Best also-ran space opera

[Kevin Roegele]

Star Wars is huge, Guardians of The Galaxy is huge, but there always seem to be more unsuccessful space opera movies than successful ones. In the last few years alone we've seen a number of very expensive attempts by very successful directors to crack the genre, and yet the results have not exactly been well received. So my question is, are any of these movies any good? And if so, why did they not catch on?

John Carter (2012)

Jupiter Ascending (2015)

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)

 

[MadVillainy]

I'd say JC. I couldn't even get through Valerian and I didn't even bother watching JA

 

[Drizzle]

John Carter, because it wasn't really a bad movie. Underwhelming, yeah, but not the dumpster fire that the other two are. I also didn't see the other two, but the CinemaSins videos for those showed me all I need to know.

 

[The Endless]

I thought Valerian at least had some imagination and a wacky space opera story. Dane Dehaan was sooooo badly miscast though it's unreal.

 

[OutOfBoose]

Couldn't sit through all three. What happened to the Wachowskis...

 

[terry78]

John Carter was basically Pixar's first attempt at a PG13 live action flick, and you could tell from the writing it had that Pixar ish feel. It didn't catch fire though.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Which is the best of these also-ran space operas?
John Carter (2012)
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Plants (2017)

So that's the sequel? I'd heard it went with a more horticultural theme!

 

[DACrowe]

Of those three, Valerian. But only because it had a few fun moments while I thought the other two were dull dishwater.

 

[Quasimod0]

I really enjoyed John Carter. Would've liked to see a sequel.

 

[Drizzle]

Valerian would have gone over a lot better if it had more bankable and charismatic leads, which is ironically what Jupiter Ascending has but that whole thing is just a mess.

 

[Silvermoth]

Aw, I was the only one that said Jupiter ascending. Sure it started slow but Mila kunis is cool and chanting tatums character is delightfully weird.

I thought this thread was going to go all the way back and it might be an opportunity to talk about movies like Barbarella

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

John Carter really wasn’t bad at all. J.A. I have only seen bits and pieces of but they weren’t very good and didn’t entice me to watch the rest. Yet to see Valerian but did like the look of it.

Lost In Space was another one I really enjoyed.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

I thought this thread was going to go all the way back and it might be an opportunity to talk about movies like Barbarella

I'm a fan of Barbarella!

 

[Mysteryman]

So that's the sequel? I'd heard it went with a more horticultural theme!

I see what you did there!

 

[Drizzle]

Would The Last Starfighter and Dune count as well?

 

[2kt09]

Valerian is everything I could have ever hoped a modern Star Wars to be even if a couple of the actors were pretty damn annoying. DeHaan was miscast and Rihanna just couldn't stop yapping.

John Carter was pretty much the Flash Gordon reboot.
Could not finish Jupiter Ascending.

 

[DACrowe]

Aw, I was the only one that said Jupiter ascending. Sure it started slow but Mila kunis is cool and chanting tatums character is delightfully weird.

I thought this thread was going to go all the way back and it might be an opportunity to talk about movies like Barbarella

Barbarella isn't a very good movie... but I kind of love it.

John Carter really wasn’t bad at all. J.A. I have only seen bits and pieces of but they weren’t very good and didn’t entice me to watch the rest. Yet to see Valerian but did like the look of it.

Lost In Space was another one I really enjoyed.

Lost in Space is interesting. Ignoring how dated the CGI is now (and it's DATED), they have a pretty solid first two acts. Gary Oldman's good, Matt Leblanc is surprisingly serviceable, and the Robinson family is mostly "fine" (none of them are winners, but for that kind of movie it's passable). And revisiting it because of the Netflix series, I was struck by how great the sets and costume design and overall aesthetic is.

But as soon as they crash land on that planet and introduce time travel it goes downhill. And by the time we have spider-Dr. Smith it is pretty awful. Still... with a better screenplay, all the way up to them escaping those spiders, it kind of works as a silly family movie. What could've been.



As for a GOOD non-Star Wars/Star Trek/Guardians space opera, Forbidden Planet is still the all-time standard bearer that inspired Lost in Space's original TV show and Star Wars.

 

[childeroland]

John Carter and Valarian are pretty good.

Jupiter is entertainingly horrible, so it has that.

 

[Silvermoth]

I'm a fan of Barbarella!

Barbarella isn't a very good movie... but I kind of love it.



Lost in Space is interesting. Ignoring how dated the CGI is now (and it's DATED), they have a pretty solid first two acts. Gary Oldman's good, Matt Leblanc is surprisingly serviceable, and the Robinson family is mostly "fine" (none of them are winners, but for that kind of movie it's passable). And revisiting it because of the Netflix series, I was struck by how great the sets and costume design and overall aesthetic is.

But as soon as they crash land on that planet and introduce time travel it goes downhill. And by the time we have spider-Dr. Smith it is pretty awful. Still... with a better screenplay, all the way up to them escaping those spiders, it kind of works as a silly family movie. What could've been.


As for a GOOD non-Star Wars/Star Trek/Guardians space opera, Forbidden Planet is still the all-time standard bearer that inspired Lost in Space's original TV show and Star Wars.

Barbarella is amazing. It’s so stylish and iconic. I would love to see it redone in a modern way

 

[Fincher]

There's also The Fifth Element.

 

[Aximili86]

Nothin' wrong with John Carter. Was hardly the quality of the film that made that thing tank, there was just no appetite for it.

I actually really dig Jupiter Ascending too, even for all its pretentious overstuffed nature. I love that about the Wachowskis, they just really go for it, high-concept craziness. Even when it doesn't entirely hit home, at least they're some of the few directors that even try it.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

There's also The Fifth Element.

Absolutely, but The Fifth Element was not a huge flop.

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Valerian is everything I could have ever hoped a modern Star Wars to be even if a couple of the actors were pretty damn annoying.

Interesting. More so than The Force Awakens, The Last Jedi or Rogue One?

 

[Kevin Roegele]

Barbarella is amazing. It’s so stylish and iconic. I would love to see it redone in a modern way

Agreed. Hollywood has been trying to remake Barbarella since way back when people said 'remake' instead of 'reboot'. I believe Drew Barrymore, Rose McGowan and Anne Hathaway have all been attached at one time or another.

 

[Milk Tray Guy]

Barbarella is amazing. It’s so stylish and iconic. I would love to see it redone in a modern way

Agreed. Hollywood has been trying to remake Barbarella since way back when people said 'remake' instead of 'reboot'. I believe Drew Barrymore, Rose McGowan and Anne Hathaway have all been attached at one time or another.

I'd love to see it remade. Those names are interesting, although other than Barrymore they don't really have that 'sex kitten' thing for me. I could see Gemma Arterton as Barbarella.