JJ Abrams: Ranking His Movies From Worst To Best

1. Star Trek

This is the cream of Abrams' not-inconsiderable crop. The character work on display in his Star Trek reboot is off the charts, as every major character on the Enterprise's crew has a moment to shine. Within the first five minutes, the director has grown men openly weep at the noble death of George Kirk, a character that viewers barely even know. The trick to Abrams' Star Trek is exactly that concept; it is a concise and efficient film that doesn't sacrifice any important emotionality. The scene that follows Pike pulling a rebellious Kirk out of an ass-whooping at a bar is a perfect example; "Your father was captain of a Starship for 12 minutes. He saved 800 lives, including your mother's and yours. I dare you to do better". That line - that whole scene where Pike persuades Kirk to follow in his father's footsteps is one of the best from any blockbuster origin story in the last ten years. Devastating one-liners like that re-occur throughout the entire film, and speak to Abrams and his screenwriters' innate comprehension of the source material. Abrams understands that the duality between Spock and Kirk - a staple of the franchise - is the crux of Star Trek. It's played up to with terrific effect; Kirk representing the brash, emotional, human side of Spock that the latter tries so very hard to repress. Their relationships with their fathers - one absent physically, the other emotionally - play so well mirrored with one another that their mutually damaged personalities provide the entire backbone for the film. Star Trek is a film about two guys with no family, who create their own surrogate family with the crew around them. JJ, always notably upfront about his lack of passion or knowledge of the franchise, still came into this film understanding and respecting exactly that - resulting in his finest work to date.