A review by Brooks Rich
So here's a hot take. The Wrath of Khan is one of the best science fiction adventure films ever made. It also should be considered in the list of greatest sequels ever made. It's a major step up from the critical failure of the Motion Picture and is often considered to be the greatest Star Trek film ever made. The film is paced like a film as opposed to an episode of Star Trek that feels stretched out to feature length time. It's a battle of wits against two sworn enemies.
The USS Reliant is scouting for lifeless planets that are a suitable testing site for the Genesis Device. While investigating what they think is Ceti Alpha VI, Captain Clark Terrell and former Enterprise crew member Pavel Chekov are confronted by Khan Noonien Singh, who fifteen years prior was marooned by James T. Kirk on Ceti Alpha V, which is now the barren wasteland they are on since the explosion of Ceti Alpha VI. Khan steals the Genesis and it's up to Kirk and the Enterprise to stop him.
Khan is from a season one episode of the show called Space Seed. Khan is from the twentieth century and is a product of selective designed to create the perfect human. It was a well received episode on the show but otherwise just a standalone. It's the performance of the late great Ricardo Montalban as Khan which makes memorable and led to his selection as the villain for the sequel that was lacking in the Motion Picture. Khan gives the film gravitas and allows himself and Kirk to have the epic showdown they deserve. Again this feels bigger. It feels like something meant for the big screen. Vengeance is a perfect emotion for a villain and in a way Khan is right. Kirk marooned Khan and his people. He never came back to check or even send someone from the Federation to check on them. This is all on Kirk.
So Wrath of Khan does have a major oops though. It's possible to overlook it as you can maybe explain it but for Trekkies, it's a pretty big oops. Chekov was not on the Enterprise during the events of Space Seed. His character didn't join the show until season 2. That is a big giant gaping plot hole in an otherwise perfect film. I did a little research and it was later fixed in cannon in the novels by explaining he was a security detail on board the Enterprise at the time of Space Seed. Ok whatever. But it's a still major plot hole as a casual fan won't have knowledge of the extended universe. I still can forgive it because the film is so good.
Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. Go see The Wrath of Khan if you haven't. Especially if you want to keep following the series next week. This is the most emotional film of the whole Star Trek universe due to Spock's sacrifice at the end of the film. His death will make any hardened person cry and was a demand of Leonard Nimoy, who would only be brought back to the series if he could direct the next two movies. Watch The Wrath of Khan. Even if you've already seen it. Watch it again. It's that good.
Rating: 5/5
So here's a hot take. The Wrath of Khan is one of the best science fiction adventure films ever made. It also should be considered in the list of greatest sequels ever made. It's a major step up from the critical failure of the Motion Picture and is often considered to be the greatest Star Trek film ever made. The film is paced like a film as opposed to an episode of Star Trek that feels stretched out to feature length time. It's a battle of wits against two sworn enemies.
The USS Reliant is scouting for lifeless planets that are a suitable testing site for the Genesis Device. While investigating what they think is Ceti Alpha VI, Captain Clark Terrell and former Enterprise crew member Pavel Chekov are confronted by Khan Noonien Singh, who fifteen years prior was marooned by James T. Kirk on Ceti Alpha V, which is now the barren wasteland they are on since the explosion of Ceti Alpha VI. Khan steals the Genesis and it's up to Kirk and the Enterprise to stop him.
Khan is from a season one episode of the show called Space Seed. Khan is from the twentieth century and is a product of selective designed to create the perfect human. It was a well received episode on the show but otherwise just a standalone. It's the performance of the late great Ricardo Montalban as Khan which makes memorable and led to his selection as the villain for the sequel that was lacking in the Motion Picture. Khan gives the film gravitas and allows himself and Kirk to have the epic showdown they deserve. Again this feels bigger. It feels like something meant for the big screen. Vengeance is a perfect emotion for a villain and in a way Khan is right. Kirk marooned Khan and his people. He never came back to check or even send someone from the Federation to check on them. This is all on Kirk.
So Wrath of Khan does have a major oops though. It's possible to overlook it as you can maybe explain it but for Trekkies, it's a pretty big oops. Chekov was not on the Enterprise during the events of Space Seed. His character didn't join the show until season 2. That is a big giant gaping plot hole in an otherwise perfect film. I did a little research and it was later fixed in cannon in the novels by explaining he was a security detail on board the Enterprise at the time of Space Seed. Ok whatever. But it's a still major plot hole as a casual fan won't have knowledge of the extended universe. I still can forgive it because the film is so good.
Spoiler alert. Spoiler alert. Go see The Wrath of Khan if you haven't. Especially if you want to keep following the series next week. This is the most emotional film of the whole Star Trek universe due to Spock's sacrifice at the end of the film. His death will make any hardened person cry and was a demand of Leonard Nimoy, who would only be brought back to the series if he could direct the next two movies. Watch The Wrath of Khan. Even if you've already seen it. Watch it again. It's that good.
Rating: 5/5
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