On Saturday, Sept. 3, in collaboration with Turner Classic Movies and in celebration of its fortieth anniversary, Paramount re-released “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” back into theaters with a new extended director’s cut of the picture. First released on June 4, 1982, to critical acclaim, “Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” brought the franchise back to popularity and gave it new life for a future of works that continue to this day. Following the mixed reception in December 1979 after the release of “Star Trek: The Motion Picture,” the future of the series was in question. “The Motion Picture” faced numerous troubles during production, with the film going over budget, constant script changes throughout filming and little time to finish the special effects completely before the intended release date. The cast, especially Leonard Nimoy (Spock), expressed very little interest to return in the sequel given their poor experience working on the first project. Television producer Harve Bennett was hired by Paramount executives to oversee the production of another “Star Trek” film, as the company was also dissatisfied with the results of the first movie. Bennett, along with Jack B. Sowards, were tasked with writing the next work of the franchise. They went through various drafts until Nicholas Meyer was brought on board. Though uncredited for his work on the screenplay, Meyer was eventually made the director of the picture. It was here that “Star Trek” regained its footing.

Set fifteen years after the events of the original series that ran from 1966 to 1969, the film follows promoted rear Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner), former commander of the starship USS Enterprise, now working a crucial yet uneventful desk job overseeing the future Starfleet cadets trained by Captain Spock (Nimoy). Kirk begins to fear that he is becoming a relic of the past and is strongly encouraged by his close friend Dr. Leonard McCoy (DeForest Kelley) to gain his command back before he grows old. Meanwhile, on the other side of the galaxy, the starship USS Reliant is in search of a lifeless planet to undergo testing of the Genesis device, a terraforming appliance with the ability to reorganize dead inorganic matter into fully habitable worlds. Captain Clark Terrell (Paul Winfield) and First Officer Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) transport down to the surface on what they believe to be the planet Ceti Alpha V to gather research as a possible test site of the Genesis project. Shortly upon arrival, they are captured by Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalbán), Kirk’s former adversary, who Chekov served under fifteen years before. Khan was exiled to the planet Ceti Alpha V after he and his followers attempted to hijack the Enterprise. Six months after being left for dead, the adjacent planet, Ceti Alpha VI, exploded. The shock shifted the orbit of Ceti Alpha V, laying it to waste. A planet that was once habitable for Khan and his people to live out their days on turned into a barren sandheap. Unable to gain information as to why Terrell and Chekov are truly on the planet, Khan places an indigenous eel in their bodies that makes them susceptible to mind control. In turn, Khan captures the Reliant, learns of the Genesis device and sets a course to space laboratory Regula I, where the project is currently being developed by a former lover of Kirk, Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch).

During a training cruise of new cadets aboard the Enterprise, Kirk assumes command of the ship upon receiving a distress call from Regula I. En route, they are attacked by Khan and his crew of genetically engineered followers. Khan offers a proposal to spare the lives of Kirk’s crew if he hands himself over along with all data regarding Genesis. Kirk gains the upper hand in the battle, stalling for time, remotely lowering Reliant’s shields via the data charts of the ship’s command console, attacking Khan back and forcing him into retreat. The Enterprise slowly makes its way to Regula I with Kirk, McCoy and the crew’s newest member, Lt. Saavik (Kirstie Alley), transporting themselves to the station. There, they find the place seemingly barren until stumbling upon what remains of the lab’s personnel along with Chekov and Terrell, having been left by Khan as spies. The company transports further down to a planetoid below the lab, finding Carol and her son David (Merritt Butrick) hiding the Genesis project with them, upon which Terrell establishes a communication channel between himself and Khan where he is ordered to kill Kirk and transport the project on board.

“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” surpasses its predecessor in every sense of the word. This film is one of those rare occurrences where the sequel is better than the original. The picture includes new additionally remastered footage, overall adding about three minutes to the movie. While the newly implemented scenes do not add much to the story, the scenes build upon the relationships between Kirk, Spock and McCoy; the key foundation that makes us come back for more “Star Trek” is the friendship explored between these three leads. By the time of the film’s release, Shatner, Nimoy and Kelley had been playing these characters for almost twenty years, they gave performances which never felt any less dynamic or captivating as they were the first time we saw them together on the screen. The same can be said for Montalbán returning to play Khan, who at the time of production, admitted serious doubts he could take on the role again given the time that had passed between his appearance on the show and production of the work. Yet he is perhaps the one who steals the show any time he is on the screen; the audience is completely captivated by his presence. Even if he is just a man hell-bent on one simple thing – revenge, a plot point used far too much nowadays –Montalbán’s performance, the strong screenwriting and interactions with the rest of the actors make him stand out among the cliché revenge-driven sea of villains of Hollywood’s films.

While “Star Trek” has found new life today on television once again through Paramount+, these series all lack the formula that makes “Star Trek” work. A formula that is ever present in this work from forty years ago: good characterization, serious drama that is still relevant to this day (maybe even more so than it was all that time ago) and a hopeful glimpse into the future that could be ahead of us if we make a great change.

Director Nicholas Meyer and screenwriter Harve Bennett are exactly what Star Trek needed to breathe new life into it and bring it back to what the series was truly about. It is not the special effects extravaganza the way the first “Star Trek” film was (attempting to give the audience an out of body experience similar to works such as “2001: A Space Odyssey”) but a film built around a mix of ideas of humanity with heart and character at the core of the story. That’s not to say the film lacks amazing special effects which still hold up quite well to this day, but the film mainly focused on its story, which never slows down in touching upon the themes of death, growing older, age and the question of the relevance we will continue to play in others’ lives in a constantly changing world. The film does what no work within this series has done since, with an emphasis on family in a complex, highly spirited story which will undoubtedly
continue to rock audiences to their core. “Star Trek” may continue on today in various works, but it is the original series and the six films that followed that will continue to live on in understanding and truly representing the meaning, the story and the morals Gene Roddenberry set out to encompass over fifty years ago for all the future to witness.

“Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan” is just as compelling as it was the first time watching it, and the newly remastered director’s cut of the film is definitely worth the rewatch and a fulfilling continuation of the series for longtime fans and regular filmgoers alike. For someone looking to get into the world of “Star Trek,” the original series and this movie are certainly the best way to begin. For the number of problems that there were with the first film, this one improves upon every major aspect to create an exhilarating, captivating, enchanting, heart-tugging and memorable experience all these years later – boldly going where no film has gone before.