****

My friend, do you know of the Klingon proverb that revenge is a dish best served cold?  Well space is very cold.

Re-watching this classic in light of the newest Star Trek paints it in a different light.  The film seems more clever, since it provides the basis for several themes in the new one.  We get to watch Admiral Kirk’s response to a young Vulcan lieutenant’s failure at the Kobayashi Maru test (the one which Kirk was accused of cheating on in the new film).  The seed’s of Captain Spock’s acceptance of humanity also appear in this film, as is his promise to always be Kirk’s friend.

Very good music, with returning elements from Star Trek TMS and even some clips that reappear in Avatar!  Good job Jerry Goldsmith.  It really adds to the tension and the nobility of the characters.

As for the ending, it gives me the same chills that X2 gave me.  So rarely do films end on the right note.  Spock’s voice saying the classic opening lines of Star Trek (also, I believe, from the new Star Trek) remind us that with films, the characters and actors may die, but as long as they’re recorded that they can return as often as we want.