Star Trek II The Wrath of Khan 1982

The Federation along with a group scientists are collaborating on a project called Genesis. Which is a plan to bring a dead planet to life. So far the preliminary experiments have been a success. Now for the next phase which is to actually bring a planet to life a dead planet is required. So the Federation sends a vessel the Reliant to find one and its first officer is former Enterprise crew member Pavel Chekov. They come across what appears to be a dead planet in the Ceti Alpha system. But the sensors detect something which makes it not a dead planet. But the Captain thinks maybe they can remove it so he and Chekov go and investigate. But they find what appears to be a life pod. When Chekov sees something he tells the Captain they should leave. But they are captured by the inhabitants. When they meet the leader Chekov recognizes him as Khan the bio engineered human from the late 20th century whom Kirk found 15 years ago. Who tried to take over the Enterprise and kill Kirk. But...

Review

Wrath is based on one of the best episodes of The Original Series of Star Trek. The episode Space Seed introduced Kahn Noonian Singh a genetically engineered superwarrior from the 20th century who survived in cryogenic freeze until the crew of the Enterprise found his derelict space ship and revived him. Alas his instinct to conquer survived as well and only after an epic struggle is Kirk able to deposit Kahn and his band of supermen in permanent exile on a garden planet.

Fifteen years later a cataclysm has left that planet barren and Kahn bitter about his plight when along comes the Enterprise not knowing they have returned to Kahns home planet. Kahn escapes and the game is on.

This is undoubtedly the best of the Star Trek movies and in fact the best of everything that was best about Star Trek TOS. There is heroism epic conflict a fully satisfying story and deliciously over the top acting by Shatner Nimoy and the main course Ricardo Montalban reprising his original role with all the menace and drama of say Sir Anthony Hopkins Oscar winning turn as Hannibal Lechter.

The writing is great and why not it was by Harve Bennett by way of Melville and Roddenberrys unforgettable characters as indelibly etched on our psyches as any fairy tale of our youth were never brighter more heroic more magnificent. In the genre there is simply nothing better and there never will be. It took decades to hone and refine these characters for us to come to love them and for them to reach the point in their palpably real lives to reflect with selfdoubt and angst on lives that we accept as being as real as our own. This isnt a movie its a documentary and a time capsule and a worthy monument to the best cast in the best SciFi Western ever made.