Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

How disappointing.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan is far from stunning.

Ricardo Montalban's Khan reminds me of shock rocker Alice Cooper. His henchmen looked like they just walked off a California beach. Would they look that good after spending 15 years on a barren planet? His goons don't look terribly threatening.

Why didn't Khan and his old nemesis Admiral James Kirk (William Shatner) square off man-to-man rather than exchanging jabs over video screens? If Khan is so smart, why does he keep getting outwitted by Kirk? Questions like this bug me as a viewer.

There's lots of references to death, duty and new life in this second film based on the iconic television series from the 1960s. Khan appeared in one episode, Space Seed, broadcast in 1967.

Admiral James Kirk (William Shatner) is choosing not to celebrate his birthday. He feels old, and without a spaceship to command, somewhat useless. He has to wear glasses. Glasses make him feel old. Oh, brother.

Opportunity knocks during an inspection of his old ship, Enterprise. His trusted colleagues are on board - Spock (Leonard Nimoy), Bones (DeForest Kelley), Scotty (James Doohan) and Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) with Chekov (Walter Koenig) not far away.

Enterprise is called into service to check up on a space station doing research on Genesis. Want to create a planet pronto where no life exists? Genesis is your answer. Research is being headed up by Kirk's old flame Carol (Bibi Besch) and their son, David (Merritt Butrick). David is convinced Starfleet Command wants control of Genesis for military purposes. Khan's interested too.

Khan gets himself out of exile and zeroes in on Genesis. Kirk and his posse have to stop Khan.

Death is continually present in this film. Many of Enterprise's most veteran hands appear to die early on. A training simulation involves a distress call and failing life support systems. A cadet is praised for not abandoning his post and dying in service of Starfleet. Oh, and Khan wants Kirk dead - even when he has Genesis for himself. Khan, you old coot. Take Genesis and run.

Some of the film's cracks are quite funny, but the late Butrick is mostly weak. There's some rapport, but not much contact between Carol and Kirk.

What was that talk about the even numbers in this series being the better films? I'm not so sure.

RATING: 6/10

FUN FACTS: Ike Eisenmann, who appears as Cadet Preston, appeared as a party guest in John Hughes' Some Kind of Wonderful.

Star Trek II marks Kirstie Alley's film debut.

Paul Winfield was the voice of Lucius Sweet in two episodes of The Simpsons.

Star Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984)

This Star Trek film journeys into a ho-hum cinematic world.

It's not terrible. It's not great. It's OK.

For Star Trek completists, it's must-see viewing, of course.

Casual fans of the long-running franchise could safely bank on parts II, IV and VI for greater enjoyment.

The Search for Spock begins where The Wrath of Khan ends. The Starship Enterprise is in rough shape after its most recent battles. The crew holds a funeral service for Spock (Leonard Nimoy), who died at the end of the second Star Trek film.

NEW LIFE ON GENESIS

His remains are dispatched to Genesis, a planet-wide science experiment dreamed up by Kirk's son, David (Merritt Butrick). Federation monitoring of Genesis pinpoints a lifeform near Spock's casket. Hmmm. Has the Enterprise's science officer been resurrected on this planet of new life? It sure looks that way when David and Saavik (Robin Curtis) find Spock's burial robe, but not him. The parallels to Jesus Christ's resurrection after being crucified are pretty obvious here.

The Klingons, enemies of the Federation, learn about Genesis' power and want David's scientific find for their own evil use. Kruge (Christopher Lloyd) and his crew head to Genesis.

BRING HIM BACK After being chewed out by Spock's father Sarek (Mark Leonard) for not bringing "his living spirit" back to Vulcan, Kirk vows to bring his best friend home. Captain and company, against Federation orders, hijack the Enterprise and head to Genesis.

David's science project isn't as solid as he believed. Enterprise isn't in the best shape to do battle with, oh, any cloaked Klingon vessels they might encounter. Kruge wants Genesis. See where this is all going?

McCoy (DeForest Kelley) always gets some fine laughs and he delivers again here. His best crack is his first when he tries to arrange purchase of a vessel to get to Genesis. Sulu (George Takei) beats the snot out of a Federation guard. Chekov (Walter Koenig), Uhura (Nichelle Nichols) and Scotty (James Doohan) get their brief moments too.

Nimoy makes his feature film directing debut here. He did have four television credits prior to this 1984 release including a 1983 epiosde of T.J. Hooker featuring one William Shatner. Star Trek IV and Three Men and a Baby would follow.

Star Trek III pretty much delivers what viewers will expect, including some decent action and wisecracks, but no big surprises.

RATING: 7/10

FILM FACTS: William Shatner's Star Trek Movie Memories is a nifty accompaniment when watching the film series. His chapter on The Search for Spock includes interesting details on Nimoy's decision to direct the third film, Shatner's initial unease with the script, Takei's unhappiness with said martial arts scene and his surprise role in the film's finale, Nimoy's initial choice of actor for Kruge and how actress Dame Judith Anderson beamed on board.

I did not know prior to writing this post that Carl Steven, who portrayed Spock at age nine, died in 2011. He was 36. Steven's other credits include Honey, I Shrunk the Kids and Little House on the Prairie.

Butrick, who appeared in 20 episodes of the television series Square Pegs, died in 1989 at age 29.