I liked many of the earlier Star Trek shows and movies. I am not a purist, so I can except the changes and tangents that took place in this movie. If you go into it purely for it's entertainment value and not as a comparison to anything that came before it, you should enjoy the movie. As I said before, I understood the changes that they made and thought they did a good job of setting it up for future movies so that trekkies wouldn't be too disappointed and so that they wouldn't be confined to the parameters previously set forth by the earlier shows. But, because I liked the old stuff, I had to look at the movie in a different way.
Over - I think they did explain (or implied an explanation) a few of the things you were complaining about (particularly young Kirk's angst) and the retro stuff was to give you the feeling that this is not a continuation of the newer Star Trek movies, but to take you back to the early days before the original series. I like it when they hint at something as opposed to slamming it in my face because they think I'm too stupid to figure it out for myself. The episodes with young Kirk were like that. They helped to make you understand why he liked to do things his own way and to think outside the box.
In the end, you just have to tell yourself that it's a movie. The science isn't going to be explainable because they are theatrical representations. Most of it is created by people who think with the creative side of their brain and not the scientific side.
Kaz
