Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
In honor of the new Star Trek movie hitting theaters on
Friday, I’ve decided to watch The Wrath of Khan. This movie inspired J.J. Abrams’ second entry
to the franchise and, as I realized while watching Wrath of Khan, was a major
influence on his 2009 movie as well. The
Wrath of Khan is often referred to as the best Star Trek movie and gave
popularity to James Kirk’s most vile enemy, the aforementioned Khan of course.
Khan is a genetically advanced (possibly engineered)
human who was exiled to Ceti Alpha V in the “Space Seed” episode of the original
series. He is ruthless, cunning, and
bent to exact revenge upon (now) Admiral Kirk.
Their chance reunion leads to an all out battle pitting two aging
adversaries against each other in a test of resolve that will force each
combatant to sacrifice all to win.
Echoing themes of death and rebirth and emphasizing the
theme of technology as a double-edged sword, Genesis, a scientific experiment
to create life on lifeless planets, is one of the most interesting aspects of
this movie. The scientists aboard Regula
1 are developing Genesis in order to create more resources like food and land
on dead planets (rebirth), but Khan steals the Genesis missile and realizes the
missile’s potential to destroy an inhabited planet by completely restructuring
every genetic code (death). What I find
interesting is how Khan chooses to wield the power he possesses with Genesis. He could be altruistic and use the missile to
bring life back to Ceti Alpha V, but because of his character and his
motivations he uses the technology for evil which actively brings about his
demise. That is the danger of holding a
grudge. One overlooks the obvious
decision that would lead to a better life and instead follow a path of
destruction.
Notable to this movie is the death of Spock. I’m sure this was a shock to the people first
watching The Wrath of Khan back in 1986.
The idea to kill off one of the main characters was definitely a ballsy
decision although I wish filmmakers had the cajones to keep characters
dead. Am I sad and angry when a main
character dies in movies or television series that I watch? Yes, but I also respect the filmmakers the
much more. I watch Game of Thrones and
from week to week I don’t know who will die and who will live. The story is that much more exciting.
Star Trek continues to impress me with great characters
and storylines that push interesting moral questions. Who knows, if this keeps up I might start
watching the TV show.
No comments:
Post a Comment