This came out when i was a boy and blew my mind. I do not like Star Trek. I love Star Trek 2: Wrath of Kahn. It remains one of the best films I know. Hearing this commentary, yes he is a gifted “storyteller”
He both saved and ruined Star Trek. They stopped telling science fiction stories after TMP, and began making pulpy, comic-book-style action adventure movies I shared Gene Roddenberry's disdain for the militarization of Starfleet, and I lamented the fact that there were no more "big ideas" in Trek films. They became all about heroes and villains after TMP. The only real exceptions are STV and STVI. The former was a very Trek-like story about the search for god, and the latter was a very Trek-like political allegory. The sci fi elements of 2-4 (Genesis and time travel) are merely McGuffins to move the plot along. That being said, STIV delivered a comedic twist on time travel, sort of a humorous version of City on the Edge of Forever. TMP and STV each had sci-fi elements that were at the core of their respective stories. The TNG and Kelvin films all suffer from the same villain problem. To be fair, First Contact did a good job of blending a villain with some City on the Edge-style time travel. But it still had a villain, just like every Trek film that followed TMP. Meyer gave us an exciting and emotional crowd pleaser at the expense of a challenging and thought-provoking science fiction story. Something was gained in terms of broad appeal and reviving the Trek brand, but something was lost at the same time
Meyer's commentary on the movie itself could be condensed into one fifteen minute segment; the rest could aptly be retitled "Nicholas Meyer's reminiscences on Art, Writing, and Life in general". I'd pass on this one, you'll learn more on IMDB's trivia page.
