In the 60 years since Gene Roddenberry’s universe warped into existence, Starfleet heroes have boldly gone on both big- and small-screen adventures. Except everything almost came to a full stop in 1982. That’s reason enough to claim Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is the all-time greatest movie in the franchise. But its excellence goes deeper than that.
Across its nearly 1,000 hours of on-screen storytelling, every fan has wildly different opinions on which is its best. While it may not be every fan’s favorite, everyone understands why The Wrath of Khan is considered the greatest Star Trek movie of all time. From defining the future of The Original Series‘ characters to its off-screen legacy, this film has become the center of Star Trek‘s universe.
James Horner’s Score Elevates Star Trek and the Very Meaning of ‘Space Opera’
The term “space opera” is a derivative of “horse opera,” which is ironic TV jargon for the ensemble Westerns that dominated 20th-century pop culture. Both terms likely owe their genesis to “soap opera,” a genre of TV storytelling not typically seen as “high art.” However, 1970s sci-fi epics like Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Star Trek: The Motion Picture — scored by the inimitable Jerry Goldsmith — used music to imbue these stories with the kind of mythic posture traditional opera brings to the stage. For The Wrath of Khan, then-new composer James Horner delivered a score that stood shoulder-to-shoulder with the likes of Goldsmith and John Williams.
Why a TV show or film works for viewers is a complex calculation, and music can often be the defining factor. Part of what makes sci-fi and fantasy so much fun is that it’s mostly preposterous. For all its emotional character work and high-minded ideals, Star Trek always risks becoming a farce because of its outlandish concepts. Horner’s music gave The Wrath of Khan gravitas and emotional weight. The music is a subtle reminder that, silly or not, these are epic stories about serious business. That unique marriage between music and the substance of the story is why the theme song for Star Trek: Enterprise failed to land while The Next Generation, Deep Space Nine, and Voyager‘s themes became iconic.
Ricardo Montalban Brought Gravitas and The Original Series Continuity to the Big Screen
Writer and director Nicholas Meyer proves Star Trek fans are wrong about which artists should get to tell these stories. He’s often said that he was never a fan before agreeing to shepherd this universe into the future. Still, unlike The Motion Picture director Robert Wise and Roddenberry himself, he didn’t think the movies should avoid connections to its source material. After watching the episode “Space Seed,” he wanted to bring back Khan Noonien Singh for a sequel. And it would only work if Ricardo Montalban played the role.
Sir Patrick Stewart often compares Star Trek to Shakespeare for its unorthodox tone and specific vocabulary. It’s obvious from his performance that Ricardo Montalban likely agreed with him. Khan is grandiose and dramatic, and the actor shapes the character without a hint of camp or winking at the audience. Unlike the rest of the cast, it had been almost 20 years since he stepped into that character’s shoes. Yet he makes viewers believe Khan has thought of nothing but Kirk and revenge in all that time.
The Wrath of Khan Made Star Trek’s Space Combat the Antithesis of Star Wars Spectacle
In 1977, Star Wars changed the cinematic game for sci-fi. So, Paramount got the same mad geniuses who brought the Death Star and Millennium Falcon for their space epic. George Lucas looked to the fast-paced intensity of fighter jets; Meyer went with the exact opposite. What makes the battles in Star Trek better, or different at least, is how they evoke the slow tension of submarine combat. (Including Run Silent, Run Deep, directed by Robert Wise.) It’s actually the obvious choice considering the scale of the USS Enterprise or even the USS Reliant compared to TIE Fighters or X-Wings.
Beyond the sci-fi physics at play, there is a more artistic reason for the different approach to the spacefaring action. Star Wars is a story about individuals, from chosen ones to characters who are overlooked and underestimated. Despite the heroics from folks like Captain Kirk or Spock, Star Trek is about a crew of people working together in support of shared ideals. This dynamic is at play in every scene where Kirk and Khan face off. The latter berates and barks orders at his crew. Not only does the Enterprise crew work together, but Kirk praises Lieutenant Saavik for questioning orders that violated Starfleet protocol. The slower pace of combat highlights how that teamwork makes the difference between victory and defeat.
Spock’s Death Is the Greatest Emotional Climax In Sci-Fi Movie History
When it comes to teamwork and sacrifice, The Wrath of Khan brilliantly underscores that theme with its ending. Forget Star Trek or even sci-fi, Spock’s death in The Wrath of Khan is one of the most moving moments in cinema history. Throughout the film, the characters tackle two big ideas. First, that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, or the one. Secondly, how a commitment to Starfleet’s ideals means encountering a “no-win scenario.” Spock saves the Enterprise and its crew from destruction, and all it cost him was his life. To him, such a sacrifice was only logical.
While the moment works on its own, even people who aren’t Star Trek fans understand the deep connection between Kirk and Spock. Watching Shatner and Nimoy bring this intimate, personal scene to life — while separated by glass (or maybe transparent aluminum) — is heart-wrenching. In the commentary for the film, Meyer talks about not understanding what this scene meant until it was filmed. He noted that the other actors on set and even the crew — who are typically unfazed by such things — were all crying when he called “cut.” Even though the next film brings Spock back to life, the scene hasn’t lost a scintilla of that emotional power.
The Wrath of Khan Dared to Let Its Timeless Characters Begin to Feel the Effects of Aging
Despite not being a Star Trek fan, Meyer was keenly aware of how history shaped this imaginary future. In fact, this movie cleared up 16 years of confusion for Star Trek fans by finally confirming the 23rd Century as its setting. This is fitting, because the passage of time is deeply important to its story, and not just the years Khan spent surviving on a wasteland planet. In one of the first scenes, Spock gives Kirk a traditional book for his birthday, and he holds it at arm’s length to read the print. Later, McCoy shows up at Kirk’s apartment and gives him a pair of glasses (because he’s allergic to the sci-fi medicine that fixes eyesight). This theme continues to the very end of the film when, mourning his friend Spock, Kirk tells the crew he “feel(s} young.”
Throughout The Original Series, Kirk was the dashing, young captain eager for adventure and a physical, shirt-tearing scrap when needed. This even continued in The Motion Picture with Kirk’s conflict with his replacement on the Enterprise, Captain Decker. The Wrath of Khan used the natural aging of the cast, particularly Shatner (now 95 and not slowed in the least), for the narrative. This time, instead of a new, younger captain, Kirk came face-to-face with his son. What began in The Wrath of Khan continued across the next five films, including Meyer’s send-off for this cast in The Undiscovered Country. Both narratively and in real life, this film revitalized Star Trek by acknowledging the past to give it a future.
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is available to own on DVD, Blu-ray, digital, and streams on Paramount+.
- Release Date
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June 4, 1982
- Runtime
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112 Minutes
- Director
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Nicholas Meyer
- Writers
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Jack B. Sowards
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