21. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Genre: Sci-Fi Action/Adventure
Director: Nicholas Meyer
Writers: Harve Bennett, Gene Roddenberry
Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, Ricardo Montalban
Awards: Saturn Awards—Actor (Shatner), Director
Metacritic score: 71
IMDB Ranking: n/a
In the pantheon of "sequels that far eclipsed their original films," Star Trek II is right up there with The Empire Strikes Back and Superman II. I would argue, however, that Star Trek II deserves the nod in this category because a) Empire was the sequel to Star Wars, a great movie in its own right, and b) Superman I was just okay but not the unmitigated disaster that was Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
The Wrath of Khan is so good that Trekkies forgave and forgot how bad the first movie in the film franchise was. The original cast of the TV show is all present, and each actor gives perhaps his and her finest performance in the most serious of all the original series movies.
Best of all are the scenes where William Shatner and Ricardo Montalban take turns seeing who can devour the most scenery. The amazing thing is how well this works within the context of the movie and everything that is at stake for these characters.
The special effects are a bit outdated to modern audiences since the film was made in 1982, and younger audiences who think "old Star Trek" means Picard and Data may find the whole thing a little over the top, but to Gen-Xers like me whose entry into science fiction were Star Trek reruns on weekend TV, this movie will always be a timeless classic.
In the pantheon of "sequels that far eclipsed their original films," Star Trek II is right up there with The Empire Strikes Back and Superman II. I would argue, however, that Star Trek II deserves the nod in this category because a) Empire was the sequel to Star Wars, a great movie in its own right, and b) Superman I was just okay but not the unmitigated disaster that was Star Trek: The Motion Picture.
The Wrath of Khan is so good that Trekkies forgave and forgot how bad the first movie in the film franchise was. The original cast of the TV show is all present, and each actor gives perhaps his and her finest performance in the most serious of all the original series movies.
Best of all are the scenes where William Shatner and Ricardo Montalban take turns seeing who can devour the most scenery. The amazing thing is how well this works within the context of the movie and everything that is at stake for these characters.
The special effects are a bit outdated to modern audiences since the film was made in 1982, and younger audiences who think "old Star Trek" means Picard and Data may find the whole thing a little over the top, but to Gen-Xers like me whose entry into science fiction were Star Trek reruns on weekend TV, this movie will always be a timeless classic.
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