So many people have problems with this new movie. The fora are in flames with posts of people supporting and flaming the new movie, so much so that in a day a simple thread starting with “I like the new movie” becomes a 10 page rampage of all the problems it has.

I do not agree with most of it, but I also note that many people do not even pay attention to the arguments, they simply don’t like the plot and dismiss arguments with simple remarks of laziness or practicality (That would never happen, or, this is just lazy writing to explain that and this – no matter it explained it, it was lazy so I don’t like it).

Some of the easiest to explain “plot holes” include:
1. Enterprise, the flagship of the Federation, is so poorly staffed that almost the entire bridge is replaced within minutes of the film.
2. Sulu cannot even get to warp.
3. Spok relieves himself from captain because he is emotional, when he is struggling so much with being a good Vulcan and rejects his human side.
4. Kirk becomes captain (directly linked from 3).
5. Old Spok does not warn people although he is so close to a Federation outpost.
6. Chekov can beam two people falling at terminal velocity but is unable to beam a single person falling from a ledge.
7. On the flip side however, Scotty can beam people across vast distances on a ship moving at warp speeds.
8. Uhura told no one about the intercepted Klingon message which could have saved the ships going in the trap.

Those are just the ones that keep coming up and are easy to explain.
1. Enterprise is NOT the flagship of the Federation, it is only intended to become the flagship. As such the crew that it should have is not available on a short notice and is staffed with whatever is available on short notice from whoever was nearby. It is only natural to select crew that has some rank and/or experience for the role. However it is a crisis and the captain makes changes as he sees fit. And who really is changed? One comm officer! That’s all that is changed and we have been told time and time again of Uhura’s special abilities that make her more than capable for the job. As for Kirk becoming 1st officer, that is for later.
2. Sulu is a last minute replacement on a newly build ship of a new class of ship. As such, and although some briefing will have happened, it is all too easy to assume the Enterprise is just a little bit different from the other ships and Sulu just forgets the external inertia dampener. The fact that Spok even gets it right on the first try what the problem is might enforce that he knows what is different with Enterprise compared to other vessels and thus understands where Sulu might have gotten it wrong.
3. Vulcan’s ability to control emotion is not in their genes. Their genetic makeup is one of extreme emotion, so much so that they were very violent in the past. It is this past that lead them to control their emotions and conceal it with logic. Furthermore, no Vulcan is complete in this endeavour until he has completed the Kolinar ritual, something that Spok has never done. All that information is spread in the series and movies and is fact. However none of the people arguing that Spok should not be that emotional accept these as valid reasons. They must truly be Vulcans amongst us.
4. That is a bit flaky, but keep in mind that there are points that make this possible, possible being the key issue here. Most of the big moments in movies are about what is possible, not probable. In that sense, one reason can be Pike admiring Kirk’s father and recognizing in him a greatness waiting to be revealed which is why he makes him 1st officer. Pike did not make Kirk captain, that was a totally different matter, one that Pike could not even foresee (who expected that day to witness the destruction of Vulcan and the death of Spok’s mother?). Kirk’s rise to captain was part “fatherly” admiration/nurture and part emergency action. Finally, this is Star Trek, this is the Enterprise, this is Kirk and this is a movie. We all know Kirk will be captain and this way was pretty dramatic. A meteoric rise of a legend, things that happen just once in a thousand years.
5. Exactly what was he supposed to say? We don’t know how long Spok was on that planet, we don’t know how concerned he was with trying to preserve the time line. Did Nero tell him what was going to happen? Did he leave it as a surprise? I could go on. Just put yourself in his shoes. How do you explain what you know, where you come from? How will the outpost treat you? Could some eager security officer blame you of being a spy for Nero? There are too many unknowns to make any kind of guess. All that makes is a bit of bad storytelling and not much more. Again, it is simply possible that there were reasons for Old Spok to not have gone to the outpost and I would like to know what they were, but that’s all.
6. Terminal velocity is being thrown out too much as so important in the process because it provides a contrast to Spok’s mother falling but not having reached that speed. People watching closely can see that the beaming has started when Spok’s mother falls, that Chekov tries to re-establish a lock but he only had 2 seconds MAYBE before falling to her death. Kirk and Sulu were falling for about 15-20 seconds before Chekov managed to beam them up. I really don’t understand what the problem is here.
7. No, Scotty cannot beam people on ships travelling at warp speeds, Old Spok gave him the equations for that. End of story.
8. That statement suggests that Uhura knew the relation between the Klingons being attacked and the SOS from Vulcan. She did not. She most definitely reported that to whoever was in charge at that time but no connection was ever made, not even by Kirk when he first heard it, unless people are suggesting that whenever Klingon ships (or whatever ships) are destroyed, the Federation must immediately assume a trap.

Just my two pence.