Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

Although not a huge success at the box office, Star Trek: The Motion Picture made enough money to convince Paramount to allow for another stab at bringing the franchise to the big screen, albeit on a lower budget. Indeed, whilst the first film had around $45 million to play with, this one had under $12 million. Also, Roddenberry was booted out from the film’s production, and Harve Bennet, a producer who had worked on TV shows such as The Mod Squad, The Six Million Dollar Man, and The Bionic Woman, was drafted in to bring some energy to the series. For inspiration on the outline for the plot, he and screenwriter Jack Sowards looked to the past, and drew inspiration from one of the iconic characters in the original series. For a director, the studio picked Nicolas Meyer, who had recently received acclaim for his sci-fi film ‘Time After Time’, and who was also (and possibly importantly) not a fan of the show. The result of this stripped back budget, and the ditching of the creator of the franchise, whilst leaving the film in the hands of a non-fan was that we got one of the best Trek films to date!

Starting with a training exercise, we move to see a Kirk who is entering a somewhat mid-life crisis. Stuck in charge of groups of cadets, he longs for a ship again, and McCoy urges him to push for command. Elsewhere, the USS Reliant is seeking a planet to test a device known as ‘Genesis’, and Captain Terrell and Commander Chekov beam down to examine readings on one potential planet, Ceti Alpha V. However, they are captured by a genetically engineered tyrant, Khan Noonian Soong, who Kirk left on Ceti Alpha V many years ago. However, when Ceti Alpha VI exploded, it shifted the orbit of the planet and made it almost uninhabitable, leading to the death of Khan’s wife. Khan blames Kirk for his loss, and takes control of the Reliant to seek out revenge on Kirk.

As with the first film, we again see Kirk take command of Enterprise from someone else, this time Captain Spock, and we have a mix of old cast, and new faces, such as the young Vulcan Saavik (played by Kirstie Alley in this film). Most importantly we get the presence of one of the most iconic villains in the franchise, Khan, played by Ricardo Montalban in true scene-stealing action. The character of Khan is not evil for the sake of being evil, but instead has a certain purity to his vengeance which makes him a believable foe. He doesn’t believe he is doing wrong, but genuinely feels he is owed his revenge against Kirk and Starfleet for abandoning him and his followers on a decimated world. With his quoting of literature, he ensures that every line he spits out becomes an iconic and quotable exchange. Interestingly Kirk and Khan never physically meet, and yet through a brilliantly and planned out space game of cat & mouse, you feel that they share screen time throughout the latter half.

The film is directed by Meyer, as a non-fan, from a serious point of view. If Starfleet is the ‘space-navy’ then Meyer takes time to ensure we acknowledge this, with shots of crew standing ready, torpedo tubes being prepared, and a well-structured military operation going on at all times. This is aided by the redesigned uniforms, now far more formal and naval inspired, the details of ranking insignia and operational markings made these a fan favourite design for years to follow.

Most importantly, this was a Trek film that non-fans could easily drop into and not feel overwhelmed by techno-babble. With a simple plot about human emotions, and sub-plots about a man finding where he belongs, and the value of friendship, this is THE Star Trek movie to recommend to anyone non-versed with the mythology. You don’t need to know the events of the episode of the Original Series that first showed us Khan – all you need to know is explained in a short exchange between Chekov and Khan early in the film. This was also a Trek film which packed a huge emotional punch in ‘that’ ending, which formed the basis of the story-line for the next couple of films. Anyone who doubts that Shatner can act should be referred to the exchange through a transparent wall between Kirk and Spock towards the end of the film, a scene likely aided by the genuine real-life friendship between Shatner and Nimoy.

Wrath of Khan was a huge success and paved the way for the franchise that follows. There is good reason why it remains such a fan favourite and it is definitely one that never loses the impact through multiple viewings.