Regarding some of the negative comments

Rating: 10/10 (17 May 2009)

Well, first off, I thought it was a great movie. The acting was great, visual effects were great, it was a really well thought out movie.
However, one thing that's bothering me is this. I've seen many reviews of the movie blasting it because it doesn't exactly follow the Star Trek universe. "Capt. Pike never became an Admiral, he retired a Fleet Commander!" Others have pointed out how so-and-so never did this, how this person never did this. One thing that many people are forgetting though is this.
-SPOILER GOES HERE- When the Romulons(?) came through the black hole, they messed up the sequence of events. They completely changed the course of history. If they didn't, then you would already know the ending. "Well, obviously all the main characters survive, because they go on to do other missions in the TV series." But, by making it into an alternate reality, the main characters are no longer immortal. You don't know the fate of the crew, or of Pike. If you knew Pike was going to live and eventually retire as Fleet Commander, then it's obvious that by the end of the movie, Kirk and his crew will have saved his life, leaving no room to really do anything and no story to be told. What's the point of watching if you already know how it's going to turn out? By changing the flow of events, the ending becomes unpredictable, and therefore, it becomes new. So yes, it is possible for Pike to retire as an Admiral, and for Kirk to receive his commission as Captain differently than the original series told it. If not, then what's the point of telling the story?