The Best Action Movies Of The 2000s Ranked

By 2009, it had been almost a decade since "Star Trek" had been on the big screen, with the series shuttered after the failure of "Star Trek: Nemesis." But director J.J. Abrams breathed new life into the franchise with his action-packed blockbuster reboot, the singularly titled "Star Trek," starring Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, Karl Urban, and John Cho as the crew of the USS Enterprise.

Bringing the series back to the beginning, the story deftly uses sci-fi hijinks to start a new universe of stories that are built off the old. Leonard Nimoy returns as the original Mr. Spock, who inadvertently creates a parallel reality while trying to save an alien world. It's there that we meet a young James T. Kirk, who's catapulted into the captain's chair aboard the Enterprise when a Romulan villain called Nero arrives to find Spock and wreak havoc on this new reality. Packed with over-the-top sci-fi action, it's a roller-coaster adventure that impressed audiences and earned itself strong reviews while turning Pine and Saldana into bonafide stars.

The film wasn't without its critics, though, who felt that turning the more cerebral sci-fi series into an action film did a disservice to the franchise. Nevertheless, its success was undeniable, leading to two blockbuster sequels and heavily influencing the next wave of "Star Trek" series with its tone and style.