On Monday I decided that there were two movies I had to watch before seeing Star Trek Into Darkness this weekend. The first (obviously) was J.J. Abrams' riveting 2009 picture; the summer blockbuster that breathed new life into a classic, yet (at the time) fledgling sci-fi franchise.
The second was, coincidentally, the second-ever cinematic incarnation of Star Trek, titled The Wrath of Khan.
I've heard from numerous sources that, among the "Trekkie" community, The Wrath of Khan is considered the greatest Star Trek movie ever made. And seeing as Benedict Cumberbatch will be playing the classic villain after this weekend, it seems only appropriate to get acquainted with the character and to find out firsthand if The Wrath of Khan is really as good as everyone says it is.
I don't pretend to know much of anything about Star Trek; just some of the basic stuff that my dad (a devoted fan of the original series) taught me leading up to our father-son date to see the reboot four years ago. I had heard, though, that Ricardo Montalban played Khan in a famous episode of Star Trek back in the 60s titled "Space Seed". I haven't seen the episode, so I can only use what's in the movie to infer what happened between Kirk, the Enterprise crew, and Khan beforehand.
I felt slightly in the dark while watching The Wrath of Khan, only because it plays like a two hour episode of the television series. It's not a film that's easy to jump into, like Abram's movie is. You really should have a basic understanding of who the characters are, even though the true prerequisite would be to have watched the TV show.
Having said that, I still enjoyed The Wrath of Khan very much. It's action-packed and consistently engaging, which are two compliments that I've never quite been able to bestow on anything else I've seen in the original Star Trek franchise (which isn't much). The original cast is all present and accounted for, with Kirstie Alley and Ricardo Montalban rounding out the lead character roster. This is pre-Cheers Kirstie Alley, and she fares just fine as Saavik, a Vulcan lieutenant fresh out of Starfleet and eager to make an influence on the deck of the Enterprise. Ricardo Montalban is great as Khan, a genetically altered humanoid who's been in exile for years (presumably after the events of that "Space Seed" episode). After Darth Vader, Khan is the next quintessential space villain. In the role, Montalban is frightening enough to give you nightmares with his hellbent obsession of defeating Kirk, but he always keeps you guessing as to what he's going to do next so that you never lose interest in him.
This was a brief summary, so go check out The Wrath of Khan on Netflix if you're interested in expanding your insight into the Star Trek universe, or if you just want some classic, diverting sci-fi. Is it better than the 2009 version? Not really, but it's still a great time. And now I know a little more about what to expect from the title character when he invades the big screen again in Star Trek Into Darkness this weekend.
(I actually caught some passing quips in The Wrath of Khan that I was able to identify after having seen the 2009 movie. The Kobayashi Maru test and the way in which Kirk explains how he beat it is precisely consistent between the two movies. I just thought that was kinda cool.)
7.5/10
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