* Tyler Perry's useless appearance as the no-name, unimportant Black guy to pin the medal on the contrived "hero" Kirk (typical of J.J. Abrams use of Black actors in the television shows he's produced, such as 'Alias'; he makes sure the African-American actors are seen but he (and the other producers) also make sure they're absolutely non-essential to the story arc, especially if they're Black men. Note how there were no Tuvok style non-white Vulcan kids reciting math and philosophy in those little pits, but when the Vulcans were evacuated, there was a shot of a Black Vulcan guy - an extra, obviously- who had no speaking role.) Given how reckless and absolutely lucky this younger Kirk is portrayed as being, at best he deserved a letter of recognition, but not a medal.

J.J. Abrams and the rest of the Star Trek (2009) executives should be tar-and-feathered for mangling Star Trek so badly. It's a shame more people haven't criticized this movie more.

Part 6 -
* Trans Warp beaming?? Talking directly with your future self (young Spock & old Spock)?? - I mean, how contrived can you get? How much did they pay Leonard Nimoy to put his stamp of approval on this travesty?? Thank goodness the "real" creator of the Captain Kirk character, William Shatner, wasn't part of this junk!!;

* Scotty being transported (conveniently) into a big transparent water pipe for comic effect? With the water flow suddenly and conveniently stopping once he's flushed out? I guess this new Kirk can't even get his hair wet??;

*Spock being responsible, solely, for the destruction of Romulus? (Even on Earth in 2009, important engineering and scientific work is reviewed and independently checked.) Why wouldn't the same be true on Vulcan?, and finally;

Part 5 -

* Vulcans - a society based on logic and reason - embracing prejudice against those who are biracial, in the 23rd Century no less;

* Vulcan High Council members just sitting around for Spock to beam them away to safety?;

* Uhura's role as essentially non-existent - (just eye candy for Kirk and a squeeze for Spock.) She does nothing on screen except appear pretty - no translations, no interception of messages. Did she actually do anything - I know she said that she translated something earlier but that doesn't really count (This characterization is actually a move backwards from Nichelle Nichols contributions in a 1960's TV show). How in the world could Kirk successfully act as the commanding officer of anyone if he's continually striving to score on any Starfleet female cadet who happens to pass by? How is this indicative of the "actual" Kirk and his self-control with regards to women under his command (i.e. Yeoman Janice Rand)? Note: It was only in TOS episode "The Enemy Within" in which the aggressive Kirk attempted any sexual contact with a member of his crew);

Part 4 -
* Scene after scene after scene where Kirk is hanging on for dear life with his fingertips but manages to "triumph" (as a kid, on the drilling platform with Sulu, aboard the Romulan ship while battling Nero);

* Chekov's atrocious accent and his unbelievable & inexplicable mad dash from the bridge to the transporter room ("I can do it, I can do it,...") while Kirk and Sulu are accelerating toward the ground (Just what made him able to lock in on the falling pair, when the person assigned to the transporter wasn't, is never explained;

Part 3 -
* The whole premise of the ice planet scene - Why would Spock jettison a fellow Starfleet crew member, even one who was misbehaving, in an escape pod (with a trajectory set for a dangerous world - environmentally and with hostile inhabitants) rather than just confining him to the brig?;

* Kirk's supreme arrogance during the Kobayashi Maru training exercise, and Spock (as, at most, a junior officer) as the "creator" of the Kobayashi Maru exercise????? What is Starfleet Academy exactly, some kind of junior college institution that has been waiting for the Kirk-Spock pair to make sure it gains accreditation??

* Sulu carrying a sword (and the villain on the platform) conveniently having a sword also - and not just shooting him point-blank - in the 23rd Century? Also, his introduction as the helmsman who failed to release the "inertial dampener" brake - typical, subtle Hollywood denigration of persons of color - introduce the Asian guy as one making a mistake,

Part 2 -
Not to mention that in the real Star Trek TOS universe, Captain Kirk had a brother - from "Operation: Annihilate!";

* The bullshit speech of Captain Pike in this movie - about Kirk's test scores being off the scale - is absolutely unsupported and is just more contrivance by producer/director J.J. Abrams and the other Hollywood executives who are looking for another James Dean style white hero for 2009 and beyond (again, in my opinion);

* A worthless CGI monster chase scene on the icy planet (have we seen something similar to that before?) - with the monster being chased off (when it's time to move the threadbare plot forward again) by Spock with a simple torch flame. Note that this was followed by a scene where older Spock and Kirk do a stroll to the Starfleet base nearby, with no fear of the now defunct monster;

Part I:
* The bar fight was so contrived - with Kirk & Starfleet cadets acting like undergrads at a frat party;

* Kirk as the "chosen one" is contrived in my opinion - The Original Series writers portrayed Kirk as being an exceptional Starfleet captain based on life experience, sound judgement, and dedication to his oath of service and the Starfleet mission (for instance in TOS episode "Court Martial". It showed his peers and superiors (other capable Starfleet captains, such as Commodore Wesley in "The Ultimate Computer" and judges in "Court Martial"), and it contrasted him to several Starfleet captains who forgot their pledge
to observe the Prime Directive or spaceship captains who made tragic errors in judgement (i.e. like Captain Tracy in TOS episode "The Omega Glory", starship Captain R.M. Merrick in "Bread and Circuses",
and Commodore Matthew Decker in "The Doomsday Machine".

Thank you for your excellent review. I couldn't agree with you more about the character presentations and the sterile use of catchphrases to feign "paying homage" to The Original Series. In my opinion, Star Trek (2009) is a horror and an abomination - a disgrace to the entire ethos of Star Trek.
Here are a few of my observations. I'm being told that my comments are too long so I'll post it in a few parts: