Review Detail

Okay, where to start?
This edit is incredible. This might be my favorite addition to my fanedit collection outside of the rescuing of the hobbit films I have gained from many talented editors. This movie is never going to be earth shattering. But this edit elevates it WAY past its official release. I won't even bother addressing the audio and visual quality of the edit. Suffice it to say, they are great. I felt like I was watching an official blu ray copy.
The real gems of this edit are in three precise areas of focus. 1. fixing the tone. 2. clarifying the plot and motivations of characters. 3. Saving the death of Kirk.
I grew up hating this movie because Kirk was my childhood hero. I saw this movie at the age of 12 and I didn't think Kirk could die. As I have gotten older and see death all the time, I've come to appreciate the fact that I can follow Kirk all the way to his grave and carry that with me to my grave also. That being said, his death is so uneventful and forgotten by the galaxy, that there is simply no way to mourn or even connect it to anything.
Getting to see Spock react and mourn his best friend is a cathartic closure I cannot describe. And the way it was edited was beautiful. My ONLY complaint, which I have already expressed to the editor... is that we have Picard talking about death as Spock is revealed at Kirk's grave... and as we are trying to take that moment in... Riker chimes in over Spock's face and turns Picard's beautiful message into a snarky quip about living forever. It just guts the moment. All that needs to happen is just excise that one line... and the death of Kirk is saved from forgettable mediocrity. His death matters to someone close to him... ON SCREEN... and so therefore it matters to us so much more.
The tone is mostly fixed here... allowing for a satisfying journey as opposed to being emotionally jerked around and weirded out for the majority of the movie. This is mostly done by excising poor/weird attempts at humor (mostly involving Data), but also by just subtly editing characters so that they aren't unlikable. By making the captain of the enterprise B not so despicable, but just inexperienced, you don't resent the new generation. It blows my mind that the film called "Generations" makes you NOT want to pass on the torch to the next gen, because apparently the next crew is going to be completely incompetent.
Finally, the re-ordering of select scenes in the beginning makes the movie so much more digestible. Having Picard react to his family deaths PRIOR to meeting Soran just clarifies the whole plot. I feel like I finally, and for the first time, really digested the story.
This is my favorite kind of fan edit. MAT has made some great additions that were not possible to include at the time of the film's creation and release that really drive this baby home. He has taken out some poor additions that drag it down. And he has made the film into its best possible version. I love this edit and cannot recommend it enough. Mighty Attack Tribble, if you read this, PLEASE edit that line from Riker lol. Serious props to you, this is an achievement.

Cheers!