There is something comfortable, even old-shoeish, about the new film, a sense, appropriate to its theme of coming to terms with middle age, that all aboard are pleasurably rediscovering their best selves.
-Richard SchickelFull Review
Star Trek II is a very satisfying space adventure, closer in spirit and format to the popular TV series than to its big-budget predecessor.
-Variety StaffFull Review
If only director Nicholas Meyer had grasped the implications of his tale more fully and enthusiastically, this might have become a classic piece of cornball SF poetry, but as it stands the tepid acting and one-set claustrophobia take a heavy toll.
-Dave KehrFull Review
Although I liked the special effects in the first movie, they were probably not the point; fans of the TV series wanted to see their favorite characters again, and Trek II understood that desire and acted on it.
-Roger EbertFull Review
Here comes a sequel that's worth its salt. The second Star Trek movie is swift, droll and adventurous, not to mention appealingly gadget-happy. It's everything the first one should have been and wasn't.
-Janet MaslinFull Review
Star Trek II added hefty doses of action, adventure, and suspense, injecting life into a concept that had been left moribund by its first big-screen feature.
-James BerardinelliFull Review