Writer: Nicholas Meyer, Samuel A Peeples (Screenplay) Gene Roddenberry (Characters)
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Ricardo Montalban, Walter Koenig
Plot: With the assistance of the Enterprise crew, Admiral Kirk must stop an old nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, from using the life-generating Genesis Device as the ultimate weapon.
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Excellent Sci-Fi Adventure
Story: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan starts as Admiral Kirk (Shatner) is trying to create a young crew for the Enterprise with the help of Spock (Nimoy), but when feel star fleet crew with Chekov (Koenig) on trying to select a planet for a new life-generating device known as Genesis gets captured by an old nemesis Khan (Montalban) who wants revenge on Kirk, the training missing takes a turn.
When Kirk and Khan come face to face (through video) the battle becomes a tactical battle between the men before the final showdown which will leave one of the crew needing to make an ultimate sacrifice.
Thoughts on Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Characters – Admiral Kirk is on a routine training mission as he searches for a younger crew to explore the galaxy, he does still long to have the Enterprise back though and he will get his wish when he clashes with his old enemy Khan. Spock is the voice of logic for Kirk and the mentor training the new crew, he believes in his crew through this situation. Khan has been stranded on a planet with his crew by Kirk, waiting for his chance to get revenge and now he goes for it, planning a tactical battle against Kirk and he isn’t afraid to use or kill anyone who gets in his way.
Performance – The original crew all give great performances that we know they can give, not quite going on the top like we know they can do, but it is the additions to the cast here that shine with Ricardo Montalban being a great villain and even thee young Kirstie Alley being a welcome addition to the cast.
Story – The story is one that is easy to follow as we see an old enemy seeking revenge against Kirk and this will be his hardest test to date. This is what the fans of the series would love because it offers our characters a chance to grow even more while the neutral fan might not understand everything, I say this because it references what happened before and as not a fan I am not sure if it was in the series or not. The tactical battle is something we can see happen in most Star Trek films which is good to see.
Adventure/Mystery/Sci-Fi – The adventure while darker does take our characters to new worlds to face enemies in the galaxy, we do have a mystery to everything but this time everything gets answered early on with the space based format being the one we all know.
Settings – The settings look fantastic again, with the space working well throughout but the planets all offering a new look for each different location.
Special Effects – The effects for the time all were great even if moment might have dated they all work for the film.
Scene of the Movie – Kirk’s surprise.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – Not knowing if Khan is from the TV show or not.
Final Thoughts – This is an improvement on the last film and from what I understand the best in the series of films, it offers character development and surprise ending and a villain that is menacing throughout.
Overall: One of the best if not the best in the series.
Rating