Movie Night: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Review #299: Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Cast
William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Ricardo Montalbán (Khan Noonien Singh), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForest Kelley (Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott), George Takei (Hikaru Sulu), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov), Paul Winfield (Clark Terrell), Kirstie Alley (Saavik), Bibi Besch (Carol Marcus), and Merritt Butrick (David) Directed by Nicholas Meyer (#226 - Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country)

Review
Indeed it has been a while since I reviewed a Star Trek film, this being my 5th (#009 - Star Trek, #225 Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, #226, #246 - Star Trek: Generations) that I've reviewed here. Now I'll get to the main point. Is this film any good. Yeah. Real good. The main trio (Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley) do a wonderful job once again, especially with Shatner, who gives off a depth (for me anyway) not reached in his performaces beforehand. But by far the most important peformance is Ricardo Montalbán, as Khan. He reminds me of a Bond villian, only more suave. Speaking of that, the themes of revenge, death, and age are used to the fim's advantage. The directing is top notch, and the pacing is good as well. It's funny how the villian is so good even though the villian and Kirk never meet face to face, and yet it still doesn't hurt the film. The action is engaging, for the most part. The sets are good, showing off some good work done to make them. The effects are decent, but in the end the film really all boils down to how good it is. It has a hidden sense of depth with an useful plot with a whole lot of fun after 30 years. Countdown to 300 Reviews: 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.

Overall, I give it 9 out of 10 stars.

Movie Night: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Review #226: Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

Cast
William Shatner (James T. Kirk), Leonard Nimoy (Spock), DeForrest Kelley (Leonard McCoy), James Doohan (Montgomery Scott), Walter Koenig (Pavel Chekov), Nichelle Nichols (Uhura), George Takei (Captain Hikaru Sulu), Kim Cattrall (Valeris), Mark Lenard (Sarek), Grace Lee Whitney (Excelsior Communications Officer), Brock Peters (Admiral Cartwright), Leon Russom (Chief in Command), and Kurtwood Smith (Federation President) Directed by Nicholas Meyer.

Review
Two years after the bad reception of Star Trek V, this film would be released in time for the show's 25th Anniversary, but would it work better then the last one? In a word, yes. First off, the effects are good, a step up from the fifth one (Standout effect being the Praxis effect) While I find the Klingon blood a bit silly, it doesn't outright ruin the effects, which is a good thing. The acting is good, with the main trio (Shatner, Nimoy, and Kelley) and Plummer doing a great job. The plot is more defined here, keeping you interested throughout. The film was directed by Nicholas Meyer, who directed Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (which is considered by many to be the best out of all the Star Trek movies), and it is a good thing that he returned to direct the last film for the Original Series cast (Except for Shatner, Doohan, and Koenig, who would return in Star Trek: Generations) Roddenberry would not live to see the release of the film, but he did get to see an early version of it days before dying. 21 years later, this film still holds up as a new generation of films would soon follow.

Overall, I give it 8 out of 10 stars.