It was another perfect example of JJ throwing in bits from the original for nostalgia and an attempt to appease fans. I think it worked. It certainly wasnt enough to make me leave the theater 10 minutes before the movie ended..
reference doesn't equal substance
especially when they are splashed all over the place with a "Hey Star Trek fans!!! Look. See... We get it!" when they obviously don't
perfect example
The Prime Directive is violated no less than 6 times in the opening sequence, and the very mission itself is a violation of the Prime Directive.
So if they're going to reference it, perhaps they should
1. Demonstrate how the Prime Directive is different in this universe
or
2. Demonstrate that this situation calls for a violation of the Prime Directive (rare minerals, strategic importance to the Federation, etc.)
or
3. Explain why the Prime Directive doesn't apply (a lost group of humans that got marooned, and therefore the Prime Directive doesn't apply )
they forced a silly situation, and the only violation that is referenced is the Primitives saw the Enterprise
(and I won't go into a Starship is NOT a submarine)
well, they also saw the crew members (McCoy and Kirk)
they also saw the shuttle (Uhura, Sulu, and Spock)
they also stopped the volcanic eruption (which interfered with the natural development of the primitives)
if they wanted to stop the planet from being destroyed, (which is a violation of the Prime Directive) they could have stayed in a geosynchronous orbit, and just beamed the bomb down, or Spock and the bomb down, because then they could have maintained line of site, and never been seen by the Primitives, minimizing contamination
but then they make a big deal about violating the Prime Directive....
So you see, they reference it... but I doubt they ever actually bothered to find out what it is, or watched Trek episodes where it was applied.
and they did this throughout the movie...
reference after reference... without understanding the substance
if they want to create a New universe... than create a new one... having no references to the prime universe would have made it better. Made it stand alone.
They use it as a crutch.