10 Ways J.J. Abrams' Reboot Made Star Trek Better

It ’s gentle to write off J.J. Abrams as a one - trick pony ground on the fact that hisStar Warsmovie , The Force Awakens , wasa rehash ofA New Hopeand had minuscule of its own merits to offer . But back in 2009 , he proved himself to be a great theater director – anda outstanding rebooter of dear enfranchisement – with hisStar Trekmovie .

Abrams himself has allow in that he was n’t a hugeTrekfan when he took on the business , but this distance from the seed material might be the key to what made his reboot so bang-up . Here are ten shipway Abram ’s movie improved the dealership .

The reboot gives the characters a more complex backstory

Prequels are always tricky , because the interview already knows the end . But J.J. Abrams – and his screenwriting team , Roberto Orci and Alex Kurtzman , whose donation should n’t be discounted – used the prequel frameworkto explore the character ’ backstoriesa lot more than the telly series ever did .

We seewhat happened to Kirk ’s father , how Kirk and Spock met , what their time at Starfleet Academy was like , how Kirk ended up captaining the U.S.S. Enterprise , and what bring the bunch together in the first station . The reference ofStar Trekhad never been reach a background signal that complex before and it was vastly satisfying .

A consistent tone

The pure tone ofStar Trekis very specific , and as soon asThe Dark Knighthit theatre , the tone of every individual franchise shifted towards the one set by Christopher Nolan for the Batman character . But the problem with that is that the note ofThe Dark Knightonly suits Batman and the Joker and Gotham City .

It does n’t work for Superman or the Fantastic Four or most of the other intellectual prop that were given a Nolan - ish makeover afterThe Dark Knightgrossed over $ 1 billion . However , the promising , optimistic tone of J.J. Abrams’Star Trekreboot is in direct contrast withThe Dark Knight – and it ’s perfect forStar Trek .

A more detailed design of the Enterprise

TheStar TrekTV serial gave us an immersive view of the U.S.S. Enterprise . We pay off a sense of what all the unlike ingredient looked like , from the main bridge deck to the engine room , and the appearance of the ship as a whole as it cruise through space was gorgeously rendered .

However , it did n’t have the budget or the technology to really plunge audience into the initiative in the way that the reboot did . Thanks to CGI issue on all the window and screens , we get more of a sense of the Enterprise as an factual starship making its way through the vacuum of space . Wefeelit cruising through blank space as opposed to just determine it .

It made the reboot part of the original canon

J.J. Abrams specify the condition “ reboot ” with his 2009Star Trekmovie , but he also subverted the rules of boot by acknowledge the original canon . Rather than just restate the story ofThe Original Series , the picture show involve place in an alternate realness where all of those characters look a little different .

The alternate world was created by time travel done by both Nero and the original Spock . This moderate to Leonard Nimoy ’s Spock make an appearance . If reboots , by their nature , are nostalgic , then Abrams find a way to reconcile looking into the future with nostalgically looking into the past in a way that hefailed to do with his subsequentStar Warsreboot .

Spectacular action sequences

If there ’s one matter that the earlyStar Trekseries struggled with , it ’s action mechanism succession . This is mainly because the technology was n’t there to show starships blowing each other up and the stunt business had n’t been given the crack in the weapon system that lead to visceral , brutal fight scenes in movies .

Even the most memorable action sequences from the TV series , likeKirk ’s fight with a Gorn , are cockeyed by today ’s standards . But J.J. Abrams put his $ 150 million megahit budget to good purpose with the 2009 reboot and devote us a train of breathtaking military action sequences .

The lens flares work

A common criticism of J.J. Abrams ’ movies is thathe overuses the “ lens flair ” impression . However , inStar Trek , it work . It does n’t work as much in something ground , likeSuper 8 , or something more focused on ancient legend than futuristic tech , likeStar Wars , but it put to work a charm inStar Trek .

Since most of the scene take spot on starships make full with space - years convenience and ultramodern weaponry , the crystalline lens flash adds to each chronological succession , rather than detracting from it . The lens flair is n’t a particularly innovative movie - making technique , butAbrams ’ style does go deal - in - manus with the materialin this instance .

A good balance of heart and humor

A healthy balance of heart and humor – not too much of either , but lot of both – is the key to a corking blockbuster . It ’s fair to say thatMarvel studio presently has a throttlehold on the blockbuster market place , and this is principally because their movies are penetrate with a delightful compounding of heart and humor .

J.J. Abrams’Star Trekreboot balances these two factor toppingly , with characters who genuinely wish about each other and a sight of funny gags ( mostly require Simon Pegg ’s Scotty ) . There ’s nothing worse than a humorless take onStar Trek . Humor has been there since the beginning . It ’s a rest period that Abrams respect that amidst a gloomy cinematic climate .

Perfect casting

The original actors from theStar TrekTV serial – William Shatner , Leonard Nimoy , Nichelle Nichols etc . – wereperfect for their roles . But the pic they were in went some agency towards smirch their legacy , because the pre - rebootStar Trekfilm franchise hadbreathtaking high and person - crushing lows .

The reboot gave us the ideal molding for those characters . Chris Pine has the coolheaded attitude and heroic bravado to run Kirk ; Zachary Quinto has the calm behavior and likability to bring Spock ; Zoe Saldana has the fierceness and nobility to play Uhura . All the reboot actors have been perfectly upchuck in their roles , which makes the characters more relatable .

The incredible chemistry shared by Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto

Not only are Chris Pine and Zachary Quinto perfect for the part of Kirk and Spock , they also have the chemistry that made William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy ’s couple in the roles such a pleasure . This interpersonal chemistry grows and strengthens as the movie goes on , but that ’s only because the film is a prequel .

Kirk and Spock are n’t friends yet when we first meet them . or else of just seeing them as close ally , which would be plenty , we see them as adversaries who grow to become faithful champion . We seehow their human relationship grew from the beginning . With lesser worker , this would n’t be anywhere penny-pinching as effectual .

It madeStar Trekaccessible to mainstream audiences

In the ongoing disputation betweenStar WarsandStar Trekfans , one pointedness in favor ofStar Warshas always been its mainstream appeal . With its headier themes and more distinctive sci - fi setup , Star Trekhas only ever appeal to hardcore sci - fi fans .

However , J.J. Abrams ’ big - screen reboot managed to make the reality of Kirk and Spockaccessible to a mainstream blockbuster audience . Even more amazingly , it managed to do so without compromising any of the character or their storylines . The 2009 movie is true to theTrekmythology and honors its characters without alienating raw viewers or passive fans .

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