The Captain's Top Ten Science Fiction Movies
Nov 17 '03 (Updated Jun 16 '08)
The Bottom Line My Top Ten Science Fiction Movies of all time, plus a few honourable mentions.
My Top Ten Sci-Fi Movies
At Number Ten…
Star Trek 9: Insurrection (formerly number 5, but in retrospect that was a little too generous!)
The best Star Trek film so far, this had a strong plot, excellent performances, and great SFX. Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard) is superb as the main character in the film. Will have to do my own Top Ten Star Trek list (okay so there’s only ten anyway) – the only other one I’ve read so far rates this very lowly (though they put 6 at the top and I agree that was excellent – and 5 at the bottom, which I certainly agree with).
At Nine…
Mars Attacks
Far too cynical to be a box office hit in the States (Jack Nickelson as the President giving a moving speech – it moves the alien to stab him through the heart – probably didn’t help either!), it was hugely popular over here in Britain, the birthplace of cynicism. Tim Burton’s black comedy is the antithesis (or antidote, depending on how you look at it) to Independence. It also gave us the wonderful sight of Michael J Fox getting fried (no offence) and Tom Jones helping to save the world. It would be higher on the list if the first half had been as good as the second, which is fabulous. But it’s not, so it’s sticking at number 8.
At Number Eight…
Pitch Black
An unusual and rather dark film, which has a similar basis to Isaac Asimov’s short story “Nightfall” (later developed into a novel co-written with Robert Silverberg) – that is, a planet with several moons, where complete darkness never happens – well, almost never. The difference this time is that the only inhabitants on the planet are the crew of a crash-landed spaceship – including a dangerous criminal…)
It’s a unique film and works very well – but particularly recommended for people who like their sci-fi dark and a little different.
The sequel fared rather worse… see the "Top Ten Sci-Fi Turkeys" list below...
At Number Seven…
War of the Worlds
H G Well’s story, adapted and broadcast as news bulletins by Orsen Wells, had many people convinced that an alien attack was really taking place. This film does justice to one of the best sci-fi books ever, although it would have been even better if it had stuck to the plot more faithfully. The strength of the film is in the story development and excellent film score, and, as with the book, the tremendous plot-twist right at the end. (In case you don’t already know what it is… I’m not going to tell you!!) I am of course talking about the excellent fifties version here... :-D
At Number Six…
Silent Running
A criminally undervalued film, this deals with the last “garden in space” – a space-ship dedicated to preserving plants etc - the world has become a concrete jungle, all food is synthesised, and only one man still appreciates nature – and has to take drastic action when the commend comes through to self-destruct the garden… A very thought-provoking film, which gives a rather bleak commentary on our society, and Bruce Dern in the lead role is incredible. Upgraded from number 10 on my list because after the last time I'd watched it, I realised that it affects me so much more than most of the others (even if they are perhaps more entertaining in a way.)
At Number Five…
Back to the Future
Michael J Fox did well in his role as Marty, accompanied by the obligatory mad scientist (just what would Hollywood do without them?!?!) travelling back in time to save his family – or wreck it – whichever comes first. When it was released the idea was still fresh and originally served, and it’s still a hugely enjoyable film. In fact it's the sheer enjoyment factor that convinced me, having seen it again, to move it up from number 9.
Back to the Future spawned two sequels, both of which are watchable enough. The first sequel, however, relies far too heavily on knowledge of the first film for its laughs, while the second is enjoyable in its own right. The DVD trilogy collection is well worth getting.
Tied with:
I, Robot
Not everyone's cup of tea, but I thought this 2004 film was an excellent sci-fi thriller. Based (extremely loosely) on the ideas in Isaac Asimov's Robot stories, the fast-paced action and brilliant SFX are backed up by an intelligent script and a fine performance by Will Smith, who against all logic now has two films in my sci-fi top ten.
At Number Four…
Harrison Bergeron
This little known 1995 “Made For TV” film is an intelligent, superb, and criminally undervalued (yep I’m using that same expression again) contribution to the Sci-Fi film genre. The storyline is thoughtful, taut, and well developed, while the acting by an unknown cast (with Sean Astin and Miranda de Pencier in the lead roles) superb. It’s based around a world where everyone has been made equal by using various methods (such as weights for the strong, devices to emit high-pitched sounds into the ears of the intelligent to break their concentration, etc) to bring everyone down to the level of the lowest common denominator.
Everyone? Well, not everyone – someone has to run the world, after all…
The Short Story by Kurt Vonnegut, Jr, upon which this film is (somewhat loosely) based can be read here: http://penguinppc.org/~hollis/personal/bergeron.shtml
At Number Three…
Men In Black
Although at the time I left the cinema feeling slightly disappointed by this, Men in Black is an excellent comedy sci-fi film. It had been hyped beyond all proportion and since I like Tommy Lee Jones and occasionally like Will Smith, I forgot the old axiom: “Don’t believe the hype”. Then again, I was young and naïve at the time.
The eponymous “Men In Black” are a secret organisation protecting the world (well okay the United States, but presumably they are altruistic enough to help the rest of the world if need be) from aliens – of which there are surprisingly many. (Apparently most of them are taxi drivers in Manhatten…)
There are many funny scenes and some great lines, while Smith & Jones make a great team. Extremely enjoyable with good replay value. It’s a pity that the sequel was nowhere near as good, but not exactly unexpected.
At Number Two…
The Empire Strikes Back
I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve seen this. By far the best film of the Star Wars saga (so far at least), it has everything. Han Solo (Harrison has a tempestuous relationship with Princess Leah (Carrie Fisher), being betrayed by a friend, Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamil) discovering more about himself and a shocking revelation about his family, an epic battle scene on the ice world of Hoth, the Empire’s relentless attempts to crush the rebellion, Skywalker duelling Darth Vader, and a dash of humour for good measure (much of it provided by the android C3PO – “Human – Cyborg Relations”). Space Opera just doesn’t get better than this.
And At Number One…
Two very different movies occupy my number one spot – they’re for very different moods, but are both, IMHO, the pinnacle of their style…
Galaxy Quest
If you’re a skiffy fan in need of a laugh, you just can’t do better than this. It parodies many SF flicks but mainly Star Trek, and the deeper your knowledge of ST, the funnier you’ll find it. (For instance, the Captain tells fans at a convention to get a life – a la William Shatner’s famous outburst. In another scene, Sigourney Weaver asks the Captain “Does it help to roll around this that?” when creeping up on aliens. And his shirt gets ripped like Shatner’s always used to – and Weaver’s clothing is slowly ripped off throughout the film, etc… (okay not quite as gratuitously as Nathalie Portman’s in the gladiatorial scene in Attack of the Clones)). It’s very funny throughout, and the plot, acting and cast (with Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman you couldn’t go far wrong), are excellent. The storyline involves aliens picking up signals of the Galaxy Quest TV series and thinking they’re documentaries, so when they are under attack, they come to earth for help…
And the other Number One is…
Bladerunner
Based on Philip K Dick’s novel “Do Androids Dream of Electronic Sheep?”, this tense cyberpunk (well, kind of) movie about a world where androids called Replicants are almost indistinguishable from humans is fantastic, though obviously not the sort of thing for lifting your mood! Harrison Ford is superb as Deckard, a Bladerunner (what the agents who eliminate rogue Replicants are called) who is called out of retirement to deal with a small group that have hijacked a shuttle craft and brought it to earth… This is the finest hour of Rutger Hauer, who is truly menacing as the leader of these Replicants. Sean Young (not Penn as I accidentally typed prior to this update!!!) is Rachel, a beautiful Replicant who doesn’t even know that she is… (Though I'm sure the ladies think Sean Penn is lovely too...) And - Darryl Hannah plays possibly the first genuinely sexy android in film history! (Okay so tell me if I'm wrong!!)
The only other question is – original or Director’s Cut? I go for the latter, not really due to the voiceover being taken out (I never found it as annoying as some people did), but because of the more realistic (if less happy) ending. But there’s really not much in it – both versions are excellent.
** SPOILER **
After letting everyone stew for some years, Philip K Dick eventually owned up and admitted to the world that Decker was in fact a Replicant himself
** END OF SPOILER **
My review of the Bladerunner computer game
Honourable Mentions
Star Trek 4: The Voyage Home – Who would have thought that Whales were really aliens? After the vaguely interesting but essentially insomnia-curing Search for Spock, the crew return for a much more enjoyable romp through 20th century earth trying to save the last whale in order to stop the planet’s destruction… With a slightly surreal plot and several funny moments (Scotty trying to talk to a computer – when Bones tells him to use the mouse, he says, “Ah…”, picks up the mouse and tries to use it as a microphone to communicate with the computer in his wonder Scottish accent – “heellloooooooooooooooo, computer!” – and Spock nerve-pinching a punk who won’t turn his getto-balster down…) Kitsch and fun.
Star Trek 6: The Undiscovered Country - In the last proper outing for the original Star Trek cast (to my mind, Generations doesn’t count – they were nothing more than glorified cameos in that), Shatner and Co have great fun with this one – great plot involving conspiracy within the Federation itself, Imam as a shape-shifter on an off-world, slave-worked mining colony… Great stuff.
Star Wars - Still a classic, though the “Special Edition” really added nothing of value.
The Time Machine (ye olde version) - I haven’t seen the modern version with Sam Mumba in it yet, but the “classic” version was great for its time. It wasn’t very true to the book, but in view of the limits of special effects at that time, this was understandable. The Morlocks were still pretty cool though!
Dark Star - “I think, therefore I am” – John Carpenter’s darkly humorous sci-fi flick featured cheesy FX and cheesier jokes. But it was great – sort of a forerunner to “Red Dwarf”.
The Andromaeda Strain - Michael Criton’s book became a film that many people found boring, but personally I found it fascinating (though I admit it was a trifle slow!). A mysterious and deadly disease arrives on earth when a meteor hits a small American town, leaving only two survivors - a child and an aged alcoholic – and a team of scientists have a limited time to find out the link between the two before the plague spreads…
Enemy Mine - Dennis Quaid and a highly made up Louis Gossett Jr. are on different sides of a galactic war, but must learn to work together in order to survive. An intelligent sci-fi drama though it certainly does have its cheesy moments!!
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I did have a "Worst Ten" sci-fi movies bit here before but, after nearly 4 years, I decided to remove it. Let's concentrate on the good stuff, eh?
Thanks for reading.
CaptainD
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Some of My Top Ten Movie Lists:
Top Ten Science Fiction Series
Top Ten Star Trek Movies
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