Star Trek 2: The Wrath Of Khan is a movie about vengeance, the type of vengeance
that results from a slow-burn hatred that inflames one's very soul. Khan Singh
(played with magnificent gusto by Ricardo Montalban), the villain of the film,
is the very embodiment of an enraged, primal force that lusts for vengeance.
The target of Khan's fury is James T. Kirk (William Shatner), the starship
captain who exiled Khan and his band of genetic super humans to a remote planet
15 years ago, after a failed attempt by Khan and his people to seize control of
the USS Enterprise (these events are detailed in the Classic Star Trek episode
"Space Seed", also available on DVD and VHS). The Wrath Of Khan shows the death
and destruction that is the result when Khan is unleashed from his planetary
prison. Taking control of the USS Reliant, another Federation starship that was
unlucky to have released this malignant genie from his bottle, Khan comes
looking for Kirk, his "old friend", as well as the secrets to a potentially
deadly weapon known as the Genesis Device.
To say that the Wrath Of Khan is an enjoyable movie is putting it mildly. After
the numbing boredom that marked the prior film, Star Trek: The Motion Picture
(I refer to the original theatrical release; the updated DVD of the same film is
a vast improvement), watching The Wrath Of Khan was a breath of fresh air. It's
a fast-paced, rousing space opera that still has strong, believable characters
that you care about. Director Nicolas Meyer (who also did an unaccredited
rewrite on Jack B Soward's script) masterfully invokes the high adventure of
Horatio Hornblower with epic space battle scenes between the two starships.
James Horner, who would go on to write the music for Titanic, among many other
films, provides a stirring score for TWOK. And despite the fact that they are
well over twenty years old, the special effects, which were done by the George
Lucas firm ILM, still hold up very well today.
If you want to get TWOK on DVD, be sure to get The Director's Edition. Not only
is this release chock full of extra features (requiring an extra disc) but
director Meyer has also reinserted several minutes of footage that were cut
from the theatrical release. There are added scenes that show more of Scotty's
nephew, young Peter Preston (Ike Eisenmann, from the "Escape To Witch Mountain"
movies), an extended scene on space lab Regula One, another expanded scene in
sickbay, as well as an extended scene of the great argument between Doctor McCoy
(DeForest Kelly) and Mr. Spock (Leonard Nimoy) over the use of the Genesis
Device. ("You green-blooded, inhuman...")
There is also a great commentary track from Meyer, who is very eloquent and
fascinating in his remarks on the production of the TWOK, as well as the overall
process of making movies in general. Star Trek: The Wrath Of Khan is not just a
great Trek film, it's a great movie, period. --SF