Part of what made this summer blockbuster such a critical hit is that it went in its own direction with the characters. After Star Wars, people are less interested in seeing actual prequels. We know the middle and ending, is there really any point in even covering the fine details of the beginning? Now thanks to this timeline, we have infinite storyline potential and character fates that we can hardly theorize on. In this sort of prequel, we are ignorant of the future. That is the seasoning appeal to this.

As far as new actors being unable fit in the shoes of these characters, I say nonsense to that. Of course this is subjective, but I believe it takes a lot of mental stretching to even come close to saying these actors didn't become their respective roles. Pine masterfully played the maverick, wet-behind-the-ears leader. Quinto was the intellectual working to suppress the human half of his identity, etc.

It worked for me. It's futile to argue in circles about it. It either functions for you personally, or it does not. As for me I definitely look forward to the next two installments.