Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan 4K Blu-ray Review & Comments

Casimir Harlow

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"Not just the greatest Star Trek movie, The Wrath of Khan is arguably one of the greatest movies of all time"

@Casimir Harlow - can't believe you went there, but it 'is' my favourite movie of all time.

My thoughts from the other thread below. I had a memory-lapse on The Directors Cut, it seems this is indeed the same cut that was on the Directors Edition DVD that I did watch and own way back, apart from 2 lines of dialog cut at Nicholas Meyer's request.

So … Star Trek II - The Wrath of Khan

Reminded me all over again why this is my favourite movie of all time, I can’t say it ever really got bumped, but I can go a couple years without a rewatch. Here the colours and depth leap off the screen, with most of the scenes in the ships sharp and pleasingly filmic, the red uniforms looking so iconic. Other scenes in Genesis Cave and the laboratory can look softer in places, but to be honest this film is so good I forgot to scrutinise most of it. I don’t know whether it’s over familiarity but I found the sound a bit flatter than on TMP, less dynamic range particularly in places you would expect to resonate like the Genesis explosion and the space battle before.

However, what especially surprised and pleased me was the new scenes and dialogue I noticed. I hadn’t realised that this was a new Directors Cut made a few years back, different to the version that had been on the last Blu-rays from a decade ago. I think this cut was released on DVD/BD but I didn’t pick it up assuming it was the same as the previous version with the picture cleaned up a bit, and was waiting for the 4K which was pulled at the time.

I’m not not sure I can add anything to what’s been said numerous times about this movie, but again we probably have the definitive version here, never to be bettered.

What it did do watching this is infuriate me as to how much Star Trek III ruins some of what this movie setup so well, from tarring the Saavik character as played by Kirsty Alley, to wasting David, and contriving an overall plot that had enough good intentions and possibilities laid out in II, that were just ignored or dumbed down. I will probably rant on those when I watch III at the weekend.
 
I'm a bit disappointed that the audio is the same as the previous blu-ray. I always thought the sound was quite weak in places and in some scenes the dialogue sounds like it was recorded on the cheapest mics available, but it is my favourite Trek film. I love the soundtrack, I love the nebula battle, and that ending...sniff...
 
My favourite Movie. When i was in my 20’s I could actually Watch the Movie and speak out the dialogue just before the. Actors. So pretty much had memorised the Movie. Used to watch it every week and sometimes several times.

Amazing 4K VERSION upgraded for free ion iTunes. Thank you Apple.
 
I never quite got the adulation lavished on this one. It's fun, and Montalban is having the time of his life, but aside from that... it's a little televisual dare I say? The sets look pretty cheap, the VFX don't really hold up, and it just feels somewhat small compared to the original.
 
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Thank you Cas. And I am totally with you on this standing up there with Master & Commander and The Hunt for Red October. Like you, these are also three of my favourite Movies of all time.
 
I remember being board out of my skull when watching the first Star Trek film at the cinema, but then I felt the same way about the first 30 minutes of Star Wars so.....:)

I didn't see this one at the cinema (I have obviously seen it on TV since) maybe because I was disappointed with the first one. I'm trying (not wholly successfully) to cut down on my 4K purchases, but based on your review I could see my self picking this one up at some point to have a look at the director's cut.
 
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Best Trek film, personally I quite liked the first one but the rest......
 
Love this movie. Never seen the director's cut though? Much difference?
 
It's £19.99 for the entire Trek 10 film collection on Apple, which includes these 4K editions of the first four. Very tempting. Especially when the disc box set is 80 quid!!! And from what I've heard, the other films currently in HD are likely to be made available in 4K for free if you buy them
 
big trekkie fan. of the old films this is by far the best of the films , i like the the reboot into the darkness is my favourite of the 3, chris pine is spot on
 
As a Kid I must have watched these movies countless times.

Without a doubt my favourite thing about this movie is the shots of the enterprise / reliant, you cant beat the large scale models they used when making the movies, I think its more believable for it.

I've still saving for an OLED TV, but I might just buy the boxset in anticipation....just have to update the 4K player then!
 
Not sure about the greatest movie of all time but def the best of the Trek films. 82 was a good year for films. We had this, Blade Runner and Firefox. I have the HD bluray so won't be purchasing this but thanks for the review.
 
Not sure about the greatest movie of all time but def the best of the Trek films. 82 was a good year for films. We had this, Blade Runner and Firefox. I have the HD bluray so won't be purchasing this but thanks for the review.

Thanks, I'm not quite sure where I made that statement, but I'm sure you're just referencing some of the other comments in that some have stated it's their favourite film of all time, which I think's perfectly reasonable.

But yes, it's definitely the Paddington 2 of Star Trek movies lol
 
Never seen these…. 😬
 
It's £19.99 for the entire Trek 10 film collection on Apple, which includes these 4K editions of the first four. Very tempting. Especially when the disc box set is 80 quid!!! And from what I've heard, the other films currently in HD are likely to be made available in 4K for free if you buy them
Yes, bought it myself, total bargain.

The biggest disappointment is that the Director's Cut of Kahn is included, but in HD SDR only. Hopefully that will get upgraded at some point too.
 

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