Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

Wrath of Khan is the best of the Trek films, as it confronts some of the series' most difficult issues, such as employing space exploration to stay youthful despite the fact that life always comes to an end.

The plot revolves around the effects of mortality on William Shatner's Admiral Kirk, a man who doesn't believe in no-win situations, but who pays the price when a man he hasn't seen in 15 years shows up with phasers tuned to "KHAAAAAAAN!" Subtextually and emotionally, there's more going on than a movie based on a sci-fi show (with too many Styrofoam sets) needs. But that's the brilliance of Trek II: it goes above and beyond the genre's expectations to offer a fantastic tale and film. That is why this experience from the twenty-first century is still entertaining today.

And if Kirk and Spock's final moments together, separated by glass, don't make you cry the same huge fat tears you do when you watch Pixar movies, then you have a Ceti eel in your heart.

Director: Nicholas Meer
Stars: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley
Runtime: 113 mins