So earlier I made a thread discussing Star Trek I. So I guess its time to move on to II.
Wrath of Khan is a very good movie which operates on several levels. On the surface it is a Sequel of "Space Seed," but when we dig deeper we see a more complex movie. It introduces several dichotomies: Khan vs. Kirk, youth vs. age, relying on the book vs. relying on judgment, etc. So what we get is a movie that is well stocked with conflict. And we sure get a lot of conflict in this move.
These conflicts, as I mentioned, aren't simply Kirk vs. Khan. Perhaps the most important one is the one that takes place between McCoy and Spock, which gets mediated by Kirk. Although on the same side, the two are consistently conflicting over what Kirk's course of action should be. This was an element in the TV series that translated very well into the movies.
Another positive is that we get a lot more depth to Kirk. Not only do we explore his friends (and long lost family) but we see what is making him tick in his older years. He's afraid of getting old and becoming irrelevant. Sure, teaching cadets at the academy is a nice job, but it is clear that he was champing at the bit to get command of the Enterprise and be "out there." This issue gets compounded when Khan gains access to Genesis and Kirk who must now stop him, is now in command of trainees, not full fledged officers.
Wrath of Khan also lacks what TMP didn't have, action. The Enterprise does things. I'm not just talking about the fire fight between her and the hijacked Reliant. The Kobiashi Maru, the capture of Chekov and his captain on Ceti Alpha V, etc. all of these show that this movie won't get caught in the mud of exposition.
This movie also deals well with emotions. Sure there is some humor blended in, but we also see wrath (KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!), love, and uncertainty. But the most poignant is Spock's death and funeral. No Trek deaths come close to these emotions. Sure I shed a tear for Jadzia, but I knew her symbiote would be back next season. Tasha's was kind of sudden, but she was on TNG for so short of a time that she never built up any emotional connection, and Data's was just a rip off of Spock's death.
The main thing I don't like about this movie is Savik. Sure Kiersty Alley does a good job of playing her, but her character isn't likable to me. She's a weird combination of coldly logical but completely naive. Unlike Spock, who was written as a very likable Vulcan, I can't find much there to like about her.
As for this movie's legacy. Well it is always in the conversation for the best of the 11 films (personally I give First Contact the edge, but perhaps that's coming from the lens of my childhood). But this is due, in no small measure, to the vision of Nicholas Meyer. He basically created Trek's movie era, giving this and the next four movies a more military feel than what TMP had done. Whether or not that was a good thing in the long run for Trek is debatable, but that is the direction the series went in. Finally, the movie gave Trek one of its most enduring ship classes, the oft abused (by the Borg, the Dominion, the Romulans, the Cardassians, etc.) Miranda class makes her first appearance in this film.
Anyway what do you think of the movie?
Wrath of Khan is a very good movie which operates on several levels. On the surface it is a Sequel of "Space Seed," but when we dig deeper we see a more complex movie. It introduces several dichotomies: Khan vs. Kirk, youth vs. age, relying on the book vs. relying on judgment, etc. So what we get is a movie that is well stocked with conflict. And we sure get a lot of conflict in this move.
These conflicts, as I mentioned, aren't simply Kirk vs. Khan. Perhaps the most important one is the one that takes place between McCoy and Spock, which gets mediated by Kirk. Although on the same side, the two are consistently conflicting over what Kirk's course of action should be. This was an element in the TV series that translated very well into the movies.
Another positive is that we get a lot more depth to Kirk. Not only do we explore his friends (and long lost family) but we see what is making him tick in his older years. He's afraid of getting old and becoming irrelevant. Sure, teaching cadets at the academy is a nice job, but it is clear that he was champing at the bit to get command of the Enterprise and be "out there." This issue gets compounded when Khan gains access to Genesis and Kirk who must now stop him, is now in command of trainees, not full fledged officers.
Wrath of Khan also lacks what TMP didn't have, action. The Enterprise does things. I'm not just talking about the fire fight between her and the hijacked Reliant. The Kobiashi Maru, the capture of Chekov and his captain on Ceti Alpha V, etc. all of these show that this movie won't get caught in the mud of exposition.
This movie also deals well with emotions. Sure there is some humor blended in, but we also see wrath (KHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAN!), love, and uncertainty. But the most poignant is Spock's death and funeral. No Trek deaths come close to these emotions. Sure I shed a tear for Jadzia, but I knew her symbiote would be back next season. Tasha's was kind of sudden, but she was on TNG for so short of a time that she never built up any emotional connection, and Data's was just a rip off of Spock's death.
The main thing I don't like about this movie is Savik. Sure Kiersty Alley does a good job of playing her, but her character isn't likable to me. She's a weird combination of coldly logical but completely naive. Unlike Spock, who was written as a very likable Vulcan, I can't find much there to like about her.
As for this movie's legacy. Well it is always in the conversation for the best of the 11 films (personally I give First Contact the edge, but perhaps that's coming from the lens of my childhood). But this is due, in no small measure, to the vision of Nicholas Meyer. He basically created Trek's movie era, giving this and the next four movies a more military feel than what TMP had done. Whether or not that was a good thing in the long run for Trek is debatable, but that is the direction the series went in. Finally, the movie gave Trek one of its most enduring ship classes, the oft abused (by the Borg, the Dominion, the Romulans, the Cardassians, etc.) Miranda class makes her first appearance in this film.
Anyway what do you think of the movie?
Anotherwords it's a truly brilliant movie in it's conception and execution. As a matter of fact I haven't re-watched The Wrath of Kahn in at least a few years, I'm going to pop it in the DVD and re-watch it tonight.
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