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Star
Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
In director Nicholas Meyer's superior sequel to the
first installment (Star Trek: The
Motion Picture (1979)) - the sci-fi, dramatic action film
has been regarded as one of the best, most-critically acclaimed entries
in the entire series; however, it received no Academy Award nominations.
At the time, with a production budget of $11-12 million, and box-office
gross receipts of $79 million (domestic) and $97 million (worldwide),
it set the record at the box-office for the highest opening weekend. This
second film, plus the third and fourth films (Star
Trek III: The Search for Spock (1984) and Star
Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)) comprised a loose trilogy.
The film was set in the 23rd century, when aging ex USS
Enterprise commander Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner)
- on one of his final missions, was forced to face-off against
his old exiled nemesis - the genetically-engineered Khan Noonien
Singh (Ricardo Montalban) from the late 20th century Earth. The
vengeful tyrant Khan had escaped after 15 years in exile and was
causing problems by taking over a Federation spaceship (the
USS Reliant), raiding a Space Station (Regula I)
and stealing its top secret, powerful terraforming device named
Project Genesis.
This sequel Star Trek release barely beat TRON
(1982) to take the unofficial honor of being the first feature
film to use computer-generated images (CGI) to a very large extent.
The so-called "Genesis Effect" - a one-minute animated sequence,
was cinema's first entirely (or all digital) computer-generated (CG)
sequence of images. See below for a description of the sequence.
- the film opened in the year 2285 during a training session
at Starfleet Academy of cadets;
a simulation was being conducted of a real-life rescue mission;
the scenario called Kobayashi Maru - was a no-win situation
to test a potential commander's character and abilities in a life-death
situation; the specific objective of the test was to
rescue a damaged fuel ship (the Kobayashi Maru)
after an attack by Klingon cruisers
- one of pointy-eared USS Enterprise Vulcan
Captain Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) protege trainees - eager female
cadet half-Vulcan Lieutenant Saavik (Kirstie Alley), was being
tested to be the commander of the starship USS
Enterprise; in the simulation, the USS Enterprise was
on a rescue mission in the Neutral Zone where a
neutronic fuel carrier had struck a gravitic mine and suffered
casualties; the starship was attacked by three alien Klingon
cruisers with torpedoes; the assault left every crew member
dead on the bridge, including Spock (a foreshadowing!), with
the sole survivor being Lt. Saavik
- [Note: It took former USS
Enterprise commander, recently-promoted
Admiral James T. Kirk (William Shatner) three tries to beat
the simulation, after reprogramming it to allow him to win with a
"unique" solution. Much later in the film, he admitted
to Lt. Saavik that he didn't care for "no-win" scenarios, and that
he had cheated in order to win.]
- after the simulation concluded, aging Kirk
was planning on assuming his duties in his new position as an Admiral
- a post that didn't require hopping around space and exploring;
he received a birthday gift from his old friend Spock - an "antique"
copy of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities
- meanwhile, Russian-accented First Officer and commander
Pavel Chekov (Walter Koenig) was on a mission on another Federation
starship the USS Reliant, captained by Clark Terrell (Paul
Winfield); their journey was to check out Ceti Alpha VI in connection
with the Federation's top-secret Project Genesis; they were conducting
a search for a lifeless planet to use as a test site for the Genesis
Experiment and its Genesis Device, to rehabilitate dead and lifeless
worlds; Chekov reported that there was a minor "energy flux" on
Ceti Alpha VI's surface that might cancel its viability
- on the Space Station laboratory Regula
I, blonde scientist Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) was heading
up Project Genesis; later in the film, in a one-minute segment,
the computerized simulation was seen in a video proposal
or demonstration presented by Kirk's ex-lover Dr. Marcus with
their grown son Dr. David Marcus (Merritt Butrick), Kirk's progeny
from a previous relationship; the computer-simulated endeavor
sought to transform uninhabitable worlds into lush paradises
("life from lifelessness"); the once-dead planet was
struck by a "torpedo"-like Genesis Device
that reorganized molecules at the subatomic level to create worlds
for colonization - a weapon that could do both harm or good ("could
be perverted into a dreadful weapon"); the device could
both regenerate life, and also destroy life; the camera raced
quickly across the reddish and then greening surface of the barren
planet, before becoming a reborn or revived globe
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Project Genesis Computer Simulation
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- Dr. Marcus narrated the video and animation, in
person and in voice-over: "It is a process
whereby molecular structure is reorganized at the subatomic level
into life-generating matter of equal mass...It is our intention
to introduce the Genesis Device into a preselected area of a lifeless
space body - a moon or other dead form. The device is delivered,
instantaneously causing what we call the Genesis effect. Matter
is reorganized with life-generating results. Instead of a dead
moon, a living breathing planet capable of sustaining whatever
life-forms we see fit to deposit on it...The reformed moon
simulated here represents the merest fraction of the Genesis
potential should the Federation wish to fund these experiments
to their logical conclusion."
- during the USS Reliant's
search for a lifeless planet to conduct experiments with the Genesis
Device, Chekov and Terrell were beamed down to the inhospitable,
dry and sandy surface of Ceti Alpha VI to check for signs of life
(they didn't know they had actually landed on Ceti Alpha V); they
were surprised to discover that the planet's barren surface showed
evidence of an abandoned, derelict starship SS Botany Bay from
15 years earlier (more later)
- they were confronted and captured by the
film's main villain - genetically-engineered,
bare-chested superhuman Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban)
of the late 20th century, who revealed himself after unwrapping his head gear
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USS Reliant Officers Chekov and Terrell Captured
by Villain Khan Noonien Singh (Ricardo Montalban)
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- [Note: Khan once was a powerful tyrannical ruler
over SE Asia on Earth during the Earth's Eugenic Wars that threatened the USS Enterprise,
but he and his followers were defeated and were cryogenically
frozen aboard the SS Botany Bay - it was found adrift in space 15 years earlier
(in the year 2267) by Captain Kirk. At that time, Khan was revived
and threatened to hijack Captain Kirk's starship. To punish him
for his villainy, Kirk exiled Khan to the planet of Ceti Alpha V, where the
vengeful Khan became the leader of the marooned crew of
survivors of the SS Botany Bay, who had survived within
the derelict vessel; six months after Khan's exile there, the
planet was transformed into a wasteland by an explosion on nearby
Ceti Alpha VI that caused massive climate changes; the massive
blast shifted its neighboring planet's orbit and its ecosystem
- "everything was laid waste" and Ceti Alpha V became a "barren sand heap";
Khan blamed Kirk for the death of his beloved wife due to a parasitic,
insanity-causing Ceti eel that was native to the planet.]
- in an excruciating-to-watch
sequence, Khan extracted two young, parasitic, insanity-causing,
crawling Ceti eels from the back of a scaly creature (the barren
planet Ceti Alpha V's "only remaining
indigenous life-form"); he eerily explained to his cringing
victims that the two horrifying, brain-munching earwigs or Ceti eels
would be placed into each of their helmets to crawl into their ears, and cause a slow and maddening
death. They also would inflict mind-control so that he could gain
control of their spaceship: "You see, they're young, enter through
the ears and wrap themselves around
the cerebral cortex. This has the effect of rendering the victim
extremely susceptible to suggestion. Later, as they grow follows
madness and death"
- Khan made the two hapless victims kneel and added: "These
are pets, of course, not quite domesticated"; he observed
as the two eels, one placed into each helmet, crawled across
the faces of Chekov and Terrell, and with unerring instincts headed
for their ears, and caused atrocious pain; Khan then demanded to
know the nature of their mission and the whereabouts of James Kirk:
("That's better. Now tell me, why are you here and tell me where I may find
James Kirk"); soon, his torture tactics successfully allowed him to
take-over the USS Reliant
- after the simulation training, the USS Enterprise
- commanded by Dr. Spock, was piloted by commander-in-training
Lieut. Saavik and crew on a three-week routine voyage; other
officers on the journey included Kirk, Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
(DeForest Kelley), helm officer Hikaru Sulu (George Takai), chief
engineer Montgomery "Scotty" Scott (James Doohan) and female
communications officer Uhura (Nichelle Nichols)
- at the same time, Khan (now in command
of the USS Reliant with the aid of the mind-controlled Chekhov)
communicated with Dr. Marcus on the Space Station Regula I and
forcefully demanded the Project Genesis materials from her; Dr.
Marcus contacted Kirk with a distress call to confirm his approval
of the transfer of the Project Genesis device; she also made plans
with her Genesis Project personnel to vacate Regula I before
the USS Reliant arrived; Spock asked
to transfer his power to Admiral Kirk to allow him to command the Enterprise
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Mind-Controlled Chekov Demanding the Project
Genesis Device from Dr. Marcus and Her Son David Marcus on the
Space Station Regula I
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On the USS Reliant, Chekov Under the Mind-Control
Direction of Khan
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Dr. Marcus Reporting Chekov's Strange Request to
Kirk
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- as the USS Enterprise set
course to investigate without deploying its defense shields,
it was ambushed and fired upon (causing the deaths and injuries
of some young cadets) by the USS Reliant, and the starship was crippled (its main
energizer and warp core were disabled); with delay tactics, Kirk
was able to remotely lower the shields of the Reliant and
counter-attack, and Khan's commandeered ship retreated and withdrew;
however, both ships were damaged in the stalemated conflict
- Admiral Kirk steered the limping Enterprise toward
the unresponsive space station Regula I; Kirk,
"Bones," and Lt. Saavik beamed aboard and found that most
of Dr. Marcus' crewmembers were dead after being tortured by Khan,
although Terrell and Chekov were semi-conscious and hiding in a
bridge storage compartment; the two revealed that the original crew
of the USS Reliant was marooned on Ceti Alpha V
- without enough energy from the USS Enterprise to
beam them back, Kirk ordered the space station to proceed onward
to seek repairs or find shelter; the three stranded
crew members and Terrell and Chekov, via transport beam, traveled
from the space station to the nearby Class D rocky planetoid of
Regula below, where they found Dr.
Marcus and a very-resistant son David hiding underground in a bunker;
when ordered to kill Kirk by Khan, Terrell turned his phaser gun
on himself, while the eel controlling the resistant Chekov exited
from his ear and was destroyed
- after learning that his old enemy Kirk was alive
on the sparse planet of Regula, Khan
was able to successfully teleport the Genesis torpedo device from
Regula back onboard his kidnapped starship - the USS Reliant -
as Kirk powerlessly watched; on the intercom, Kirk then challenged
Khan to come and get him: "Khan! Khan, you have Genesis, but you
don't have me! You were going to kill me, Khan. You're going to
have to come down here!"
The Genesis Torpedo Device Was
Transported by Khan to His Kidnapped Ship the USS Reliant
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Khan Learned That His Old Nemesis Kirk Was Alive
on the Planet of Regula, and Gloated About Marooning Kirk There
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Kirk Shouted at Khan with Blind Rage: "KHAAANNNN!
KHAAANNNN!"
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- a gloating and vengeful Khan relished the fact that
Kirk would suffer the same fate he had 15 years earlier - marooned
on a desolate planet: "I've
done far worse than kill you. I've hurt you. And I wish to go on
hurting you. I shall leave you as you left me, as you left her
-- marooned for all eternity in the center of a dead planet. Buried
alive. Buried alive"; Kirk shouted
back with blind rage: "KHAAANNNN! KHAAANNNN!", as Khan
flew off
- on the sparse planet of Regula while awaiting their fate, Dr. Marcus
and Kirk spoke about their past relationship, and her raising of
David as a single mother; she revealed to him a small, lush, biosystems
paradise and underground Genesis cave - evidence of the Genesis Effect
from earlier experiments
- it was then revealed that Khan had been fooled into
believing that Kirk would be irretrievably stranded on the barren
planet of Regula; within a few hours on the
planet, Adm. Kirk contacted Spock and learned about revised estimates
about the strength of the transporter beam on the severely-weakened USS
Enterprise (the earlier two-day estimate about repairs was to deliberately deceive Khan);
the stranded crew on Regula was beamed back, but still under the
threat of Khan
- Spock and Adm. Kirk decided that the only way for
the crippled USS Enterprise (without proper defense capabilities
and the lack of warp power) to face off
fairly with Khan's captured USS Reliant was to move their
major battle to the Mutara Nebula; there, both ships would be similarly
disabled and neutralized by electrical power in the nebula; the USS
Enterprise was struck and badly incapacitated (it lost its main
power and its warp drive chamber leaked radiation), while torpedo
fire from the USS Enterprise killed Khan's right-hand man Joachim (Judson Scott),
and then shortly later, a second torpedo blast from Chekov maimed
and mortally-wounded Khan
- before dying, the venomous Khan set the Genesis
device to reorganize all matter in the area and detonate within
four minutes - he had decided to blow up his own stolen USS
Reliant spaceship with the Genesis machine and thereby
also destroy the nearby USS Enterprise; his
last words before dying were quotes from Moby Dick's Captain
Ahab: ("To the last, I will grapple with thee...For hate's sake, I spit my
last breath at thee")
- to save the doomed Enterprise from the deadly
explosion (and provide it with warp speed to escape), Vulcan Captain
Spock decided to sacrifice himself by sneaking away and entering
the starship's highly-irradiated engine chamber to repair the Enterprise's main
reactor; when he was resisted by Dr. McCoy, Spock used a Vulcan
nerve pinch to stop him and to transfer his katra --
his memories and experience -- to McCoy with the word "Remember";
then, within the warp chamber, Spock heroically and self-sacrificially
exposed himself to radiation poisoning while repairing the reactor
to bring the warp drives back on-line
Spock Used a Nerve Pinch to Neutralize Dr. McCoy
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Spock's Transference of His Katra to Dr. McCoy: "Remember"
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- after repairs, the USS Enterprise went
into warp speed and escaped the blast when the Genesis torpedo
exploded (destroying the Reliant and Khan); the explosion
caused the birth of a new planetoid from the Genesis
explosion in the nebula
The Explosive Blast Power of the Genesis Torpedo
as the USS Enterprise Escaped via Its Repaired Warp Speed
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The Birth of a New Planetoid After the Genesis Torpedo Exploded in
the Nebula
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- Kirk was abruptly summoned to the engine room chamber where
he was restrained and told by Scotty
and McCoy: "Sir! He's dead already. It's too late, Jim"
- before Spock fully expired (on the
other side of a transparent glass partition), he asked with a hoarse
voice: ("Ship out of danger?");
he was assured "Yes" by Kirk; Spock then spoke his final words to Admiral Kirk as he died,
urging him not to mourn: ("Don't grieve, Admiral. It is logical.
The needs of the many outweigh (the needs of the few). Or the one.
I never took the Kobayashi Maru test, until now. What do you think of my solution? (Spock
knelt down) I have been, and always shall be, your friend. (Spock
placed his hand on the chamber glass) Live long, and prosper");
Kirk placed his hand opposite Spock's hand as his friend slowly
collapsed, slumped down and expired next to him; overcome with
emotion, Kirk quietly and simply muttered: "No" as Spock
died
"Ship out of danger?"
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"Don't grieve, Admiral. It is logical..."
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"Live long, and prosper."
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Spock Slumped Down and Died
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- at Spock's funeral on the torpedo deck, Kirk delivered
a heartfelt eulogy for his intimate friend: ("We are assembled
here today to pay final respects to our honoured dead. And yet it
should be noted that in the midst of our sorrow, this death takes
place in the shadow of new life, the sunrise of a new world, a world
that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish. He
did not feel that sacrifice a vain or empty one, and we will not
debate his profound wisdom at these proceedings. Of my friend,
I can only say this. Of all the souls I have encountered in my
travels, his was the most... human"); Spock's burial-casket
was launched from the torpedo desk as Scotty played "Amazing
Grace" on bagpipes
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Kirk's Eulogy for Spock Before His Burial Casket Was Ejected
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- Spock's burial-casket (in a torpedo casing) was
ejected, to orbit around the newly-formed planet and eventually
land in the lush jungle
- subsequently in his quarters while reading Spock's
birthday-gift book, a somber Kirk was reconciled with his son Dr.
David Marcus, who apologized and gave him a big warm hug: ("I
was wrong about you and I'm sorry...And also that I'm proud. Very
proud to be your son")
- later on the bridge with Dr. McCoy and Dr. Marcus,
Kirk dictated the objective of the next mission - to rescue
the remainder of the original marooned Reliant crew
on Ceti Alpha V: (voice-over) "Captain's log,
Stardate 8141.6. Starship Enterprise departing
for Ceti Alpha V to pick up the crew of USS Reliant. All is
well. And yet I can't help wondering about the friend I leave behind.
'There are always possibilities,' Spock said. And if Genesis is indeed
life from death, I must return to this place again." Dr. Leonard "Bones" McCoy
added: "He's really not dead as long as we remember him"
- then, Kirk responded, noting his re-discovery of
peace and purpose for his life, words taken from the conclusion
of A Tale of Two Cities (1935): ("'It's a far, far
better thing I do than I have ever done before.' A far better resting
place I go to than I have ever known...Something Spock was trying
to tell me on my birthday")
- Kirk replied to his friend Dr. McCoy's question about how he felt: "You okay,
Jim? How do you feel?" with Kirk's answer that
he felt revitalized and renewed: "Young. I feel young!"
The Continuation of the Voyage of the Starship Enterprise
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McCoy about Spock: "He's really not dead, as
long as we remember him"
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Kirk: "It's a far, far better thing I do than
I have ever done before"
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- the film ended with a pan over the surface
of Genesis to locate Spock's casket amongst jungle growth
- it concluded with Spock's tearjerking voice-over rendition of a variation of
the famous Star Trek TV show's (1966-1969) opening credits
quotation, over a view of a star-studded black sky: ("Space,
the final frontier. These are the continuing voyages of the starship Enterprise.
Her ongoing mission to explore strange, new worlds, to seek out
new life-forms and new civilizations, to boldly go where no man
has gone before.")
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Lieutenant Saavik (Kirstie Alley) Leading a Training Simulation
Spock Wishing Adm. Kirk a Happy Birthday
Dr. Carol Marcus (Bibi Besch) Hearing a Report From the USS Reliant About
the Viability of Ceti Alpha VI
Dr. Marcus with Her Son Dr. David Marcus (Merritt Butrick),
Kirk's Progeny
First Officer Chekov and Captain Terrell Beamed Onto the Surface of Ceti
Alpha VI (It was actually Ceti Alpha V)
Khan Extracting Two Ceti Eels From the Back of a Scaly
Creature
Two Captive Reliant Crew Members, Terrell and
Chekov Tortured by Khan
An Eel Put Into Each of Their Helmets to Enter Their Ear
Canals
The Crew of the USS Enterprise's Three Week Training
Voyage
The USS Enterprise on Its Training Mission
Kirk Takes Command of the USS Enterprise to Investigate Strange Happenings
on the USS
Reliant
The USS Reliant Found to be Commandeered by Khan
"Bones," Kirk, and Lt. Saavik Beamed Onto Space Station Regula I
Chekov and Terrell Found Hiding on the Space Station, Amongst Bodies of
Dr. Marcus' Dead Crew
The Enterprise Crew Beamed Onto the Rocky Surface of Planet of Regula
Kirk and his Ex-Partner Dr. Marcus Discussed Their Past
Dr. Marcus Revealed to Kirk a Lush Genesis Underground Cave on Regula
The Starship Crew on the Planet of Regula Beamed Back Onto the USS Enterprise
A Graphic Showing the Enterprise vs. Reliant Circling the
Planet of Regula
The Maimed and Mortally-Wounded Khan
Khan's Death Speech
Spock's Torpedo-Casket Ejected From Enterprise Into
Orbit Around the Newly-Formed Planet
After Spock's Ejection, Kirk Was Reconciled With His
Son Dr. David Marcus (Merritt Butrick)
The USS Enterprise Journeyed Onward
Musings About Spock's Death and Life Itself
Spock's Torpedo-Encased Burial Casket in the Jungle of the New Planet
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