It honestly has its flaws. But you have to see the big issue: Star Trek had been off the air a long time. All those '60s costumes looked dated and silly. And poor Enterprise... Updating was necessary. Now maybe Jim Kirk starting out embittered is a bit of a buzz kill but we see him become the great man we love.
If there's a real problem it's the schizophrenic editing. There's two, three?-- versions. Each are a subtly bit different, but none are a perfect combination or movie. Trying for better pacing makes Kirk a humorless jerk. In itself, re-editing STTMP is a kind of Kobyashi Maru scenario -- a no-win situation.
But we needed this so we could get the perfect movies that follows. I give this four stars and wish I could give it 4.5 stars. It's a good movie. A👍