I'm sure I'll be dodging more than a few shoes for saying this, but I really liked the movie...but not because it was Star Trek. As previously stated, it was polished, well casted, and had a fantastic soundtrack. The action was intense but hardly overdone, the acting was excellent (except for a few overdone moments by Bones), the special effects absolutely incredible.
But, to me, it wasn't really Star Trek.
I can't tell if it was the comparable overabundance of action, the blatant exchange of practicality for dramatic flair, or both. Star Trek was always about the politics and dynamics of first contact, and Kirk was always the upstanding officer. Mr. Perfect, so to speak. It is this supposed perfection - inspired much by his father - that is what made the revelation that he cheated on the Kobayashi-Maru so subtley ironic. In the new movie, this irony was completely shattered by the smug douche-baggery of the modern Kirk. There were no politics, only starships exploding and an irrationally angry Romulan. A Romulan, btw, flying a mining ship that is about as much NOT what one would imagine a mining ship to look like as it ever could be (I like the big tendrils on the front) equipped with a
single drill and, for lack of a better word, an inexplicabley massive pit in the center. The bridge seemed to consist of little more than a few platforms and lots of space. In few words, flashy and inarguably Star Wars-y.
This is not to say I didn't love the film... it was most entertaining, and I will definitely be acquiring my hi-def copy upon release, BUT ... I feel like I like it for all the wrong reasons. I like it because it was an awesome, Star Trek-themed, action sci-fi, not because it was actually Star Trek.
Just my $.02
Why weren't more shirts torn or ripped off during this film?? Damn, that futurist fabric! 
