Everyone keeps talking about Star Trek and Star Wars but people are missing the part where Abrams doesn't have as much control over Star Wars. See, Abrams isn't getting his team of writers or Star Wars, for instance. Abrams didn't go, "I want this." (Actually it was the opposite, he DIDN'T want it at first) Disney simply came to a deal with him. Star Wars will still be Star Wars because Abrams isn't going to be in charge of the aesthetic design or anything like that. A group of people that Lucasfilm hires will be. The story won't be done by J.J. a group of people who Lucasfilm hires will do that. It won't be written by his pack of writers because Lucasfilm and Disney will do that part (they've hired Michael Ardnt for the screenplay and Lawrence Kasdan for the story). Lucas will still be an idea guy as well, and he will still have the power to veto things Abrams wants to do.
While I agree that Abrams doesn't have as much ambition (and is a "safe bet") I disagree that he hasn't tried to show people what he's about. Granted he doesn't focus on major themes like say... Steven Spielberg or Christopher Nolan or Stanley Kubrick or even the likes of Quentin Tarantino, but I'm not sure how much I actually care about that. Not because not everyone has to reach, but because Abrams is the typical "Super Blockbuster," guy that people expect him to be. See, I totally disagree about The Avengers. It's a great movie but it has no real ambition. It's a CGI filled fest of what you'd get if Michael Bay actually made a good movie. And while I understand that it's Joss Wheddon doing what Joss Wheddon does best (although I think when he tackles Much Ado About Nothing it'll be a better movie overall), The Avengers is one of those movies that fanboys get up in arms about any time someone criticizes it. The Dark Knight Rises may have been disappointing for some, but at least it's actually reaching for something on a Thematic and Intellectual level.
The Avengers sort of felt like J.J. Abrams Star Trek in comparison. A fairly paperthin story that relied a lot on narrative coincidences that mostly banked on you loving Iron Man... not necessarily the other three movies (because Thor, Captain America and The Hulk just aren't as fun of characters--especially Captain America who might as well have just been labeled "The First Extra"). For as much as people talk about the "risk" with The Avengers, everyone forgets that you had a marketing campaign that lasted four years. There was no way that movie wasn't going to make it's money back. The surprise was the 600+ million dollar gross. But I'm sure they were certain it would make at least 400 million at the box office and that it was going to do really well globally. The only reason I actually remember The Avengers is because it made so much money that people won't let it slip out of the pop-culture subconsciousness. Not necessarily because it was a great movie, but because it made so much money it's "noteworthy" for that achievement. And while it was funny and a joyful good time... it pretty much came across like most every other summer movie popcorn flick. If you want to talk about movies with Ambition or getting to know a director, then The Avengers isn't really it either, and yet every nerd on the planet praises the hell out of that movie despite that the last half does exactly what a Michael Bay transformers movie does... just a really long battle where tons of stuff blows up and where tons of giant robots and other things destroy and nearly level a city. The only reason that Joss Wheddon escape criticism for that seems to be "Because he's a fellow nerd," where as if it were Michael Bay (and believe me I really hate Michael Bay) he'd be ripped to shreds.
But like I said, The Avengers is a better shot and better put together film at least. The way the characters grow to like one another is pretty cool. On the other hand it doesn't save it from having plot holes big enough to fly a 747 through or that it has that huge Deus Ex Machina... or that the final battle sequence is way too damn long. Or that Captain America isn't an interesting character on any level... or that Iron Man is the only guy worth liking among the heroes... or that the story is really boring... or that the last half of the last battle is too long and you just want it to end.
Don't get me wrong, I still love The Avengers, I'm just not sure why that gets a pass when we're talking about these things while movies that are reaching for something a little greater get beaten into the ground for NOT being The Avengers. Like I said, The Avengers felt almost exactly why Moviebob is getting all over J.J. Abrams and Moviebob loved the hell out of that movie... but I guess what I'm wondering is why, exactly. I suppose Moviebob could answer but I doubt I'll get one.
