OK. First, let me say that the cinematography and CGI was truly amazing. I saw it in 3D at the IMAX. The sound was fantastic, and the 3D was great without being overpowering. That being said, I'm going to have to watch it several more times to get all the details and nuances due to the pure sensory overload.
The actors have certainly matured since the previous film. They seemed to have their roles a bit better in mind. Many people objected to the love story between Spock and Uhura as being very un-Spocklike. I disagree. Spock has always had to struggle with his Human side vs. his Vulcan side. It was part and parcel of his character. It always has been. In the last film, the incursion of Nero caused enough disruption, that his life took different priorities. He never was able to develop in the peaceful atmosphere that his counterpart in the Prime Universe did. Thus, he had less chance to master his struggle. The complete loss of control after Kirk's "death" was quite interesting. I could actually see him doing this in the Prime Universe, had the circumstances been right.
Kirk was spot on, and when you really think about it, his unrestrained side had been tempered in the Prime Universe because of the influence of his father. He was deprived of this influence in the Alternate Universe, so his chaotic side was given more free reign, but he was still the same Kirk at the core.
Checkov was still comic relief, but then he always was. Be honest.
Sulu really got to shine a bit more, and I could see many of his qualities from the Prime Universe show up in his character. Especially the scene where he threatened John Harrison. He became a bit of a badass.
Bones was Bones. Spot on, just as he was in the last film.
I was slightly disappointed with the treatment they game Mr. Scott's character. I felt they didn't take him as seriously as they did in TOS. That being said, he was still the genius we all know and love.
Khan. Why Abrams felt he needed to bring Khan into this one, I don't know. I so wanted this film to not have Khan in it. However, the treatment he gave him was very good. In fact, I felt that he mirrored the character in the Greg Cox novels "The Eugenics Wars" very well. If any books should be made canon, it's those. We got to see a lot more of his motivations. He was less of a two dimensional cardboard character than we saw in TOS and TWoK. I really think it would have been a more interesting twist had they make Khan a good guy, and had him work together with the Enterprise then become part of Starfleet later on. Having two sets of villains was interesting, but too predictable. Plus the reactor scene with Spock and Kirk reversed, and Spock yelling KHHHHAAAANNNNNN!!!! was really unnecessary and made me cringe. They should have left that out. Srsly, Abrams. What the hell were you thinking? However, I must say they explained rather well why he was where he was and why. Nero's incursion into this universe really did cause a great deal of upset. Starfleet became much more militaristic, their ships were far bigger and more powerful. Their weapons much more advanced, and their drive systems were wicked fast. They took Mr. Scott's Transwarp beaming technology and created Transwarp drives which rivaled anything we saw in TNG. Because of this, Section 31 became bolder and explored further into the galaxy where they happened upon Khan and his fellow supermen. Interestingly enough, in the conversation with Admiral Marcus, we see models of Starfleet ships on a shelf, and the NX-01 was among them.
Speaking of technology, the accuracy of warp drives was amazing. The Vengeance came out of warp probably 100 meters from the Enterprise to a dead stop. Impressive. The toughness of the ships was also amazing. The Vengeance survived a re-entry after having taken a lot of damage, looking roughly the same as it did in space.
Many people say of the Alternate Universe that there is too much emphasis on action. That this isn't what Star Trek was all about. We have to remember, that just like in the Mirror Universe, the reality and priorities of this universe are very different. In the Mirror Universe, the Terran Empire was reacting to threats from aggressive powers in the area. This affected their mindset much more than we saw in the Prime Universe. The same with the Alternate Universe, but to a lesser degree. Starfleet still had the same focus, but they had different realities to deal with. It makes sense when you stop and think about it.
In short, Star Trek has never stayed the same. Every series had a different theme and feel to it. TOS was frontier exploration. Cowboy diplomacy, and fly by the seat of your pants. TNG was exploration of the human spirit, diplomacy, and a real fleshing out of the Federation. DS9 was a war series, plain and simple showing life on the front lines. VOY was a Star Trek version of "Lost in Space" showing a ship and crew making the best of a hopeless situation. ENT showed Starfleet in its infancy with all the struggles of standing on your own two feet in the galactic community.
I feel that this film stays with the grand tradition of Trek, adapting to the times. The Alternate Universe is a great way to explore some of the "What if" scenarios that we may have thought of.
Now, being that Abrams has apparently left the Trek franchise entirely, it will be interesting to see if the next director continues in the Alternate Universe, or returns to stories in the Prime Universe. There is no doubt that any future Trek series will be set in the Prime Universe due to licensing issues.
I LOVED the fact that Nimoy was in this film as well. It was a very pleasant surprise, and added to the connection between the Prime Universe and the Alternate Universe.
In conclusion, I think it was a great film, and one that I will watch multiple times when it comes out on Blu-Ray. Abrams certainly isn't perfect with his films, and some things he does makes me squirm in my seat, but I feel that the hate directed at him is more than he deserves. After all, Insurrection and UPN's horrible business decisions regarding cancelling ENT almost killed Trek. Abrams brought it back, and for that he should be appreciated.
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