A flawless Star Trek film IMO. And even if you’re not a Star Trek fan, Wrath of Khan is an incredible sci-fi adventure all on its own. Amazing performances by Shatner and Montalban (especially since they were technically never in the same room together to feed off of one another). Just as incredible is how the film maintained perfect continuity with two complex characters who last interacted 15 years prior; this film is a continuation of the 1967 Star Trek Original Series ep: Space Seed, complete with the passing of time which makes Khan’s vendetta against Kirk very believable as well as understandable.

Speaking of the Captain, an important character trait is illustrated early on when Kirk recounts how he famously cheated on the Kobayashi Maru test, which is sort of like a final exam in Starfleet Academy that is designed to test an individual’s character in the face of a no-win scenario (in the Star Trek reboot, you actually get to see how this incident transpired). This ideology is put to the ultimate test as is Spock’s trademark logical reasoning character trait (“the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few”). From start to finish, the narrative is a memorable one filled with memorable lines that resonate (“how we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life”).

Wrath of Khan is quite possibly the first film I ever remember viewing (it’s a toss up between Trek II and Superman III, 2 films with drastically different levels of quality). I still vividly remember the fear I felt as a toddler while watching the disturbing Ceti Eel scene. And today I still get emotional during the final iconic scenes of the film between Kirk and Spock and most especially during Kirk’s eulogy for his dear friend. Because of all these reasons, I truly feel that Wrath of Khan is the greatest chapter in the entire Star Trek canon.