That's my abiding memory of the film, too: I can't even remember whether I thought it was well-written or not, but the visuals were amazing, especially the bit where Spock wanders off into the glowing, coruscating cloud in his spacesuit. It's still my favourite Star Trek film, although looking now at the list, I realise I've only seen the first four and there's been ten, with an eleventh on the way.

Peter