Fun but unintelligent

Rating: 7/10 (24 May 2013)

I enjoyed the first film. It was good acting, good action, put together in a clever plot that rebooted the franchise in a respectful, satisfying way. It spent entirely too much time between Earth and Vulcan, but I didn't really miss the philosophy or sense of adventure and discovery, even though these deficiencies are why I don't think one can consider it a "Star Trek." This one has some of the same virtues as the first, but falls incredibly short on plot.
The action is better than the first, and the chemistry between characters is still there, though the movie suffers from too much focus on Kirk and Spock and not enough McCoy (Karl Urban's DeForest Kelly impression is always the best, mainly because I think it is partly parody) Cumberbatch steals every scene he is in, never acting subtly but never overwrought in his villainy either.
But even though I mostly enjoyed it for these reasons, I can't let this film and its weak plotting off the hook. MILD SPOILER ALERT. It continues the "alternate timelime" trend, borrowing some of the history of the original. The problem is it doesn't do it very gracefully rather it borrows narrative elements and then alters them in a way that might seem clever at first, but are less so when you think about it. It's like a poet who thinks he or she has a good poem after only making the words rhyme--the symmetry is there, but ultimately it's only fan service that will ironically never please the the folks its trying to.
The problem is that the film tries to be original in a way it can't be original. Rather than focusing on a new, smart plot ("going where no ST film has gone before") it brings together old characters and themes for not other reason than to say "hey, look its a new version of an old character." The futility lies in trying to please too many people, and the story suffers. On top of that there is some unnecessary political commentary, apparently trying to please yet another group of people.
Oh yeah, and LENS FLARES.