Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

User Rating:

7.8/10   

Director:

Nicholas Meyer

Writers:

Gene Roddenberry (television series Star Trek)
Harve Bennett (story) ...

Release Date:

4 June 1982 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Sci-Fi | Thriller

Tagline:

At the end of the universe lies the beginning of vengeance.

Plot:

Admiral Kirk's midlife crisis is interrupted by the return of an old enemy looking for revenge and a potentially destructive device.

Plot Keywords:

Admiral | Space | Captain | Space Station | Cadet Training

Awards:

2 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

William Shatner	...	Admiral James T. Kirk
Leonard Nimoy	...	Captain Spock
DeForest Kelley	...	Dr. McCoy
James Doohan	...	Scotty
Walter Koenig	...	Mr. Chekov
George Takei	...	Mr. Sulu
Nichelle Nichols	...	Cmdr. Uhura
Bibi Besch	...	Dr. Carol Marcus
Merritt Butrick	...	Dr. David Marcus
Jeff McBride	...	Khan's Crewman
Paul Winfield	...	Capt. Clark Terrell
Kirstie Alley	...	Lt. Saavik
Ricardo Montalban	...	Khan
Ike Eisenmann	...	Midshipman Peter Preston
John Vargas	...	Jedda

Also Known As:

Star Trek II: The Undiscovered Country (USA) (working title)
Star Trek II: The Vengeance of Khan (USA) (working title)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (new title)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - The Director's Edition (USA) (director's cut)

MPAA:

Rated PG for violence and language.

Runtime:

113 min | USA:116 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.20 : 1

Sound Mix:

70 mm 6-Track (70 mm prints) | Dolby (35 mm prints)

Certification:

Italy:T | Iceland:L | South Korea:12 | Brazil:Livre | New Zealand:PG | UK:15 (video rating) (1987) (cut) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Canada:PG | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Netherlands:12 | Norway:11 | Norway:12 (1983) | Sweden:15 | UK:12 (DVD rating) (2002) (uncut) | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | UK:PG (video re-rating) (1989) (uncut) | USA:PG | West Germany:12 | Singapore:PG | UK:12 (special edition DVD)

Filming Locations:

Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

In the original _"Star Trek" (1967)_ episode "Space Seed (#1.22)}_, approximately 80 genetically-engineered supermen were left behind on Ceti Alpha V by the Enterprise. By the time of this film, only 15 (including Khan) are left. 20 were killed by Ceti Eels, the rest through other means (presumably as a result of the explosion of Ceti Alpha VI).

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: When Khan leans forward, the wound on his chest "crinkles" visibly, as only a glued-on rubber prosthetic would do.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Saavik: Captain's log: Stardate 8130.3. Starship Enterprise on training mission to Gamma Hydra, section 14, coordinates 22-87-4. Approaching Neutral Zone; all systems normal and functioning.
Sulu: Leaving section 14 for section 15.
Saavik: Standby. Project parabolic course to avoid entering Neutral Zone.
Sulu: Aye, captain.

Movie Connections:

References "Star Trek: Requiem for Methuselah (#3.19)" (1969)

In the genre, there is simply nothing better, and there never will be.

Wrath is based on one of the best episodes of The Original Series of Star Trek. The episode, Space Seed, introduced Kahn Noonian Singh, a genetically engineered super-warrior from the 20th century who survived in cryogenic freeze until the crew of the Enterprise found his derelict space ship and revived him. Alas, his instinct to conquer survived as well, and only after an epic struggle is Kirk able to deposit Kahn and his band of supermen in permanent exile on a garden planet.

Fifteen years later, a cataclysm has left that planet barren, and Kahn bitter about his plight, when along comes the Enterprise, not knowing they have returned to Kahn's home planet. Kahn escapes and the game is on.

This is undoubtedly the best of the Star Trek movies, and in fact, the best of everything that was best about Star Trek TOS. There is heroism, epic conflict, a fully satisfying story, and deliciously over the top acting by Shatner, Nimoy and, the main course, Ricardo Montalban, reprising his original role, with all the menace and drama of, say, Sir Anthony Hopkins' Oscar winning turn as Hannibal Lechter.

The writing is great, and why not, it was by Harve Bennett, by way of Melville, and Roddenberry's unforgettable characters, as indelibly etched on our psyches as any fairy tale of our youth, were never brighter, more heroic, more magnificent. In the genre, there is simply nothing better, and there never will be. It took decades to hone and refine these characters, for us to come to love them, and for them to reach the point in their palpably real lives to reflect with self-doubt and angst on lives that we accept as being as real as our own. This isn't a movie, it's a documentary, and a time capsule, and a worthy monument to the best cast in the best Sci-Fi Western ever made.