1. Star Trek (2009) - Star Wars
Straight out, I have a passionate disgust for Star Trek. I dislike it in every way, but that is a topic for another day. However I really liked the reboot by J.J Abrams. Why? Well because it is Star Wars for the 21st Century! Take that Trekkies. The best film in the franchise ripped off Star Wars. http://youtu.be/Ut04e_Dpnwo All joking aside, most great stories follow the "Monomyth" pattern , as discussed by Joseph Campbell in his book 'Hero With 1,000 Faces'. This was the inspiration for Star Wars, this fact Lucas has said this multiple times. http://youtu.be/5EVZJYb6_4Y The Monomyth pattern is as follows: An obscure nobody is called on a grand quest, he answers the call after initially rejecting it, he hits a low point where it seems that everything is lost, but it isn't. Our hero succeeds at his quest and then celebrates with everyone he loves. Thus we have a beginning, a middle and an end with a nice neat arc in the middle. This pattern can be found in every hero's tale from Virgil's Aeneas to Harry Potter. Fairy tales too, were descented from the same pool of myths. Any major film franchise that is aimed at children, if you dig deep enough, will at it's foundation level be a retelling of the myths from ancient Greece/Rome. This foundational story structure is presented in this nice diagram below.
In the Star Trek of J.J Abrams, we find an orphaned farm boy, whose father was a great pilot. He wants to get off his planet and join the academy as soon as he can. Throughout his journey he has both an older mentor, and then meets a more powerful mentor. He assembles a band of follows, including some for comic relief. Then after many people die in a big planet explosion(revelation), he gains the drive (atonement) to defeat evil in a big battle. And then credits! Sounds very much like Star Wars: A New Hope, doesn't it? This Star Wa...I mean Star Trek film has a nice simple story that allows people to enjoy the "Science Fantasy" realm of Star Wars in a refreshing new light, while opening up a younger and fresh audience to this franchise. A shameless rip off? Oh very much so, but so was the original Star Wars according to the monomyth formula. Therefore making both a noble rip off.
Conclusion
It is interesting that since the days of pre-history humans have told a similar set of tales about great warriors and fantastical adventures. This is just the way of things. The source material however must be adapted and must be kept fresh enough so the audience doesn't lose interest, or want to leave the cinema during the film. Isn't that right Michael Bay? There has always been a formula for every genre. However as I have outlined, a noble rip off can actually benefit the art rather than be a detriment. Folks this goes way back, Dante ripped off Virgil (who ripped off Homer) for his great work the 'Divine Comedy'. Yet who do we reference for our modern picture of Hell? Dante, not Homer nor Virgil. This has been mirrored in today's culture with Blade Runner being credited for creating the dark and soulless city of the future, or with The Matrix being credited for opening people's eyes to the themes of Transhumanism. That is the cool thing about art, it evolves and grows, but it is important to remember it's roots.