Is TMP generally rated so low due to the romantic elements?

[Therin of Andor]

One thing that I've noticed is this movie is better the 2nd time. The first time you're sort of surprised at how inactive the movie is.

My advice to first timers: read the novelization first. It's a brisk read, fills in soooooooo many gaps and is probably the fluke that made me love ST:TMP so much in December 1979, going into it otherwise knowing only a few random TOS and TAS episodes.

 

[Char Aznable]

One factor that I think makes it hard for people to truly love TMP (at least when it came out) is that Kirk and co. are basically spectators in the climax of their debut film. I feel that film audiences back in 1979 wanted to see Kirk and Spock come up with the solution and do something epically heroic to solve the problem and save the Earth. What ends up happening? The fucking noob no one gives a shit about steals the spotlight! Really, I think Decker and Ilia should either have been written better into the story so that their character arcs resolve themselves more neatly (really, Kirk and Decker's rivalry is never dealt with properly) or leave them out completely. People went into the theatre back then to see Kirk, Spock, and the others go on an adventure and save the day. Not the new kids.

 

[RookieBatman]

Yeah, I admit that was one of the weaker points of the movie. But that's actually why I just overall prefer TV shows to movies; in a movie, if the main hero doesn't save the day, you're out of luck at least for a few years, if there's even another one coming. In a TV show, if the main hero doesn't save the day, that's fine, because he'll be back to his old form next week. With a TV show, you don't have to worry about checking off a list of demands and expectations with every installment.

 

[Wynterhawk]

Yes. The smoopy romance was very much a horrible plot point for me. While I'm not against romance in a movie, but when it's so central and so poorly written, it turns a nice thing into something horrible.