Massive letdown not a film for Trekkies according to Paramount

Rating: 4/10 (12 May 2013)

Where to start. This movie misses the mark on so many levels it starts off strongly before the main credits but gradually falls apart & by the last hour it collapses into a clichéd by the numbers marketing driven summer action film for the masses.
According to Paramount's International Marketing head (Anthony Marcoly) its not for Trek fans this time & it shows you can see the influence on the story/action its so obvious & destroys most of what made the 2009 movie amazing. Paramount should have just left the film makers alone or the film makers should have held their line as the results are so poor in places it feels more like the behind the scenes making of footage than belonging in the movie (you will know when you see the numerous scenes which needed a lot more work).
This movie succeeds in making both McCoy & Scotty slightly annoying as they are given forced dialog which sounds so artificial it takes you out of the movie along with some very unnecessary plot elements/characters taken from an earlier movie.
Much has been made of the character John Harrison & the actor who plays him(Benedict Cumberbatch) but he has perhaps 20-25 mins of on-screen time & very few lines of dialog he is more of an extended cameo than a fully fleshed out character & the way the character is written is quite confusing on many levels due to the way its resolved you expected a lot more after all the hype & buildup.
The target audience for this movie is NOT anyone who is bothered by massive plot confusion & or undramatic life or death on screen portrayals its purely designed as a summer action movie set in the Star Trek universe but only using small elements of that to tell the story.
Anyone who is a die-hard trek fan will find some small moments entertaining but also some of it can be quite offensive. There are a few moments of off-screen/on-screen violence which are quite shocking when you consider them for a moment & a main character appears to share another's ultimate pain @ a very sensitive moment. Its hard to tell if this was intended or not but it feels wrong & could be considered by some to be highly offensive as the character appears to be doing this to further their knowledge.
Of the main 7 Enterprise crew actors Scotty/Bones are major letdowns due to the writing & forced line readings. Chekov has a tiny little part. Sulu does not get much screen time. Its really a Kirk/Spock/Uhura movie they are in most of it & give strong performances but some of what they are asked to do on-screen is pretty poor compared to the 2009 epic. You cannot blame the actors here its all down to the structure of the movie & the weak dialog/plot.
If you liked the 2009 movie you will find something to like here but only in very small doses this movie lacks most of what made the 2009 epic so enjoyable dropping that in the pursuit of chasing a summer popcorn audience & an increased box office take.
Such a shame this was a missed opportunity Paramount need to get new behind the scenes talent for the next movie in this series as this one felt quite tired in places it even re-uses some minor elements from 2009 not in a good way though in a tired they have run out of ideas manner.
The Enterprise crew are clearly suited to their roles they just need something well written to respond to as this movie suffers from the weak plot & dialog. You also have to question the director several major scenes felt very poorly directed/edited its time for new behind the scenes talent to bring something fresh to this series.