Star Trek: The Original Series
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (August 10/12)
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan follows the Enterprise crew as they're forced to battle a face from their collective past, as Ricardo Montalban's Khan Noonien Singh, left to die on a remote planet in the series' Space Seed episode, emerges from his exile bent on revenge against Captain Kirk (William Shatner). It's a decidedly irresistible premise that's employed to pervasively uneven effect by director Nicholas Meyer, as the filmmaker has infused the proceedings with an almost incongruously deliberate pace that all-too-often holds the viewer at arm's length. And although the less-than-engrossing opening half hour is certainly emblematic of the movie's erratic nature, Meyer does a superb job of bringing Montalban's sinister yet charismatic character back into the fold - with Khan's first scene, in which he terrorizes Walter Koenig's Chekov and Paul Winfield's Terrell, standing out as a highlight not just within the proceedings but also within the entire series. (Montalban's gleefully over-the-top and thoroughly menacing performance undoubtedly plays a key role in confirming the film's success.) The remainder of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan walks a continuous line between engaging and merely watchable, with the movie, as expected, at its best when focused on Kirk and Khan's increasingly intense battle of wills - which does ensure that the curiously subdued climactic final space battle is, as a result, especially disappointing. The film admittedly recovers for an impressively emotional final stretch and it is, in the end, clear why Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan remains a favorite among certain Trekkers, although it's ultimately clear that Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home remains the high point among the original cast's cinematic adventures.
Star Trek III: The Search for Spock
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home
Star Trek V: The Final Frontier
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country