Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, Part Ten
Khan didn't kill Kirk, but he did hit him where it hurt...right in the Vulcan.
James Horner's score mixes a bunch of themes for the brief scene of Kirk racing down to the engine room to see the dying Spock. A lot of people like it but it sounds a little cluttered to me, although the themes are all good in themselves.
Spock's death scene is very moving, well-written and well-acted by the leads, and would have been a fitting epitaph for the character if he had actually stayed dead. One thing that bothers me is Spock's line about this being his version of the Kobayashi Maru, which is a little too pat and kind of distracting. (Also, the KM doesn't offer the cadet a "kill yourself to save the others" option, or at least not an obvious one.)
Shatner still can't do the Vulcan salute, although he manages in the next movie. Maybe he practiced.
Trivia: Nicholas Meyer directed Spock's death scene while wearing a Sherlock Holmes costume for a party he was attending later. Leonard Nimoy was irritated by this, since it suggested Meyer wasn't taking it seriously enough for his taste.
Spock's death never had much emotional impact on me, because as a kid I saw these movies out of order and so there was never a time that I thought he was permanently dead. Spock's return doesn't rob his death scene of all meaning, but it sure does rob it of a bunch.
Spock's is the first really major character death in Star Trek, and it was handled far better than most later ones. Tasha Yar was uncermoniously killed by a talking oil slick in a terrible episode, but later got a re-do thanks to alternate universes and time travel. Jadzia Dax was randomly murdered by a pah-wraith possessed Gul Dukat just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time; because of her Trill symbiote she managed to live on in a fashion. I think Voyager and Enterprise killed some people, but who cares. In the movie Generations, Kirk himself apparently died in the 23rd century, then came back and really died in the 24th century; both deaths were technically heroic but not really fitting, although it was certainly about time for the character to pass on. Finally, Data sacrificed himself through poor plotting to save Picard in Star Trek: Nemesis, but his legacy was carried on by his idiot android cousin.
The pattern seems to be that the female characters (Yar and Dax) were killed during the run of their original shows because the actresses wanted out, and got abrupt meaningless deaths; while the male characters (Spock, Kirk and Data) were given more dramatic deaths in the films, but Kirk's and Data's were arguably botched and took place in bad movies.
So they just have Spock's funeral in the damn torpedo bay? Why don't they take his body to Vulcan (or Earth)? Surely Sarek and Amanda would want to be there at least.
"A world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish"--Uh, no. The Genesis planet would have happened anyway, Spock just made sure it didn't kill the Enterprise crew in the process.
"And we will not debate that wisdom at these proceedings"--What kind of line is that? Does Kirk think Spock's heroic sacrifice is controversial somehow?
"His was the most human"--Kirk clearly means this as a compliment, but Spock would surely take it as an insult were he alive. All in all, this is pretty much the worst eulogy ever.
OF COURSE Scotty can play the bagpipes. And of course he plays "Amazing Grace", even though I'm certain Spock wasn't a Christian. Maybe the tune has been disassociated with the religion by this time.
Fun fact: In the novelization Spock's photon torpedo was supposed to burn up in the atmosphere of the Genesis planet. Saavik, for some reason I can't remember, secretly reprogrammed it to "soft-land". If she hadn't done this, of course, Spock wouldn't have had a living body to go back to in the next movie.
"You never have faced death"--As I explained before, this isn't really true, but the movie asks us to accept it.
"You told Saavik that how we deal with death..."--David has obviously been talking to Saavik off-screen. In the novelization they rapidly become an item, although I was never clear on what she saw in him. (Well, he is pretty ripped for a scientist.)
"I was wrong about you and I'm sorry"--One weakness of this movie is that most of the lines involving the Kirk-Carol-David relationship seem to come straight from a soap opera. However the Kirk-David reconciliation works well enough, at least at making the movie not end on a total down note. (Of course if you've seen the next movie, the Kirk-David scene is actually sadder than Spock's funeral. Better get to know your son fast, Kirk.)
"If Genesis really is life from death, I must return to this place again"--Another blatant sequel hook. Also some wishful thinking from Kirk...who, by the magic of Star Trek science, just happens to be exactly right.
"He's not really dead, as long as we remember him"--Insert your "remember" joke here. I guess Bones isn't feeling the mind-meld yet. It may have taken Spock's soul a while to adjust to the horror of being trapped in McCoy's brain before it could assert itself.
Carol doesn't recognize the closing lines of A Tale of Two Cities. Maybe Dickens is less popular 300 years from now.
I know they wanted a happy ending, but...why does Kirk feel young, again? Didn't Spock just die? Reconciling with his adult son should make him feel better about himself, but not young.
"Space, the final frontier"--Leonard Nimoy's voiceover was meant to be another means of lifting the gloom of Spock's death. This is the only time the TV opening is quoted in the original movies. "Five year mission" becomes "continuing mission", but it's still "where no man has gone before".
And credits.
Next: Why does this movie not suck so bad?
James Horner's score mixes a bunch of themes for the brief scene of Kirk racing down to the engine room to see the dying Spock. A lot of people like it but it sounds a little cluttered to me, although the themes are all good in themselves.
Spock's death scene is very moving, well-written and well-acted by the leads, and would have been a fitting epitaph for the character if he had actually stayed dead. One thing that bothers me is Spock's line about this being his version of the Kobayashi Maru, which is a little too pat and kind of distracting. (Also, the KM doesn't offer the cadet a "kill yourself to save the others" option, or at least not an obvious one.)
Shatner still can't do the Vulcan salute, although he manages in the next movie. Maybe he practiced.
Trivia: Nicholas Meyer directed Spock's death scene while wearing a Sherlock Holmes costume for a party he was attending later. Leonard Nimoy was irritated by this, since it suggested Meyer wasn't taking it seriously enough for his taste.
Spock's death never had much emotional impact on me, because as a kid I saw these movies out of order and so there was never a time that I thought he was permanently dead. Spock's return doesn't rob his death scene of all meaning, but it sure does rob it of a bunch.
Spock's is the first really major character death in Star Trek, and it was handled far better than most later ones. Tasha Yar was uncermoniously killed by a talking oil slick in a terrible episode, but later got a re-do thanks to alternate universes and time travel. Jadzia Dax was randomly murdered by a pah-wraith possessed Gul Dukat just for being in the wrong place at the wrong time; because of her Trill symbiote she managed to live on in a fashion. I think Voyager and Enterprise killed some people, but who cares. In the movie Generations, Kirk himself apparently died in the 23rd century, then came back and really died in the 24th century; both deaths were technically heroic but not really fitting, although it was certainly about time for the character to pass on. Finally, Data sacrificed himself through poor plotting to save Picard in Star Trek: Nemesis, but his legacy was carried on by his idiot android cousin.
The pattern seems to be that the female characters (Yar and Dax) were killed during the run of their original shows because the actresses wanted out, and got abrupt meaningless deaths; while the male characters (Spock, Kirk and Data) were given more dramatic deaths in the films, but Kirk's and Data's were arguably botched and took place in bad movies.
So they just have Spock's funeral in the damn torpedo bay? Why don't they take his body to Vulcan (or Earth)? Surely Sarek and Amanda would want to be there at least.
"A world that our beloved comrade gave his life to protect and nourish"--Uh, no. The Genesis planet would have happened anyway, Spock just made sure it didn't kill the Enterprise crew in the process.
"And we will not debate that wisdom at these proceedings"--What kind of line is that? Does Kirk think Spock's heroic sacrifice is controversial somehow?
"His was the most human"--Kirk clearly means this as a compliment, but Spock would surely take it as an insult were he alive. All in all, this is pretty much the worst eulogy ever.
OF COURSE Scotty can play the bagpipes. And of course he plays "Amazing Grace", even though I'm certain Spock wasn't a Christian. Maybe the tune has been disassociated with the religion by this time.
Fun fact: In the novelization Spock's photon torpedo was supposed to burn up in the atmosphere of the Genesis planet. Saavik, for some reason I can't remember, secretly reprogrammed it to "soft-land". If she hadn't done this, of course, Spock wouldn't have had a living body to go back to in the next movie.
"You never have faced death"--As I explained before, this isn't really true, but the movie asks us to accept it.
"You told Saavik that how we deal with death..."--David has obviously been talking to Saavik off-screen. In the novelization they rapidly become an item, although I was never clear on what she saw in him. (Well, he is pretty ripped for a scientist.)
"I was wrong about you and I'm sorry"--One weakness of this movie is that most of the lines involving the Kirk-Carol-David relationship seem to come straight from a soap opera. However the Kirk-David reconciliation works well enough, at least at making the movie not end on a total down note. (Of course if you've seen the next movie, the Kirk-David scene is actually sadder than Spock's funeral. Better get to know your son fast, Kirk.)
"If Genesis really is life from death, I must return to this place again"--Another blatant sequel hook. Also some wishful thinking from Kirk...who, by the magic of Star Trek science, just happens to be exactly right.
"He's not really dead, as long as we remember him"--Insert your "remember" joke here. I guess Bones isn't feeling the mind-meld yet. It may have taken Spock's soul a while to adjust to the horror of being trapped in McCoy's brain before it could assert itself.
Carol doesn't recognize the closing lines of A Tale of Two Cities. Maybe Dickens is less popular 300 years from now.
I know they wanted a happy ending, but...why does Kirk feel young, again? Didn't Spock just die? Reconciling with his adult son should make him feel better about himself, but not young.
"Space, the final frontier"--Leonard Nimoy's voiceover was meant to be another means of lifting the gloom of Spock's death. This is the only time the TV opening is quoted in the original movies. "Five year mission" becomes "continuing mission", but it's still "where no man has gone before".
And credits.
Next: Why does this movie not suck so bad?