u/aths_red

The Wrath of Khan of course is not flawless. The credit-laden intro is quite long, the movie later reuses footage from The Motion Picture including the memorable handwaving scene, some plot twists feel a bit forced, sometimes the acting is wooden compared to today's standards. Though the wooden acting is only apparent in the opening scene and that is when except for Saavik, all other characters were actors for her Kobayashi Maru test.

What the movie does well is to require no knowledge of previous Star Trek, not the first movie and not even the Space Seed episode. The too relaxed, somewhat arrogant Admiral Kirk, some dry humor, the playful resolution of the opening scene, then it turns more serious. Age and legacy is discussed. Then it gets even more serious.

But not so fast, as this movie is well-paced. McCoy uses a version of Timeo Danaos bringing Romulan Ale, gifting a pair of glasses to Kirk. The analogue tools. Like gifting someone a mechanical watch in the age of smart phones and smart watches. Very unlike the Genesis device.

We get to a space station and the Dr. Marcus scene. Followed by the reveal of Khan. Khan Noonien Singh. A brutal dictator, a charismatic major criminal, ruthless over the top, but loyal to his followers. Ricardo Montalbán is not only the OG Khan, he cannot be replaced by an actor of any class. He is perfect in this role. He is ridiculous, dangerous, ready to push a knife into your chest at any time while smiling and telling you his reasons. As unscrupulous, he is smart. And the Enterprise, with a young and inexperienced crew is the only ship who could stop him ... how will it end?

The viewer knows all the time that our side will win. Khan spits his last breath at thee. Kirk's greatest strength how to deal with problems normally, got him the wrath of Khan; Khan's greatest strength, anticipating his opponent's move, was his downfall when he got revealed being a 2D genius and Spock suggests to add the third dimension. It turned into an uboat hunt.

Kirk was revealed to be a cheater. Now ... he has no choice. He did beat the Kobayashi Maru, he now beats Khan but there is a price to pay. He can cheat Kobayashi Maru but he can't cheat death. And he watched him die. His best friend.

Because Spock did the thing Kirk could not do, order someone to certain death. Spock took it onto himself. It would have been graceful to let it be. There are more movies, there is more Spock. But later stuff takes nothing from The Wrath of Khan. This movie can be watched without any prior or following lore. A hero which took shortcuts. Unwavering friendship. While sometimes borderline cartoonish, the villain is real. It is like your bad conscience. Director Nicholas Meyer took a TV-show villain of the week and turned him into a foil for the legendary Kirk. And you believe it.

The visuals are superb, strong nautical scenery and the sound track is through the roof. James Horner's score is fantastic. The first notes are reminiscent of the Alexander Courage original theme, then Horner takes over. This transition from legacy to an original score is apparent even for someone not knowing any Trek.

Star Trek II is a classic Star Trek movie but also in itself science-fiction at its peak: We travel to the stars and find out: Who we are.

I remember, on its original run, how in the intro the ship distorted when going to warp, that effect had me thrilled. That must be good science fiction! It got me hooked for life.

Also remember, when Masks aired, I was not thrilled. A slow plot, Aztec-like symbols, an unclear danger impacting the ship, taking over Data. Then Brent Spiner acts out. The plot only gets more confusing, while Data switches roles.

Later I began to admire Spiner's acting skills in this episode. And the visuals like the moody corridor lighting. And how the characters interact, they trust each other sharing a long history in the seventh season. The nuance when Picard thinks out loud about destroying the 'archive', we know he would not take such decision lightly.

The plot drags along with the fire scene in Engineering. It is by itself not a very good episode but it grew on me. Some camp, even TOS-like weirdness, and connecting a science fiction story with strangely familiar yet alien symbols. While obviously using Mesoamerican rituals as inspiration. "Masks" is essentially a horror episode, it all plays out in your head.

Picard uses his skills in archeology and diplomacy to extract information about the unclear moon symbol. There is even some comedy when on the bridge the captain's chair is blocked by alien stones, so Picard has to walk around.

Not everything is explained, which I like as it leaves room for imagination. The episode still feels off, why would open fire in quarters not trigger an extinguishing system or at least an alarm? And when the Masaka character puts the mask on, knocking down the door guards, we again are in full camp territory. I STILL LIKE the episode by now. Back then sets were built, not CGI-created. The plot resolution feels a bit contrived, but is in line with classic Star Trek.

The confrontation of Corgano with Masaka was satisfying: The sun has to share the sky with the moon. The riddle is solved. That quick return of the ship to normal state is silly, but classic Star Trek pulp.

And there is clever writing, "Masks" and "Masaka" seem to be similar not by accident.

Rewatching this episode today left me with a smile.