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Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Reviews

68 Metascore
1982
1 hr 53 mins
Drama, Suspense, Action & Adventure, Science Fiction
PG

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Another mission for the Enterprise pits them against a familiar enemy named Khan, who, while leading a crew of near-savage space prisoners, insinuates himself into the Genesis Project, which is designed to introduce living organisms on long-dead planets.

Of the first three Trek films, #2 comes closest to the spirit of the TV series. It's conceived as a sequel to the "Space Seed" episode from the 1967 show, in which Kirk had banished the evil Khan (Ricardo Montalban) to the edge of the universe. Now Khan is back and looking for revenge, via a device capable of reversing creation. This is one of the most popular in the series, thanks to a high action quotient (including a tensely staged space battle), a suitably campy turn by Montalban, and the shock value of Spock's "death." There is some novelty value, too, in the focus on Kirk's family life back on Earth.