The currently untitled fourteenth film in the Star Trek franchise has been in various stages of development for what seems like forever now, but after years of setbacks it looks like cameras are finally set to start rolling later this year. WandaVision showrunner Matt Shakman is set to direct the new installment, but the more exciting word on the street is that the cast of the previous three films in the “Kelvin Timeline” universe are in talks to return. These actors faced the unprecedented challenge of living up to the legacy of The Original Series, but they managed to reinvent the characters for a new generation.
It’s certainly not an easy task to step into the shoes of William Shatner, but Chris Pine managed to do so and create a memorable character arc for Captain James T. Kirk over the trilogy of films. Kirk stars as an overgrown frat boy in 2009’s Star Trek, learns the value of self-sacrifice in Star Trek Into Darkness, and contemplates his father’s legacy in Star Trek Beyond. Pine wasn’t just doing a Shatner impersonation; he added his own interpretation, but showed how his version could mature into the character that The Original Series fans knew and loved.
Star Trek may have dominated Pine’s career, but he’s a far more versatile actor than he’s given credit for. Quentin Tarantino named Pine as his favorite actor of the generation; although Pine is often looped in as one of “the four Chrises,” he’s mixed in comedies, romances, and character parts in between roles as a leading man. He rarely takes on the same exact role twice, and if you look at his upcoming slate you’ll see a multitude of compelling projects within different genres. Pine has recently starred in Olivia Wilde’s romantic thriller Don’t Worry, Darling, the fantasy blockbuster Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and the espionage thriller All The Old Knives.
Here are seven of Chris Pine's best films that aren't Star Trek.
Bottle Shock (2008)
Released just one year to his breakout turn as Captain Kirk, Bottle Shock is a weirdly niche dramedy. Based on a true story, the film follows the emergence of the California wine market as a legitimate competitor to the dominant French sellers. Randall Miller’s film centers on the 1976 “Judgment of Paris” competition in which the family-owned Chateau Montelena wine distillery bested the leading French contenders in a blind taste test.
Pine appears as Bo Barrett, the son of Chateau Montelena’s founding vintner Jim (Bill Pullman). Bo is a fish out of water in a fancy European competition, but Pine doesn’t play the hardworking American as a fool compared to his ally, the British wine shop owner Steven Spurrier (Alan Rickman). The film isn’t quite sure if it's an underdog story or a social satire, but Pine instills genuine emotion in the scenes where Bo inspires his hopelessly depressed father.
Unstoppable (2010)
Think recreating William Shatner is tough? Try sharing the screen with Denzel Washington. Washington is perhaps the most iconic movie star of the past three decades, and the late gate Tony Scott generally brought out the best within his inherent charisma. Scott’s final film Unstoppable is a testament to blue-collar workers who collaborate in a crisis, and it could have been easy for Washington to dominate the screen. Pine isn’t trying to steal the scene; he and Washington both fit in within the ensemble of real heroes.
Inspired by the real CSX 8888 incident, Unstoppable follows railroad engineer Frank Barnes (Washington) and hotshot conductor Will Colson (Pine) when they’re trapped within the front of a runaway train that could cause a serious accident. Although Colson’s ambition initially sparks conflict with Barnes, their relationship grows into a heartfelt mentorship with some fun comic banter. It’s no easy feat to trade one-liners with Denzel, but Pine pulls it off.
Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
Captain Kirk wasn’t the only iconic role that Pine stepped into; he took on a role embodied by Alec Baldwin, Harrison Ford, and Ben Affleck in the 2014 origin story of Tom Clancy’s CIA hero. Jack Ryan isn’t just another action hero, but an intelligent analyst who is brought in to do field work. Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit isn’t directly based on any one novel in Clancy’s series, but rather explores Ryan’s first mission and the events that drove him to defend his country.
Like he did with Captain Kirk, Pine made the role his own. He plays Ryan as a genuinely wounded man who has lost his place in the world. He wants to serve his nation, and he’s trained in combat, but he isn’t leaping at the chance to stop the bad guy. The earlier films in the Ryan series depicted him as a family man, and Shadow Recruit makes the interesting choice to show how Ryan must explain his double life to his girlfriend Cathy Muller (Keira Knightley). A romantic subplot that should be a distraction is actually brilliant thanks to Pine and Knightley's great chemistry.
The Finest Hours (2016)
One of the most impressive things that a movie star can do is humble themselves. The four Chrises (or frankly, any young actor of that generation) have struggled to shed their star power to play more everyday heroes, but Pine is able to find that more subtle side of bravery. The underrated biographical film The Finest Hours cast him as Bernie Webber, the Boatswain's Mate First Class sailor who saved many lives during a critical U.S. Coast Guard rescue in 1952.
The film tells the incredible true story of the SS Pendleton, a maritime commission tanker that split in two during a chaotic storm on the New England coast. Webber and the volunteer crew of Andrew Fitzgerald (Kyle Gallner), Ervin Maske (John Magaro), and Richard P. Livesey (Ben Foster) can only transport crew members off in a small boat with a capacity of twelve, but they know the larger Coast Guard ships won’t arrive in time. Pine delivers a respectful, stripped down performance and pulls off the tough New England accent.
Hell or High Water (2016)
Pine is the most underrated part of Hell or High Water. The Taylor Sheridan scripted neo-noir thriller is one of the most entertaining films of the past decade, but initial reviews seemed to focus on the big personalities of Ben Foster’s bank robber Tanner Howard and Jeff Bridges’ Oscar-nominated role as Texas Ranger Marcus Hamilton. The film packs action, sharp humor, and social satire into a thrilling new take on the heist genre, but it needed a humane performance at its center. It's one Pine provided.
The character of Toby Howard is a complex one. He knows he’s not a great father, and while he’s not naturally inclined to rob banks, it’s not an activity he’s unequipped for. There’s an acceptance that Pine shows in Toby that makes his goals more enthralling; he isn’t seeking redemption, but that doesn’t mean he won’t do everything he can to provide for his children. Pine does a great job at showing Toby’s gradual understanding that he and his brother have become Robin Hood-esque figures in their plot against Texas Midland Banks.
Wonder Woman (2017)
Romance is usually the weakest aspect of a comic book film, particularly an origin story. While the charming simplicity of the first two Christopher Reeve Superman films and the Sam Raimi Spider-Man trilogy pulled off innocent simplicity, it’s been a challenge for the recent crop of superhero fare to pull off a compelling modern relationship. Wonder Woman is one of the rare comic book films to show an authentic adult relationship. Pine’s Steve Trevor isn’t just a handsome guy that sweeps Diana (Gal Gadot) off her feet, but a mortal man who is there to ground her.
Gadot isn’t exactly the world’s greatest actress, but she and Pine have wonderful chemistry throughout. Trevor isn’t introduced to ground Diana’s story in an outsider’s perspective, but he’s able to introduce her to a world beyond Themyscira and show what war looks like in reality. The climax of “female superhero is motivated by the sacrifice of her male hero” could have so easily been mishandled (especially in the first Wonder Woman movie ever), but Trevor’s sacrifice is a painful reminder of the costs of mortality.
Outlaw King (2018)
Outlaw King is very much a stealth sequel to Braveheart, but Pine isn’t a stand-in for Mel Gibson (in more ways than one). Hell or High Water director David Mackenzie brought back his previous leading man to play the fourteenth-century King of the Scots Robert the Bruce, who led a rebellion against the English Crown of King Edward I (Stephen Dillane) in the aftermath of William Wallace’s death. The film has an interesting history; after a negative reaction at the Toronto International Film Festival, Mackenzie made significant edits to improve the pacing.
Under this new direction, Outlaw King turned from a lengthy epic into a fast-paced thriller. Bruce and his men take back their homeland castle-by-castle, and Pine is able to show Bruce’s strategic mind. He still does incredible physical work in the action sequences, but Bruce is thinking about how to use his people’s natural resources and skills to best their English opponents. Pine also pulls off the difficult task of forging a believable relationship with Wallace, even though Gibson’s Braveheart character is already dead at the beginning of the story Outlaw King is telling.