This week on CineTV, we’re challenged to write about a movie that involves winning. Wow, there’s a lot of territory that this covers. And with some news taking place this week, I am going to take an interesting twist and give you – Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. Some may find this an odd choice, but bear with me.
Wrath of Khan poster - IMDB
As many of you know, Kirstie Alley passed away this week, and with that news, my Bonnie Bride and I sat down to watch The Wrath of Khan. This was Alley’s first big cinematic role, and she is listed in the opening credits as “Introducing Kirstie Alley as Saavik”. It is also a film that, unsurprisingly, we’re both very familiar with, and I saw it twice on it’s original opening day (dressed in Original Series Klingon, of course) way back in 1982.
Kirstie Alley as Saavik - IMDB
The film opens with Saavik in the command chair with the crew following her orders when a distress signal comes in from the Kobayashi Maru, which ends disastrously, but then it was only a test. This test, and mention of the Kobayashi Maru becomes a running theme in The Wrath of Khan, as Saavik tries to understand the reason for a no-win scenario. As the film progresses, we learn more about (now) Admiral Kirk’s experience with this test. Kirk explains it is a test of character, to determine how one will perform under extreme stress while facing certain death. We find out from Spock that Kirk took the test three times, and from McCoy that Kirk is the only cadet to beat the no-win scenario.
When it comes to winning James The Tiger, I mean Tiberius, Kirk was always at the top of his game, more so in The Wrath of Khan, where he had to come face to face with the death of his closest friend. Kirk hates to lose, and had never had to face the death of a close friend before. On many occasions during the run of the series he bluffed his way out of tight corners, and always came out on top, even when there were close calls. But none of his closest friends were killed in the process. Until Khan. For Kirk, winning was everything, and to lose invites disaster, not just for himself, but for those around him. And in Khan, he learned that even though he won the battle, he suffered great loss, and that sometimes there is a high price to pay when you win.
Winning a conflict, whether in a test to determine one’s command decision ability as with the Kobayashi Maru test, in combat with a determined enemy, or in sports against an opposing team, all takes planning – strategy and tactics – and skill.
As a side note, for years in Trek Fandom, the Kobayashi Maru has been the subject of many stories and even some debate, and how the heck did Kirk manage to change the conditions so he could win the no-win scenario.
In closing, I’d like to say that The Wrath of Khan is still my favorite of the Trek movies after all these years (egads, 40 years now!), and it brought Kirstie Alley into the spotlight. A darn shame she didn’t reprise her role in the subsequent Trek films, but she did go on to other projects. I also think that Khan is the best of the Trek films. Star Trek fans waited for years for the return of Star Trek, and in 1979 they gave us Star Trek: The Motion Picture, which fans commonly referred to as The Motionless Picture. Paramount learned their lesson and went back to the drawing board, and brought back Ricardo Montalban reprising the role of Khan from the first season episode ”Space Seed”, giving audiences, and fans the film they wanted and deserved three years later with The Wrath of Khan. That made this film a BIG WIN.
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