You know, I kinda liked the first movie in the reboot series while my friends that saw it in the cinema back then with me absolutely hated it. We were similar Star Trek fans and enjoyed the franchise up to that point equally as much I'd say. Yes, I liked the first one even tho it was a farcry from the older material and left the feeling that the writers and Abrams didn't really "get" the Star Trek universe and just kinda created yet another "new" action franchise. But this? I'm almost disgusted by the pandering and ridiculous try at "fan-service" in this movie. The references, the "role-reversal", the whole copying of material and characters from older movies with "a twist" and what not. A shame. How about something original and not another silly revenge story THAT WE ALREADY KINDA HAD? WHY create a alternate universe if we are going to re-tread old ground and that even badly? The movie was a mess, I don't know what the writers were thinking, not even gonna mention Abrams, can we just not give him movies or tv shows in the future please? (and that ship crashing into Alcatraz... what was he trying to tell us there?! good lord...) As a Star Trek fan I feel insulted after watching this and if they are not going to come up with something new and original for the next movie this certainly was the last one I watched in this alternate timeline and will just start to pretend that it never existed.

A caveat - this is not the Star Trek that Gene Roddenberry intended and one would imagine that he would not have approved. But then, some of the best Star Trek episodes, and indeed series (DS9), have come from a divergence from Roddenberry's positive vision of the future and a willingness to explore the difficulties humanity would have in aspiring to this unlikely ideal. Abrams was wise to begin his film versions of Star Trek prior to the realisation of Roddenberry's utopia. What Star Trek has also often been good at is providing a canvas upon which to comment on the moral and social questions that resonate with modern society and here the notion of terrorism and how humanity addresses this in personal and global terms feels particularly relevant. Not that Abrams allows this to get in the way of delivering what can only be described as a perfect summer movie, but the overall themes of the film ascribe to this notion of Star Trek. What Abrams also gets right in spades is the characters and the interaction between all of them, in particular Kirk and Spock, with a great effort made in ensuring all of the crew get a moment to shine (something notably lacking from the original movies). Pine and Quinto are a fantastic double act and the development of their characters and their relationship is the highlight of the film. Cumberbatch makes for a great central villain, yet the film develops in surprising ways. There are plot holes galore here and to be sure they mar the overall rating. They are also likely to enrage the pedantic fans of a series which has often suffered from a need/desire to retcon or fit everything into a preordained timeline often at the expense of simply enjoying the moment. And that is what the filmmakers seems to be doing here. Rarely do these plot inconsistencies detract from the sheer fun and enjoyment of seeing these characters race through a film whose pace is relentless. What is unnecessary however is this film's attempts to connect with a previous instalment in the series. There is nothing inherently wrong with the connections but it adds little to the story and wholesale reminders of scenes from another film detract from their intent. These similar moments could have easily been staged in a different way and the film would have been better for it. There is also an incredibly convenient "deus ex machina" moment that is as predictable as it is ridiculous and completely unnecessary as it only serves to fulfil the desire of the film to connect with its predecessor. Still, this is great entertainment!

I have no idea how this movie is at almost 80%. Especially when Beyond is 3% lower and is a MUCH better movie. Tbh, I admit, for the first hour or so of this movie I was thinking "wait why did I give this only a 5 again?", because the movie holds itself together pretty well for awhile. It still suffers from the Abrams problem of being a good product instead of interesting art, but its watchable. But god, the final act. A complete mess. The role reversal stuff is just absolutely terrible. [spoiler]Spock shouting "Khan" was the worst moment. Just corny as hell. And I'm sorry, but the Kirk/Spock relationship is just not established enough in this continuity for Kirk's death to resonate. Especially when they already established was was SO OBVIOUSLY going to be a way to bring Kirk back. And low and behold, it was, and it was corny. They never should have tried to follow the act of Khan at all tbh, Ricardo is way too tough and act to follow. and Whitewashing one of the greatest poc villains in movie history is ridiculous.[/spoiler]. Also, a nitpick, but the fan service scene with Carol Marcus in her underwear was jarringly unnecessary. Like yeah, sure, Alive Eve has a great body, but it being out of nowhere and not serving any narrative purpose and a bit of tonal whiplash. It just didnt fit. This is actually my least favorite Star Trek film. Because the worst original timeline movies at least were TRYING to do something interesting and not make a cynically marketable product and failing even at that. I will admit though I do like the element of the destruction of Vulcan changing Starfleet to be more militaristic. It might not be "Gene's vision" but it makes sense for the alternate universe and is the most interesting plot point. They should have just had Alexander Marcus be the main villain.