I've always considered myself a life-long Trek fan. I watched TOS and TNG religiously, though I never particularly cared for the other spinoffs (DS9, Voyager, Enterprise), or followed them beyond catching an episode here or there. As for the movies, I loved the even-numbered TOS-era films, and despised the odd-numbered installments. Couldn't stand a single one of the TNG-era films.

As for 2009's Star Trek, I really liked it, mainly for all the reasons that Jay articulated above, so I won't bother retreading old ground, except to say this: Any remake is going to run into problems pleasing the purists (though this particular self-styled purist was pleased). But I think the key is to avoid trampling on the spirit of the original, rather than trying to adhere rigidly to its every intricate detail (which would've been impossible in this case, anyway). As for whether or not Star Trek achieved that, obviously there will be disagreements. In my judgment, it certainly did; I did not receive the impression that it was a gimmicky cash-grab or executed in poor taste.