Heck, I'm a die-hard life-long Trekkie, and I like the new movie better.
(and I enjoy all the others, even TMP, STV and Nemesis)
Me too.
It was so much fun, and it felt so great going to the cinema to watch Star Trek and having trouble finding a seat because the place was packed. Maybe that's one of the reasons I like it so much.
The whole thing was an event. I like to compare it to the World Cup: every time my team loses, I cry bitter tears, but a few weeks later it all seems shrouded in a haze of gold, and every single memory is precious and warm and fuzzy.
Seriously though, I really liked ST XI and I never liked TWoK all that much (due to my opinion of Khan, mostly).
Is nuTrek smart? Probably not, but I don't care. It's fun... more fun than many of the other films before it were imo.