10 Movies Ruined By Listening To The Fans

J.J. Abrams' 2009 Star Trek reboot was largely embraced by critics and general audiences, who felt that Abrams had injected some energy and personality into a cinematic IP that had long since run out of steam.

But many hardcore Trek fans weren't quite so enthusiastic, feeling that Abrams had strayed too far from the dignified essence of Trek and basically made a glossy space opera in the vein of Star Wars instead.

Abrams evidently listened to this feedback when prepping the sequel, Star Trek Into Darkness, but in a classic case of over-correction, Abrams ended up trying way, way too hard to "please" the bread-and-butter fanbase.

Star Trek Into Darkness was basically a superficial "homage sequel" heavily indebted to the best Trek film, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, incongruously casting Benedict Cumberbatch as a completely unrecognisable new version of iconic villain Khan.

Arguably worse is a third act rehash of Spock's (Leonard Nimoy) sacrificial death in The Wrath of Khan, with Kirk (Chris Pine) making the sacrifice this time, though of course it ends up being temporary.

Throw in a cringe-worthy homage to Kirk's (William Shatner) famous "Khan!" scream from The Wrath of Khan and it's clear that Abrams only intended to appease the most sentimental and nostalgia-loving of fans.

Conversely, its sequel Star Trek Beyond - which wasn't directed by Abrams - is a good example of listening to fans, delivering a sequel that engaged with the series' mythology in a smart and satisfying way.

It helped immeasurably of course that the script was written by co-star Simon Pegg, himself a huge Trek fan. As you'll see later in this list, though, Abrams sadly didn't learn his lesson after Star Trek Into Darkness.