Confused Matthew's written review of Star Trek seemed to hinge upon the "faulty logic" of the time travel story. Below are his comments and my responses I sent in an e-mail.
The basic plot is this: In the future the Romulan sun is about to go nova and ambassador Spock rushes to try and save Romulus. He comes equipped with "Red Matter" which can create a black hole that Spock plans to use to absorb the sun’s…deadliness I guess.
The explosion will claim the planet, therefore the black hole will contain the explosion. What's the problem here?
Lo and behold it turns out that the same black hole that was suppose to have enveloped all the energy of a sun is also a portal in space time which accidentally sucks both Spock and the Romulan commander back in time (don’t ask me).
I think it's a lot easier for us in the audience, if we are unwilling to suspend belief, to identify what time travel isn't rather than what it is. The reality is that neither you nor I nor any other moviegoer (with the possible exception of any physicists who watched the movie) knows what sort of temporal effect a black hole could have. Maybe you do get sucked into another timeline/universe. Who really knows?
First, if this Red Matter can cause time travel on accident, shouldn’t it be able to cause time travel on purpose?
I once read an account of a baby who lived (pretty much unscathed) through a tornado, despite the fact that the tornado carried him through the air over a long distance. That doesn't mean we should try to harness the power of the tornado as a means of travel.
If so, you’d think the Romulan commander would spend his time researching the time travel properties of the Red Matter to send him back and forth whenever he wants.
He's a miner. I don't mean to impugn the intelligence of miners, but I feel safe in saying that most miners are not given to rigorous scientific research of time travel and black holes.
Also, he's a villain. Most villains fall into a pattern of rash behavior and faulty reasoning.
All he has to do is inform the Romulans of what’s going to happen in the future and prevent it from happening.
Again, Nero is a villain. And what's more, he has over a century to inform Romulus of its impending doom. He can kill everyone he wants first, then go on to warn the Romulans.