Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

I’m the worst when it comes to keeping up with these film (and even music) reviews. It’s no secret that other topics, namely video games and D&D, get the majority of my attention. But don’t let that fool you. I’m very passionate about the movies that I watched growing up. The last film I talked about was Star Trek: The Motion Picture. So, as you might expect, today I’m going to talk about the sequel, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

The first Star Trek film received a lot of mixed emotions from the general public. In some ways, the movie was heralded as a work of art. The visuals were stunning, and the score was nothing short of awe-inspiring. However, many fans had issues with the plot and the pacing of the film. For many, it felt rushed (perhaps to compete with other sci-films like Star Wars). So, with all of this in mind, big changes were made for the next entry in the series. Not only was this new movie to serve as a continuation of the “Star Trek” story, but it was also going to be a direct sequel to an episode from the original Star Trek series. The episode in question is “Space Seed“.

The plot for Space Seed is simple, during its routine mission, The Enterprise discovers an abandoned ship that contains a number of hibernating humans. These humans turn out to be genetically modified beings from a troubled time in Earth’s past (or future, for us). What starts off a rescue mission for the crew of The Enterprise quickly turns in to a fight for survival as the super humans, led by by a man named Khan, attempt to take over the ship. Eventually, the crew manage to subdue Khan and his companions and exile them to an unpopulated planet.

Now, flash forward to this movie. After a short introductory scene that catches us up to speed with Kirk and some other familiar faces, the story then turns to the character of Chekov, who is now the First Officer of the starship Reliant. The Reliant’s mission is find an uninhabited world in which to test a new technology called: Genesis. Genesis is a scientific experiment that was developed to molecularly rearrange dead organic matter back into life. The idea is to allow for rapid terraforming of dead worlds. While scouting what is believed to be an uninhabited planet, Chekov and his crew stumble upon Khan – who has been marooned for fifteen years since his previous encounter with the Enterprise crew. In a moment of recognition, Khan attacks Chekov and through a number of nefarious actions manages to take control of the Reliant. His goal: revenge against Kirk for the events detailed in Space Seed. Naturally, there’s way more to the plot than this brief introduction. But, instead of summarizing the entire film, I think it’s best for people to watch it unfold on the screen. You owe it to yourself to experience the film naturally.

It seems that the plan to reintroduce elements from the original series really paid off. Wrath of Khan serves as a major course correction for the Star Trek franchise. It brings the series back to its roots. And it does it with a storyline that’s leagues better than the first Star Trek film. This movie also sets up a whole new chapter for the franchise. In fact, lore surrounding the Genesis device would help fuel the next two sequels – creating a trilogy of films within the Star Trek series.

All of that aside, Wrath of Khan is quite simply just an incredible film. You don’t have to be a Star Trek fan to enjoy this movie. The plot is gripping, the acting is superb, and the end of the film has an emotional twist that tugs on the heartstrings. Everything about the movie is like capturing lightning in the a bottle. Not only is Wrath of Khan the best Star Trek movie by far, it’s often considered to be one of the greatest motion pictures of all time.

If I’ve managed to convince you sit down and watch this movie, you may be debating between streaming or watching the movie on a disc. As a collector, I typically recommend physical media. When it comes to physical copies there are a few options out there. By far, the best physical version of the movie is the new 4K UHD disc-version. The 4K release is a new Director’s Cut made from an ultra-HD transfer from the original film. The new scenes in this director’s edition are minor, they don’t change the story in any way. This 4K release of the film is absolutely gorgeous and looks amazing on modern screens. Some claim that the colors are not as vibrant as the Blu-Ray version of the film, and I have to agree. But, that’s only because the Blu-Ray version was processed with an extreme amount of digital enhancement. The new 4K version keeps digital alteration to a minimum. So, if you’re a film purist, this is certainly your best bet. But, there’s nothing wrong with the Blu-Ray release if that’s all you’ve got.

For those of you that prefer streaming, Paramount+ is the service for anything Star Trek related. However, keep in the mind that at the time of this writing, the director’s cut of Wrath of Khan is only available on physical media.