Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn

Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takai, Walter Koenig, Nichelle Nichols, Kirsty Alley, Ricardo Montalban
Directed by: Nicholas Meyer
Rating: PG
Genre: Science Fiction
1982

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: James T. Kirk (William Shatner) has been promoted to Admiral, but is called upon to serve as Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise once again, this time to combat his old nemesis, Khan (Ricardo Montalban), who is determined to gain control of the Genesis device, a top secret project that has the power of life- or death.

Review:

Tim: I enjoyed the first Star Trek film, but I thought it was also a flawed effort to start out the franchise. Luckily, almost all of those problems are fixed in this sequel. Indeed, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn is a major improvement over the original, and the best Star Trek movie of them all. It is the most exciting, entertaining movie in the franchise. It has perhaps the series' best villain. While I am not a Trekkie by any means, I still very much enjoyed this film.

William Shatner is perhaps the biggest overactor that ever lived. At times, I had to shake my head at his insistence on every word being drawn out and overemphasized. However, miraculously, it works for him. I can't understand it or explain it, but it works. I wouldn't have him turn it down at all. I love him as Captain Kirk.

The rest of the cast are all so good as well. You can really tell these actors are comfortable around each other- that shows in every scene they share together. Leonard Nimoy has never been better as Spock. I think this is my favorite performance of his. DeForest Kelly is wonderful as Dr. McCoy. I love Kirk, but in some ways, McCoy could be my favorite crew member of the Enterprise. James Doohan adds so much class to the film as Scotty. I also really, really like Walter Koenig as Chekov. I've never been a huge Sulu fan, but George Takei does good work. I've also never loved Nichelle Nichols as Uhura (weird name), but I liked seeing her here.

Ricardo Montalban is very good as Khan. He is one of my all time favorite Star Trek villains. I love his desire for revenge on Kirk. Too often, the villains in these movies aren't particularly memorable. Khan is a terrific foil for Kirk, and I love their battles.

This movie has some very good moments. The iconic moment is when Kirk screams "Kahn!" It is a perfect example of Shatner's overacting, but it works so well in spite of itself. I had to smile at this. There are also some scenes where Kirk just outsmarts everyone else. This is probably my favorite aspect of Star Trek- Kirk's ability to turn impossibly deadly situations into miraculous victories. He does that here. It is so enjoyable to see a character who's one step ahead of the bad guys. I also loved that we got some terrific starship battles. I believe the Star Trek movies are best when you have starships engaged in combat with each other. This film balanced action, character focus, special effects, and humor better than any other film in this franchise. It also has perhaps the most powerful, emotional, and shocking ending of any Star Trek film. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn is a very good movie, and I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Star Trek, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, Star Wars, Galaxy Quest