8. Star Trek
JJ Abrams boldly reinvented one of the most beloved nerd franchises of all time, making it younger, fresher, and more exciting than previous incarnations. The result was the highest grossing entry in the franchise and some of the best reviews of any movie reboot. An origin story, Star Trek wisely sidestepped years of canon by placing itself firmly in an alternate reality from the original series, allowing it cover ground already established while also enabling the filmmakers to put their own interpretations on characters, events, and locations. Much more action-packed than other Star Trek films, Abrams reboot unfortunately sacrifices a lot of what made the originals so interesting, namely their emphasis on ideas and characters over action. While this film also devotes time towards developing its characters, it is clearly more than anxious to start blowing things up. Fortunately, few films over the last few years have been quite as good at blowing stuff up in such spectacular fashion. The CGI work on Star Trek is top notch and the cast is generally excellent throughout, the weakness comes from the writers who are able to muster up convincing plot points and character motivations but seem incapable of writing dialogue that does anything more than push the plot forward. Even so, Star Trek is one of the most entertaining of recent blockbusters and even though it might not be a great example of the ideals and mindset of the TV shows, it is still a very-well executed, immensely absorbing action spectacle.