From the casual Trekker's view, this movie was AWESOME!!! I loved the characters, the set pieces, and the story! The writting was awesome and the cast was phenomenal.
I personally liked Kirk's character more than I ever had in any show or movie prior, and loved that Spock got as much tail as Kirk! The one-liners and humor were perfectly done, so nothing felt forced.
Now for the nit-picky side of me:
I'm not sure how they managed it, but the big screen just felt crowded during a lot of the more intense battles. In movies gone by, each ship had it's own color or weaponry (borg were green, klingons had orange pulses) that made it easier to tell who was doing what. In this case, the Enterprise alone had three different types of weapons. Also, it just seemed like the camera was too close to the action most the time. I realize that in previous Star Treks, the camera was pulled way back so you lost all sense of scale and action, but this was almost too much. Star Wars has always had a better track record when it comes to this kind of thing.
The muscial score and most the sound was awesome. I really liked the occasional quiet of space, then roaring of weapons or something. However, the bridge seemed to have some sort of vintage TOS sound effect for every step a person took. Even sounds that I recognized from the sick bay were playing as people turned their chairs. Really? You really needed that many sound effects?
I'm not sure how I felt about main engineering. Part of me really liked the truely industrial side of it, part of me felt like I was watching Star Trek In A Dairy Plant.
As Spock was choking/holding Kirk down, I kept picturing him saying “I want that power for myself” and drawing a line in the air with his finger.
I REALLY liked the big “Frak You” they gave the people who were whining about cannon and continuity issues half way through the film.
Spock= If he's come and changed the past, then our lives will never be what they were going to be.
Uhura= Like he created an alternate dimension.
Kirk= Hell ya! Let's go nuts!