I enjoyed this film and -- despite a few people claiming it's terrible -- I found nothing really awful in it. Effects were about what you'd expect from the original Star Trek series. However, it's not a special effects film. All-in-all, they were in keeping with what was happening in the film.
The film has a distinct low-budget feel, but as it progressed I noticed that the camera angles and scene staging gave the impression that the director knew what he was doing. I looked up his previous efforts and found that he had directed a few well-reviewed shorts as well as having his hand in the film business in a variety of roles.
A few people pointed out that the dialog seemed wooden. I agree. I think the script could have used another re-write to smooth things out a bit. However, I was grateful that the film was devoid of the usual pile of idiots who are blind to the obvious. In other words, the types of characters that have to do certain things to move plot points: 1) see alien/strange behavior yet ignore it 2) do something nobody sane would do ("I'm going to give the terrorists what they want. Surely they will let us go then") 3) panics needlessly. I suppose that list could grow longer. Fortunately for my sanity, our time traveler at least tried to keep that to himself knowing the incredulity he'd face. And the incredulous tended to wise up when they saw the evidence.
