Movie Review: Star Trek Two: The Wrath of Khan

Director: Nicholas Meyer
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Ricardo Montalban
Writers: Jack B. Sowards, Harve Bennett, Nicholas Meyer
Film Distributor: Paramount Pictures
Year: 1982

PLOT SUMMARY:

"Revenge is a dish best served cold," is a Klingon Proverb that could apply to any circumstances regarding revenge. That seems to be the main message in this Star Trek movie. As many Trek fans will remember, Khan Noonien Singh first appeared in the Star Trek Original Series episode Space Seed where we first learned that Khan was an ousted superhuman who was forced to flee aboard a "primitive" ship known as a Sleeper Ship. However, things didn't go too well aboard the Enterprise where Khan wrecked havoc and even went as far as to kill Captain Kirk and the rest of the Enterprise crew. At the end of Space Seed, Kirk and crew decide for the best interests of Khan is that the former world ruler be exiled to the harsh, but hospitable environment of Ceti Alpha Five.

In Star Trek 2, we return to find that Ceti Alpha Five is now an even harsher environment where desert winds continuously blow on a desolate world that is anything but hospitable. When an unsuspecting starship, Reliant, arrives to the desolate world, none of its crew members are prepared for what lies in store for them, save for a former Enterprise crew member who clearly remembers the time Khan was aboard causing trouble aboard the Enterprise. This don't sound good at all. Seems good old Khan is mega pissed at that fact Kirk left him on Ceti Alpha Five and now the twice exiled superhuman wants payback as Khan holds a giant, galaxy sized grudge against Kirk.

Around the same time, Captain...pardon me...Admiral James T. Kirk is rather melancholy. Why?It seems the former captain of the Enterprise is now reaching his fiftith birthday as he feels like his place in Starfleet is over. This, and the fact that Enterprise is now composed of a crew of raw cadets, it seems that James T. Kirk is feeling that the years are finally catching up with him. To sum it up, he tells his good friend and doctor, McCoy, that "Galloping around the galaxies is for the young." clearly shows that Kirk is aware of his old age. Also, Kirk has to deal with a former girlfriend and his estranged son whom Kirk has had no contact with for almost his entire Starfleet career.

In keeping with the one films messages concerning the issue of aging, Starfleet scientists are hard at work creating a device that is gaureented to aid in the process of terraformation. The Genesis Project, named based on the fact that it is capable of creating life, becomes another focal point of the film. While this device is capable of creating life, the Genesis Torpedo is also capable of destroying life where life already exists. Talk about a two edged sword and the perfect weapon for Khan to use against Kirk.

Eventually, word gets out that there is a problem regarding the laboratory where Genesis is being developed and, with the Enterprise being the only ship in the area, is ordered to investigate. Forcing the cadets to mature early as this will turn out to be more than a training mission.

Oh yeah, remember the Reliant from earlier in the film? Well it seems that Khan has taken it for a joyride and using his spacejacked starship, he decides to wreck havoc yet again on the Enterprise just to get back at Kirk exiling him to a desolate world. However, Kirk and crew decide to strike back and manage to beat back Khan temporarily. Yet, the Enterprise knows that Khan will return later for another round as Khan's obsession with Kirk knows no end. From their first encounter on the way to the Genesis Laboratory to the climatic fight in the Mutara Nebula, Kirk and crew are forced to do battle with the vengeance obsessed Khan as he wants Kirk and crew dead. While Kirk eventually gains the advantage, his victory over Khan comes at a great cost of a beloved crew member who gives his life to save the Enterprise.

Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan has been considered to be one of the best Star Trek stories of all time. While six of the actors who starred in this movie have now passed on, its good to know that those late actors live on through this movie. The classic performances of both James Doohan and DeForest Kelley, as Scotty and Dr. McCoy respectively, act as though they were born to play their characters. I mean these two actors clearly are remembered as being part of Kirk's intreped crew and whenever one thinks of either Doohan or Kelley, there is always the fact that these men were part of something as historical and culturally significant as Star Trek.

The late Merrick Butrick and the late Bibi Besch as Doctors David and Carol Marcus both are believable in their characters as being related to Kirk. The former looks like he could pass for a young Kirk while the latter looks as though she could pass for the maternal parent. Who ever did the casting of these two characters truly did a superb job at hiring these two actors to play their respected roles. I have seen actors and actresses in various movies whose characters were said to be the offspring of a certain main character, however the offspring characters themselves look nothing, or at least resemble, the main character with whom they are "related" with. Here we see that a casting director actually did something right when it came to casting two new characters who are supposedly related in someway with James T. Kirk. While Kirk and his son, David have seemed to make up for lost time, the sequel to this film, Star Trek 3, reveals that won't come to pass.

Lastly we look at the remaining two actors in this flim who have passed on; Ricardo Montalban as Khan and Paul Winfield as Reliant's Captain Terrell. While the former is best known for appearing in Chrysler Commercials featuring cars about Corinthian Leather and Fantasy Island, the latter is remembered by Trek fans for appearing in an episode of The Next Generation. Both actors play their parts very well. Montalban as Khan is a priceless opportunity of an actor showing off his talents. When Khan first appears, we find the exiled superhuman unmasking himself to reveal himself to the helpless Reliant crew member and captain. Take one good look at Khan in the beginning where he verbally rapes the helpless Captain Terrell, as Khan tells Terrell that he is, "in position to demand anything", while Khan is in,"no position to grant anything." From then on, as Khan is calmly informing his prisoners that they know belong to him and his henchmen, its clear that Khan is a truly dangerous foe.

A review about the Wrath of Khan would not be complete without mentioning Kristie Alley as the Vulcan Navigator, Saavik. Although this was Alley's first major Hollywood role, she nonetheless acted professionally on the set and in the film itself. It's hard to tell she was merely a novice regarding the way she carried herself throughout the entire film. I mean she acted as though she was an experienced veteran of Hollywood. As for the character of Saavik herself, there were many memorable scenes featuring her. One notable scene is in the beginning where she deems the Kobeyashi Maru to be an unfair test of her leadership as the test was a no-win scenario; a fate that all Starship commanders must eventually face and the simulation is merely a means of showing how the aspiring starship commanders face those no-win circumstances.

OVERALL SCORE: 8

While I consider Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan to be a great movie overall, there is one thing that bothers me regarding this movie's plot. How in the world does Khan manage to take over the entire Reliant? Can anyone explain how a handful of exiled superhumans could have easily taken over a ship that had at least five hundred or so crew members that could have made up for the lack of strength with sheer numbers. Also, why didn't the security teams bother to assist Captain Terrell and the former Enterprise Crewmember to the planet surface, let alone defend their starship from some exiled maniac? Perhaps no one will ever know. Just ignore this simple plot inconsistency as it will only make your head hurt while trying to debate it. Perhaps the best possible answer to how this happened was that it occured off camera in between scenes. Other than that, Please check out this film. It is classic Star Trek story telling at its best!