Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Very disappointing...

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

This is one of the high points of the Star Trek movie series. After the disappointing Star Trek: The Motion Picture, this was a massive improvement in both story telling and character development. The story revolves around a device called Genesis which creates habitable life from desolate planets. However an old nemesis, Khan, wants the device after his planet is nearly subject to the device's effect.Ricardo Montalban is excellent as Khan and is one of the strongest villains in the series. The cast of the original series has much more to work with this time round and their performances are just as great as they were in the show. Kirk is given lots of character development as we learn how he tries to escape death, which ties into the film's theme of sacrifice. It's also much more fast paced and action oriented, but it still maintains the intelligence that the series is known for. The battle sequences aren't stylised but rather they show the brutal effects of combat as we see crew members bloodied bodies after the ship has been hit by phasers and ion torpedos. This is an excellent entry into the series and remains a fan favourite for a reason.

The best Star Trek movie, and among the finest of the genre! The effects and look still hold up today, but the main draw here is obviously the plot! A tale of revenge and and sacrifice, that plays out much like a Greek tragedy in space. With plenty of memorable characters and quotable lines! If you wanna know what all the fuss is about Star Trek, see this film!

Having been one of the shows that was part of my childhood and growing up, the original 'Star Trek' still holds up as great and ground-breaking, even if not perfect.'Star Trek: The Motion Picture', to me, is a better film than its reputation but was also a disappointment and could have been much better. Every film franchise has to start somewhere, and 'The Motion Picture' paved the way to better films. Of which the second film 'The Wrath of Khan' is among the best, a strong contender for the best. Much appreciated its darker tone, emotional wallop and that it was much better paced and action-oriented than 'The Motion Picture'.It may not be as visually stunning as 'The Motion Picture' (the production values is one of only two areas that is done better in that film to here), and William Shatner still goes overboard in his acting. Then again Shatner was never known for subtlety and when he was restrained (like 1958's 'The Brothers Karamazov') those instances were rare.'The Wrath of Khan' is hardly cheap-looking though, having better production values generally than the original series. The sets are more elaborate, the photography is moody and stylish and the special effects are hardly hokey. While Jerry Goldsmith's music is missed a little, James Horner is more than up to the plate, not as rousing but typically beautifully orchestrated and high in the thrills factor. The sound effects are suitably eerie.Writing is an improvement, getting to the point more and less talk heavy, it is very intelligent and thought-provoking without being overly serious. The story has no pacing issues, being much tighter and with much more going on. Credit is due too for exploring (beautifully) dark and universal themes. Nicholas Meyer is a more than welcome replacement, showing more of a sense of loyalty to the original series while bringing his own style without being too ambitious.Acting, with the exception of Shatner, is good. Leonard Nimoy has rarely been more moving, with a truly powerful final scene, and Riccardo Montalban rarely so deliciously campy (without ever hurting the film's tone and still being entertaining) and also menacing. No pointless or underwritten characters here.Overall, great and one of the best 'Star Trek' films. 9/10 Bethany Cox

"Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan" is a much needed improvement over its more expensive but poor predecessor. The above film actually delivers what it promises, via a good story, some action, fairly good acting and a brilliant villain in the form of Ricardo Monteban (excuse the poor spelling). The violence is rather explicit for a "Star Trek" film and indeed, a few edits were made before the film went out on general release. The budget had to be greatly reduced but it is of little consequence. The film picks up after the episode called "Space Seed" (one of the very best from the series). I rate "Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan" as one of the defining ones, easily.