The Enterprise lighting up and leaving space dock in Wrath of Khan is one of the finest scenes in cinema history.
I will die on that nebula
As I've said before, Wrath and Undiscovered are the best Trek films because they show Kirk for what he is: a brilliant, arrogant, bloody warrior.
And then they have him realise that it is everyone else pays the price for that, not him. And, for a moment, he hates himself for it.
Nicholas Meyer was one of the few to realise that Kirk is an anti-hero, not a hero. He's a borderline, narcissistic, brilliant weapon of war.
But he's surrounded by friends who he lets become his conscience. That's his salvation. His one noble strength.
@garius those two are my favourites too, for similar reasons. The central relationships (Kirk-Spock in particular) are what, when handled well, make Trek so special to me.
Search for Spock is my next favourite because it shows what happens when Kirk doesn’t have Spock (or McCoy, in a different way) there to anchor him.
It’s also why I hate Into Darkness with a passion.