John C. R. is the worst performer of all time. Not only is he not even remotely funny but he managed to retroactively ruin his decent roles in credible movies such as Gangs of New York by being in stupid roles now. So when you see the old respectable JCR you think wow, what a joke.
From everything I've read, the movie does have time travel elements but in no way is it an alternate universe. It is a prequel that's a re-imagining of sorts, like Batman Begins. Which is why Shatner is not in it but Nimoy is...if it was an alternate timeline they could easily write Kirk into the film.
