ Space Seed ” featured Ricardo Montalban as a genetically engineered bad guy from the 20th Century, who briefly took over the ship and nearly killed Kirk. And according to the story, this guy had been left on a planet by a magnanimous captain… and could still be alive in the timeline. They found their man!

Montalban was the star of the successful show “Fantasy Island,” but still wanted to reprise the role of Khan Noonien Singh, this time on the silver screen.

What audiences in 1982 got was arguably the greatest sequel ever — sorry Empire Strikes Back and Godfather II. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was everything The Motion Picture was not — action-packed, full of emotion and life, a great plot, a vengeful bad guy, and special effects that did not linger on screen.

And, unlike in TMP , this film admitted that the crew was older than they used to be. It was almost a sub-theme of the film. Kirk and the crew were now 15 years older than they were in TOS.

What audiences got, was the best Star Trek movie ever made, including all of the TOS-Era films, the TNG films, and the Kelvin-reboot series.

STARDATE: 8130.3

We join the crew of the Enterprise while they are on a training mission to the Gamma Hydra, Section 14. We hear the voice of someone else making an entry into the Captain’s Log — it was a new voice. This was Saavik, a Vulcan female, who now sat in the big chair on the bridge.

As they approached Section 15, they got a distress signal from a ship named the Kobayashi Maru. The Maru was broken down in the Klingon/ Federation Neutral Zone and asked for assistance.

Saavik ordered Mr. Sulu to plot a course to intercept the Maru, and Sulu reminded her that the course would take the ship into the Neutral Zone. Saavik said she was aware.

Suddenly, three Klingon warships appeared on an intercept course for the Enterprise . Uhura announced that all frequencies were jammed. Saavik ordered evasive action, but it was too late. The Klingons fired, and the bridge soon full of smoke.

Then a door opened, and Admiral James T. Kirk strutted onto this test bridge and told Saavik that all she could do was pray at this point because the Klingons do not take prisoners. Saavik failed the famous Kobayashi Maru test.

Spock, who had been playing dead with the other officers, got up and ordered his trainees to the briefing room. (Such a brilliant move, because someone leaked that Spock was supposed to die in this film).

Saavik told Kirk that the test was unfair because there was no way to win. Kirk said that a “no-win” situation was one that a Starfleet captain may one day encounter.

“How we deal with death, is at least as important, as to how we deal with life, wouldn’t you say?” he asked.

As he left the training room, McCoy — flanked by Sulu and Uhura — asked if Starfleet would agree to put an experienced crew on the Enterprise . Kirk said that “galloping around the cosmos is a game for the young, doctor.”

Spock waited for the admiral as he walked out. “Aren’t you dead?” Kirk asked.

They discussed the grade that the cadets would receive. Kirk said that the cadets destroyed the simulator. Spock mentioned that Kirk himself took the test three times, and his solution was “unique.”

Kirk thanked Spock for the birthday gift of “A Tale of Two Cities.” Kirk asked if there was a message in the first words of the book — “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Spock said there was none that he was aware of.

Let’s pause a moment and look at the uniforms. In TMP, the crew was clothed in bland blues, grays, whites, and tans. It happens that Starfleet changed uniforms right after the whole V’Ger situation into maroon and black. These uniforms were much more forgiving than the ones in TMP, and that was a good thing. The costumes in TMP looked as if all involved had to wear a girdle. The transition to the TNG uniforms was smooth from these (both red and black).

Later, at Kirk’s apartment, he greeted McCoy, who brought him a bottle of Romulan Ale, which is illegal in the Federation. The doctor said he had a source, who brought him a bottle occasionally. He then gave Kirk another gift — a pair of old-fashioned spectacles. Kirk was allergic to Retinax-5, which was what most people his age would take to fix fading vision.

As Kirk moped around, McCoy finally yelled at him, saying that they were treating his birthday like a funeral. McCoy noted that Kirk was hiding behind a computer console when he should be commanding a starship. The doctor told him to get his command back.

We join the U.S.S. Reliant , which was looking for planets which are entirely without life, for the scientific Project Genesis. Serving as the Reliant ’s first officer was Pavel Chekov. The crew was considering Ceti Alpha VI, which might be a good candidate.

Sensors indicated that Ceti Alpha VI was dead. But Chekov reported to Captain Terrell that he detected one spot, which might have life. He told Terrell that this might be a blip of “pre-animate matter.” Terrell thought they might be able to transplant the object, so they contacted the scientific team who developed the Genesis technology — led by Dr. Carol Marcus. She was at the Space Station Regula 1 with her team, which included her son, David.

Terrell assured her that they would check the site out the site personally. When they arrived on the planet’s surface, they found an abandoned ship, which must have been lived in for years. Chekov saw a seatbelt hanging at the site, which said S.S. Botany Bay . He realized then what that meant.

Chekov panicked and urged Terrell to put on their suits to escape before it was too late. As they did, they walked outside of the ship to meet a group of humans dressed in black, standing still against the sand storm.

In orbit, the Reliant’s Commander Kyle was unable to reach Terrell and Chekov via communicator.

Terrell and Chekov found themselves back inside the wrecked ship. As men held them from behind, the two watched their leader take off his mask and eye protection to reveal — Khan Noonien Singh.

“Khan!” Chekov gasped. Khan looked at Terrell and noted that they never met, and then he turned to Chekov.

“You… I never forget a face,” he said. Terrell demanded to know who this person was. Chekov told him that Khan was a genetically engineered criminal from the 20th Century.

Khan told Terrell that what he saw was all that remained of the Botany Bay and her company. Khan asked if Chekov told his captain the tale of the Botany Bay when the Enterprise found the ship lost since 1996.

Terrell said that he had never met Admiral Kirk. That seemed to upset Khan further.

“Admiral?” he sneered. Khan continued recapping “Space Seed” for Terrell when Chekov yelled out that Khan was lying.

“You lie!” exclaimed Chekov. “On Ceti Alpha V there was life —”

“THIS IS CETI ALPHA FIVE!” Khan screamed. After the Enterprise left, Ceti Alpha VI exploded, shifting Ceti Alpha V off its orbit, making for an inhospitable world. Khan seethed with anger.

“Admiral Kirk never bothered to check on our progress,” Khan said. “On Earth, 200 years ago, I was a prince with power over millions.”

NOTE: AT THAT POINT in the film, James Horner’s score gave us the sound of trumpets in the distance to represent some ancient battlefield glory — which was BRILLIANT! Almost like a scene just for your ears and imagination. Wow!

Back to the movie: Chekov refused to shut up, and Khan finally picked him up from the handle that was welded to the front of his suit. These handles were not on the suits in TMP and must have been added just for this scene. Khan wanted to know why the Reliant was there, especially since Terrell thought it was Ceti Alpha VI. Terrell and Chekov would not say.

Khan, throwing off his cloak (which revealed Montalban’s plastic pectoral chest), walked over to a Plexiglas bin full of sand. He explained that these were the last indigenous creatures that survived on Ceti Alpha V, and they were kept now as pets.

Khan used some tongs to hold one of the insect-like creatures still. He used a second pair of pliers to reach into the bug’s segmented back to pull out a few small, red eels. As he worked, Khan mentioned that these creatures killed 20 of his people, including his wife — who we’re to assume was Marla McGivers.

He told Terrell and Chekov that the creature’s “young” enter through the ear, and wrap themselves around the cerebral cortex, thus making the host susceptible to suggestion. Eventually, madness and death will follow.

Khan then put the “Ceti eel” into Terrell and Chekov’s helmets, and then onto their owners. The eels found their way straight into the ear canal of both victims.

NOTE: I can tell you that I watched The Wrath of Khan in about 1987-88 on Laserdisc at a friend’s house, and this scene scarred me for life. I am glad that I didn’t see the film in the theaters because I probably would have wretched up my popcorn in the parking lot.

After that was over, Khan asked them again why the Reliant was at Ceti Alpha V, and where he could find James Kirk.

Meanwhile, Kirk arrived at the Enterprise in space dock with Uhura, Sulu, and McCoy. Spock welcomed them aboard, and Kirk gave the trainee crew a short lecture before the training cruise and inspection. The Admiral seemed pleased with the shape of the engineering department and ordered the journey to begin early.

As they prepared to leave space dock, Kirk watched as Spock allowed young Saavik to pilot the Enterprise out. Kirk’s face lost all its color, and McCoy offered him a sedative. Sulu steered the ship out of spacedock without incident.

Back on Regula 1, Drs. Marcus finished loading data into the Genesis device when they got a call from the Reliant . Mr. Chekov told Carol that they would be there in three days to take possession of the Genesis research, on the orders of Admiral Kirk. The research team erupted into protest.

“Admiral Kirk’s orders are confirmed,” said Chekov, as Khan watched over his shoulder on the Reliant . “You realize, sir, that they will attempt to contact Admiral Kirk, to confirm the order?”

Khan smiled and agreed.

On the Enterprise , Saavik jumped into a turbolift to nail him down on the Kobayashi Maru again. She asked him how he beat the test.

“You may ask,” he smiled. She didn’t get the joke.

Then, while they are speaking on logic, Spock noted, “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

Soon, Kirk received a priority transmission from Dr. Carol Marcus at Regula 1. She asked him repeatedly, “Why are you taking Genesis?” but the signal was too garbled for him to respond. Uhura finally told Kirk that the transmission was being jammed at the source.

Kirk went to Spock’s quarters to update him on the situation, saying that the Enterprise would have to investigate what was going on at Regula. Spock ceded command to Kirk, but Kirk pushed back. Spock told him that he had to ego to bruise, as he was a Vulcan.

Spock then told Kirk that he should not have accepted promotion. Anything other than commanding a starship was a waste. Kirk said he would not debate him on that point. Spock said that was wise.

“Or the one,” Kirk added.

“You are my superior officer, you are also my friend, and always shall be yours,” Spock said. Kirk took command at 1800 hours and ordered a new course, to Regula 1.

Onboard the Reliant , Khan’s helmsman tried to talk his master out of waiting for Kirk to arrive. They had the ship and the freedom to go anywhere. Khan said that Kirk “tasked” him and that he would chase Kirk all over the galaxy to get revenge.

On the Enterprise , Kirk, Spock, and McCoy pulled up the video summary of Project Genesis, by Carol Marcus. A cool video, which detailed how the Genesis effect can take lifeless matter and make it living. It reorganized matter from the subatomic level, creating a barren moon habitable. Stage One was conducted in the lab, Stage Two underground, and Stage Three would be on a lifeless planet or moon.

“Fascinating,” said Spock.

McCoy blew up, saying that humanity was not smart enough to control this type of power. But, in the middle of McCoy’s rant, Saavik interrupted, informing the admiral that they detected the U.S.S. Reliant headed their way.

The Reliant would not respond to the Enterprise ’s hails. Both ships pulled toward each other. Saavik quoted a Starfleet regulation (General Order 12), which stated that “on the approach of any vessel when communications had not been established…”

Spock stopped her from citing the entire rule and told her that Kirk was aware of the regulations. Shields did not go up.

On Reliant , Khan smiled and wondered if Kirk knew the old Klingon proverb, which stated: “revenge is a dish best served cold.”

“It is very cold in space,” he said.

Before Enterprise could respond, Reliant scored a devastating series of phaser hits to the secondary hull and engineering section. Sulu could not raise shields, and Mr. Scott reported the main energizers were out.

James Horner came through big-time here again! His music helped build the tension.

Kirk ordered yellow alert. Reliant said they could not communicate due to an emission problem. Spock scanned and found that to be false. Reliant raised shields and locked phasers.

Kirk ordered auxiliary power, and Reliant launched a photon torpedo, which caused explosions on the Enterprise. Scotty said that he could power for enough phaser shots, but no more.

Uhura announced that the commander of Reliant wished to discuss terms of surrender. The main screen revealed an image of a smiling man. Kirk rose from his chair and whispered, “Khan?” Kirk asked what the meaning of this attack was.

“I think I made my meaning plain,” said Khan. He took the ship’s power, and he would soon take the crew life. Khan said that he wanted Kirk to know who had beaten him.

Kirk asked Khan to spare his crew. He proposed that he beam to the Reliant . Khan agreed if Kirk shared what he knew about Project Genesis. Kirk tried to stall, but Khan saw through it. He gave Kirk 60 seconds to get him the information on Genesis.

Kirk ordered Saavik to find the prefix code for Reliant , which is a combination to unlock control of another ship’s computers. As Khan nagged, Kirk put on his glasses and found the prefix code. As they sent the code, Reliant lowered its shields.

Before they could find the override, Sulu fired phasers, and Reliant had no choice but to retreat.

The bridge crew started to congratulate Kirk, who brushed it off. He told Saavik to continue to quote regulations. Just then, Scotty arrived at the bridge with an injured member of his trainee crew. In sickbay, the crewman died. Engineering restored impulse engine power, and they made their way to Regula 1.

When they got to Regula, they received no responses from their hails. Kirk decided to go to the station to find out what was left. McCoy and Saavik joined him.

On Regula 1, they found the station abandoned, except for the bodies of those who Khan killed — and Chekov and Terrell — who Khan stuffed into some shipping container. They told Kirk how Khan how their minds were under the command of Khan, and how he ripped through Regula 1 looking for the Genesis materials. Terrell said the crew of Reliant was marooned on Ceti Alpha V, and that Khan blamed Kirk for the death of his wife.

As Kirk, McCoy, and Saavik scoured the station for clues, they figured that the scientists beamed into the planet. Saavik said the coordinates were not logical, but Kirk gambled that the scientists were hiding in Stage Two of the Genesis experiment, inside of Regula.

Before they beamed over, Kirk called to the Enterprise . Spock said that it would be days before they would have main power restored. Kirk ordered that if Spock did not hear from him within an hour, then they would take the Enterprise to the nearest starbase.

I thought the “away team coats” were a nice touch. But honestly, there was so much stuff jangling off the outside, and I don’t know how they’d sit down. These coats had insignias, padding, high collars, pockets, buckles, zippers, straps… it was a bit too much like maroon versions of what Michael Jackson wore in the “Bad” video.

The team, including Terrell and Chekov, beamed deep into Regula. They found the Genesis torpedo and an angry group of scientists. David Marcus attacked Kirk almost immediately, and they scuffled until Carol Marcus broke it up.

As she did, Terrell and Chekov pointed phasers at them and revealed that Khan was listening all along, via small watch-like communicators, worn by both of them. David lunged to attack Terrell. Saavik pulled him down, and Terrell fired on another scientist, vaporizing him.

Khan ordered Terrell and Chekov to kill Kirk. Terrell refused, as he tore the watch off his wrist. This caused the creature in his ears to squeal… Terrell then turned the phaser on himself.

I found it interesting that Terrell would kill a scientist as if it were nothing, and would even kill himself, rather than kill the great James T. Kirk.

After Terrell was vaporized, Chekov screamed and hit the floor. The creature in his brain backed out of his ear, leaving a trail of blood. Kirk shot it dead.

Kirk picked up Terrell’s communicator and taunted Khan, telling him that he kept “missing the target.” Khan beamed the Genesis materials to the Reliant . Kirk told Khan that if he wanted to kill him, then he’d have to come to Regula. Khan said that he’d done better than kill Kirk — he’d beaten the admiral. He was going to leave Kirk on a dead planet, just as Kirk left him on one 15 years ago.

What followed was perhaps the greatest moment in Star Trek history, if not, certainly one of the most iconic moments, and the most memed:

Kirk screamed “KHAAAAAAAAN!”

The producers made this scream echo out of the cave and into space for the movie. Who cares that sound cannot travel in space’s vacuum — anger does.

Later, Carol and Kirk spoke in private about their past, as David showed McCoy and Saavik the Genesis cave. She said she wanted David in her life, not flying across the galaxy with Kirk, his father. She asked how he felt. Kirk said he felt tired and old. She said the Genesis cave would make him feel young. They walked together into a cave filled with light, rushing waterfalls and life.

As they relaxed, Kirk ate an apple. Saavik, who clearly wasn’t going to shut up about this, brought up the Kobayashi Maru. She asked him how he beat it. Kirk said that he reprogrammed the conditions of the test.

“He cheated,” said David. Saavik gasped.

“I don’t believe in a no-win scenario,” said Kirk. He then whipped out his communicator, and Spock said they were ready.

As they materialized on board, Kirk explained to Saavik that he and Spock were speaking in code before. Hours equaled days. They assumed that Khan was listening.

Kirk, Spock, and Saavik arrived on the bridge. Kirk signaled battle stations. Spock said the Reliant could “outrun and outgun” the Enterprise . But the Mutara Nebula was very close, which would negate sensors and shields. The crew readied for battle as the Enterprise headed toward the nebula.

Reliant followed but slowed at the edge of the gasses. Uhura patched Kirk into the Reliant’s bridge.

“Khan,” said Kirk, “I’m laughing at the superior intellect.”

Enraged, Khan ordered full impulse power. Inside the nebula, neither ship could use its sensors or shields, and they passed each other a few times. The Enterprise wound up behind the Reliant , and Kirk ordered Sulu to use his “best guess” to aim phasers. He missed.

This entire sequence was like a “silent running” submarine movie. Not much was said by either crew.

Reliant turned and fired back, hitting the Enterprise . They returned fire, causing damage to the bridge. This attack killed much of Khan’s crew. Radiation flooded engineering on the Enterprise , and Scotty said they needed to take the main engines offline.

Spock said that Khan was displaying “two-dimensional thinking.”

Kirk ordered “z-minus 10,000 meters.” The Enterprise dipped up right behind Reliant and fired torpedoes. They shot off one of the Reliant’s nacelles in the attack.

Uhura sent a surrender message to the Reliant . Khan, who was now severely injured and bloody, crawled to the Genesis device. He armed it and quoted Shakespeare at Kirk. This was Khan’s attempt at a Pyrrhic victory — which is losing and taking your enemy down with you.

Spock detected the energy source. David confirmed that it was the Genesis device. They had four minutes. David said that once started; it could not be stopped. Kirk called to engineering, but Mr. Scott did not respond. He ordered Sulu to get the ship out of there, at best possible speed. Spock left the bridge.

The Enterprise limped away from Reliant at impulse speed.

Spock arrived in engineering. He glanced at a panel and marched the engine room, which was closed off by Plexiglas, or transparent aluminum, due to the high levels of radiation. McCoy stopped him from entering, but Spock gave him a Vulcan neck pinch. McCoy hit the floor, and Spock mind-melded with him and said: “remember.”

He entered the engine room, and Mr. Scott woke to see what was happening. Scotty screamed for Spock to get out of the engine room, as did McCoy. Spock ignored them. He pulled the lid off a duct, which flooded the room with even more radiation and smoke.

Spock repaired the warp drive, and seconds later the Enterprise warped away from the explosion, which consumed both the Reliant and the Mutara Nebula. Kirk called Scotty to congratulate him. McCoy answered and told Kirk to rush to engineering.

Kirk arrived and tried to open the compartment where Spock was trapped. McCoy and Scotty stopped him. Spock asked if the ship was out of danger. Kirk said it was. Spock told him not to grieve that this was logical.

“The needs of the many, outweigh…” Spock said. He told Kirk that he would always be his friend, and to live long and prosper. Spock slumped over and died.

Later, the crew held a funeral for Mr. Spock. Kirk gave a heartfelt eulogy.

“Among all the souls I have encountered, his was the most human,” said Kirk.

Even Saavik looked sad. Scotty played “Amazing Grace” on the bagpipes. They fired Spock in a torpedo tube at the Genesis planet.

After the funeral, David came to see Kirk. He said that he was proud to call Kirk his father. They embraced.

The Enterprise left the orbit of the Genesis planet to go to Ceti Alpha V, to rescue the crew of the Reliant . Kirk, McCoy, and Carol Marcus gathered to have one last look at the new world. Kirk said he felt young.

On the planet, audiences saw Spock’s torpedo tube, which rested among the ferns and plant life.

Before the credits rolled, we hear the familiar Star Trek manta, this time, voiced by Leonard Nimoy himself.

TREK REPORT SUPPLEMENTAL:

This movie had it all. A great plot, back-stories, a great enemy, excellent acting, great special effects, and a great score. They set the bar so high with the Wrath of Khan that every single Trek movie is judged against it.

If you haven’t seen it yet, rush out now and rent it or buy the Blu-ray. You will enjoy.

RATING: 5 out of 5

The design of the Reliant was actually supposed to be more similar to the Enterprise . But the model makers interpreted the designs upside-down. Upon seeing this take on the design, the producers felt that the Reliant looked like a Federation ship, and left it as-is.

The main characters — Kirk and Khan — never actually appear on screen together. This was due to Ricardo Montalban’s filming schedule on his show “Fantasy Island.”

Shatner said later that Nimoy “cooked up” the death of Spock for leverage. More on that here.

William Shatner Leonard Nimoy DeForest Kelley

CO-STARRING

James Doohan Walter Koenig George Takei Nichelle Nichols

ALSO STARRING

Merritt Butrick as David

Paul Winfield as Terrell

INTRODUCING

Kirstie Alley as Saavik

AND STARRING

Ricardo Montalban as Khan

Executive Consultant … Gene Roddenberry Music composed by … James Horner Edited by … William P. Dornisch Production Designer … Joseph R. Jennings Director of Photography … Gaybe Rescher, A.S.C. Executive Producer … Harve Bennett

Based on Star Trek … created by Gene Roddenberry

Screenplay by Jack B. Sowards Story by Harve Bennett and Jack B. Sowards

Produced by Robert Sallin

Directed by Nicholas Meyer

Kirk … William Shatner Spock … Leonard Nimoy McCoy … DeForest Kelley Scotty … James Doohan Chekov … Walter Koenig Sulu … George Takei Uhura … Nichelle Nichols Carol … Bibi Besch David … Merritt Butrick Terrell … Paul Winfield Saavik … Kirstie Alley Khan … Ricardo Montalban Preston … Ike Eisenmann Jedda … John Vargas Kyle … John Winston Beach … Paul Kent Cadet … Nicholas Guest March … Kevin Sullivan Radio Voice … Dianne Harper Radio Voice … David Ruprecht Computer Voice … Marcy Vossburgh

Steve Blalock Janet Brady Jim Burk Diane Carter Tony Cecere Ann Chatterton Gary Combs Gilbert Combs Jim Connors Bill Couch, Sr. Bill Couch, Jr. Eddy Donno John Eskobar Allan Graf Tommy J. Huff Hubie Herns, Jr. Paula Moody Tom Morga Beth Nufer Ernest Robinson John Robotham Kim Washington Mike Washlake George Wilbur

Associate Producer … William F. Phillips Costume Designer … Robert Fletcher

Unit Production Manager … Austen Jewell First Assistant Director … Douglas E. Wise Second Assistant Director … Richard Espinoza

Art Director … Michael Minor Set Decorator … Charles M. Graffeo Camera Operator … Craig Denault First Camera Assistant … Catherine Coulson Second Camera Assistnt … Tom Connole Sound Mixer … Jim Alexander Boom … Patrick Cklare Recordist … Mark S. Server Wardrobe Supervisors … James Linn, Agnes G. Henry Wardrobe … Kimon Beazlie, Joseph Markham, Robin Michael Bush Make-up Artists … Werner Keppler, James L. McCoy Hairstylist … Dione Taylor Script Supervisor … Mary Jane Ferguson Special Effects Supervisor … Bob Dawson Special Effects … Edward A. Ayer, Martin Becker, Gary F. Bentley, Fred Brauer, Peter G. Evangelatos, William Purcell, Harry Stewart

Additional Lighting Effects … Sam Nicholson Gaffer … Romolo Acquistapace Best Boy … Charles Langham Best Boy … Murphy Wiltz Key Grip … Gene Griffith Second Grip … Tom James Dolly Grip … Don Whipple Crane Operator … Gary L. Jensen Property Master … Joe Longo Assistant Property Master … Charles E. Eguia Lead Man … Michael Friedman Swing Gang … Michael C. Gian, John Graffeo

Construction Coordinator … Al DeGaetano Set Designers … Daniel Gluck, Daniel E. Maltese Graphic Designer … Lee Cole Transportation Coordinator … Mike McDuffee Transportation Captain … Rick Valencia Transportation Co-Captain … Howard Davidson Stunt Coordinator … Bill Couch Craft Service … Terry Ahern Set Security … Jeff Melichar Unit Publicist … Edward Egan Still Photographer … Bruce Birmelin Assistant Editors … John A. Haggar, Christopher L. Koefoed, Vicky Witt

Supervising Sound Editors … Cecelia Hall, George Watters II

Sound Effects Editors … Tersa Eckton, Michael Hilkene, John Kline, Jim Siracusa, Curt Schulkey

Special Sound Effects … Alan Howarth Additional Sound Effects … Eugene Finley Loop Editors … Jack Keath, Cliff Bell, Jr. Music Editor … Robert Badami Orchestrations … Jack Hayes Scoring Mixer … Dan Wallin, Record Plant Scoring Re-Recording Mixers … Ray West, C.A.S., David J. Hudson, Mel Metcalfe Casting … Mary V. Buck Technical Advisor … Dr. Richard Green Title Design … Don Kracke, Rodger Johnson Vulcan Translation … Marc Okrand Assistant to the Producers … Deborah Arakelian

Special Visual Effects produced at … Industrial Light & Magic, a Division of Lucasfilm, Ltd. Special Visual Effects Supervisors … Jim Veilleux, Ken Ralston Effects Cameramen … Don Dow, Scott Farrar Camera Operator … Stewart Barbee Assistant Camera Operators … Selwyn Eddy III, David Hardberger, Robert Hills, Mike Owens, Michael Santy Optical Photography Supervisor … Bruce Nicholson Optical Printer Operators … David Berry, Kenneth Smith, Mark Vargo, John Ellis, Donald Clark Optical Line-up … Thomas Rosseter, Ed Jones, Ralph Gordon Optical Laboratory Technicians … Tim Geideman, Duncan Myers, Bob Chrisqulis

General Manager, ILM … Tom Smith

Production Supervisor … Patricia Rose Duncan Production Coordinator … Warren Franklin Matte Painting Artists … Chris Evans, Frank Ordaz Matte Photography … Neil Krepela Matte Photography Assistant … Craig Barron

Supervising Modelmaker … Steve Gawley Modelmakers … William George, Sean Casey, Larry Tan, Jeff Mann, Steve Sanders, Brian Chin, Bob Diepenbrock, Mike Fulmer Model Electronics … Marty Brenneis

Animation Supervisor … Samuel Comstock Animators … Kim Knowlton, Scott Caple, Jim Keefer, Kathryn Lenihan, Judy Elkins, Jay Davis

Additional Animation … Visual Concept Engineeriung

Supervising Effects Editor … Arthur Repola Effects Editor … Peter Amundson Computer Database Management … Malcom Blanchard Computer Graphics … Loren Carpenter, Ed Catmull, Pat Cole, Rob Cook, Robert D. Poor, William Reeves, Alvy Ray Smith

Starfield Effects by … Evans & Sutherland Digistar System Tactical Displays by … Evans & Sutherland Picture System

Brent Watson, Steve McAllister, Neil Harrington, Jeri Panek

Molecular Computer Graphics by … Computer Graphics Laboratory, University of California, San Francisco — Dr. Robert Langridge

Still Photographer … Terry Chostner Still Lab Technicians … Roberto McGrath, Kerry Nordquist Supervising Stage Technician … T.E. Moehnke Stage Technicians Davd Childers, Harold Cole, Dick Dova, Bobby Finley III, Patrick Fitzsimmons, Edward Hirsch, John McCleod, Peter Stolz Pyrotechnics … Thaine Morris Equipment Coordinators … Wade Childress Ultra High Speed Camera … Bruce Hill Productions Assistant to Tom Smith … Kyle Turner Travel Arrangements … Kathy Shine

Grateful acknowledgement is made to NASA and JPL

Video Displays by the Burbank Studios Video Supervisor … Hal Landlaker Chief Engineer … Alan Landlaker

Additional Computer Graphics furnished by … Los Alamos National Laboratory

Additional optical effects by … Modern Film Effects

Theme from STAR TREK television series … music by Alexander Courage

Filmed in Panavision Sound by Glen Glenn Color by MovieLab

© 1982 Paramount Pictures | A Gulf + Western Company

Looking at Film from Every Angle

Review: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Wesley Lovell

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Nicholas Meyer

Jack B. Sowards, Harve Bennett

William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, Walter Koenig, George Takei, Nichelle Nichols, Bibi Besch, Merritt Butrick, Paul Winfield, Kirstie Alley, Ricardo Montalban, Ike Eisenmann, John Vargas, John Winston, Paul Kent

MPAA Rating

You don’t always have to reinvent the wheel to make a great film. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan proves that beyond any doubt.

Still frustrated about being in the admiralty, Adm. James T. Kirk (William Shatner) receives advice from Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) that he should get a new command. An opportunity arises for him to commander the Enterprise when the Federation starship Reliant is captured by enemy forces, sending him on a collision course with destiny. The culprit is a man who swore to kill Kirk if he ever saw him again: Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban). Yet his plans change after discovering a device capable of revitalizing an entire planet but his own hubris risks everything.

Taking inspiration from the original series episode “Space Seed,” The Wrath of Khan moves the action forward fifteen years after Kirk had stranded the genetically-enhanced Khan and his followers on a remote, technology-free planet. Six months later, the explosion of a nearby planet pushes their own out of alignment, turning it into a desert planet. With the lack of that knowledge, the crew of the Reliant beam down to the wrong one and are captured by Khan and his associates, setting up the game of chess between one of the franchise’s best villains and one of its best crews.

The ability to take inspiration from Star Trek ‘s own past has led to some of the greatest episodes and movies ever created. This is the film that set the tone for such attempts and while it was the only one of the original films to draw on such history, it did so beautifully, providing a roadmap for how future such reverential call backs could be handled. Director Nicholas Meyer exhibited immense skill in presenting Jack B. Sowards and Harve Bennett’s screenplay, which balanced references to the past while carving a way to the future setting up one of the most expertly handled villains in Trek history.

As with all films with visual effects in this period, the reliance on practical effects and hand-painted film cells was prevalent yet it remained just as evocative and effective as it did for several years prior. While visual effects weren’t the selling point of this film, they were solid and played well into the background narrative. Everyone in the cast delivered terrific work with the exception of Shatner who continued to play up the over-expressive actions and vocal inflections that have helped make him the butt of jokes for decades. That’s what fans came to see and they got it in spades.

Standing above all of these was Montalban, giving Khan depth and personality keeping the character from feeling entirely one dimensional, a single-minded villain like so many others in the genre. Montalban’s textured and nuanced work is a litmus test against which all future Trek villains must be compared. Some might debate it, but he’s easily one of the screen’s very best.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was the film against which all sequels in the franchise have been compared, perhaps unfavorably, and while it remains my second favorite of all of them, it is no less deserving of the vaunted place it has not just among Trek films but also within the pantheon of history’s great science fiction pictures.

Review Written

June 12, 2024

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Khan, a genetically enhanced “super man” from Kirk’s past, returns to seek revenge on now-Admiral Kirk, the man who banished he and his followers to a dying planet 15 years earlier.

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• English-language films
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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a 1982 American science fiction adventure thriller film released by Paramount Pictures . The film is the second feature based on the Star Trek science fiction franchise. The plot features Admiral James T. Kirk ( William Shatner ) and the crew of the starship USS Enterprise facing off against the genetically-engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh ( Ricardo Montalban ), a character who first appeared in the 1967 Star Trek television series episode "Space Seed". When Khan escapes from a 15-year exile to exact revenge on Kirk, the crew of the Enterprise must stop him from acquiring a powerful terraforming device named Genesis. The film concludes with the death of Enterprise' s captain, Spock ( Leonard Nimoy ), beginning a story arc that continues with the 1984 film Star Trek III: The Search for Spock and concludes with 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home .

After the lackluster critical and commercial response to Star Trek: The Motion Picture , series creator Gene Roddenberry was forced out of the sequel's production. Executive producer Harve Bennett wrote the film's original outline, which Jack B. Sowards developed into a full script. Director Nicholas Meyer completed the final script in 12 days, without accepting a writing credit. Meyer's approach evoked the swashbuckling atmosphere of the original series, and the theme was reinforced by James Horner 's musical score. Leonard Nimoy only reprised his role as Spock because the character's death was intended to be irrevocable. Negative test audience reaction to Spock's death led to significant revisions of the ending over Meyer's objections. The production used various cost-cutting techniques to keep within budget, including utilizing miniatures from past projects and re-using sets, effects footage and costumes from the previous movie. Among the film's technical achievements is that it is the first feature film to contain a complete sequence created entirely with computer-generated graphics.

The Wrath of Khan was released in North America on June 4, 1982. It was a box office success, earning US$97 million worldwide and setting a world record for first-day box office gross. Critical reaction to the film was positive; reviewers highlighted Khan, the film's pacing, and the character interactions as strong elements. Negative reaction focused on weak special effects and some of the acting. The Wrath of Khan is generally considered to be the best film of the entire Star Trek series and is credited with the creation of substantial renewed interest in the franchise.

In the year 2285, Admiral James T. Kirk oversees a simulator session of Captain Spock's trainees. In the simulation, Lieutenant Saavik commands the starship USS Enterprise on a rescue mission to save the crew of a damaged ship. When Enterprise enters Klingon space to reach the ship it is attacked by Klingon cruisers and critically damaged. The simulation is named the "Kobayashi Maru"—a no-win scenario designed to test the character of Starfleet officers. Later, Dr. McCoy joins Kirk on his birthday; seeing Kirk in low spirits, the doctor advises Kirk to get a new command and not grow old behind a desk.

Meanwhile, the USS Reliant is on a mission to search for a lifeless planet for testing of the Genesis Device, a technology designed to reorganize matter to create habitable worlds for colonization. Reliant officers Commander Pavel Chekov and Captain Clark Terrell beam down to the surface of a possible candidate planet, which they believe to be Ceti Alpha VI; once there, they are captured by genetically engineered tyrant Khan Noonien Singh. Enterprise discovered Khan's ship adrift in space 15 years previously; Kirk exiled Khan and his fellow supermen from 20th century Earth to Ceti Alpha V after they attempted to take over Enterprise . After they were marooned, Ceti Alpha VI exploded, shifting the orbit of Ceti Alpha V and destroying its ecosystem. Khan blames Kirk for the death of his wife and plans revenge. He implants Chekov and Terrell with indigenous eels that enter the ears of their victims and render them susceptible to mind control, and uses the officers to capture Reliant . Learning of Genesis, Khan attacks space station Regula I where the device is being developed by Kirk's former lover, Dr. Carol Marcus, and their son, David.

Enterprise embarks on a three week training voyage. Kirk assumes command after the ship receives a distress call from Regula I . En route, Enterprise is ambushed and crippled by Reliant , leading to the deaths and injuries of many trainees. Khan hails Enterprise and offers to spare Kirk's crew if they relinquish all material related to Genesis. Kirk stalls for time and uses Reliant' s prefix code to remotely lower its shields, allowing Enterprise to counter-attack. Khan is forced to retreat and effect repairs, while Enterprise limps to Regula I . Kirk, McCoy, and Saavik beam to the station and find Terrell and Chekov alive, along with slaughtered members of Marcus's team. They soon find Carol and David hiding deep inside the planetoid of Regula. Khan, having used Terrell and Chekov as spies, orders them to kill Kirk; Terrell resists the eel's influence and kills himself while Chekov collapses as the eel leaves his body. Khan then transports Genesis aboard Reliant . Though Khan believes his foe stranded on Regula I, Kirk and Spock use a coded message to arrange a rendezvous. Kirk directs Enterprise into the nearby Mutara Nebula; static discharges inside the nebula render shields useless and compromise targeting systems, making Enterprise and Reliant evenly matched. Kirk exploits Khan's inexperience in space combat and three-dimensional thinking to critically disable Reliant .

Mortally wounded, Khan activates Genesis, which will reorganize all matter in the nebula including the Enterprise . Though Kirk's crew detects the activation of Genesis and attempts to move out of range, they will not be able to escape the nebula in time due to the ship's damaged warp drive. Spock goes to the engine room to restore the warp drive. When McCoy tries to prevent Spock's exposure to high levels of radiation, Spock incapacitates the doctor with a Vulcan nerve pinch and performs a mind meld, telling him to "Remember". Spock restores power to the warp drive and the Enterprise escapes the explosion. The explosion of Genesis causes the gas in the nebula to reform into a new planet, capable of sustaining life.

Kirk arrives in the engine room, where Spock dies of radiation poisoning. A space burial is held in the Enterprise 's torpedo room and Spock's coffin is shot into orbit around the new planet. The crew leaves to pick up Reliant 's marooned crew from Ceti Alpha V. Spock's coffin, having soft-landed, rests on the Genesis planet's surface.

• 1 The Longest Ride

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Where to watch.

Watch Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan with a subscription on Paramount+, rent on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV, or buy on Fandango at Home, Prime Video, Apple TV.

What to Know

Considered by many fans to be the best of the Star Trek movies, Khan features a strong plot, increased tension, and a sharp supporting performance from Ricardo Montalban.

Critics Reviews

Audience reviews, cast & crew.

Nicholas Meyer

William Shatner

Admiral James T. Kirk

Leonard Nimoy

Captain Spock

Ricardo Montalban

Khan Noonien Singh

DeForest Kelley

Commander Leonard H. McCoy, M.D.

James Doohan

Commander Montgomery Scott

Movie Clips

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The Ending Of Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan Explained

"Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is one of the most iconic movies in the indispensable "Star Trek" franchise. It has a wonderful cast, stellar performances, and an excellent action-packed story. If that wasn't enough, it also delivers a truly unforgettable ending by providing a heartfelt goodbye between the two main characters of the original "Star Trek" series. The classic ending, in which Spock sacrifices his life to give the U.S.S. Enterprise a chance at survival, is remembered as one of the saddest and most memorable moments in science fiction.

Regardless of its quality, however, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" isn't free of apparent inconsistencies and confusing ideas. For example, Kirk's nemesis — the genetically enhanced Khan Noonien Singh — is supposed to have a superior intellect, yet he's repeatedly outsmarted by Kirk. The man in command of the Enterprise is also presented as a righteous leader, and yet he is famous for cheating in one of the Federation Academy's most important assessments. The story also includes complex themes related to revenge and the impact scientific research can have on people. Below we provide an analysis of this iconic movie. Here's the ending of "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" explained.

The plot of 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'

The first movie in the franchise, "Star Trek: The Motion Picture,"  doesn't deliver the level of action some fans may have expected. Its sequel, "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan,” initially threatens to have a similarly slow pace. At its onset, the U.S.S. Enterprise and its aging crew, with Spock as captain, are relegated to training new cadets through simulations and training missions. James T. Kirk, on the other hand, has been granted the rank of admiral but occupies his time as a retiree who occasionally supervises cadets' assessments and inspects ships.

After joining his old crew for their training mission, however, the U.S.S. Enterprise receives an unclear message from an old friend. Carol Marcus is a scientist developing Genesis, a technology capable of instantly changing the chemistry of a dead planet to provide it with its own biosphere. Marcus demands that Kirk explain why he has ordered to take over Genesis, which awakens her fear of the technology being used as a weapon. Unknown to the crew of the Enterprise, though, their old enemy Khan Noonien Singh, a genetically engineered super-soldier, has taken over the ship Reliant and is setting a trap to finally get revenge on Kirk.

What happens at the end of 'Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan'

As with most major "Star Trek" stories, the crew of the Enterprise faces a seemingly unbeatable opponent and has to rely on their wits to defeat him. After their ship is badly damaged during an ambush, Kirk launches a counterattack on Khan's ship, then enters the depths of the planet where the Genesis was tested and asks the Enterprise to leave if they don't hear back from him. However, they soon discover that Khan is listening to their communications and intends to use his knowledge of their plans against them.

Nevertheless, Khan is defeated by Kirk's experience. First, Kirk reveals that he was aware of Khan's surveillance and that the Enterprise hasn't left. He then lures Khan's ship, which is in a better condition than the Enterprise, to follow them into a nebula where a storm taking place within will block most sensors and shields, leveling the playing field. The Enterprise launches a sneak attack on the Reliant, leaving the agonized Khan to activate the Genesis, believing that Kirk and his crew won't be able to leave the zone of impact on time. In what is considered one of the most memorable moments in "Star Trek,"  Spock leaves the bridge and heads to the engine room where he enters the core of the ship and repairs it, allowing the crew of the Enterprise to escape the explosion, but receiving a deathly dose of radiation in exchange.

Khan represents Kirk's dreaded Kobayashi Maru scenario

In the first scene of the movie, we see a new cadet commanding a bridge in a simulation. She is given the option to rescue the fleet of a damaged ship by entering a Klingon neutral zone or leaving them to die. She chooses the first option and gets attacked in response. The mission is designed to test how cadets react to a scenario where no victory is possible. Only Kirk manages to overcome the challenge during his training days by reprogramming the simulator. As he puts it later, he doesn't like to lose. Sadly, this also means the experienced admiral has never faced true loss ... until now.

During his confrontations with Khan, Kirk manages to not only survive but defeat the vengeful super-soldier. This doesn't mean he leaves completely unscathed. His ship is badly damaged, he loses several crew members, watches helplessly as Khan transports the Genesis to his ship, and realizes he might not be able to escape the explosion of the device when Khan activates it before dying. Kirk only escapes thanks to Spock's sacrifice. After a heartfelt goodbye and funeral, Kirk realizes that even though he has faced death several times, he's never had to experience the loss of someone this close to him. Thus, he finally confronts the no-win scenario from the Kobayashi Maru.

The possibilities of Genesis and Kirk's newly discovered son

James T. Kirk has lived most of his life traveling across the universe. And yet, this movie finds him living the life of a retired officer. He spends his days in a beautiful house, being visited by old friends, and only stepping into a ship to perform inspections. Kirk's life seems like a suitable reward for his achievements, but as McCoy reminds him, he should get back on a ship before he truly becomes an old man and can no longer do so.

When the Enterprise receives a call from the space station working on Genesis, the decision is made to investigate. However, since Kirk is the senior officer, he is granted command over the bridge. Once again, he is in control of the Enterprise, exploring the unknown, but his trip is filled with surprises and traps.

On the planet orbited by the space station, Kirk meets an old friend who shows him the power of Genesis. In an underground facility, the device is able to fill an enormous cave with life in only a few minutes. With a sight that reflects paradise and the revelation that David, Dr. Marcus' son, is Kirk's, the admiral starts to feel differently. With the amazing power of Genesis and the possibility of having a father-son relationship, Kirk starts feeling young for the first time in years.

Khan's superior intellect is no match for his ego

Once Chekov and Terrell explore Ceti Alpha VI, they expect to discover a planet with no life. But as soon as Chekov realizes they have accidentally landed on the planet where Khan Noonien Singh and his team were abandoned, he reacts with horror and tries to escape the doomed planet. The former Enterprise crew member's reaction is justified; Khan is a super-soldier, genetically engineered on Earth with superior physical and intellectual capabilities in order to make him the perfect conqueror. But he also has a fatal flaw — an enormous ego.

Khan is clever and persistent, but completely controlled by his emotions. He uses Chekov, the Reliant, and Genesis solely to draw out Kirk. When he launches his ambush, he assumes he has completely defeated his old enemy, which gives Kirk the chance to use his knowledge of Federation ships to launch a counterattack. When Kirk taunts him and departs from the nebula, Khan follows despite being warned that this is a clear trap. In the end, Khan's natural confidence brings about his demise at the hands of an admiral who has developed a keen sense of strategy thanks to his decades of struggles. As the crew states, Khan is smart but inexperienced.

The death of Spock was supposed to be permanent

The original cast of "Star Trek" appeared in a handful of films, starting with 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" and concluding with 1991's "Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country." During this period, Spock was a regular member of the cast, except for his absence between the end of "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" and the end of "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock." Under these circumstances, it would appear that the death of Spock was nothing but a marketing trick intended to draw more fans to theaters, but members of the cast draw a very different picture.

William Shatner, for example, explained to Nerdist that back in the day, each movie was filmed as if it was the last one — props and sets were typically destroyed under the assumption that they wouldn't be needed again. This makes it clear that the intention to kill Spock was, at the time, a final decision that wasn't changed until the possibility of a third movie became real. Nicholas Meyer, the director, corroborated this in an interview with Yahoo  by explaining that, despite the different scripts written for the sequel, they all had one thing in common: Spock dies. This was a requirement demanded by Leonard Nimoy. After "Star Trek II" became a success, the studio came back to Nimoy with a sufficiently appealing offer, and he agreed to return. But as far as anyone knew at the time, Spock was dead as a doornail. 

Khan's intention to get revenge on Kirk became true

From his first confrontation with Kirk, it's evident that Khan's worst flaw is his lack of control over his emotions. His overconfidence after ambushing Kirk earns Kirk a counterattack; Khan's presumption that he has tricked Kirk by using a mind control technique on Chekov and Terrell leads him to think that the Enterprise has abandoned Kirk when it hasn't; and his pursuit of the ship into the nebula leads him to be killed by a devastating surprise attack. And yet, the promise Khan makes to Kirk when Kirk looks stranded — that he will continue to hurt him — ultimately becomes true.

The Enterprise has, of course, suffered several casualties by that point. But none of them were people personally close to Kirk. After the admiral forces Khan into a battle in the nebula, Khan's crew is killed, his ship is mostly disabled, and he is fatally wounded. Is at this point where Kirk makes the same mistake Khan constantly fell for — he acts with excessive confidence. With his last breath, Khan activates the Genesis, which generates an explosion capable of destroying the Enterprise. The Enterprise manages to escape, but the situation hurts Kirk quite a lot by forcing Spock to sacrifice himself to fix the ship's engine.

The director's approach and the actors' performance made the death scene

The ending of "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" is one of the most iconic and bittersweet in the franchise. Fans are constantly quoting the last words spoken by Spock and Kirk, and the moment is even reimagined for the second movie of J.J. Abram's "Star Trek" reboot series. This isn't surprising considering how emotionally moving the scene is, especially if we take into account that the actors had been working together as Kirk and Spock for many years. In fact, as the director explains, the crew was in tears when they witnessed the last goodbye between the two legendary characters.

With such a legendary ending, the film became a source of discussion and analysis that's continued for years. Speaking to Yahoo, Meyer mentioned that his technique to get Shatner to perform was to make him repeat his scenes so many times that he would stop trying to act and provide more honest takes. Meyer also refers to the level of preparation both Shatner and Nimoy brought to the scene, and how they immersed themselves in the roles, providing a performance that reflects the time they had spent together.

Shatner believes the death of Spock helped get Nimoy the director's chair

As popular as the original "Star Trek" series was and remains, this didn't save it from being canceled after only three seasons. While most fans and cast members may have felt a deep sense of disappointment, one main cast member probably felt a little bit of relief. It's well-known that the success of "Star Trek" made Leonard Nimoy fear being typecast as an alien character in science fiction shows. He got roles in popular series like "Mission: Impossible" while also working on plays. But every other job was overshadowed by his performance as Spock.

Nimoy got tired of people identifying him with Spock. He even went as far as writing a book titled "I Am Not Spock." Despite this, he accepted the role one more time when the franchise made the jump into feature films. After "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" though, he decided to abandon the role, only agreeing to participate in the sequel on the condition that Spock dies in the film. William Shatner, however, has an interesting theory about this requirement. In a chat with USA Today, he argued that, after the popularity of the sequel, Nimoy used Spock's death for leverage in a bid to get the director chair. In the end, he appears to have succeeded, as he directed both "Star Trek III: The Search for Spock," and "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home," productions that allowed him to start a career as a director.

'Wrath of Khan' set the conditions for the next Star Trek movie

The main theme of "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" revolves around how revenge can be a self-destructive journey. However, the script doesn't completely forget that this is a science fiction franchise and introduces a thought-provoking concept — scientists have developed a device that can trigger a chemical chain reaction capable of creating a biosphere around a deserted planet. The details of this accomplishment are not discussed, but the power is made evident when the device explodes and leaves a surrounding planet with overgrown vegetation.

Interestingly, the crew of the Enterprise chooses this location as the place to leave Spock's body. The reason may be that it's the location closest to his most heroic act, but it also conveniently opens the door for Spock's revival due to the planet's miraculous capacity to create life. However, the biggest evidence of the intention to revive Spock is probably the fact that, right before entering the core of the ship, he performs a mind meld on McCoy, suggesting that he might have stored his memories with the doctor. That becomes an important part of the sequel when Spock's body returns and retrieves his memories from McCoy.

Gene Roddenberry had a different idea for the ending

Many stories and scripts were created for the sequel to "Star Trek: The Motion Picture." Each of these stories was different from the others, so when Nicholas Meyer was brought to the project, he decided to pick every element he liked from each version and try to put together a good story. Each version differed significantly. In one iteration, Spock dies very early in the movie; in others he dies in the end, and in Gene Roddenberry's version, the crew would have traveled back in time.

Many science fiction stories play with time travel, and "Star Trek" would eventually have a movie that revolves around such a concept in "Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home." However, there were specific aspects of the story that made Roddenberry's proposal  highly unpopular  with just about everyone who read it. To be more specific, at one point in the movie, the crew goes back in time and find themselves planning the assassination of J.F.K. in order to restore their timeline. Needless to say, the studio executives weren't very happy with the idea and ended up scrapping it.

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Ask any Trekkie what the best film in the original movie series run was, and they'll undoubtedly say "Wrath of Khan" without pausing for breath. Indeed, Nicholas Meyer's masterpiece has everything a Star Trek fan could hope for, including excitement, drama, comedy, and of course, plenty of amazing quotes .

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It's not perfect, however. Meyer's quest to create a cool follow-up to the divisive Star Trek: The Motion Picture came at the cost of dotting his i's and crossing his t's. As such, there's a laundry list of things that simply don't make sense in the film. Here they are, in chronological story order.

Enterprise Officers Training Cadets

The entire premise of Star Trek revolves around a crew of adventurers in a gigantic starship who explore strange new worlds and meet new civilizations. Evidently, there was some sort of downtime in play, as the bridge officers of the iconic starship Enterprise found themselves training brand new cadets in the Kobayashi Maru test.

It makes no sense for any of these officers to be relegated to such a menial task, to say nothing of the ever-bizarre Kirk himself. It's possible he asked them to join in on the test just for fun, but one can think of a better way for a seasoned Starfleet officer to spend his or her day.

Finding A Lifeless Planet

The plot of the film shifts in the first act and focuses on the USS Reliant, which is on a field mission to locate a lifeless planet suitable to test the Genesis device on. Pavel Chekov served as first officer aboard the Reliant under the command of Captain Terrell.

Chekov's log seems to suggest that they're having significant trouble finding a lifeless planet that meets the test requirements. It's difficult to imagine finding such a planet would be a challenge, especially given that Starfleet has vast space maps of entire star systems to draw upon. Also, it needs to be lifeless. Enough said.

Khan Recognizes Chekov

Star Trek fans know full well that Khan could not, and would not, have recognized Chekov during that first act scene in Ceti Alpha V. It's not possible, and it sets up one of the film's largest plot holes that can be seen from four galaxies away. Nevertheless, no explanation is ever given as to how they know each other.

Khan specifically says that he "never forgets a face," and remembers Chekov's name. In the original popular series episode "Space Seed ," Chekov was nowhere to be found, nor was his character even on board the Enterprise at that particular time. The writers clearly forgot to double-check their timelines and chose the one character most ill-suited for this meeting.

Confusing Turbolifts

Early in the film, Kirk shares a turbolift ride with Saavik and they have a brief conversation before a grumpy (naturally) Doctor McCoy joins them. Saavik leaves Kirk and the Doctor to have an exposition moment before the latter leaves.

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The outside shot of the turbolift shows the doors closing on McCoy, but it's impossible to tell what deck they're on given the confusing nature of the signs on the wall. It's hard to gauge exactly what the filmmakers were trying to tell us.

The Mechanics Of The Genesis Device

While it's used primarily as a tool to drive the drama of the story, the Genesis Device makes no sense from a logistical standpoint. Never mind the tomfoolery of suggesting that a glorified torpedo could rearrange biological matter at the atomic level and produce a living, breathing planet in no time flat, but there's more to it than that.

The Genesis Project makes no mention at all of the secondary criteria required to even sustain such a planet after transformation - namely its proximity to the sun. From there, one has to take into account orbit, a system's gravity, etc. - all inconvenient to the magic the film is trying to sell.

Khan Wants The Genesis Data

This is one of the biggest and most glaring plot holes in the entire film, by far. It occurs immediately after Khan orders the Reliant to fire on the Enterprise, dealing it enough damage for him to swoop in and reveal himself to Kirk. The two banter for a bit until Khan demands the data for the Genesis Project, which is where things go sour.

The Reliant and her crew were single-handedly tasked with assisting Dr. Marcus on the project, and they would have known the most intimate of details regarding its nature. Yet, for some reason he demands it from Kirk, when Chekov and Terrell are already under mind control and would have easily given it up.

Scotty Carries Preston To The Bridge

After the initial attack on the Enterprise and the subsequent damage that followed, Kirk managed to turn the tables by using the Reliant's access codes to tap into her computer and kick off a counterattack. It worked well enough to drive Reliant off, giving the Enterprise time to regroup and rethink.

Suddenly, Scotty emerges from the turbolift carrying young cadet Preston in his arms, which makes no sense. Why would Scotty not immediately rush him to the medical bay, especially since he's still alive? Had he not deviated to the bridge, Preston might have stood a chance of surviving.

Why Allow Khan To Take Genesis?

After Khan believes he's trapped Kirk and entombed him for all eternity with no hope of escape, he scoots off with the Genesis device in tow, which would have been a big no-no and broken every single rule in the book.

Yes, Kirk was setting Khan up from the beginning, but allowing him to have Genesis when he should have sabotaged or outright destroyed it seems implausible. It's too great a risk for a man so hell-bent on revenge as Khan, and Starfleet would have put Kirk through the wringer for it.

Two-Dimensional Thinking

During the tense standoff in the Mutara Nebula, Kirk and Spock discuss tactics and strategy relating to how they can gain the upper hand against the Reliant. Spock suggests that Khan is susceptible to what he calls "two-dimensional thinking," suggest that the key to beating him is to rely on the Z-axis coordinate of 3D space.

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From a purely logical standpoint, this makes absolutely no sense. Khan is not only a genetically engineered intellectual genius, but he's certain to have watched at least one submarine movie in the 20th century, which would have told him that space is indeed three-dimensional.

Why Bury Spock On The Genesis Planet?

The Vulcan race is highly ritualized, and there are a number of rites which must be taken into account following one's death. Yet for some strange reason, the Enterprise crew decides to fire Spock's body out of a torpedo tube so it can land on the Genesis planet as his final resting place.

The fact that there's another Vulcan on board the Enterprise at the time should have sounded at least a few warning bells, yet she makes no mention of it. Naturally, this sets up a conundrum in the next Star Trek movie, which was probably necessary to undo this head-scratching decision while providing a convenient avenue for the fan-favorite character to return to the franchise.

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How Gene Roddenberry Tried To Sabotage Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan

Nicholas Meyer's 1982 film "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" is generally regarded as the best of the 13 extant "Star Trek" movies, at least according to any Trekkies you may ask. At the very least, "The Wrath of Khan" became the popular model on which multiple other "Star Trek" movies would be based; several "Star Trek" films feature a charismatic, revenge-bent "villain" character at its center.

At least one person, however, really hated "The Wrath of Khan" — "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry.

Roddenberry had spent the bulk of the 1970s attending "Star Trek" conventions and refining his thoughts on his creation. He and Trekkies, during the conventions, began to zero in on the pacifist, diplomatic nature of the show, coming to the conclusion that "Star Trek" isn't about dominance or military power. Instead, it redefines power as being connected to intelligence, professionalism, and one's ability to solve problems in a group. Even if the problem is a vast, cosmic mystery that the human mind can barely comprehend, "Star Trek" announced that we'd face it with open hearts.

That was the premise of 1979's "Star Trek: The Motion Picture," anyway, a film Roddenberry produced and was closely involved with. He wanted a large-scale "Star Trek" story that drew more from "2001: A Space Odyssey" than from "Star Wars."

However, "Motion Picture" was only a modest hit in 1979, and Roddenberry, despite inventing the franchise, was pushed out of the production of "The Wrath of Khan." Harve Bennett and Meyer made their own "Star Trek" animal, opting for a "swashbuckling adventure" tale wholly different from the cosmic freakout of the first movie.

Roddenberry was understandably bitter. Indeed, according to a 2020 article in CinemaBlend , Roddenberry — motivated by spite — tried to sabotage "The Wrath of Khan" by leaking vital plot details.

The Wrath of Roddenberry

"Star Trek" historian and "Inglorious Treksperts" podcast host Mark A. Altman was able to speak at length with CinemaBlend about Roddenberry's bitterness, including his attempts to deliberately spoil the plot of "The Wrath of Khan."  Recall that "The Wrath of Khan" ended with a bombshell. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) had to enter an irradiated section of the U.S.S. Enterprise's engine room to repair a vital system during a desperate mid-space battle. He was able to fix the engines and the Enterprise sailed to safety, but not before he received a lethal dose of radiation. The movie's final scenes involved loading Spock into a coffin and shooting him into space.

The fact that Spock died was, as one might imagine, a secret during the production of "The Wrath of Khan," although it wasn't so big a secret that Paramount was worried. The budget for the film was lower than "The Motion Picture," and there wasn't as much breathless hype surrounding it. Recall, also, that there wasn't yet a 24-hour news cycle, so reporters weren't sniffing around film sets as often hoping to break tiny details.

As such, when Roddenberry leaked that Spock might die, Paramount began to sweat for the first time. As Altman explained:

"The only other time [Paramount] really got worried was when Gene sorta leaked the fact that Spock was going to die. They were afraid then, 'Well if we lose the 'Star Trek' audience, then we have a problem.' You know, a lot of people were saying, 'If Spock dies, you die. If Spock isn't there, I'm not coming.' People forget, this was a very big deal, it was very vitriolic. Obviously, after the movie came out, people were very happy with the way things worked out." 

Roddenberry's sabotage didn't work.

Roddenberry's attempt at sabotage didn't work

But, golly, he tried. One might posit that someone other than Roddenberry leaked the "Wrath of Khan" script to the public, and he was merely happy to see the film be potentially spoiled. However, Altman pointed out that the script in question was indeed Roddenberry's copy. Altman even put the kibosh on rumors that Roddenberry's secretary and longtime girlfriend Susan Sackett was the real cause of the leaks:

"Some claimed it was Susan Sackett who leaked it. It was Roddenberry who leaked it [...] this is because there was a code on each of the scripts that could be traced back to whoever it was. The script that was leaked had the Roddenberry code. Susan may have been the person who actually sent it for Roddenberry, because Susan was Gene's secretary, but it was unquestionably Gene Roddenberry who did it. It's just a fact."

When "Wrath of Khan" was finally release, Roddenberry admitted — begrudgingly — that he kind of liked it, although not for the reasons most Trekkies did. Roddenberry admitted that  Ricardo Montalbán's return was the film's big saving grace , as the actor brought so much personality to Khan (a role he, of course, originated on "Star Trek: The Original Series"). Roddenberry hated a lot of the smaller details, though, and spoke out against the fact that Kirk killed a Ceti eel for no reason .

Eventually, as Paramount made several more sequels without Roddenberry, the show creator went back to TV with an idea for a new "Star Trek" show set about a century after the events of the first. By 1987, Roddenberry launched "Star Trek: The Next Generation," and history was made.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ( Paramount Pictures , 1982 ) is the second feature film based on the popular Star Trek science fiction television series . In the film, the crew of the USS Enterprise deal with a threat posed by The Original Series character Khan Noonien Singh, back from exile and out for revenge.

• 1 Khan Noonien Singh
• 2 James T. Kirk
• 4 Main cast
• 6 External links

Khan Noonien Singh

• Ah, Kirk, my old friend. Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is very cold in space.
• [last words] No. No, you can't get away. From Hell's heart, I stab at thee. For hate's sake, I spit my last breath at thee .

James T. Kirk

• [eulogizing Spock] We are assembled here today to pay final respects to our honored dead. And yet it should be noted, that in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world; a world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He did not feel this sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend, I can only say this: Of all the souls I have encountered in my travels, his was the most.... [voice breaks] human.
• Director Nicholas Meyer, "'Star Trek': Nicholas Meyer explains his Roddenberry regret" Noelene Clark, LA Times : "Hero Complex", June 10, 2011.

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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan ( 1982 )

45 mistakes.

Directed by: Nicholas Meyer

Starring: William Shatner , Kirstie Alley , George Takei , Leonard Nimoy , Walter Koenig , DeForest Kelley , James Doohan , Nichelle Nichols , Ricardo Montalban

Genres: Action , Adventure , Sci-fi , Thriller

Continuity mistake : The blood stain on Kirk 's jacket keeps moving around.

DVDs can be longer or shorter under different countries' TV systems. Please try one of these times:

PAL: 01:25:31     NTSC: 01:32:39

Revealing mistake : When the Enterprise is leaving space dock, look at the right (starboard) side of the ship. You can see the shape of the mounting arm the model was mounted on, even though it was blacked out to look like space, and it also blocked out the bottom of the dock. The footage was reused from Star Trek: The Motion Picture .

PAL: 00:20:10     NTSC: 00:21:50

Grumpy Scot

Suggested correction: The answer is yes: against all known laws of science, the inexplicable explosion of Ceti Alpha VI led to Ceti Alpha V conveniently taking its orbit and making it easy to mistake for its former sister planet. A mistake would've been to give an explanation that can be debunked. By leaving it to "somehow" the movie leaves it open to a million possible rationalizations. You can even make a whole other story about the crazy circumstances that led to this incredible result.

PAL: 01:39:12 - 01:40:34 NTSC: 01:47:28 - 01:48:56

PAL: 00:12:30     NTSC: 00:13:32

PAL: 01:36:10     NTSC: 01:44:10

PAL: 00:20:53     NTSC: 00:22:37

Garlonuss ★

Suggested correction: I don't believe the earth year had been established when this movie was made and it was something the franchise applied to itself retroactively later on.

PAL: 01:24:48     NTSC: 01:31:52

PAL: 00:37:34     NTSC: 00:40:42

PAL: 01:11:07     NTSC: 01:17:03

PAL: 01:31:50     NTSC: 01:39:30

PAL: 01:08:29     NTSC: 01:14:11

PAL: 01:01:22     NTSC: 01:06:28

PAL: 00:56:00     NTSC: 01:00:40

cadillacdude1975

Audio problem : When Kirk makes his "old wounds" remark to McCoy, just before he steps out of the turbolift, we can hear the sound used to indicate the turbolift is moving, but the door is already open.

Rog the Bodge

Continuity mistake : When Kirk and McCoy are in the turbolift, just before Kirk is told about the message from Carol Marcus, they are both standing right next to the door, but in the close up of McCoy, right after Kirk is informed of the message, McCoy has suddenly moved along the wall.

PAL: 00:55:55     NTSC: 01:00:35

PAL: 01:27:46     NTSC: 01:35:04

BocaDavie ★

PAL: 00:37:55     NTSC: 00:41:05

More for Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Dr. McCoy: Go... Where are we going? Captain Kirk : Where they went. Dr. McCoy: Suppose they went nowhere. Captain Kirk : Then this will be your big chance to get away from it all.

Trivia : Early script drafts featured Khan gaining psychic powers with the ability to create illusions in the minds of others. One draft even replaced Khan entirely with an original villain who better suited such fantastical mental powers. By the time Nicholas Meyer wrote the shooting script, Khan was reinstated as the villain and the psychic angle was dropped.

Question : Presumably, the Genesis Planet was formed out of the dust and gas of the Mutara Nebula. But where did its sun come from?

Chosen answer: According to the novelisation of the film the Genesis project was initially designed to be capable of creating an entire solar system. While the focus of the project eventually narrowed down to altering an individual planet, the sub-routines necessary to create a star were still in place and were activated when the device detonated within the nebula.

Tailkinker ★

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“It was suggested to not do it at one point”: William Shatner Ended up Doing the One Thing He Was Advised Not to in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

William Shatner's one decision in Star Trek II proved to be a game changer as the film renewed people's interest in the franchise

• William Shatner wanted to change one thing about his character going into the second film in the Star Trek series.
• He wanted to portray a vulnerable side to Captain Kirk and show him in mid-life crisis in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.
• It worked in the film's favor as it went on to become one of the best films in the franchise.

William Shatner’s one decision in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan was crucial in making it one of the best films in the franchise. After the successful S tar Trek: The Original Series , the cast returned for the films starting with Star Trek: The Motion Picture . Fans and studio executives were not happy with the first film despite the film becoming a financial success.

Shatner suggested that the second film in the series makes Captain James T. Kirk more vulnerable. The suggestion was initially met with skepticism but Kirk’s mid-life crisis turned out to work really well for the movie. The film kickstarted a three-part storyline that ended in Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home .

William Shatner Made The Crucial Decision To Make Captain Kirk More Vulnerable in Star Trek II

William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy, and the rest of the cast returned to their roles in the Star Trek films, which was set a decade after the events of Star Trek: The Original Series . The time jump was not significantly addressed in the first film. However, Shatner decided to emphasize Captain Kirk’s age and related issues in the second film.

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It surely made the character more vulnerable unlike the series, where the crew were a bunch of adventurous explorers in the galaxy. Shatner, who had spent with the character for the longest time, felt that it was in the character’s best interest to explore his vulnerability in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan .

The second film dealt with the menacing Star Trek villain, Khan Noonian Singh , and how the crew would stop him from using the life-generating Genesis Device. Shatner spoke about the film and his new take on the role during an interview with Bobbie Wygant in 1982. He shared that the theme of the film dealt with the “youth, and old age, and death, and love.”

Shatner told Wygant that Kirk’s mid-life crisis depicted in the film was his idea. He shared that he was told not to depict the vulnerability of the character. However, Shatner wanted to show the human side of the character to make it more relatable to the viewers. Shatner shared with Wygant ( via The Bobby Wygant Archives | YouTube ):

It was suggested not to do it at one point. By some people that had my best interests at heart. [But] my feeling has always been that the more human you can make a character, the more vulnerable, the more identifiable, the better it is. So we saw all means possible to do that.

The Wrath of Khan is not only considered the best film in the Star Trek series, but it also brought a renewed interest in the sci-fi space franchise. It grossed $97 million against a budget of $12 million becoming a major financial success ( via LA Times ).

William Shatner’s Mid-Life Crisis Worked Well Within The Film’s Larger Plot

William Shatner’s Captain Kirk celebrates his birthday during the earlier scenes of the film. A conversation with Dr. Leonard McCoy brings up his age and how his experience has brought him a more responsible role. However, the dilemma hits Kirk as he watches over the trainee crew half his age take off for missions.

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The initial scenes show the Starfleet captain as being stuck in his role. The adventure of capturing Khan is what brings back his youthful and adventurous self. Khan also similarly yearns for a period when he was a young prince with power. Both Kirk and Khan want to go back to a time when they had control.

The difference lies in how both the hero and villain deal with this need to gain back what was lost. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan and other films in the series are now available for streaming on Paramount+.

Star Trek William Shatner

Written by Hashim Asraff

Hashim, Entertainment Writer. With over 1500 published articles on FandomWire, he covers a wide range of topics from celebrity life to comic book movies. He holds a Masters degree in Sociology and his expertise proves invaluable in handling sensitive news. His passion for crime investigation thrillers has turned him into a detective, exploring the darkest corners of the internet during his research.

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