GENRE: Sci-Fi Movie

SUMMARY: The title and responsibilities of Admiral feel ill-fitting for the recently promoted James T. Kirk as he attempts to hang up his captain's uniform and his desire to explore far-off galaxies with it. They set off on a simple training mission, but with the re-emergence of his past foe Khan, a genetically engineered super-genius, and the Enterprise being the only ship in the quadrant, can Starfleet afford not to have their best captain back?

REVIEW: After finally re-watching Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan I can see why Shane and Ash like Kirk so much. It's also made me realize why Shatner says his performances were better than Chris Pines' (from Shane's post a while back: http://geektyrant.com/news/2012/12/1/william-shatner-says-star-trek-reboot-not-as-good-as-his-own.html). While new Kirk may be dashing, a rebel, and fun, Shatner portrays a truly radical captain who takes command of the scene when he takes command of the ship. 

In Star Trek II, the whole feel of the movie is like a navy submarine battle in space and it's amazing because of it. The crew is called to attention for Kirk's boarding with a electric bosun's whistle, they respond to Kirk with "Sir" and follow his orders, despite the technology being older for the special effects the computer consoles look more appropriately utilitarian and functional, and the uniforms feel right instead of like fashion statements of the future. The mood they are creating is clear and the director's vision is carried out expertly. They even subtly explain why the captain beams down to check something out: Lt. Saavik tries to warn him but he goes anyway because he's Kirk and in command so he does what he wants. When they go they go with weapons drawn like any sensible person would. It really has a true Navy feel to it which should mean something coming from a sailor. It's sad that almost all this feel and awesomeness was lost in the next movie (from what Mere and I could stay awake through). They move away from the military feel and are clearly influenced by Star Wars in an attempt to make the Starfleet universe feel "fresh" and "edgy". Unfortunately it comes of as fitting a square peg in a round hole and they lose all the good parts of their storied landscape (what idiot would put Nimoy in charge of a movie whose whole plot centers on his character?).

This movie meant a lot to me personally because as I've started to finally explore the Star Trek universe as an adult, I've started to grow weary of the direction its taken. It's a world envisioned by those more obsessed with "what ifs" that's grown unnecessarily out of touch with a grounding in the reality of human emotions. It's rather un-compelling intellectual fluff. Thematic and philosophical story lines can easily be gripping as good sci-fi and Nolan's Batman trilogy demonstrate. I keep wondering why Picard's crew is just so soft and undisciplined. Granted they keep using the excuse of "this is a science vessel" but when put in a combat situation there is no reason that Picard shouldn't switch the ship into a military mode and have security that has been through some training. It also always frustrated me how, because of their limited cast due to budget, the command and support officers would beam down to a possible hostile situation without a heavily armed and trained escort. Even a science vessel could benefit from discipline and a well enforced chain of command. Star Trek II is a vindication of everything that frustrates me. It's a coming together of all these loose threads into one glorious 2-hour event. The movie is a glimpse into what the Star Trek franchise could have been and a clear illustration of how they missed the starship on this one.

9/10 DIRECTING, CINEMATOGRAPHY, & STORYTELLING
8/10 ACTING
8/10 PLOT & WRITING
8.5/10 OVERALL (Great great movie!)