Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan vs. The Empire Strikes Back

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Two of all time greatest sequels; and the funny thing is, I was just thinking about this match-up earlier today. (Flickchart, you're in my miiiiiiind!) In the end, EMPIRE has the edge. It's the best STAR WARS movie ever made, and it made the escapism of the original into art.

For the pop-culturally clueless, Star Wars and Star Trek are interchangeable, but of course other than both involving space ships they're vastly different. One other thing the two series have in common though is that they both produced amazing second movies that improved on the original ideas (though Empire had far less to do in this regard). Khan makes one forget about the mediocre Motion(less) Picture and is the best Trek has ever been in any medium. Empire takes a brilliant story from the first Star Wars and makes it bolder and richer. It's my second favorite movie ever so despite loving Khan, I have to go with Empire.

The Wraith of Khan is a really solid film but it doesn't even come close to the magic that is The Empire Strikes Back.

I've been realizing lately that the Star Wars prequel trilogy (which I've never HATED), really has, subconsciously, diluted the power of the original trilogy in my mind. (Well, probably that, and all the messing around George Lucas has done with the originals.) I'm a big Trekkie. Overall, I prefer Star Trek to Star Wars. But as I sit here and really contemplate this match-up, I have to give the edge to Empire. These movies are both the best in their respective franchises, but Star Trek really works better on the small screen (J.J. Abrams's excellent reboot notwithstanding). Star Wars was made for the big screen (and I totally expect it to flounder on TV.) While I might pick The Wrath of Khan over any of the other Star Wars movies, The Empire Strikes Back really is the best Star Wars film, and it outdoes any movie in the Star Trek franchise.

I love the entire Star Trek series oh so much, and am eleated to see its recent resurrgence with the excellent remake. But even its greatest film, 'The Wrath of Khan' cannot overtake one of my most favorite films ever, of any genre. Long live the 'Empire Strikes Back'.

Both are the best in their series. Both have magnificent stories that expand their universes. The heroes of each get put through the ringer get broken down. Each has a significant character lost. However, Star Trek II allows them to crawl up and become victorious through that sacrifice. Empire decides to keep their heroes beaten and crushed with only a glimmer of hope at the end. When you break it down to the quality of story, Empire begins to really separate itself from Khan. Empire shines as a true space fantasy with romance, comedy and action that essentially eclipses Khan. Khan is an excellent sci-fi movie and stays true to that genre while Empire transcends.

This is a tough Choice but Empire takes.

Oh, this is a good one. Star Trek II is on HBO Family right now, and I actually think its better than The Empire Strikes Back. Sure, Empire has great twists in its final hour, but Star Trek II is just a perfect exercise of how you make a good all-around sequel. In the end, it's a close call, but Star Trek II takes this in a squeaker!

My favorites from each series, this is a very difficult decision. I'm going with the crew of the Enterprise.

Wrath of Kahn over all the wars but original trilogy beats out every other trek

Empire by crushing...