Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan – Blu-Ray Movie Review

Synopsis

Captain Kirk’s Starfleet career enters a new chapter as a result of his most vengeful nemesis: Khan Noonien Singh, the genetically enhanced conqueror from the 20th century. Escaping from his forgotten prison, Khan and crew set their sights on both capturing Project Genesis and the utter destruction of James T. Kirk. Does an older, wiser Kirk have what it takes to stop this madman with a device that can forever alter the universe as we know it? (Note: this re-issue contains both the original theatrical release and the Director’s cut).

Specifications

Paramount Pictures
2016 (1982), Rated PG, 1 hour 54 minutes
Dolby TrueHD 7.1 audio, 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban
Directed by: Nicholas Meyer

Rating

Entertainment:

Video:

Audio:

Extras:

Violence: Yes
Sex: No
Language: No

Commentary

Arguably the best Trek movie of the entire franchise, this film strikes gold because it returned to its TV roots and combined great action with great characters. Nimoy almost did not sign on, as he thought Trek was dead. Montalban was afraid his accent would be ridiculed by audiences and critics alike. If Meyer had his way, Spock would have (SPOILER) stayed dead.

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In spite of all of these, the movie ended up saving the whole Trek universe and several more movies were slated to follow. The Director’s cut adds about 3 more minutes of minor dialog that fleshes out a few scenes. Is this purchase worth the upgrade from the previous release? I think if you are a fan, yes. The extras are a mix of old and new commentaries which I found…fascinating.

When I compared this movie with my copy from a previously released 3 pack, I could not see any difference in the picture, but the 7.1 sound was a nice improvement. The fact that this release contains the Director’ cut and the theatrical version is a nice deal. Still, if you are going to replace your old copy, why not wait for the UHD version? Live long and prosper!

Technical

As mentioned, the PQ is very good with lots of detail, color and sound. Flesh tones are accurate, the deep reds of the uniforms are well saturated, and shadow details are excellent as well. The big upgrade is the sound with deep resonant bass and lively surround sounds. Kirk screaming, “Kaaaaaahn!” never sounded so resonant!

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Extras

Over 2 hours of extras: Commentaries, Library Computer (theatrical version), Genesis Effect: Engineering the Wrath of Khan (NEW), Production vignettes, The Star Trek Universe, Farewell tribute to Montalban, Storyboards and the theatrical trailer. James Horner talks about the musical scoring as well.

Jim Milton

Jim Milton has been interested in high fidelity since his college years in the late 70's. It was there that he first became interested in classical music. He has been part of choral music, both in opera and oratorio and is an avid collector of classical music from the Baroque through the Romantic periods. He enjoys an occasional night at Boston Symphony Hall or attending an organ concert at Merrill Auditorium in Portland, ME. Currently he is the director of Nuclear Medicine at the North Shore Medical Center, located just outside of Boston. He also serves as an adjunct professor for Salem State University where he teaches a course in nuclear instrumentation. During his leisure time, he enjoys listening to his music collection and an occasional movie with his wife of 30+ years. Living on the longest stretch of sandy beach north of Boston offers him plenty of opportunities to take a relaxing stroll or soak up some sun. "Remember, acquiring good A/V gear takes lots of time...but doesn't necessarily take lots of money."

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View Comments

Gabe Gordon says:

July 21, 2016 at 2:01 pm

The new STII release is from a fresh transfer and looks significantly different (and better) than the original disc. That one suffered from a change in color toward the green side of the spectrum. This new disc returns to a color scheme similar to other STII video releases.