Much like my impression. While this film was much better than the awful ST09, it wasn't too smart to try to redo TWOK because it felt wildly lightweight in comparison. There's just no way to have the emotional attachment to these characters that we all had to the characters and stakes in TWOK.
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Meanwhile, and on a completely different note, I will never understand the love TUC gets. Talk about painfully stupid...
Glad to know I'm not alone on this one. As for TUC, perhaps I'm being overly generous, because it did have some quirks (Valeris? Barracks-style bunks on the Enterprise? Pink blooded Klingons?), but it also had a lot going for it. It brought Nick Meyer, and thus a credibly serious tone, back to the franchise after the comedy of STIV and the utter disaster of STV. It was topically relevant in a way that applied both in-universe (explaining the beginning of rapprochement with the Klingons) and in reality (reflecting the end of the Cold War). It was (IMHO) suspenseful and not overburdened with egregious plot holes. And of course there's affectionate nostalgia simply because it was the swan song for the original crew.
And my overall ranking... because what the heck, everyone's doing it!... but with annotations, because otherwise it's just another list for everyone's eyes to glaze over... would probably be like this:
1. STV:TWOK - Head and shoulders above the rest. Poignant, suspenseful, and exciting. Revived Trek for a new generation while simultaneously paying respect to the original. A film that stands up to multiple repeat viewings.
2. STVI:TUC - For the reasons just described above.
3. STIII:TSFS - IMHO unjustly derided by many fans, perhaps because TWOK was a hard act to follow. I think it was a compelling action story with an interesting twist (the whole Katra thing), and Kirk's decision to sacrifice the Enterprise still stands as an incredible (and unexpected) dramatic moment.
4. STIV:TVH - Suffers from the lack of an Enterprise and the too-casual approach to time travel, but the fish-out-of-water aspects were well-played and genuinely amusing.
5. ST:TMP - Perhaps the franchise's most genuine attempt at serious science fiction, but hampered by uneven pacing, bland visuals, and obvious similarities to "The Changeling." Still, the way in which Spock finally integrated his human and Vulcan sides into a satisfying whole was an important step forward for the character.
6. ST8:FC - Best of the TNG movies, for whatever that's worth, although its handling both of the Borg and of time travel seemed a bit slapdash.
7. ST7:Gen - An awkward mishmash of old and new, with lots of plot elements that just didn't make sense, and an unsatisfying end for Kirk.
8. ST9:Ins - Not really memorable in any way.
9. ST10:Nem - Memorable for being the *worst* outing of the TNG crew, with some pretty blatant callbacks to TWOK.
10. STID - As described earlier. I have no affection for the Abramsverse, but this at least handled it a little better than the first outing.
11. STV:TFF - Mostly cringe-inducing, with mediocre FX, bad characterization, and an even worse plot, but still had occasional moments of value shining through.
12. ST09 - Worst of the worst. Willfully stupid in almost every way, a desecration of what Trek once stood for.
Out of the 12, I'd say only the first six on my list really stand up as watchable in their own right, without having to bend over backward to make excuses for them.
