Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
Paramount Pictures | Release Date: June 4, 1982 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
68
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 19 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
6
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
90
The New York TimesJanet Maslin
The second Star Trek movie is swift, droll and adventurous, not to mention appealingly gadget-happy. It's everything the first one should have been and wasn't. Read full review
88
ReelViewsJames Berardinelli
The Wrath of Khan is a top-notch, fast-paced adventure that can be enjoyed equally by fans of the series and those who have never seen an episode. Read full review
88
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Stephen Godfrey
A funnier, faster, altogether more energetic film than Star Trek I, The Wrath of Khan doesn't linger over its modest special effects. This is really down-home week with Captain - now Admiral - Kirk and the boys. [5 June 1982]
83
The A.V. ClubKeith Phipps
Not least among Khan's pleasures is the way it continually veers toward, but never quite crosses, the neutral zone between space opera and interstellar camp. By the end, it becomes simply operatic, with a death scene of surprising emotional power. Read full review
80
VarietyStaff [Not Credited]
Star Trek II is a very satisfying space adventure, closer in spirit and format to the popular TV series than to its big-budget predecessor.
80
The New YorkerPauline Kael
Wonderful dumb fun.
80
Total FilmStaff [Not Credited]
This is hands-down the best Trek flick made so far. Read full review
80
EmpireAngie Errigo
It's a tale told with considerable warmth and humour, some spiffing explosions and a multiple-hanky act of self-sacrifice to round things off. Read full review
80
The GuardianPeter Bradshaw
It’s still entertaining and charming in its innocent idealism. Read full review
75
TV Guide MagazineStaff (Not Credited)
This is one of the most popular in the series, thanks to a high action quotient (including a tensely staged space battle), a suitably campy turn by Montalban, and the shock value of Spock's death. There is some novelty value, too, in the focus on Kirk's family life back on Earth. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
I don't much care if the battles aren't that amazing, because the story doesn't depend on them. It's about a sacrifice made by Spock, and it draws on the sentiment and audience identification developed over the years by the TV series. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesKevin Thomas
A brisk, handsomely designed film in which its hardware, sturdy as it is, never overwhelms its humanity. Read full review
70
TimeRichard Schickel
One leaves the film neither hugely thrilled nor greatly awed, but with a pleasant sense of having caught up with old friends and found them to be just fine, pretty much the way one hoped they would turn out in later life. Read full review
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