Entertaining But Not For Die Hard Fans

Rating: 7/10 (20 May 2013)

No real spoilers here, just some overall criticisms and warnings to real Trekkie's. First of all, I'm not a 3-d expert, but this movie -- having been converted from IMAX -- treats 3-d as an afterthought. There are no surprise moments. That said, here's what you can expect.
Consistent and well-channeled characterizations from the cast, who give us young versions of Kirk, Spock and the gang as envisioned and portrayed by Roddenberry, Shatner, Nimoy, etc. This follows in the footsteps of the Abrams' reboot, and kudos to all the actors for not trying to find a new spin on a tried and true winner.
Given the above, there seemed to be a little too much emoting forced on the characters in the story, as if the producers tried extra hard to hit the audience with "special" relationship moments. When this happens in the movie, and it happens several times, you can't help yourself from rolling your eyes a little. There is no subtlety in this respect, just on the nose character stuff, and you can see it coming from a parsec away.
Telegraphing is chronic problem here, as once again we find ourselves skirting an alternate time-line scenario, in this case, lifted directly from one of the original series' story-lines. Without giving away details, I will just say, there is homage, and there is just plain lazy writing. Again, when stuff starts to happen here, and fans recognize the parallels between the original story and this one, there is virtually no doubt what will transpire. Fans familiar with the original story will be one step ahead of the writers during the entire third act, which means, don't expect to be on the edge of your seat. Trust me, for Trekkie's, the suspense in the third act will disappear like plasma through a black hole.
Another negative is the blatant disregard for Trek Universe logic. The opening sequence is a prime example. It's designed to establish a character plot point -- and that's all. Nobody paid any attention to the design and operational parameters of the original USS Enterprise, or, if they did, they deliberately ignored them for the sake of creating eye candy.
Bottom line: Good acting. A great antagonist. Decent effects. An OK story. Bad Trekkie Universe logic. Good Trek character interactions. Unnecessary melodrama, including a major character moment that needed to wait for the 6th installment. A telegraphed third act with no surprises. Not as good as the first one. Unnecessary 3-d. Three or four very funny come- backs (my favorite being about "attitude".) Fun despite the problems.
Even a bad trek movie is a great time at the theater. And this one isn't bad, just slightly disappointing.