10 Greatest Prequel Movies Of All-Time

J.J. Abrams' Star Trek reboot didn't necessarily need to connect itself to the established canon; given that it was aimed at a wider audience, it would have been entirely acceptable for the film to have been its own thing, free from the constraints of the long-running franchise.

That being the case, Abrams still decided that he not only wanted his reboot to acknowledge the existence of the pre-existing canon, but he wanted to explain how his own series would actually help to create said canon in an alternate timeline.

What should have been a total narrative disaster ended up as a moment of clever and inspired invention; Star Trek begins with an alternate dimension being created via time travel, which allowed Abrams to preserve the franchise's story elements whilst also going off in whatever direction he pleased. Basically, it was a way for the director to have his cake and eat it, too.

As such, this is half-reboot, half-prequel, but you'd never guess; Star Trek is a such a confident film that you feel like you're in safe hands from the very first scene - it totally succeeds in its attempts to make the series relevant to a mass audience. With Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto driving the drama as rivals-turned-best buddies Kirk and Spock, it's a heartfelt, action-packed adventure film, and one of best from the franchise.