Unlike most viewers of this movie, I have watched "Space Seed," the "Star Trek" episode which introduces the character Khan. I highly recommend it. To give a little background to those who have not seen "Space Seed," the Enterprise happens upon a lost spacecraft which holds Khan (Ricardo Montalban) in hibernation. Upon freeing him, Captain Kirk (William Shatner), Spock (Leonard Nimoy) and Dr. McCoy (DeForest Kelley) learn that Khan was once a dictator on Earth. Facing defeat, he and his closest allies fled to space. That information comes too late, as Khan has already re-routed the ship's controls in an effort to take it over. After beating him in a fistfight, Kirk drops the criminal charges against Khan and his crew. Upon request, Kirk allows them to colonize Ceti Alpha V, but they have no way to leave.
Fifteen years later, the USS Reliant approaches Ceti Alpha VI while looking for lifeless planets. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), a former lover of Kirk, and their son David (Merritt Butrick) have created Genesis, a device meant to create life but also capable of great destruction. While scouting the surface, Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Reliant Captain Terrell (Paul Winfield) encounter Khan. As it turns out, Ceti Alpha VI exploded and altered the orbit of Alpha V, wiping out most of Khan's followers. Khan steals Reliant and sets up an ingenious sting for an unsuspecting Kirk, using Genesis as the bait.
Although some later villains come close, none can match Khan, and there never may be one who will. He has changed since we last saw him. Back then he was charming and lively. An Enterprise Lieutenant defected to his side because of the vision and inspiration he offered her. He projected arrogance as he fought Kirk.
Only parts of that man remain after fifteen years. Kirk never returned to see their desperate situation, and Khan holds an ocean of bitterness and resentment. Retribution has become his singular focus. When a crew member suggests that he does not need to kill Kirk, he responds, "He tasks me, and I must have him! I'll chase around the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom and 'round perdition's flames before I give him up!" Aside from Dr. Soran, Khan is the most intelligent of the Trek villains, and not even Soran matches his passion.
Montalban's splendid, inspired acting completes the character. Khan's old personality surfaces only once, when he thinks he has Kirk at his mercy. Montalban embodies it just as well he did in 1967. At the other moments, he is equally adept. We see the pain raking his face and hear it pollute his voice when he must let the Enterprise flee, and when he informs Kirk of his plan to strand him, and again as he catches up with the Enterprise, when he refuses to end his pursuit no matter what the circumstances and when he literally spits his final words of hatred. Montalban works effectively with his eyes and breathing to display Khan's state of mind. Intimately evaluating acting with words alone is nearly impossible. Were I to use a structured grading sheet, Montalban would receive and A.
Another critical element is the clashing, but close friendship between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Their differing personalities, which provide the best moments of the series, were mostly absent from "The Motion Picture." Now they return. McCoy can call Spock a "green-blooded inhuman" one moment and become roused with concern for his safety another. Kirk and Spock understand each other so well that even Lt. Saavik (a well-casted Kirstie Alley), a fellow Vulcan and student of Spock's, cannot understand what their words mean. It is a fortunate fact that the movie can stand on its characters because the Space Battles, although necessary, are sorely limited by the budget. It is under one-third of the "The Motion Picture's." When the starships attack and evade each other, they are mostly shown up close. They either move in straight lines or slow turns. The final blast, which ILM had to build a new device to capture, likely siphoned a large portion of the money away from action and limited sets. Director Nicholas Meyer compensates by focusing on the strategic aspect, particularly in the final encounter.
This movie is all about its dynamic characters and conflicts, which hold it up by themselves. It seals its status as a classic with the ending, which I will not reveal although probably everybody knows it by now. All action needs good conflict, but sometimes conflict alone suffices. An action film without strong action is usually bad, but here is one that not only survives, but thrives.
Fifteen years later, the USS Reliant approaches Ceti Alpha VI while looking for lifeless planets. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch), a former lover of Kirk, and their son David (Merritt Butrick) have created Genesis, a device meant to create life but also capable of great destruction. While scouting the surface, Chekov (Walter Koenig) and Reliant Captain Terrell (Paul Winfield) encounter Khan. As it turns out, Ceti Alpha VI exploded and altered the orbit of Alpha V, wiping out most of Khan's followers. Khan steals Reliant and sets up an ingenious sting for an unsuspecting Kirk, using Genesis as the bait.
Although some later villains come close, none can match Khan, and there never may be one who will. He has changed since we last saw him. Back then he was charming and lively. An Enterprise Lieutenant defected to his side because of the vision and inspiration he offered her. He projected arrogance as he fought Kirk.
Only parts of that man remain after fifteen years. Kirk never returned to see their desperate situation, and Khan holds an ocean of bitterness and resentment. Retribution has become his singular focus. When a crew member suggests that he does not need to kill Kirk, he responds, "He tasks me, and I must have him! I'll chase around the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom and 'round perdition's flames before I give him up!" Aside from Dr. Soran, Khan is the most intelligent of the Trek villains, and not even Soran matches his passion.
Montalban's splendid, inspired acting completes the character. Khan's old personality surfaces only once, when he thinks he has Kirk at his mercy. Montalban embodies it just as well he did in 1967. At the other moments, he is equally adept. We see the pain raking his face and hear it pollute his voice when he must let the Enterprise flee, and when he informs Kirk of his plan to strand him, and again as he catches up with the Enterprise, when he refuses to end his pursuit no matter what the circumstances and when he literally spits his final words of hatred. Montalban works effectively with his eyes and breathing to display Khan's state of mind. Intimately evaluating acting with words alone is nearly impossible. Were I to use a structured grading sheet, Montalban would receive and A.
Another critical element is the clashing, but close friendship between Kirk, Spock, and McCoy. Their differing personalities, which provide the best moments of the series, were mostly absent from "The Motion Picture." Now they return. McCoy can call Spock a "green-blooded inhuman" one moment and become roused with concern for his safety another. Kirk and Spock understand each other so well that even Lt. Saavik (a well-casted Kirstie Alley), a fellow Vulcan and student of Spock's, cannot understand what their words mean. It is a fortunate fact that the movie can stand on its characters because the Space Battles, although necessary, are sorely limited by the budget. It is under one-third of the "The Motion Picture's." When the starships attack and evade each other, they are mostly shown up close. They either move in straight lines or slow turns. The final blast, which ILM had to build a new device to capture, likely siphoned a large portion of the money away from action and limited sets. Director Nicholas Meyer compensates by focusing on the strategic aspect, particularly in the final encounter.
This movie is all about its dynamic characters and conflicts, which hold it up by themselves. It seals its status as a classic with the ending, which I will not reveal although probably everybody knows it by now. All action needs good conflict, but sometimes conflict alone suffices. An action film without strong action is usually bad, but here is one that not only survives, but thrives.