Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan | | Cast : | William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley | | Director : | Nicholas Meyer | | Studio : | Paramount Home Video | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Widescreen, Director's Cut | | Released Date : | June 04, 1982 | | DVD Released Date : | August 06, 2002 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), French (Dubbed), English (Subtitled), English (Original Language), French (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 11, 2005 | | Summary | Still the Greatest Trek | Content
 | I grew up in the 1970s on "Star Trek" reruns. I had the first ten issues of Starlog magazine and breathlessly read of any news of a Trek movie. I had the Starfleet jacket (that I snagged on barbed wire the FIRST DAY I wore it). I still have the Enterprise blueprints in the original package.
It was a glorious time to be alive and be a sci-fi nerd, my friends.
But STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE came out in '79...and I almost fell asleep. It was almost as if they were afraid to cut loose and let these characters go. Or they figured if they could cram a ton of SFX and the legions of sci-fi nerds would be happily hypnotized.
Thank God for STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN.
I was in college by then and had started drifting away from sci-fi, instead choosing headier movies like ALTERED STATES and BLADE RUNNER.
But KHAN came along and restored my faith in the possibilities of Star Trek. Even my college roommate, easily the most mocking cynical person I've ever met, got off on KHAN. When he got drunk after seeing it, he'd lay on the floor and bellow over and over again, "KKKHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!"
So here I am, over 20 years later, and I just watched it on cable TV. And it's still the best Trek they've ever made. I loved those guys. Kirk dealing with age and a son who despised him. Spock still stiffly trying to be a human friend to his human friends. Bones getting crankier, Sulu, Uhura, Chekov, Scotty.
I wish I still had that jacket.
(Although I never had those ears....) |
| Rating | | | Date | August 03, 2005 | | Summary | Star Trek Redeemed | Content
| In short, STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN, was the best of all the Star Trek movies. More importantly, WRATH OF KHAN was a vast improvement over its predacessor STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE. MOTION PICTURE was eagerly awaited by fans. The camera work and special affects were works of art. In fact, many reviews commented that STTMP was a beautiful film with a lame plot.
WRATH OF KHAN corrected the shortcomings of the first film. The interior of the Enterprise, which was white and sterile in the first movie, took on a little more contrast in KHAN. Star Fleet uniforms definitely improved moving from the STTMP's pajamas to something more military. We also were able to see phasers, photon torpedoes (only one was fired in STTMP), and transporters.
More importantly, WRATH OF KHAN is a combat story with lots of action. Actor Ricardo Montalban reprised his 1960s role as the genetically improved warrior Khan. Not only is it good to see an additional familiar face from the classic Trek years, Khan is a unique character in that although he is Kirk's nemesis, he could quite as easily have been his best friend.
The DVD director's edition of WRATH OF KHAN is vastly superior to the previous VHS releases. Additionally, this version contains footage that has not been seen since WRATH OF KHAN premiered on the ABC Sunday Night Movie in the mid 1980s. The restored sound and James Horner music is terrific.
Special features also include interviews with Nicholas Meyer, William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, and Ricardo Montalban. None of the features include any interviews with Kirstie Alley -- even though this was the film that introduced her to movie audiences. Quite possibly there are still some hard feelings with Kirstie's salary demand -- denied, of course -- during negotiations for Star Trek III.
Also interesting is a DVD chapter devoted to the special effects. WRATH OF KHAN benefited greatly from lessons learned during STAR WARS: THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. On the other hand, some of the special effects were pathetically elementary.
Great to see WRATH OF KHAN in widescreen. This a film that cannot be fully enjoyed on a 13-inch television screen. Go for 27-inch or larger to get the full effect of the battle scene. On the other hand, you could simply move closer to the TV screen. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 27, 2005 | | Summary | "KHAAAAAANN!" | Content
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture was a big disappoint for me. I found the story boring and slow. But, this isn't about the first Star Trek movie. This is about the improved sequel, The Wrath of Khan. And so begins the curse of the Star Trek movies. The Curse--as everybody knows--is that only the even-numbered Star Trek movies are good ones.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan shows no signs of the previous movie. It has colorful uniforms and a good villain. And it has William Shantner's "KHAAAANN!" yell.
It's the 23rd century, and Kirk is now an Admiral. An old enemy of his comes back for revenge. Khan, a superhuman from the 1990's, is angry with Kirk for leaving him on a planet. Of course, Kirk defeats Khan, but Spock dies at the end...or does he? |
| Rating | | | Date | June 27, 2005 | | Summary | The best Star Trek flick | Content
| Why is this the best Star Trek movie? There are many reasons and I'll cover them, but the number one reason is Lt. Saavik. Kirstie Alley is the greatest Star Trek character of all time. It is unfortunate that she did not continue with the series, but then again maybe she could not have had the time to be Rebecca Howe on Cheers, and that would have been a real tragedy.
So aside from the sexy Vulcan played by Kirstie, this movie also boasts the acting talants of William Shatner at his best. You can tell in this movie he's going all out and wants to prove himself once and for all. His Oscar worthy performance is topped off when he screams "Kahn!!!!" into the comm-link. Pure acting genious.
Not to be outdone by Shatner, Ricardo Montalban matches him line for line as Kahn. From hell's heart he stabs at Kirk, because revenge is best served cold. Playing Kahn is one of the highlights of Ricardo's career.
Also there's some nonsense about a Genisis project. It's not that important. The important parts of this film are the characters. The old Spock and Bones ribbing is here, Scotty is still kicking butt in the engine room, and Uhura is still the sexiest communications officer.
If I had any complaint about this movie, it's that the original short-skirt uniforms were gone. Uhura and Saavik's thighs would have made this movie that much better.
Live well and prosper....
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| Rating | | | Date | June 25, 2005 | | Summary | Kirk's Little Training Cruises Inc. | Content
| "The Wrath of Khan" was the second of the Star Trek movies and focuses on the crew of the original television series. Directed by Nicholas Meyer, who also made a significant but uncredited contribution to the screenplay, it hit the movie screens in 1982.
The film opens in 2285 during a 'Kobayashi Maru' simulation at Starfleet Academy - this is a no-win situation, designed to test the character and resolve of Starfleet's prospective command officers. Many, though not all, of the trainees are cadets - for this simulation, for example, a Vulcan Lieutenant called Saavik is in the captain's chair. Several senior officers have roles to play, including Spock, Sulu, Uhura and McCoy. Admiral Kirk, meanwhile, is the assessing officer. The final stage of training is a three-week training mission on a real starship - in this case, the Enterprise. Officially, Captain Spock will be in command, though Kirk will also be onboard to continue assessing the trainees.
Chekov, meanwhile, has been assigned to the USS Reliant as first officer. Commanded by Captain Terrell, it has been ordered to find a lifeless planet in the Mutara Sector for use in the Genesis Project. This top-secret program is led by Dr. Carol Marcus, one of the Federation's leading molecular biologists. Her team has developed the Genesis Device - an item that can reorganise a planet's structure at the subatomic level, changing a dead planet into one capable of supporting life. Carol Marcus' son, David, has also contributed greatly to the project - though, unlike his mother, he doesn't have much time for Starfleet. He particularly doesn't like an officer his mother was once acquainted with : an 'overgrown boy-scout' called James Kirk. Unfortunately, that overgrown boy-scout is his father...and (whoops !) his mother just hasn't got round to telling him yet.
The movie's villain is Khan Noonien Singh, one of a group of genetically engineered humans whose treatment of the 'ordinary' human population led to the Eugenic Wars. A group of roughly eighty subsequently escaped Earth on a 'sleeper' ship, travelling in suspended animation. Kirk, while captain on the Enterprise, discovered their ship and subsequently marooned the on Ceti Alpha V - this encounter was covered in "Space Seed", an episode on the original series. However, when a neighbouring planet exploded a few years later the side effects changed the orbits of Khan's new home and left it a barren wasteland. When Chekov, looking for a lifeless planet, arrives with his new commanding officer he initially doesn't realise where they are due to these changes. Unfortunately, they are captured by Khan - who having spent the years blaming Kirk for his plight, now plans to take control of the Reliant and exact his revenge.
A great deal of credit for "The Wrath of Khan" must go to Nicholas Meyer - he directed the film and was an uncredited contributor to the screenplay. (He was also involved with the funniest Trek movie, "The Voyage Home", and my own favorite, "The Undiscovered Country"). Meyer, who'd never previously watched the show, was delighted when he was shown the "Space Seed" episode and immediately identified Khan as his vengeful villain - a role that Ricardo Montalban returns to. Kirstie Alley, taking a break from serving beer to Norm Petersen, makes her debut as Saavik - a role she was to reprise in the next two films. As for David Marcus - with a libido like Kirk's, it was only a matter of time before he bumped into his offspring. Merritt Butrick also reprised this role in the following movie, and later appeared in a TNG episode called "Symbiosis". For many, "The Wrath of Khan" is the best of the Star Trek movies - there's plenty of action, it has a huge climax and is definitely recommended. |
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