The return of Khan

Rating: 9/10 (26 July 2016)

This, the second of JJ Abrams reboot of the franchise, opens with Kirk breaking the Prime Directive in order to save Spock; this leads to him being relieved of his command and Spock being transferred to another ship inevitably events soon prevents this from happening. John Harrison; a renegade Star Fleet operative attacks a Star Fleet facility in London then attacks senior members at Star Fleet headquarters before teleporting to Kronos; the Klingon homeward. Admiral Marcus orders Kirk to take the Enterprise to Kronos and kill Harrison using new undetectable missiles. Scotty objects to having the missiles on board and resigns and Spock questions the order to kill Harrison; a clear breach of Federation law. Kirk ultimately decides to ignore Marcus's order and captures Harrison alive; at this point he learns that Harrison is not who he had been told he is the genetically engineered psychopath Khan! He also learns that Marcus has his own agenda; he wants to militarise Star Fleet and is willing to destroy the Enterprise as part of that plan.
This is an impressive film that has plenty of details that should please fans of the original series without distracting from the story for people new to the franchise. The appearance of Khan is the most obvious of course but there are also passing mentions of tribbles, Mudd, Gorn and no doubt some that I missed! The story is impressive and as well as a good plot we get plenty of action. This action is both exciting and varied. The story builds up to a conclusion that nicely mirrors that in 'The Wrath of Khan' without being an exact copy. As one would expect from a Star Trek film the characters and their interactions are at the core of the story; the main cast has a great chemistry making us believe that their characters are real people who have been working together for a while. Benedict Cumberbatch does a fine job as Khan; quietly menacing but not to such a degree that he is obviously evil. Peter Weller is also impressive as the imposing Admiral Marcus. Overall an impressive film that should satisfy both fans of the original and those who joined the franchise in the JJ Abrams era.