Well I watched the commentary, and as you might expect, it answers ALOT of questions we've pondered here on this forum in discussing the movie: like what was Spock doing in that cave? I'll put the most exciting moments from the commentary in spoiler code, but there is so much in the commentary, I don't truly think reading my report will spoil your viewing the commentary. But just to be on the safe side I'll use some spoiler code.
Well first off, the group of commentators were really funny, bright, animated, and totally in love with filmmaking. They would shout at the screen, "Oh my god, look at that, that right there! There's nothing better than that." At like a close-up of an actor's face at an important moment. And like, "I get emotional every time I see that." I think this kind of love and exuberance and enormous respect for previous films (Trek, Star Wars, and other sci fi, including Alien and Galaxy Quest) totally comes through in the movie.
As for the hard-to-follow plot. There were two reasons for that:
SPOILER!!!:
One, alot of story was filmed and later cut including a whole suplot in which Klingons captured the Nero and crew and threw them in jail. Two, they intentionally made a film that would have to be viewed at least twice. J.J. Abrams said, "I don't like to patronize the viewers." Someone else said "I do." Abrams says, "Well I want the viewers to patronize the film!" And stated explicitly that he wanted people to discover new things on the second viewing, that the viewer would find that fun. Well, he totally calculated that right, in my opinion. I know that many people say they actually enjoyed the movie MORE on the second viewing.
OK, that engine room that no one liked?
SPOILER!!!:
That's a Budweiser plant. Those big vats are vats of beer.
The cliff in Iowa:
SPOILER!!!:
"A rock quarry. Because we all know there are know cliffs in Iowa" Then a second person interjects "until the great earthquake of 2011!" *laughter*
How about that policeman, was he supposed to be a robot?:
SPOILER!!!:
Abrams: "I don't know." Other person: "He was in a really bad accident" *laughter*
This after Abrams has just explained that they filmed it with no mask on the actors' face and "it looked stupid" so they digitally added the mask.
Alelou was right that
SPOILER!!!:
"Kirk is hanging throughout his life." "It's a real motif"
Why was Spock in that cave?
SPOILER!!!:
Abrams overtop of this scene says something like, "There is one scene that I really wish we had kept. Kirk says 'You say we've diverged from the original timeline, so why are there all these coincidences?' Spock says, 'Perhaps it's the timestream's way of mending itself' and Kirk asks what roles all his acquaintances play in the other timeline, and one by one it all lines up. Then Abrams went on about how everyone was most suspicious about that aspect of the proposed film. That he couldn't pull off a movie with so many coincidences in bringing the crew together, but he really didn't want to give an underlying reason because underlying motivation is "It's Fate! It's what we all want to see!"
Other tidbits:
SPOILER!!!:
Majel Barrett Rodenberry visited the set and was able to do the voice of the computer and died shortly thereafter. She told them that "Gene would love this." Then Eugene Roddenberry (Gene's son) called as soon as he saw the film to say, "My father would recognize this as Trek. He would love this."
Zachary Quinto had his fingers glued together to do the "Live Long and Prosper" greeting, since he can't do it.
Nimoy asked to say a line right at the end and they said sure. The scene panned up from the the metal ceremony with Kirk and Spock and Pike in the big autotorium. Nimoy said, "Thrusters on full" and they kept this ad lib, before cutting to the ending with everyone on the bridge. An ending, which was actually filmed first at the beginning of production.
And much much more!!!!
A perfect present for the family.
