Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Director: Nicholas Meyer
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley

Synopsis:
An old nemesis of Kirk's goes after an experimental device as part of his plot for revenge.

Impressions:
After the underperformance of Star Trek: The Motion Picture, things weren't looking good for the franchise, and this movie was supposed to be the last hurrah with a significantly slashed budget. Ironically, this ended up being the best film in the entire franchise. It takes a rather good episode from the original series and has it come back to bite Kirk in the rear. I really like the theme of Kirk dealing with growing older and the massive clash of hubris between Kirk and Khan. The series regulars are all in fine form and Ricardo Montalban is amazing as Khan. The effects are pretty good given the time and the budget, the costuming is much better than the previous film (namely the Starfleet uniforms) and James Horner's score is outstanding. For Star Trek fans, this is as good as it gets. I think even non-fans can appreciate it. This is one that deserves a place in your collection.

Rating:
Own It