Review of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) by Stefan G — 28 Aug 2015

Even with its slow start, this film is an overall improvement of the previous film, with a better plot and more matured performances from the cast. The film sets itself up as more of a sequel to the Star Trek episode "Space Seed" than it is to the first motion picture.

Personally, I think it's a better way to ensure continuity from the original series, almost to the point that this should have been the first film they made. Either way, it's a good approach used to good effect, and with solid pacing and real character development to boot.

Of course, the major high point of the film is its performances. Ricardo Montalban does a terrific job at playing the role Khan, perhaps even better than he did the first time he played him. Captain Kirk and Mr.

Spock both deliver performances in the film, which, towards the end, gives us the best performance William Shatner has ever given in the whole series. The other characters do very well in the film, and even though I question the decision to cast Kirstie Alley as a supporting character, she isn't as bad as I thought she would be.

And finally, no Star Trek film would be complete without its spectacular eye candy. In that regard, the special effects are just as great as they were before, but the visuals are even better. At this point, the original Star Trek films are mainly visual spectacles, but out of all of them, this second film is still the best one.