I don't think there is a word in Klingon to describe how bad this is.

Rating: Null/10 (4 March 2011)

What do you get when you mix the Original Star Trek with Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman and J. J. Abrams? An incoherent mess of a movie. Highly resembling the manic chaos that is the Michael Bay, Transformer movies.
The first and obvious thing that is notable about this film is the absolute train wreck visuals. This film features: slanted angles, shaky-cam, light glares, strobing lights and loud very music. It's all used to make things appear more fast-paced and exciting but it makes the whole movie feel a lot less distinct and memorable. It includes the kind of quick editing which misses out all the intermittent scenes which would make the movie flow as a whole. The movie loves to get painfully close to people's faces to the point where it feels like an invasion of privacy.
The second thing to draw would be the awful plot and writing, courtesy of the dumb and dumber pair of Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci. With such unbelievable lines as "a supernova that threatens the entire galaxy" it becomes clear that these two think the audience is as dumb as they are. Once against the Earth is in danger from some bold megalomaniac person from the Romulan empire. Any Star Trek fan will instantly recognise this as the plot from the last movie, Star Trek Nemesis. So not content from trying to rip-off some of the plot from one of the worst Star Trek movies up until this one, what else can they steal? Well it's been noted already by many at how this movie seems to heavily resemble the Star Wars franchise. More specifically; A New Hope. But where A New Hope had groundbreaking special effects. With unique aspects interwoven to capture people's imagination, like the force. This movie has nada.
Onto the characters we have James.T.Kirk; a roguish, womanising, law-breaking, fun-times kinda guy who cleans up his act by the end of the movie. Yep his character is reduced to Tony Stark from Iron Man(2008). But where you have the quick thinking and smooth charm of Robert Downey Jr to back up that character. We get a rather flat Chris Pine for a Kirk. John Cho from Harold & Kumar fame plays Mr Sulu but lacks the extravagant voice to match George Takei's original interpretation. Instead Sulu is reduced to being the guy who can swing a sword and do cool Asian martial arts. Anton Yelchin's Chekov has some pretty funny and unconvincing sounding Russian accent here, but he fills the role adequately. Zoe Zadana plays a rather bitchy Uhura who is made a tacked-on love interest. Simon Pegg pulls of the most lively and wonderful performance as Scotty. He carries an enthusiasm for the situation and the general surroundings which make it seem all the more believable that he loves his craft. Zachary Quinto plays a fairly good Spock who is far more emotional than Leonard Nimoy's own Spock. But I was a little disappointed with the lack of famous Spock eyebrow raising which always happened to make him seem quite human but also perplexed at the same time. Quinto's voice just doesn't hold that cold, rigid firmness that Vulcans and Spock in particular, are noted for. Carl Urban is pretty good as Bones, he really makes it believable that he and Jim are good friends. His franticness really make his character the most believable in the role of a medical officer. Eric Bana plays Nero who just feels like nothing more than a stomping angry figure then a complex and clever villain that Trek has been known for. Lastly there is Leonard Nimoy who is the only one of the Original series cast to reprise their role in this picture and yet he feels rather underused. In fact his dialogue is pretty bad and he cobbles such eye-rolling sentiments as "destiny" in the scenes which are a clear sort of pass-the-torch moments. A far more uninvolved Spock which is counterintuitive to the old stubborn ambassador who enters any and all situations to achieve his ambitious but well-thought ends.
This is a bad movie, not because it loses its adherence to the old Trek. After all the old Star Trek has produced its own fill of bad movies. No the movie is bad because it lacks intelligence, cohesion, good characters and memorable acting on the whole.
Perhaps next time, instead of trying to copy elements for the most widest and blandest adaptation. They should try to look at all the good Star Trek series and moments. To try bring about what was actually unique and special about the franchise. Rather than reduce it to this stupid, tumble-heap of a movie mess.