A little compressed but highly enjoyable overall.

Rating: 7/10 (14 July 2013)

This review starts with a confession: I never really loved TOS. As a now 28-year old I instead used to watch TNG, DS9 and Voyager in my mid-teen years. In the time I was really immersed in ST I could still feel the strong echoes of the impact of TOS, but the series seemed outdated to me when I watched it. All I occasionally saw was a vision of the future that had become prehistoric and a chubby Kirk being a silly pervert. I did watch all the Star Trek movies including the TOS ones and especially enjoyed the second and fourth ones. To sum it all up, I have grown some affinity with TOS but it pales in comparison with the newer series.
Recently I watched the 2009 movie for the second time, but not after I reintroduced myself to the second and third Star Trek movies first, to get me immersed in the TOS universe again. I did not do this when I watched the 2009 movie for the first time and I was happy to notice that I liked the movie better than the first time I saw it. It's full of nods to TOS that fans will grin upon and has an engaging storyline, convincing cast and nice pace overall. My only complaint was about the villain which didn't really left a powerful impression on me.
Star Trek Into Darkness succeeds like it's predecessor in similar fashion but has a much more intriguing villain. To truly appreciate him you have to watch the second Star Trek movie before you go watch this one. The plot kept me invested throughout the movie while being entertained with some nice head-butting dialogue between Kirk and Spock and an even higher pace than the 2009 movie. This high pace comes with a price though. Acknowledging that STID possesses a far different style than it's spiritual predecessor from 1982 and has all the hip traits of a modern action movie (continuous use of CG, exaggerated colours, high pace of scenes) this pace sometimes makes it feel as if the movie runs past itself sometimes. After two hours of enjoyment I still felt as if the movie was rushed somehow, as if the whole thing should have lasted longer. This feeling is in stark contrast to what I felt watching the second movie, which is far more subdued but still peaks tension-wise where it needs to. So, this sense of 'hyperactivity' is my biggest complaint regarding this movie. Smaller ones are things like a particular rushed emotional response of a certain character after what probably should be most shocking event of her life.
That being said, I truly enjoyed this charming and entertaining movie. It makes me yearn for the return of a Star Trek series, but without a dull captain with a stupid beagle. Woof. STID has a cool villain, great action scenes and a Kirk-Spock emotional dynamic that feels like a worthy tribute to the older movies and hopefully a cause for continuing the TOS reboot!