Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Restored) (2010)

I just bought this DVD..., and the verdict is in: It's a blast!!!

THE MOVIE: Certanily one of the best Star Trek movies. Although the main plot about revenge is a bit too basic, the sub-plots, including the addition of Kirk's ex-wife and son, makes the movie better. The action is well paced and the special effects are marevelous. Also, the "expanded director's edition" featured on this DVD adds about 5 extra minutes to the movie. The added footage does little to help the plot, but does a great deal to flesh out more of the minor characters, such as Kirk's son and Lt. Saavik. Also, the last 15 minutes of the film (some added dialogue was put in there to have a little bit more emotional impact at the end of the film) made me jump the grade of the film from a "B" to an "A+."

THE DVD: In addition to having a crisp, clear picture transfer of the film with oustanding sound, the first disc has a nice audio commentary from the director and an even nicer text commentary from Michael Okuda, co-author of the Star Trek Encyclopedia. (That guy knows EVERY SINGLE LITTLE DETAIL THAT OTHER PEOPLE WOULD NOT EVEN KNOW A THING ABOUT that regards to Star Trek.) The second disc contains the following:

1) The Captain's Log: A 27-minute documentary featuring brand new interviews with Leonard Nimoy, William Shatner, director Nicholas Meyer, Ricardo Montalban, and others. They talk about how they originally intended to put the film together, how they eventually ended up completing that task, and other things.

2) Designing Khan: A 23-minute documentary that features interviews with director Nicholas Meyers, the costume designer, and the production designer. They discuss the transitions they made in costume and production design from the ST:TMP to ST2:TWOK.

3) Visual Effects: An 18-minute featurette that has interviews with the FX crew. They explain how they executed and completed the FX shots. (Big surprise there)

4) The Star Trek Universe: A 28-minute documetary that features interviews with two Star Trek novel writers. They discuss how they fill in the gaps between the movies with their books and where they get their ideas.

5) Original Interviews: Basically 10 minutes of interviews (from 1982) featuring William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban, and Deforest Kelley.

6) Archives: The archives feature 10 original storyboard sequences. (That sure beats the storyboard archives on the ST:TMP DVD, which features a mere 3 storyboard sequences.) There is also a thatrical trailer.

So, there you have it. A great movie with a packed DVD equals a great purchase. Buy as soon as possible.

1982; 116 minutes; Rated PG for mild obscenity, some sequences of sc-fi action/violence, and brief shots of the aftermaths of brutal murders.

(I DO think this movie should have been rated PG-13, but the rating didn't exist then. See and judge for yourself.)...

I'm relatively new to the whole Blu-ray thing; indeed, I resisted buying a Blu-ray player for a long time because I imagined that older movies (e.g., Wrath of Khan) would look grainy and dated in this format, which mercilessly exposes the flaws in older film prints.

So I was pleasantly surprised when "Wrath of Khan" ended up looking, to me, rather good on Blu-ray. It's by no means a perfect print; for example, there's usually some fuzz (or whatever the technical term is) visible on scenes with dark lighting, such as when the Enterprise bridge goes to red alert. But by and large, this print is much nicer than the previous DVD versions.

I compared some DVD scenes to Blu-ray ones to determine whether the upgrade was worth it, and I think it was. Check out the scene when Spock gives Kirk his birthday present; on Blu-ray, you can see all the fine details on that giant globe they're standing next to, whereas on the DVD print it just looks like some glass blob. Similarly, the nebula scenes look much clearer on the Blu-ray.

Some fans seem annoyed that "digital noise reduction" has been applied to the Star Trek movies. Again, I'm no technical expert, but I believe this means that the artifacting/fuzz/whatever-you-call-it has been digitally "painted out" to give the film a cleaner look. This has led some fans to complain that the ST films now look artificially painted over, or waxy, or whatever. I sympathize with this complaint, but I think there's a tough choice to be made here; either studios can digitally "paint out" flaws, resulting in a slightly artificial look, or they can leave the flaws in, resulting in a distracting grainy look. Based on my Blu-ray experiences so far, I favor the noise reduction; for example, the Star Trek Blu-rays look much nicer to me than Fargo, which looks like it was shot through a layer of gauze.

The only real disappointment is that "Wrath of Khan" is only available in its theatrical cut, not the (slightly) better extended cut. It's a shame that Paramount doesn't give you a choice between the two versions; for "Khan," I'd pick the extended cut, and for "Undiscovered Country" I'd go with the theatrical one, but so far Paramount has not released versions that offer the option of switching.

But still, I think "Khan" looks so much nicer as a Blu-ray that I'd rather watch this copy than the special edition DVD. I don't even have a problem with the much-loathed "Delta shield" menu, which may be basic, but has a certain elegance to it...

Buy Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Restored) (2010) Now

In the wake of Robert Wise's "director's edition" of STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE, it was only a matter of time before Nicholas Meyer's STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN was awarded the same treatment. Half a year later, KHAN does indeed get the royal treatment with a 2-disc set loaded with extras and fan tidbits galore. The package includes a slightly extended "director's cut" of KHAN that restores a critical plot point (namely, the young cadet who dies in Scotty's arms is actually Scotty's nephew) and a few brief clippings of dialogue (mostly back-and-forth exchanges among the main cast); a commentary by Meyer in which he discusses both the film and his approaches to filmmaking; a text commentary by STAR TREK's long-time technical point man Michael Okuda that's packed with more fanboy knowledge than a game of Trivial Pursuit; cast interviews from 1982 (in which Leonard Nimoy wears a pink and white striped suit that makes him look like a pimp); three documentaries covering the making of the film; "A Novel Approach," a documentary where TREK authors Julia Ecklar and Greg Cox discuss how KHAN's plot elements spun off into the TREK novels; the film's FX storyboards; and of course, the theatrical trailer. Let's look at each of these:

THE DIRECTOR'S CUT OF KHAN the film makes a bit more sense now that the scenes establishing the doomed cadet as Scotty's nephew have been restored, and the restored dialogue adds a little extra kick to the proceedings (it's especially funny to hear Spock respond to Kirk's telling him about his son with a disinterested "Fascinating"). But the film is still as tightly structured and fast-paced as it's ever been; the added footage does nothing to slow the film down or to harm the story (although some nit-pickers will make the hilarious claim that the whopping THREE minutes restored to the film "butcher" it and ruin the pace-how can this be when the added three minutes are spread out over the whole film?). Rather, it gives it a bit more punch. As for the look of the film, it's certainly a lot cleaner and brighter than most other prints, but even with the digital re-mastering, there's still a lot of visible film grain. Like STAR TREK: THE MOTION PICTURE before it, KHAN looks its age regardless of the print quality. But this is a minor detail. Overall the film looks pretty good.

COMMENTARIES both interesting and enjoyable. Meyer's regular guy vibe and insights into the making of the film are engaging, and Okuda's trivia-heavy text comments are a joy for anyone who thrives on knowing useless fanboy tidbits.

CAST INTERVIEWS a unusual time capsule in which the film's leads plug the film. But let's face it; the coolest thing about this insert is seeing Leonard Nimoy dressed like a pimp. Spock in a pink suit is perhaps the greatest source of laughs you'll ever find.

DOCUMENTARIES by far, the coolest of these is "Where No Man Has Gone Before," which covers the stylish FX work ILM did on the film. The giddiness with which the film's FX crew recalls their work on the film is enormously contagious. "Designing KHAN," about the film's costume and set designs, is pretty good, too. "Captain's Log," about the overall making of the film, is uneven though. Where Meyer, producer Harve Bennett, and Ricardo Montalban are discussing what went into the making of the film, William Shatner spends his time being a total wiseacre, either mercilessly razzing his pal Nimoy ("I think the death scene would have been better if we DIDN'T see him thru the glass!" and "Oh, he knew he was coming back, he set me up to think he was leaving...I'll get him one day!") or joking about how he used women's cosmetics to look younger. And Nimoy is no better, cracking wise about how much older Shatner is than he. (For those of you wondering, this is how they act around each other all the time.) The insight/clowning-around mixture simply doesn't jell. But to be fair, at least Nicholas Meyer is finally acknowledged as the author of KHAN's shooting script, not Jack Sowards as has been erroneously credited. "A Novel Approach" is interesting, but dry; it bogs down when the authors recite passages from the novels. The moments where they discuss how KHAN formed the backbone of their work and display their fan knowledge are the most enjoyable, even if the supertitles used during the film clips steer too much into jokiness.

STORYBOARDS mind-blowing. We're treated to the conceptual sketches of the film's FX shots (including the combat sequences, which match those in the finished film almost exactly), as well as some terrific concepts for the opening title sequence and the "Spock monologue" finale that really should have been used in the film. Illustrated by the late Mike Minor, these storyboards read like a really good comic book.

THEATRICAL TRAILER pretty dramatic for a teaser, and it gives a good idea of what the film was going to be.

Despite a couple of rocky patches, the "director's edition" of STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN is a worthy package to a really good film. Highly recommended.

Read Best Reviews of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Restored) (2010) Here

Considered the best Star Trek film to date. The film is a virtual Horatio Hornblower in outer space. Wrath Of Khan is a gripping adventure reminisent of a 1957 WWII film "The Enemy Below." Ricardo Montalban is superb at Khan Noonan Singh, genetically modified super madman from the late 20th century. Awoken on a sleeper ship in the 23rd century by Capt Kirk and crew, only to be exiled on unstable planet. Khan seeks revenge on Kirk in the worst way, as he hijacks a Federation starship as well as a device that could literally destroy the galaxy. The best line in the film:

Admiral James T. Kirk: Khan, you bloodsucker! You're gonna have to do your own dirty work now, do you hear me? Do you? Khan: Kirk! You're still alive, old friend! Admiral James T. Kirk: Still, "old friend!" You've managed to kill everyone else but like a poor marksman, you keep missing the target. Khan: Perhaps I no longer need to try, Admiral. [beams the Genesis device away] Admiral James T. Kirk: Khan... Khan, you've got Genesis, but you don't have me. You were going to kill me, Khan. You're gonna have to come down here. You're gonna have to come down here. Khan: I've done far worse than kill you, Admiral. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her: marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet, buried alive. Buried alive. Kirk: KHAAANNNN! KHAAANNNN!

Wrath Of Khan also stars Kristie Alley (of Cheers, and Veronica's Closet). It was Krisitie's 1st roll on the big screen, playing Lt. Saavik, Spock's protegee. Great acting by Montalban and terrific over-acting by Shatner. Star Trek II is a tour de force. A must have for the Trekkie and sci-fi collector.

Want Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (Restored) (2010) Discount?

1982's STAR TREK THE WRATH OF KHAN was a dream come true for TREK fans everywhere. The return of series' villain Khan Noonian Singh, consumed by his obsession to exact revenge on Admiral Kirk for the death of his wife, resulted in a TREK that was bolder and more dramatic than ever before, (or since -take note, Rick Berman!) Key to the rebirth was the hiring of director Nicholas Meyer, an admitted novice to the STAR TREK phenomenon who nonetheless drew an astounding, best-ever performance from Shatner and created a taut, tightly-paced adventure in the tradition of the series' finest episodes. As usual, DeForest Kelley steals scene after scene.

From the very beginning, Paramount has lead the charge in packing their DVD's with supplementary materials, and this disc doesn't disappoint. For starters, there are two VERY cool behind-the-scenes documentaries: STAR TREK: RECAPTURING THE MAGIC explores the effort that went into ensuring the film FELT like STAR TREK, while the second documentary, IKE EISENMANN: FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN TO THE MILKY WAY, examines in exhausting detail how the actor went from child star at Disney to his tour of duty aboard the Enterprise in KHAN. Both shorts are interesting and informative, and above all, fun. But the studio didn't stop there; in addition to the documentaries, we get a pristine transfer of the film's original theatrical trailer, a generous collection of TV spots, and a rare, seldom seen teaser trailer created expressly for the Polish market. But the real jewel of the extras is the inclusion of an entire taping of The Merv Griffin Show from 1982 featuring Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley, just prior to the release of the film. That alone would have been sufficient to make the disc a must-buy, but Paramount ups the ante by giving us not one, not two, but 25 audio commentaries!!! This treasure trove of extras, combined with the dynamic picture and sound of the film transfer, will have TREK fans everywhere rushing to beam this one up!

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