**Spoilers, at least obliquely**

There are some minor inconsistencies and holes, but I think the author is too intent on being critical.

For example, it seems a little silly to suggest that Krall’s fleet is adequate for the full scale invasion and destruction of the Federation when that very fleet is defeated in the film by a skeleton crew of officers in a 150 year old ship. The fleet was very effective for a surprise attack against a single completely unprepared ship, but it stands to reason that Krall anticipated that the Federation would quickly realize the swarm could be disrupted with audio interference. He therefore couldn’t launch a full scale attack with them alone. Once he had the weapon he was willing to sacrifice this fleet in order to get himself and the weapon inside the York station.

I also think the discussion of casualties is trying to look at the forced lens of a Man of Steel-esque critique when it doesn’t really apply here, which comes off as lazy grasping at critical straws. Kirk and crew do everything they can to save as many people as possible, but, as another user points out, when you’re exploring space and coming into contact with unknown species and their completely foreign technologies, sometimes you’re going to get beat up pretty badly. Star Trek has never shied away from this eventuality.

Finally, I disagree with the basic premise that the big ideas and thoughtful metaphors associated with Star Trek are absent here. What we see by the end, without giving away too much of the major twist, is the competition between two competing human ideologies. The Federation, especially the crew of the Enterprise and, in this film, particularly the York station, stand for the pinnacle of human achievement and potential, along with the ideas of peace and cooperation. Krall himself even references the York as indicative of how far humanity has come. Krall stands in opposition to this progress, representative of the forces of hate and fear that threaten our progress. The entire remaining crew comes together, each playing a pivotal role in ensuring progress is maintained and values are upheld. It’s a reminder that these regressive forces, no matter how far we come as a people, will always be there, and it’s our job to band together and fight for the world we want. After watching the party conventions this week, this seems to me to be a very timely message in the best spirit of Gene Roddenberrry’s vision.