STXI Review One

My small-town theater was packed and apparently spontaneously added a second showing to take care of the overflow. I think this movie is going to some pretty respectable box office. And I think non-trekfans who just want to see a good science fiction movie will enjoy this.
But.
There is no but! I enjoyed it too! It's got laughs, it's got action, a tearjerker beginning...
The good guys are refreshingly heroic. A number of characters do selfless, extraordinary things, and Starfleet's "corporate" culture is one of service, altruism, and excellence. I love that. I never expected to find that again. Maybe "hope and change" is making optimism acceptable again.
Granted the villain is not all that compelling. The character is serviceable to move the plot forward and pleasing to look at. I loved the bridge of his nose. The bridge of his ship looked a bit like the Torchwood set.
The Cloverfield monster on the ice planet is a cool creature. I liked the combination spider and dog and flesh-eating plant, though I couldn't understand why it kept stopping to monologue instead of just eating Kirk. Especially since it had proven itself perfectly capable of doing just that already. It had me convinced (wrongly) that it was trying to communicate or something. So why was it even there, really?
And what the hell is red matter? Some sort of Applied Phlebotinum...
One thing that is very true to Jim Kirk is how he never shies away from a beating. He is still perfectly willing to endure discomfort and danger to further his goals. This is definitely the man who loans his body out to disembodied aliens because what the hell.
Spock is a little harder to figure out. Let me just first say I think I'm beginning to hate Quinto's upper lip. And why are his hair and eyebrows so stiff and unnatural?
I don't know if I can get used to this Spock. I think his relationship with Uhura is kind of cute and it "humanized" him. Only at the end does it begin to look like Jim could also "humanize" him (for want of a better word), and it's quite poignant that Spock Prime -- the one we know who is with the Jim we know in the timeline we know -- seeks to convince the new Spock to stay with the new Jim if he knows what's good for him. That still says everything about the original relationship. The new relationship could be anything, since everything has changed and nothing is inevitable.
Oh yeah and since everything has changed, Paramount, now is the time to be responsible and altruistic and finally get some realistic and positive gay characters in the Star Trek universe. In the Original Series, the choice of characters would have been obvious, but the real life culture was wrong for it. Now, the real life culture is more than ready for it, but I'm not so sure if there is an obvious character choice now.
I'm wait and see. This franchise is obviously good for a number of sequels.