Captain Jerry's Log: Wrath is super sequel

STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN (1982)

An Appreciation by Jerry Saravia

Watching "Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan" in theaters back in 1982 filled with me dread. After all, I had seen the atrocious, sleep-inducing "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" in theaters three years earlier and it just about destroyed any love I had for the television series, almost but not quite. The surprise was seeing just how damn good "Star Trek II" was and how it beats most other sequels in developing its characters and featuring a solid, menacing villain resurrected from an old TV episode. Trekkies rejoiced, and I found myself loving our favorite Enterprise crew all over again.

The story could have used more depth. Essentially, a ship called the USS Reliant is traveling through the galaxy to find dead planets and instill them with the Genesis device, a device that breathes life and creates a whole environment in a planet (this is a rather amazing invention that no past or present scientist could have ever envisioned). One dead planet still vibrates with some life forms and when former Enterprise member Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Captain Terrell (Paul Winfield) investigate, they find the villainous, resentful Khan (Ricardo Montalban), a man of super strength who wants revenge on former Captain Kirk who banished Khan to the deserted, barren planet. Khan wants Kirk's whereabouts and the line of questioning involves icky eels inserted into our heroes' human ears - a scene that was quite shocking and violent by 1982 standards.

Meanwhile, middle-aged Kirk (William Shatner) has retired and oversees computer simulations of attacks on the Enterprise. When false word leaks that Genesis' research materials are to be transferred to Reliant by Kirk, while Chekov and Terrell are used as spies by Khan, a war begins with Kirk resuming his old duty of guiding the Enterprise. Half-human and half-Vulcan Spock (Leonard Nimoy) is also on board, along with Uhura, Scotty, heck, you know them all. There are also newbies to the Enterprise, and we also get wind of Kirk's former girlfriend, Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), who developed the Genesis device, and Kirk's son, Dr. David Marcus (Merritt Butrick) who looks like he is ready to go surfing.

I would loved to learn more about Genesis overall, and why Khan is wanting to possess the device - what does he hope to gain from possessing it except to make Kirk mad? Still, for a special-effects space opera, "Trek II" offers just a few action scenes - the story takes hold and offers enough drama, just like the TV series. There are some wonderful passages of dialogue where Dr. Bones (DeForest Kelley) argues with Spock over the morality of creating life on a planet, or when Bones tries to cheer up Kirk on his birthday. The last sequence is a strong emotional conclusion that involves Spock risking everything to save the Enterprise during a nebula storm. It reaffirms our own attachment to these characters, thanks to solid direction by Nicholas Meyer and writers Jack B. Sowards and Harve Bennett.

Montalban steals the show as the fierce Khan, showing just as much presence and volatility as he did in that old "Space Seed" episode - he is the most fascinating villain in the Trek universe. Shatner and company do their roles justice and play them straight with just a touch of humor, never veering into self-parody. "Star Trek II" is no doubt the best Trek movie of all time, though it had strong contenders in "Trek III" and "Trek IV" where they saved the whales. After part IV, I kinda lost interest in that universe when Kirk and company sang "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" and faced even more Klingons in the Undiscovered Country. "Star Trek II" is proof positive that when Hollywood uses its imagination, it can crank out superior entertainment.