STAR TREK II: THE WRATH OF KHAN
An exciting, heartrending adventure about courage, sacrifice, and life.
Should You Watch It?
This is a great science-fiction adventure, and its four-star rating is well earned. The story is filled with jeopardy, excitement, heroism, heartrending moments, and profound themes about life, death, courage, and sacrifice. It also draws on themes from Genesis, A Tale of Two Cities, and Moby-Dick.
The film’s content keeps it from being an entirely easy family choice. There is intense violence, some blood, and foul language. Those concerns call for parental discernment, especially with younger children, but they do not erase the movie’s strong moral center or emotional power.
So, if your family includes older children and adults who can handle those concerns, this adventure is worth seeing and revisiting.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESCaptain Kirk’s old enemy, Khan Noonien Singh, is discovered on the planet where Kirk left him. The world was once a paradise but has become a vicious wasteland, and Khan now seeks revenge for his wife’s death.
Meanwhile, scientists are working on the Genesis Device, which can transform a lifeless planet into a paradise—but can also destroy a populated planet while doing so. When Kirk takes the Enterprise to investigate, Khan uses another starship to launch a deadly surprise attack.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means this is an exceptional cinematic adventure. After 40 years, The Wrath of Khan still holds up, with an exciting story, genuine jeopardy, heartrending moments, and profound themes. The movie’s treatment of courage, sacrifice, life, and death gives its action real emotional weight.
The film also rewards repeated viewings. Its appeal extends beyond Star Trek fans to science-fiction fans and anyone who enjoys good movies.
The Worldview
The movie presents a strong moral worldview. It celebrates good defeating evil, heroism in the face of death, new life, and sacrifice by one person for the many. It also includes patriotic sentiments about duty.
Biblical themes appear through allusions to the first chapter of Genesis and a verbal reference to creation by God. The Genesis Device turns an arid planet into a world teeming with life, while also raising serious questions about destruction and the power to create. The film’s moral vision is also shaped by revenge: Khan is motivated almost entirely by it, and his obsession implicitly condemns the way revenge blinds him.
The story includes a woman having a child out of wedlock and choosing to keep the father away because of his commitment to a military space force and space exploration. It also frames courage and sacrifice through the duties of Starfleet, giving those virtues a patriotic and science-fiction setting.
At its heart, the film asks what courage and sacrifice look like when death is unavoidable. Scripture says, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Very strong moral worldview, with allusions to the first chapter of the Book of Genesis and a verbal reference to the Creation by God in Genesis, stresses and celebrates good defeating evil, heroism in the face of death, new life, and sacrifice by one for the many, with some patriotic sentiments about duty
Foul Language
There is an SOB obscenity, several “h” and “d” words, and a GD profanity
Violence
Strong action violence with some blood includes villain puts a creature into a man’s ear to control the man, its implied the villain slaughtered and tortured people on a space station to get information on a powerful device that can make an arid planet team with life but that can also destroy a populated planet while it does this, other people find the victims hanging upside down, man turns gun on himself rather than being forced to kill other people by the creature that’s been placed in his brain through his ear canal, another man infected by another creature collapses rather than trying to obey an evil order, and there’s some blood when the creature crawls out of his ear canal and is shot by a laser-type futuristic gun, space battles between two ships damages both ships, explosions occur on both ships during these battles, Captain Kirk visits one dying young cadet who happens to be the engineer’s nephew, and the young man grabs Kirk’s white uniform collar and leaves a smear of blood on it, major character is fatally wounded in battle, and there are burn marks on his face while he makes on last-ditch attempt to destroy the good guys and their ship, and a character gives his life to save the ship of the good guys but dies of radiation burns
Sex
No sex, but the story background partly involves a woman having a child out of wedlock and telling the father to stay away because of his commitment to a military space force and space exploration
Nudity
Partial upper male nudity
Alcohol Use
Light alcohol use
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Villain is motivated almost entirely by revenge, so much so that he’s blinded by it, so the movie implicitly rebukes this obsession, plus woman doesn’t tell man that she had a baby out of wedlock.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The cadets are taught to face difficult, no-win situations and deal with death, not just life. How can courage and faith guide us when we cannot control the outcome?
Joshua 1:9 · Psalm 46:1–3Khan is blinded by revenge. What happens when anger becomes the central purpose of a person’s life, and how does Scripture call us to respond instead?
Ephesians 4:31–32 · Romans 12:19–21The film connects sacrifice with saving others. What does Jesus’ teaching about laying down one’s life reveal about real love?
John 15:13 · Philippians 2:3–4The Genesis Device raises questions about life, creation, and human power. What does Genesis teach about God as Creator?
Genesis 1:1 · Psalm 24:1The Final Word
The Wrath of Khan remains an exciting, heartrending, and profound science-fiction adventure. Its intense violence and foul language call for discernment with younger viewers, but older children and adults can find courage, sacrifice, and moral depth here. WORTH THE TRIP — OLDER CHILDREN AND ADULTS.
