It's a longish read, but this article is a cogent and well-executed deconstruction of all the
various Star Trek series:
I Boldly Went Where Every Star Trek Movie and TV Show Has Gone Before
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/the_completist/2013/05/star_trek_movies_and_tv_series_which_are_the_best_why.single.html
Just saw it tonight. I have to admit, this essay really changed my point of view. I'll wait a while to discuss the movie. What's the accepted time frame to avoid spoilers?
I haven't seen the movie yet. Who knows, I may never see it. But I'll take a stab at it anyway.
Does it have anything to do with the possible fact that this is really a summer "blockbuster" action
movie that merely wears the trappings of Star Trek, as opposed to a movie that is Star Trek
through to its soul and happens to have good action and dazzling f/x as well?
uh, yeah, I guess so!
I finally made it last night... it was, uh, okay. I got caught up in the action of the second half, and quite enjoyed Spock at the end (I have no problem with Spock shedding a tear or getting lost in a rage of vengeance -- he is half human and still learning to control his emotions at this stage of his life).
The problems are many. The opening sequence is idiotic, an unbelievable action set piece, the only purpose of which was to serve as an entry point into the plot. There was never a sense of danger there, because it's obvious that none of the characters in the scene are going to die in the first 5 minutes of the movie. There were a lot of things going on that just served the needs of the moment, the action or the plot.
BTW, Geoff -- I was fine with the Tribble. They referenced a couple of episodes, mentioning the "Mudd incident" at one point, so perhaps there was a Tribble incident along the way as well. It was, after all, a dead tribble.