STID suggests that JJ Abrams and his team got lucky when they made the first film. This sequel suffers from the same problems but more so (caricatures of the original actors instead of characters, incomprehensible action, nonsensical plot), and, sadly, makes the first film look worse in retrospect. Those over-obvious references to Spock's logical nature and Kirk's rashness that we forgave and even kind of enjoyed in the first reboot? STID is slathered in them, and makes you think Star Trek wasn't setting the scene to drill deep into these characters - it had them fully-formed, and they're staying paper thin.
So we get 2 hours of Bones being grumpy and nothing else, Uhura being keen to speak foreign languages and nothing else, Scotty getting anxious and - well, there's some Pegg comedy shtick - and Kirk. Oh Kirk. Shatner's Kirk was impetuous, yes, but he was also brainy. This Kirk is so rash and dumb it's just annoying. Credit to Quinto - his Spock is excellent. But the only way people interact with him is to note that he's very logical. Get over it guys. Worse is when they seem to wink to camera when they note each other's defining characteristics. It makes you realise you're watching a pandering show.
There's also a scary suggestion that Alice Eve has joined the crew. If so, I hope she gets a lot better at acting before the next film. Even in the background she drew the eye pulling unconvincing faces. Hopefully she'll be the franchise's Tasha Yar (non-Trekkies: she died).
And for all the critical love he's deservedly got for his other roles, here Cumberbtach is just...hammy. When he announces that his...name...is...Khan, he shakes and sweats and rolls it around his mouth like we're all in the very back row of the royal circle, not watching him on a movie screen where his face is 8 stories high and will bear a bit of subtlety. Although he's not helped by Abrams who, for some reason, shoots everyone in extreme close-up. Oftentimes I wanted to tell them to take a step back. If it were a conversation, they'd be invading your personal space. You'd think they were weird.
The first half of the film is really confusing, with a domino-fall of plot revelations that don't make sense and aren't really explained. You're just pulled through hoping all will become clear. It never does, because it's dropped when the film reveals what it really is - a poor rehash of Wrath of Khan. Which is terrible news for anyone who's seen the original, since the emotional climax is lifted from that film, which means anyone with knowledge of Wrath is pulled right out of this one. They even hammer home the theft with dialogue ("I'm being you, Spock" "Yes, and I'm doing what you would usually do Jim") that is so on-the-nose and nod-nod wink-wink that it guarantees there's no space for engagement in the moment on its own terms.
Kirk doesn't even have the decency to wait until the next film to get resurrected. This diluted Wrath is a bloodless parody.
Some of the action sequences are good (the anti-grav run through the ship, Kirk and Khan's hurtle between ships), although they're shot using the crack cocaine of the modern Hollywood action director, shakycam, so the good ideas are only ever half-realised, the other half is blurry.
Other action sequences are too obviously superfluous to the plot to look like anything other than "an action bit". They don't move on the plot, they just tick a box. I counted four different situations where they created peril by adding a countdown. By the third literal ticking clock, the stakes looked hollow.
But do watch the end credits - in 3D (which elsewhere is often blurry and doesn't improve the viewing experience) they are brilliant and make you feel like you're flying through space.
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