I watched this again last night with a female friend that not only remained awake and alert, but asked thought-provoking questions afterward. I should probably propose marriage, eh?
Lest anyone think that was a sexist remark, I would say as much (save for the "proposal" part, perhaps) about anyone that sat and watched it with me. As much as I do enjoy (most of) the film, I don't begrudge anyone for finding it "meh", or even outright boring.
A few things: I sure do wish they didn't swap out so much of the TOS tone and pacing for the 2001:ASO vibe. One of the things I love about TOS is how much story and character building they can cram into 45-50 minutes. And you don't dare miss a second, for fear of missing something significant. This is especially where TMP is the anti-TOS. Lots of standing around and mouths agape and unconvincing looks of "awe". I actually almost giggled a few times at the cheese. Mind you, these things didn't bother me about the film until I got more serious about TOS the past few years. My personal bar for all things ST just got higher, I guess (rightly or wrongly).
Was there an underlying reason that Kirk was such a dick to Decker at first? I always assumed this had more to do with Kirk's insecurity about his own (rusty) abilities than anything to do with Decker personally. Any truth to that?
So little camaraderie and charisma to be found among the crew.

Save for Bones...he came to play, too bad it was such a limited role.

As I'm writing this, I'm actually getting more pissed about the fact that with all of this wasted time spent trying to build manufactured, self-indulgent drama, we're seeing characters themselves relegated to the sidelines...characters that some folks had waited years to see again. Kinda crappy.
And, I get how they were trying to emulate 2001 with AI and the quest for consciousness and all, but what exactly is supposed to be happening at the end of the film? I mean, V'ger's mission is now complete, so it can now just..disappear? Manifest into something else? Did this now become a spiritual thing? I've always felt a bit cheated by the ending; so much buildup and plot-hype, and ultimately it's dismissed with the little post-mission wrap-up where Bones says "I think we just witnessed the birth of a new life form" or something, with a lighthearted grin. That was the one thing that WAS like TOS, but it didn't feel right to me here; again, due to the pacing and, really, the weight of the mission.
I can't believe I'm bitching so much about it; I really didn't mean to, because I do enjoy it. I'm just disappointed I guess, because within this entertaining-but-a-bit-annoyingly-pretentious film was an AWESOME film that just couldn't seem to find its center in regard to honoring both past and present.
But damn, did they nail the Enterprise. Freaking kinetic sculpture at its finest.
IMHO.