Wrath of Khan is a great movie for a few reasons. First of all it has two interesting themes: Kirk confronting aging and having to face a no win situation for the first time in his life. His whole career he escaped situations that seemed impossible and won.
It’s also realistic about the capability of its actors. We don’t have middle aged and elderly men running around fist fighting. Hell, Kirk and Khan are never in the same room the entire movie. It’s a film that’s bigger than the TV series but still not absurd.
It’s surprising how little time Khan and Kirk spend interacting, and it’s good that they don’t. It’s delightful to watch Montalban chew scenery opposite a surprisingly restrained Shatner, but a little goes a long way.
Kirk spends most of the film in pursuit of Khan, reacting to things he’s done. He’s this larger than life threat that looms over the film. It’s so much better than Kirk and Khan having a fist fight in an exploding ship. Instead you watch Khan’s hate consume him.
Khan is so convinced of his own superiority he never sees his fate coming. Similarly Kirk is so convinced he can escape consequences he never foresees the tragedies he endures. Arrogance is the undoing of both of them at different scales.
The final battle is slow. There are only a few shots fired. It’s about who can outmaneuver the other, two nearly fatally wounded ships limping along. Two men so arrogant they both nearly die trying to beat the other. Fantastic.
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