by Patrick Boniface

Created on: May 30, 2009

When in the second season of the television show Space Seed of Star Trek, Ricardo Montalban appeared as Khan, a genetically enhanced meglomaniac from the 20th century, there could not have possibly been any thought he would return twenty years years later in a movie reprising the role. That he did, probably saved the Star Trek movie franchise after its first offering was generally rounded on as slow, plodding and over loaded with special effects - it was a clear case of spin over substance.

That the producers got a second chance with the original cast members was probably down more to Gene Roddenberry's incalculable tenacity and belief in the Star Trek universe he had created. He took onboard all the criticism and decided to go back to basics and create a cowboy space opera, the good versus the evil so you will. The producers had a plethora of villians to cast against Captain James T Kirk but would they be the Romulans or the Klingons? Eventually, they picked a character from the second season who had almost killed Kirk and his entire crew and who in an act of mercy James T Kirk had granted him mastery of a planet taking Lieutenant Marla McGivers (played by Madlyn Rhue) with him as his wife.

The character of Khan is the most enigmatic and magnetic of all the characters to have appeared in any of the episodes of all the series and indeed the movies too. He dominates the screen and his evil is controlled evil that makes you love him, hate him, despise him and even makes you believe that you could even understand him. But you could never trust him as his superior intellect has been clouded with rage and thoughts of revenge over him nemesis, Captain James T Kirk. His fury is further enhanced as the once beautiful planet has been left a waste land by the explosion of a neighbouring planet.

A central plank of the movie is the Genesis device, an experimental piece of equipment that can terraform dead worlds into living breathing ones. Heading up this program is James T Kirk's old lover Carol Marcos, and the pair's son, David, whom Kirk has never seen before. This part of the movie is quite labored but was necessary in establishing the plot line for movie number 3 Star Trek the Search for Spock.

Star Trek: The Wrath of Khan is in the style of a classic good versus bad movie and as such stands up against many of the other Star Trek movies as well as other movies of its ilk in many genres. It is stylish, it's foreboding and its mood is sombre but it is also a morality tale as Spock gives his life to save the lives of the rest of the crew of the Starship Enterprise.

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