TWOK overall had a better story. Plus, TWOK wasn't saddled with looking cheap because of reusing TNG sets and TWOK had Harve Bennett keeping Nicholas Meyer in check so that he didn't run too far off course of what Trek was.
No contest: TWoK all the way. The only movie it doesn't beat (just can't bring myself to type "pwn") is TMP and the distance between those is, as they say on The Sopranos, a c*nt hair (now that I can type ).
A few months ago I would have voted for TUC until I realized the huge plot hole in TUC where the movie starts with excelsior charting gaseous anomilies and at the end Enterprise-A has the equipment.
The Wrath Of Khan. No question. Its not even an arguement. The referee would stop the fight in the first round. TWOK would wipe the floor with TUC.
TUC is pretty good. But TWOK is just better. The story is better, the cast is younger, it has Khan, it has Khan's man-boobs, it has better battle scenes, a better ending, etc. There are several things that kind of sink TUC also: -pink blood. Lots and lots of pink blood. -What the hell is with all the Klingon Shakespear stuff? I never understood why the Klingons kept directly quoting shakespear. What was Chang's deal? Is this explained in the Novel? -The magic sensor beacon on Kirk's uniform was a bit unbelievable. First, how does anything with that range not also get instantly detected by the Klingons. Second, what, they just leave Kirk in his original uniform? Seriously? -The Klingon translation book scene was quite embarrassing. -Kirk does the cheesy 30-ft leap in slow-mo at the end to save the prez. Ok, that's kind of funny, actually.
The blood didn't bother me, though I would have preferred continuity among the series. The Shakespeare quotes seemed a rehash of Chekov's constant "The Russians really did that" schtick from the TV shows, a joke as well as a jab. The sensor was dopey, though the script implies that the Klingons really don't care if anyone makes it out of the camp because the planet surface is so hostile and, before Praxis exploded and sent the empire into chaos I presume, no alien ship could have made it into Klingon territory for rescue. Since life expectancy in the camp was so low, and since Kirk and crew were already targeted for assassination, not bothering to confiscate what obviously was not a weapon seems right. I loathe the book scene and probably will for life; if Meyer wanted something like that, it should have been an issue of Uhura having to guess at a call sign rather than struggle through a language obviously common for that universe. She could have vamped it up (a much better way to demonstrate her sexiness than the fan dance in the previous movie), flirting with the working stiff Klingon at the security check point. It still would have been a bit corny, but I would have liked the scene much better than the one we have. The climax of this film is lifted right out of another. Won't tell you which, but it's 40 years old, and when you see it, you'll slap yourself in the forehead. Meyer almost steals it shot for shot. Here's another clue: it's not a sci-fi film.
There was a scene cut from the film showing part of Kirk's "brief tour" of the Enterprise. One of the stops is a science lab, where he shows the Klingons their equipment for cataloging gaseous anomalies.
Chang likes Shakespeare ... what more explanation is needed? Do Saurians want to know what the problem is that makes humans keep drinking their brandy?
With the notable exception that there was a big space battle right beforehand, and Colonel Odo-as-Klingon didn't suddenly shoot General Chang at the last second instead of the president, and then kill himself after Scotty broke down the door. But "lifted" sounds better than "homage." Besides who would expect a homage to a Cold-War staple like The Manchurian Candidate in a Sci-Fi Cold War allegory? It makes absolutely no sense, so it must be plagiarism.