Rent Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Arguably the best of all Star Trek - Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan review by JD

I never liked this when i was kid. I didnt get all the rambling and poignant moments. The action was short and lacked excitement etc etc.

but now im older I can see why this is such a revered film amongst fans.

You need to understand trek and the relationships between the characters to really appreciate it.

Here we see Kirk as an old man, he is past his prime and even makes mistakes. But he stands out as a brilliant leader.

There is also the chemistry of the main 3 actors. Something I felt was a massive fail and missing of the point in the reboot. The 3 work fantastically together. Completely different characters that use there differences for humour, subvertly explaining whats happening, offering balanced views. Often a scene is made up of few words. Because the words used really count. Its brilliant stuff.

To be fair its not a 5 star film. It shows its age and would likely bore most people. But compared to any trek made today this is an utter masterpeice and true to what is real star trek.

Magic Wand, PowerPoint Deck - Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan review by griggs

I’ve never been a Star Trek person, but I get why this is the one people point to. Kirk, Spock and McCoy click, and their history does more work than the plot.

Ricardo Montalbán is having the time of his life as Khan — bare chest, Shakespearean rage, chewing scenery like it owes him money. Given the title, I wanted more wrath than the standing-around-giving-orders we get, though he commits to every syllable.

Everything else is gloriously cheesy — dialogue, effects, and a Genesis device that’s basically a magic wand with a PowerPoint deck.

The quieter stuff lands hardest: Kirk facing age and regret, and an ending that hit harder than any space battle.

Not the classic I’d been promised, but the crew make a good case.

Great SciFi Adventure - Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan review by GI

Often cited as the best of the 'original crew' films this is certainly an exciting space adventure film that rattles along at a great pace, is great fun and is reminiscent of naval battle films like The Enemy Below (1957). In searching for a suitable story for this, the second, Star Trek film it was quite inspired to trawl the original TV episodes and use one of them, 'Space Seed', to build a plot. The 'baddie' from that episode, Khan (Ricardo Montalban), manages to escape from the planet where he was marooned by Captain Kirk (William Shatner) fifteen years earlier and along with his followers he steals a Starship. Intent on revenge against Kirk he lures him to battle by stealing a revolutionary planet making device. The resulting conflict between them is the centre of the narrative and the seek and destroy battle of the two gigantic starships is fantastic. Shatner really gives his character some depth and here he gives one of his finest performances as Kirk, showing his self doubt about ageing and his future in the service to which he has dedicated his life. The space effects are very impressive and whilst the film is like an extended episode it works brilliantly. It has a wonderful baddie in Khan, with Montalban giving a subtle and yet very passionate edge to this psychopath. The film has a shock ending which I won't spoil if you haven't seen this and even if you are not a Star Trek fan this is definitely a sci-fi film that is well worth checking out. It's a delight.