Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982) Retrospective / Review 

The Blu-Ray release here in the States has the Director's Cut on it, and it looks and sounds amazing! It is my favorite Trek movie ever and has been since I first saw it on HBO in the early-'80's.

Oliver Harper great show its in my top 5 favourite films of all time, remember watching it back in my youth always remember the dead bodies and the ear creatures I'm 41

I did not know James Horner died, that is sad.His music was great.

@@alanscott4846 Yes it is sad. I saw The Wrath of Khan so many times that I can pick his music out of any movie. It is very distinctive.

What a great movie! Great review too.

JohnnyZenith almost on par with TMP!

@@rexremedy1733 HAHAHAHAHA

I'll always love the review comment "Shatner and Montalban don't just chew up the scenery, they devour it!". They were both at their peak for this.

@@anthonylogiudice9215 You’re an idiot just like Rex.

@@rexremedy1733 ..... and you’re a moron.

No, you mean: KHAAAAN!!!

YES. nobody will ever beat his acting.

I heard he couldn't get a job after STII because no one would hire an ex-Khan.

Guess its a good thing they recast Ricardo to reprise the roll.

Yep, even I enjoy the new star trek movies including into darkness I was so pissed he got white washed. The white man gotta have all the parts from 2 face to raz ah gul (great movies for full disclosure) to having the white man be the star in movies like the great wall & last samari. Never ends

I agree. I actually saw it no less than four times when it first released in 1982 just for this reason. Only the original Star Wars (at 7 viewings) beats this personal record for movies I saw on first release in theaters.

Not arguing with you, but why do you feel seeing it as an adult would be more special than seeing it as child? i should think the opposite would be the case. I was 10 when the first season of star trek came out and I was totally blown away by it, whereas seeing STNG as an adult of 31 was puirely, "Meh". Like other children, I am sure I was much more easily impressed as a child than now, and am glad I first saw such syfy shows as Star trek, Time Tunnel, Lost in space, and all those various Saturday morning syfy cartoons like space ghost when I was just a kid and not when i was older... and also when those shows were still cutting edge and not overshadowed by later shows with less cheesy effects (and also less well-developed story-telling). :-)

Okay, that makes sense. I thought you meant kid ages in general since, to me, a 13-year-old is definitely still being a kid but memories from around then *are* somewhat clearer and more detailed. I thought you meant any age under 18 or so. Btw I bought the soundtrack for Wrath of Khan on LP back when it first came out. Played that thing like a million times. LOL

KeithRose I saw it in the theater back when it first came out! It was a great experience! After it was over, we wanted to see it again! So tense!

I know this is a reply to a 5 year old comment, but heads up, they’re re-releasing it for its 40th anniversary! Going to see it next Sunday :) Saw it with my dad when I was a wee lad, still in my top 10 of all time, excited to see it again!

2nd best Sci Fi movie ever behind the Empire Strikes Back

@@saculmoviereviews9200 I’ve always said this movie deserves the same acclaim as Empire Strikes Back. It’s not fair cuz Nicholas Meyer did so much with a much smaller budget than Irvin Kershner did with Star Wars for their respective sequels. Khan and Kirk didn’t even face each other face to face which was amazing and yet they accomplished so much with this film.

@@saculmoviereviews9200 Star Wars isn’t really sci-fi though is it? More like action/fantasy.

Star Wars is not science fiction. As for Star Trek 2, it's not even close to being a science fiction masterpiece. The movie is a fun space opera.

Agreed

And Bones was right.

Of all the beings I've encountered in my travels, his was the most...human.

+Noah Griego Agreed. It was so good Abrams and Co. thought they could just remake it with Into Darkness, but you can't replicate success like that.

Same with Nemesis and Generations.

This movie locked me in as a Trekkie. Star Wars, although good, was too much fantasy.

Great plot and chracters. Saw it in theaters as a teenager when realeased. Look back on it today, the movie and visual effects hold up well.

It was a classic good vs evil movie, moving from the wild wild west in space to the story of a great naval battle, all wrapped in classic Trek.

Blasted Heath I absolutely do agree both on the film and on the review

Blasted Heath i agree wholeheartedly. Nicholas Meyer did so much with so little to work with. I mean between him and James Horner and Harve Bennett, they all deserve oscars for this movie I swear man it’s not fair Sci fi movies seldom ever get considered for such cred. Imo it deserved oscars just as much and if not then more than aliens and I LOVE aliens.

+Douglas Booth Your feedback was much appreciated sir!

You mean Master Xehanort.

"Still, 'old...friend...' You've managed to kill just about everyone else, but like a poor marksman you keep...missing...the target!"

I like the line Scotty said to Jim, "I know this ship like the back of my hand," and then turns around and bangs his head on a metal beam.

What you consider the top 5?

I agree, it is right up their with Blade Runner and Robocop for me.

no argument here

1: Empire Strikes Back 2: Wrath of Khan

"...5 'greatest' science-fiction..." Objectively best, or subjective favorites? My top five faves: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968); Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977, 1980, 1998); Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982, 2006); The Abyss (1989); Star Trek: The Undiscovered Country (1991)

I had Horner’s score on vinyl. It’s the first film soundtrack I ever had. Augmented by the expanded CD.

Jerry Goldsmith is my fave movie music composer but I never did like his Star Trek theme; very simplistic and bit too martial. Kudos to Horner who did a fantastic job. Keep Mozart. Keep Beethoven. Keep them all. I'll take Goldsmith and Horner.

calql8er classical composers of the 18th and 19th century either evoked images or composed for theatre and opera. We are blessed to be living on the era of contemporary classical composers, Goldsmith, Williams, Horner, Zimmer, Silvestri....

I always loved both Goldsmith and Horner ' s music. I understand what Oliver is saying regarding keeping a central theme to a series, but it is a bit hard for me to imagine Goldsmith ' s theme opening Star Trek II. Horner provided a perfect score, just as Goldsmith provided the perfect score for the first film which was one of the best things about it. Still, it is Goldsmith ' s sound that would eventually define Star Trek when it was brought back as the theme for Star Trek The Next Generation. Before that, his theme was a one off for a film that was largely ignored in the movie series. It was a bit weird hearing the theme return for Star Trek V after it became the intro to TNG, but Trek V still has a great score. I am glad that Goldsmith got to score the last three TNG films!

+Mark Hyde "Buried ALIVE!!!" :D

You're a better man than I and I am a dyed-in-the-wool Trekker.

I love Star Trek 5. Go climb a Rock !! :)

He had none of the charisma or flair Ricardo did.

I prefer to think of the Kelvin movies like the odd relative we don't talk about in public. A complete embarrassment.

+Alfred Valrie Oh shit, you put the Goldsmith music over the battle scene. Okay, 9 out of 10.

Thanks, jerry! Sincerely, Herman Melville :)

it's a line from Moby Dick.

Gregory Peck delivered that line superbly ...... but Khan was awesome.

True, but it originated from Shakespeare.

“for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee”

I think it's got something to do with the mother's height. My mom's not as tall as my dad, but she's well above female average, while he's right in the middle.

If your son is taller than you and your wife is shorter than you, then she had an affair and the kid isn’t yours. It’s science.

@@MichaelRichards983 Sorry but that's not science. I assume you were joking.

@@Trev359 Research it and then we will talk about it, sound good?

@@MichaelRichards983 SO you weren't joking? Then you're talking bollocks. So no it doesn't sound good. I don't need to research it. I know for a fact that's rubbish. I am taller than my father was and my mother was shorter than him but he was definitely my father. I look just like him and his father. I get my height from his father who was very tall. Genes do skip a generation sometimes you know.And don't you dare insult my mother's memory by suggesting she had an affair. 1. she was totally against that sort of thing and 2. As, I said I have my father's family looks.

bovnyccc operalover that’s great! I am a hybrid as well...

+Derke73 Yeah that was indeed a great flick (Time After Time) a great movie of Meyer's prior to Wrath Of Khan. Saw it as a kid on TV a few year after its release, and it wasn't something for kids given it had Jack The Ripper in it. but for many years i always liked Meyer's style of direction and love of; *literary/novel* works which he includes in his movies.

I don’t think he gets Vulcans.

I think she did well.

Sometimes it's just best to get someone who's not familiar to have a fresh perspective on something

This is a great point. And I loved Kirstie Allie and thought she should have been the first female captain to get her own show.

+Jack Sofalot Thanks a lot Jack!

Oliver Harper A reply from the man himself! What an honor!

+Jack Sofalot And Ricardo Montalban, DeForrest Kelley, James Doohan, Paul Winfield (Capt. Terrell,) Majel Barrett and of course Gene Roddenberry.

+The Major -- And please: Do a review of Logan's Run. That is a film that could certainly use a treatment from you.

+Kurt Garwood I know they passed away this year its mentioned in the review.

I prefer it this way.

Agreed, a physical encounter would have been awesome.

Jim Humphries To be fair, he didn't write the screenplay. Of course, he could have changed a few things, so...

I don't really blame JJ too much. He wasn't a fan, but they hired him anyway, he did the job. I like almost nothing about JJ Trek, but he did do a solid job on it. I liked the score and the casting. The script and the production design were pretty much trash though. And they got worse with each film.

A lot like ALIENS, which was cloned countless times in not only the tie ins to the ALIEN franchise, but also by every other sci-fi action flick! But still, ALIENS is a great film, just like Star Trek II is a great film.

Rob L much like suggesting Empire Strikes Back is responsible for the subsequent Star Wars franchise, I wonder if Star Trek could have continued without Wrath of Khan. Roddenberry was (thankfully) excluded from production, but I wonder if there would have been an appetite for Next Gen in 1987, if there was no Trek II, III or IV

+Clint Dlowrev spread the word my friend

Will do, my friend,

+Oliver Harper I'm on it

+Oliver Harper you are a very talented man. I was wondering if you were interested would you check out my youtube channel? I do reviews of under rated movies. But I also do some amateur film making.

+Clint Dlowrev: Agreed. Well, at least he's got one more now!

To see this movie in the theater in 1982 was thrilling. I'd seen TMP two years before and was worried there might not be more. But then to see TWoK come out and be so wonderful was such a relief and exciting experience. And remember, there was no Internet in 1982. We heard rumors about the film, read a bit here and there, but didn't really know what would happen in this film or the next. And I really liked ST3, too. That "odd number" is just a trope, a lazy categorization.

and to think som ppL call think Jar Jar Abrams tha brand new Stfphvn SpieLbrg , wat a joke . JarJar Abram shouLd'v nevr bn aLowd cLose near a hoLywood camra studio , Least of aLL starwars and startrk , tis aLL George Lucas fauLt , he soLd his hart souL to tha dark side

Totally agree. Into darkness is terrible.

dboymax1 agreed!

Disagree

JJ having Spock yell "Khan" didn't make sense.

+Broyale26 I will get to it at some point.

+Oliver Harper I have been, and always shall be..subscribed. Live long and prosper.

Yeah the Trek reboot was pretty bad. It was generic action. What annoys me is that many reviewers (and even Mr. Plinkett) criticised the TNG films for become action-driven adventures rather than remaining true to the series, and then praised the JJ Abrams Trek films for doing precisely that! Meh, the Abramsverse Trek films happen in an alternate reality anyway (before even the time travel). The producers said so. It doesn't even happen in the 'Prime' Star Trek universe.

KRSsven *"What annoys me is that many reviewers (and even Mr. Plinkett) [...]"* Haha, I said that exact same thing on Plinkett's video only a few weeks ago! :) People are slowly starting to realize this, but they still have some weird need to insist that Star Trek 2009 was good for some reason. I really don't understand why.

Headrock Haha that's a strange coincidence! I really highly objected to the 2009 film. I thought so much about was wrong and it never felt like Star Trek. Abrams can do blasters, explosions and lightsabres but Trek isn't a cartoon.

KRSsven Precisely. +1

RedLetterMedia liked it because judged on its own merits the 2009 film is solid at what its going for. Its more action driven but its done well. The TNG films action was done poorly in comparison. Plinkett also criticized Into Darkness heavily, so its not like he's a fan of the Abramsverse, he just thinks the 2009 film was solid.

I love the design of the Phasers from this movie. I picked up the Diamond Select Toys replica a while back and its a great toy for both young and young at heart. Next to the Type II Phaser from Star Trek: The Next Generation it is defiantly one of the best looking phasers ever made if you ask me.

If they'd fix a couple of effects, like the screen around the genesis effect sales pitch video I'd love it. Those look like they were generated on a C64. not the genesis effect, that looks very Amiga. lol. but the screen surrounds look so poorly rendered.

+A GriffinTV insurrection would've made a good two part tv episode, didn't work for a movie

+KD84Afc™ I sadly disagree. Linkara from AT4W said it best, it feels like a really bad episode of a TV episode. A bland silly story, which doesn't feel remotely movie worthy. The Motion picture was an epic story, and the Fifth at least tried to be epic. Insurrection is just meh.

Biggest issue with Next Generation films was having the same TV production staff doing the movies. That was Paramounts biggest mistake they should have kept the TNG producers and production staff as consultants instead of having direct involvement with the movies in the end TNG's movie run was a total disaster.

A GriffinTV see I don't think so as t.v. production is different to films, I believe the story would of been stronger as they wouldn't had to rely on big budget special effects

Maybe, but Bennett wanted a Starfleet Academy movie.

Same here. Much taller than my parents.

Same here.

Same here, and my son is also taller than me. My parents where also taller than their parents so I guess that it's simply a genetic thing that breaks us (and you) from the average.

If children were only ever expected to match their parents in size, how would we ever have progressed from being proteins and amino acids?

How tall is the milkman?

My dad was 6'2" tall. His father wasn't even 6'. My dad got his height from his mother who was 5'9", a tall woman of Dutch descent. As a result, I turned out 4" taller than my mother.

nice genetics

+Scott Destan just checked that prime scene and the comments below. Wished it was one of my childhood series.

Don't get me started about Into Darkness. My wife and I laughed at the absurd scene when Cumberbatch revealed that he was Khan. I refuse to rewatch that forgetable movie.