Part 1 HERE.
Part 2 HERE.
As we begin
Part III of this obsessive look into Star Trek II, we rejoin the action
in the middle of the attack on the Enterprise by the Khan-commanded Reliant.
And what is
the first thing Kirk says upon seeing his “old friend”?
For me the
viewscreen banter and Kirk’s duping of Khan play beautifully, even if based on
a bunch of made-up technobabble about “prefix access codes” and “command
consoles” and such.
Screen-rewriter/director Nick Meyer does a fine job here.
In one place,
Meyer described that it took many takes to get Shatner to deliver a deadpan
“Here it comes.” Meyer had to wear
Shatner down and get all the dramatic deliveries out of his system. “Here … it COMES!” “Here IT … comes.” “HERE … IT … COMES!” and all the Kirkean
variations.
Not only is
it very cold in space, there are nice key lights to provide dramatic shadows as
the damaged ships pass each other.
I always
thought it was cute that the Reliant’s shuttle bays were
numbered. As if somebody on approach
wouldn’t know where to aim. For that
matter, wouldn’t these numbers be out of view, when the doors were open?
Speaking of
doors opening, the scene on the Enterprise bridge ends as Scott
somehow mistakes the bridge for sickbay.
The music score, as released on the various soundtracks, includes a
loud, dissonant sting at the end of this scene.
Meyer, or Horner, or somebody, deserves credit for dialing that loud
clang out of the film. The brief view of
the ship “silent” in space is much more effective.
Next comes
the Midshipman Death Scene, patterned after a very similar bit in the wonderful
1951 film Captain Horatio Hornblower, starring Gregory Peck in the title
role. The establishing shot of Kirk
walking sickbay is intentionally reminiscent of a walk undertaken by Peck, with
the same end – finding a young crewmember who is injured, who is soon to pay
the ultimate price.
Just past an
hour into the 1951 film, after a pitched battle between Hornblower’s ship Lydia
and the Natividad, the captain walks the ship to discover that his
unwelcome passenger, Lady Barbara Wellesley, is trying to aid the many
wounded. One of the dying is Hornblower’s
steward, Polwheal. In a humanizing
moment that bonds the two lead characters, Hornblower tells Lady Barbara how to
comfort Polwheal in his last moments by kissing him (on each eye, then mouth)
the same way the lad’s mother kissed him goodbye at Portsmouth.
Unfortunately,
there’s no pretty lady to bid Peter Preston adieu, so a firm handclasp from
Kirk will have to do.
Leading up to
the infamous travelling bloodstain!
At 59
minutes, here’s where the first handprint can be found, nearly down to the
outward fold on the white blousing of Kirk’s jacket. This is in the midst of an extended version
of this scene that has several welcome moments, except for Kirk’s lame
statement that Khan wants revenge for Kirk’s passing judgment on him 15 years
ago.
Two minutes
later, on the bridge:
The bloody
handprint has mysteriously migrated higher, almost to Kirk’s neckline!
KIRK: What do
you make of that planetoid beyond?
SPOCK: I can
make a hat, a broach, a ….. [sorry about that!]
So, Kirk,
McCoy, and Saavik beam down to Regula 1, where McCoy finds …
… a filthy,
slimy RAT!
And then a bunch of dead
guys.
It’s a nice
touch when Kirk punches the glass.
Saavik is so surprised at this brutal burst of masculinity that she
jumps a full inch or so, straight up!
Incidentally,
whenever my dear wife gets mad at me for something, I ALWAYS blame the
creatures in my body that make me “say lyes … dooo tings!”
In the
station’s transporter room, nobody remained to turn it off. Plus, the “sleep” function ran down, and they
disabled the screen saver!
When they
arrive inside the planetoid, Kirk is almost immediately assaulted by a wimpy
little kid who throws a hissy fit after being quickly disarmed.
Such impulsive behavior is a great
illustration as to why this character deserved to be bumped off (in the next
movie).
This shot is also a prime
example of what TV Tropes calls
Behind the
Black: If it’s out of camera range, it’s invisible.
How else could this clumsy girly-boy sneak up
on a bunch of Starfleet officers?
He’s just
lucky that Saavik has faster reflexes than either him or the brainwashed
Terrell.
And it’s too
bad that the otherwise noble end of Captain Terrell is marred by one of the
world’s worst matte lines.
Note that in
the close-up (a giant plaster ear that was built from a cast of Koenig’s own),
the blood is dripping straight down.
While in the
immediately following shot, one second later, the dripping blood covers a much
larger area.
So Khan
steals the Genesis Torpedo, leaving Kirk to fume.
KHAN: I wish
to go on hurting you … as soon as I can find my whip and my rubber corset, and
slip on my pumps!
Am I the only
person to think that in this freeze-frame, Kirk seems to display a bit of
exotropia?
CAROL MARCUS:
It took the Starfleet corps of engineers ten months in spacesuits to tunnel out
all this.
KIRK: Why didn’t those morons use a couple of
hortas?
While David
Marcus complains about wasting time, Kirk looks at his watch.
Note the
specs on his nose.
David has one
line, and two seconds after the previous screencap, voila!
The specs are
gone, and Kirk’s hands are now laced in front of him.
The next
scene, a pas de deux between Kirk and Doctor
Marcus distaffe, makes it plain to
all that James “Tomcat” Kirk had a momentous fling with the lady. Personally, I always found it fun to connect
a couple of separate dots. After
watching this scene, I decided that Carol Marcus must have been the “little
blonde lab technician” whom Gary Mitchell aimed at Lieutenant Kirk “back at the
academy.” After all, as Kirk says, “I
almost married her!”
I’m not the only fan to
have inferred this, even though the original concept for the character was for
her to be Janet Wallace, from “The Deadly Years.”
At the end of this brief
scene, Kirk, the flush of the chase ebbing, once again announces that he feels
old … worn out.
Which leads Carol to
entice him into the Garden of Eden – I mean, Genesis.
James Horner’s music goes
a long way towards making these establishing shots work.
Then comes the discussion
of the no-win scenario. Although the
2009 film is set in “another” timeline, it’s nevertheless fun to think of that
film’s explanation of how Kirk beat the test, in relation to this film.
“I reprogrammed the
simulation to make it possible to rescue the ship” is pretty much the way it’s
done in the new film.
And you can’t tell me that
the Pine apple (get it?) wasn’t inspired by this scene in Star Trek II!
The sardonic delivery of
Spock’s line, “I exaggerated” reminds me of an anecdote of director Nick
Meyer’s. Supposedly, Harve Bennett protested
a plot twist in Star Trek III. “You can’t blow up the Enterprise!” supposedly Bennet objected. To which Meyer scathingly snorted, “TV
mentality!” Similarly, Saavik is all
innocence, seemingly amazed that the commander of a vessel under fire might
seek to deceive his adversary. She
oughta be happy that Spock’s response was a gentle “I exaggerated.” He would have been justified if he’d
backhanded her across the room. “Of
course I lied to the enemy, you silly twit!” he would rage.
Here’s a comparison of the
dramatic pan from the Enterprise
at the bottom, to the Reliant
at the top. The actual shot, traveling
“upwards” from one to the other, takes a lot less time than a “real” coverage
of a body this size would require. Who
would want to see five seconds of craters?
So the Enterprise limps towards the Mutara
Nebula, hoping to get into the briar patch before Br’er Fox.
And so, as Kirk and crew
get ready for the battle of their lives, the trainees hurry to Battle Stations,
including Vacuum Cleaner Guy, fresh from Starfleet’s training center!
(Incidentally, in the
version broadcast on ABC, February 24th, 1985, the brief hallway
sequence, during this Red Alert, including Vacuum Cleaner Guy was cut out.)
And after Kirk taunts
Khan, the Superior Intellect ™ throws his unbilled assistant aside.
“Full power, damn you!” he
cries. Watch Khan’s movements here, as
he leans onto the helm console and shoves *something* forward. To me it looks like he’s grabbed the stick
shift and forced ’er into overdrive, baby!
Come back next Monday, to
learn if Khan remembered to pop the clutch! And see you this Thursday for another music compilation.
