Whereas "Star Trek: The Motion Picture" revisited a theme from the original TV series (Captain Kirk defeats a threat to the Enterprise by using circular logic), this sequel revisits perhaps Kirk's most outstanding and ferocious antagonist, the villain Khan (Ricardo Montalban). I actually had a problem with the resolution of the TV episode 'Space Seed', in as much as Kirk exiled Khan to a far flung planet instead of dealing with him far more definitively. Having already seen how diabolical and clever Khan was, it wouldn't have been a stretch for Kirk to foresee a day when Khan would come back to haunt him.

Come back he does, on a personal mission of revenge against present Admiral Kirk (William Shatner), in addition to his quest to acquire a Genesis device, capable of reorganizing lifeless matter into life generating results. You have to give Ricardo Montalban credit here for his portrayal. Khan was a truly vicious outlaw, though it was an insane desire for personal vengeance that eventually led to his downfall at the hands of the pragmatic, calculating Kirk.

Interestingly, the story is framed in a literary context, beginning with an early conversation between Kirk and Spock (Leonard Nimoy). Spock quotes Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" when he comments on Kirk's unwillingness to confront the matter of growing older - "It was the best of times. It was the worst of times." The historical novel was a tale of dualities, one about two men living in two cities, London and Paris. The literary device of doubles is used throughout the movie repeatedly, with Kirk vs Khan, the Enterprise vs The Reliant, rival sons Joachim (Judson Scott) and David (Merritt Butrick), and one could go on listing other such dualities in the story.

The film closes out the Dickensian theme when Kirk laments the loss of his beloved friend Spock, who sacrificed his life for a greater cause - "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known". If ever one considered Shatner a mediocre actor, he might have redeemed himself with that one riveting scene. And similarly, before he dies, Spock hints at a Genesis-like revival when he proclaims to Kirk - "I am and always shall be, your friend".