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Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan
Year Of Release
1982
Director
Nicholas Meyer
Producer
Robert Stallin, William F Phillips, Harve Bennett
Writer
Gene Roddenberry, Harve Bennett, Jack B Sowards, Samuel A Peeples, Nicholas Meyer, Ramon Sanchez
Cast
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, George Takei, James Doohan and Ricardo Montalban
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Year Of Release
1982
Director
Nicholas Meyer
Producer
Robert Stallin, William F Phillips, Harve Bennett
Writer
Gene Roddenberry, Harve Bennett, Jack B Sowards, Samuel A Peeples, Nicholas Meyer, Ramon Sanchez
Cast
William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Nichelle Nichols, Walter Koenig, George Takei, James Doohan and Ricardo Montalban
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Khan Noonien Singh, whom Kirk thwarted in his attempt to seize control of the Enterprise fifteen years earlier seeks his revenge and lays a cunning and sinister trap.
Another welcome turn to the screen for fans, and so far the best of the bunch.
The writing is top notch and the creases of the first movie have been ironed completely out.
This film feels much more professional, for want of a better word, in terms of overall finish.
The filmmakers also had the gumption to bring back a heavy hitting villain from the TV series too, rather than just the separate adventure that the first movie gave us.
It adds a much more fleshed out story and makes for a more personal battle for the crew of The Enterprise.
Khan himself has often been labelled as The Enterprise’s most dangerous adversary. It shows throughout the running time too and gets the audience deeply involved.
There are a couple of plot holes between the TV series and the big screen outing, but again, as a fault, they can be overlooked. The TV series was hardly strict on continuity itself, tbh.
What does make a difference is that this film was brave in some of the scripting and plots that are involved.
The acting from all parties is ramped up in this one too.
Ghosts of the past and certain things going wrong for the main group of characters really give the cast something to get their teeth into dramatically and it makes the movie all the more potent for it.
The one-two between Khan and Kirk makes for some great theatrical cinema and some of the most recognisable and quotable scenes in cinematic history.
Ricardo Montalban as Khan though is by far the most memorable actor in the film. Not just for the fact it's his character that is in the title though, it's his sheer enthusiasm and charisma in the role that makes the audience both love and hate him. He also brings an element of campness to the role that has been missed so far since the original TV series.
The effects are also improved massively. There are still the occasional slips in general rendering when it comes to the rotoscoping etc, but compared to the first film and other films since, Wrath was really the benchmark for the Trek Franchise in terms of excitement, style and choreography.
Another welcome turn to the screen for fans, and so far the best of the bunch.
The writing is top notch and the creases of the first movie have been ironed completely out.
This film feels much more professional, for want of a better word, in terms of overall finish.
The filmmakers also had the gumption to bring back a heavy hitting villain from the TV series too, rather than just the separate adventure that the first movie gave us.
It adds a much more fleshed out story and makes for a more personal battle for the crew of The Enterprise.
Khan himself has often been labelled as The Enterprise’s most dangerous adversary. It shows throughout the running time too and gets the audience deeply involved.
There are a couple of plot holes between the TV series and the big screen outing, but again, as a fault, they can be overlooked. The TV series was hardly strict on continuity itself, tbh.
What does make a difference is that this film was brave in some of the scripting and plots that are involved.
The acting from all parties is ramped up in this one too.
Ghosts of the past and certain things going wrong for the main group of characters really give the cast something to get their teeth into dramatically and it makes the movie all the more potent for it.
The one-two between Khan and Kirk makes for some great theatrical cinema and some of the most recognisable and quotable scenes in cinematic history.
Ricardo Montalban as Khan though is by far the most memorable actor in the film. Not just for the fact it's his character that is in the title though, it's his sheer enthusiasm and charisma in the role that makes the audience both love and hate him. He also brings an element of campness to the role that has been missed so far since the original TV series.
The effects are also improved massively. There are still the occasional slips in general rendering when it comes to the rotoscoping etc, but compared to the first film and other films since, Wrath was really the benchmark for the Trek Franchise in terms of excitement, style and choreography.
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All in all, a vast improvement over the first movie and an absolute joyride of melodrama, peril and humour.
There’s also an incredibly bold and emotional ending to the film that makes Wrath stand out from the others.
My rating: 96%
All in all, a vast improvement over the first movie and an absolute joyride of melodrama, peril and humour.
There’s also an incredibly bold and emotional ending to the film that makes Wrath stand out from the others.
My rating: 96%
