20 Best Film Directors Of The Decade (So Far)

20. J.J. Abrams

2010s Films: Super 8, Star Trek Into Darkness, Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Upcoming Projects: None announced

It would probably be enough to just point out how J.J. Abrams made a Star Wars movie in the face of massive hype and even bigger cynicism and call this entry a day. The Force Awakens may not be the best film ever or even in the series, but what J.J. achieved, creating something that was at once rooted in adoration of the originals yet still had a clear eye to the future, was the best we could have ever hopedd from Episode VII.

That's Abrams real skill; the ability to adopt and advance styles, something that was shown in his Star Trek reboot (and to a lesser extent its sequel) and Super 8, which adopted Spielbergian Americana and threw in genuine horror (and maintined proper emotional heft).