I actually think this is the best of the Star Trek movies. Why? At first I couldn't pinpoint it myself, but I found myself re-watching it the most of all the Treks. I may be of a strange type, as I also like TMP a lot, but I finally found out what I like so much about it, and this is nothing new for all the fans of the film: It's a simple whodunnit you can enjoy also if you're not a Trekkie. Even if you don't know the backstories of Kirk & co., you can savour the thriller aspect of it. And on top of that the screenplay is simply a good one. The story moves along and events unfold at the right pace and there is no cringe-worthy dialogue as far as the eye can see. Actually, the opposite is true: I think Spock's line "What we require now is a feat of linguistic legerdemain and a degree of intrepidity before the Captain and Dr. McCoy freeze to death" is SO GREAT that I memorized it and use it on my job in variations when someone is slow. With this movie, Nicholas Meyer has proven (again) that he really knows what he's doing as a writer/director. And on a Star Trek film, this is not - nor has it ever been - a simple feat.
