Most critics like it, and nearly all of them like it for the same reason: it is the film the first one should have been. Nicholas Meyer’s direction is credited again and again with getting the pace right, restoring the wit and warmth of the television series, and putting the cast ahead of the effects. Ricardo Montalban’s Khan is the performance singled out most often, a vengeful, Melville-quoting villain who gives Kirk something to push against. Several reviews note how well the script wears its themes of ageing and mortality, and most treat the final reel as the emotional high point.
The spread is narrow at the top and then falls off a cliff. Ten of eleven reviews are positive. The Los Angeles Times is warm but cooler than the rest, approving mainly of Meyer’s affection for the characters. Time Out is the lone dissenter, finding it low camp and the ageing crew faintly embarrassing, a view no other critic shares.