Plot: What’s it about?
Star Trek is nothing short of a phenonenon. With four television series in it’s wake, eight movies and a million Trekkies out there, this is here to stay. So we have to ask ourselves the question…why? Why is Star Trek so popular? Started by a visionary in his own right, Gene Roddenberry, Star Trek literally dared to go where no man had gone before…space. And at the time of Star Trek’s inception, we were just starting to go there ourselves, but not to the extent that Kirk and his crew were. In this, the sequal to the “Motion Picture” that garnered so much attention (and money), we find Kirk and the crew again battling one of their most frightening foes. Not the Klingons, not the Romulans, but Khan. The sly, devilishly clever antagonist played to perfection by none other than Ricardo Montalban. In an earlier episode of Star Trek (some 15 years before this) the Enterpise crew (mainly Spock and Kirk) had managed to thwart off Khan and isolate him and his crew on a planet. Now, light years later he has come back due to some freak accident and it’s up to the James Tiberius Kirk and Spock to stop him…at any cost!
If you look closely, and try not to blink, you’ll see a very young Kirstie Alley as a young Captain trainee in the opening scene of Star Trek II. The crew has since “retired” (and we all know that’s far from the truth, seeing as how they went on to make 5 more movies) and gone onto cushy officer’s jobs. It’s this that is both eating the crew up and is their savior as well. Managing to get back out amongs the stars (not Hollywood…space) the crew accidently runs into one of their most feard enemies. Khan has it in for the crew of the Enterprise and Spock and Kirk are at the top of a very short list. With more battle scenes that the original, it’s a far more entertaining movie. While this review doesn’t five a lot of the plot, it’s a well-known fact that this movie is by far the most popular and successful movie in the franchise.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is a welcome change for Star Trek fans. First off a major cast member “dies” (I won’t say who for the three people out there who haven’t seen this movie), and secondly it showed the staying power of Star Trek at the box office. Let’s face it, if this movie had tanked, we wouldn’t be awaiting Star Trek 10 and though it’s no “Star Wars” at the box office, the Star Trek movies definately found their niche and calling with this second installment. Independentely, Star Trek II stands well on it’s own, and it’s part of a series, but one that relates more directly back the original series rather than it’s predecessor. For a good time…no a great time, check out Star Trek II.
Video: How does it look?
As we go further and further back into the series (there’s only one left), we see that Paramount has given the earlier movies the benefit of anamoprhic enhancement. When we say benefit, believe it. I took my old VHS verison (which is widescreen) and played it before and after the DVD version and it’s literally night and day. The colors, though somewhat muted at times literally jump out at you. The bridge scnes may look a bit dated and have a “muddy” effect to them, but when you see what the print came from it’s clear (no pun intended) to see that this really is a good transfer. While it doesn’t hold up with some of the transfers that us DVD buyers are used to, it’s not bad overall. Edge enhancement is minimal and not much artifacting to be found at all.
Audio: How does it sound?
Again, the series keeps going further and further back in time, so it’s logical to assume that the sound will get worse and worse. While the newly remastered 5.1 sound would blow away the original mono mixes that the movies were originally filmed in, they sound decent. Dialogue is very clear and the rear speakers are used a few times with great effect. There are a few scenes that the rear speakers are making background noise that sounds so real, I turned and looked around. While it lacks the “Thump” of a modern day soundtrack, the sound is above par and the battle scenes sound very, very good. A fine effort here.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The original trailer is found on the disc.
