Best Sci-fi movie of the 21st century (so far)

[Gianakin_]

For a film to be Science Fiction it has to involve science somehow, especially science that doesn't exist (either at all or not at the same level as ther one in the movie). That automatically excludes S&S, Fantasy films etc.

 

[Thundarr]

I voted for Moon, which looked to me as true Sci Fi movie not a action adventure movie like JJ Abram's Star Trek or James Cameron's Avatar pretending to be a Sci Fi movie.

Or Nolan's Inception which was more of a psychological thriller with some Sci Fi elements.

District 9 is a good Sci Fi movie but it focuses on sociology aspects of the story rather than Sci Fi ones.

Source Code is just cheap attempt to be a SciFi movie.

Serenity is just an action movie with SciFi elements, though I would rate it above movies like Book Of Eli, I am Legend and I Robot which are just commercialized Sci Fi movies.

Minority Report and Pitch Black were really entertaining SciFi movies but it is certainly not the best ones out there.

I haven't seen others listed.

1. Moon
2. District 9
3. Inception.
4. Minority Report.
5. Avatar.
6. Serenity
7. Pitch Black.
8. Star Trek.
9. Source Code.
10. I, Robot.

I don't understand your post at all. What is the difference between a "True Sci-Fi Movie" an "Action Adventure Movie pretending to be a Sci-Fi Movie" and an "Action Adventure Movie with elements of a Sci-Fi Movie"? If a movie is set in space and/or the future, and they're using technology that was made up specifically for the movie, and/or includes alien races/species, isn't that by definition "Sci-Fi"?

 

[CGHulk]

I picked these 6 from the list.

Minority Report
Children Of Men
Moon
District 9


Star Trek 2009
I Robot

 

[Micromind]

I don't understand your post at all. What is the difference between a "True Sci-Fi Movie" an "Action Adventure Movie pretending to be a Sci-Fi Movie" and an "Action Adventure Movie with elements of a Sci-Fi Movie"? If a movie is set in space and/or the future, and they're using technology that was made up specifically for the movie, and/or includes alien races/species, isn't that by definition "Sci-Fi"?

Is Golden Compass a SciFi movie ? perhaps, but I would say it is more of a fantasy movie, similarly is Deep Blue Sea a sci fi movie ? in my opinion it has elements of sci fi movie but is basically a horror -thriller movie.

Now, think about Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the Crystal Skull, this movie has aliens and alien tech but does that make it a Sci fi movie? In my opinion it is an action adventure movie.

To me a true Sci Fi movie incorporates Science as a theme not just to showcase technology but to use it in the narrative to move the story forward, in such a movie Science influences the characters, their motivations their decisions, and that is key part of the whole movie.

But, I am just expressing my opinion here, and I can understand why some may think differently, it is all subjective.

 

[redhawk23]

Its a goofy movie but I'm a big fan of Splice.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

^Forgot about that one as well, it was okay, but again I doubt it would have gotten many votes compared to the others.

 

[Micromind]

There are many Goofy- Comedy-Sci Fi movies, for example - My Favorite Martian, Mars Attacks, Galaxy Quest, Evolution but the question is - Are they really Sci Fi movies ?


Do such movies deserve to be labeled as genuine Sci Fi movies ? I think not.

 

[:eek:]

Lots of good films on the list. Children of Men, Moon, District 9, Avatar, Inception. Really hard to pick one over another. And the upcoming movie Looper looks more interesting than pretty much anything released this summer. I've seen a lot of positive reviews of it.

 

[BuddhaWasABat]

I'm gonna make a prediction here and say Elysium will be my favorite when that gets here. Also Looper looks great. As of now, District 9, Inception, Children of Men are all my top choices. Not sure which to pick out of those 3.

 

[Hunter Rider]

Minority Report

 

[DoomsdayApex]

I couldn't possibly choose.

Moon
Sunshine
Inception
Star Trek
District 9
Source Code
Children of Men
Rise Planet of the Apes
Prometheus

Elysium, Looper and Gravity will probably up there after next year too.

 

[marcvader]

How about Cloud Atlas?

 

[Monsieur Xavier]

^^
To early to tell, we can just hope it will be good.

 

[Thundarr]

Is Golden Compass a SciFi movie ? perhaps, but I would say it is more of a fantasy movie, similarly is Deep Blue Sea a sci fi movie ? in my opinion it has elements of sci fi movie but is basically a horror -thriller movie.

Now, think about Indiana Jones and the kingdom of the Crystal Skull, this movie has aliens and alien tech but does that make it a Sci fi movie? In my opinion it is an action adventure movie.

To me a true Sci Fi movie incorporates Science as a theme not just to showcase technology but to use it in the narrative to move the story forward, in such a movie Science influences the characters, their motivations their decisions, and that is key part of the whole movie.

But, I am just expressing my opinion here, and I can understand why some may think differently, it is all subjective.

So by your definition, The Star Wars Saga were not Sci-Fi?

Some of your later examples (Indiana Jones, Deep Blue Sea, etc) make sense. Others (Serenity, Avatar, Star Trek, etc) make absolutely no sense to me. Those are most definitely Sci-Fi movies, not (action, thriller, whatever) movies pretending to be Sci-Fi, or with Sci-Fi elements to them.

But that's my opinion.

 

[RetrogradeOrbit]

I wonder if Looper will sneak in and be a great Sci-Fi film? I for one, hope so. Maybe Gravity next year will surprise.

Any other Sci-Fi stuff coming out in the next few months? Apart from the above and Star Trek that is?

Oh, forgot about Elysium. I'm sure that will be a blast.

 

[Infinity9999x]

There are many Goofy- Comedy-Sci Fi movies, for example - My Favorite Martian, Mars Attacks, Galaxy Quest, Evolution but the question is - Are they really Sci Fi movies ?


Do such movies deserve to be labeled as genuine Sci Fi movies ? I think not.

Well, yes, they do deserve to be labeled science fiction. Because they are. But I think I would include them in a subset. Sci Fi Comedy for example.

 

[Octoberist]

As someone else here mentions, "Science Fiction" covers a very broad spectrum, not just movies set in outer space with laser guns and alien invaders. Before Netflix forced them out of business, video stores used to group Sword & Sorcery and Comic Book movies under "Science Fiction". Thus it's a reasonable question as to what constitutes "Science Fiction"? Is it just "aliens and robots"? Or is any movie featuring non-humans and people with superhuman abilities considered "Sci-Fi"? Because if it's the latter, then Sword & Sorcery films are in fact Science Fiction.

Wouldn't that be fantasy? I always associated sci-fi with some sort of technology (time travel, future settings), social commentary (Y the Last Man, Children of Man) or alien. You can always mix it up like in Thundarr or the Final Fantasy games. You can argue that Star Wars is a mix of Fantasy (force) and sci-fi (aliens, space ships, robots). I would even put some steampunk into sci-fi, though it depends on the story.

Because in your logic, Game of Thrones is science fiction. Which is not true.

It always kinda bothers me when, while broad, you can tell what's fantasy and what's sci-fi. Or the textbook defination anyway. It's kinda simple. I guess now it's harder to pinpoint since mixing the two is the rage.

 

[Octoberist]

If I put down three, it would be these:

1. DISTRICT 9: (EDIT: HOW COULD FORGET THIS ONE?) Not only was a cheap movie, it was more epic than most 200 million tentpole at the time. It had all the right balance with a fresh take on sci-fi. Plus, Bloomkamp wasn't compromised of his vision with studio interference and what we got was a movie that really represented what Sci-FI today is all about. You can tell that Bloomkamp is a geek like us who grew up on video games and comics and District 9 shows!

2. Children of Men: I think it's only a heady sci-fi that plays a little bit old school, but it's direction by Cuaron has been influential.

3. Avatar: Not a big fan but it did capture the imagination of the world, and made a lot of money. Also, Cameron has create a new original mythos (though the narrative was paint-by-the numbers formulaic for my taste) and I need to pat him on the back for that. Too bad Jake Sulley is an absolute bore of a main character.

4. Inception: In a time when we think all Summer movies have to be stupid, Nolan like Cameron has created a new world of fresh ideas and a semi-complex plot that encourage even the most ignorant folk to think about the possiblities.

5. Moon: I think Duncan Jones has created a nice cult hit with this. The visuals are old school along with the model work. Again, it proves that Sam Rockwell is the hardest working man in the biz, and the most underrated. I think the story is somewhat uneven, but Rockwell and the overall design makes up for it!

 

[Victarion]

Inception, then Avatar (Strawmen really brought it down, though the world and its creatures were beautiful). I'll get Prometheus for Christmas and report back.

 

[Octoberist]

Source Code is just cheap attempt to be a SciFi movie.

I feel like not enough people are giving Source Code enough love. It's lean, but I like how it plays like a Twilight Zone episode. I even liked the tragic love story.

 

[redhawk23]

There are many Goofy- Comedy-Sci Fi movies, for example - My Favorite Martian, Mars Attacks, Galaxy Quest, Evolution but the question is - Are they really Sci Fi movies ?


Do such movies deserve to be labeled as genuine Sci Fi movies ? I think not.

I think arguments can be made for many sci-fi-ish comedies.

A major part of Galaxy Quest is about how inspiring shows like Star Trek can be, but taken to extremes in that entire civilizations become based on them.

Same thing with Paul, which also deals with the place of science fiction and geek culture but at the same time actually has a lot to say about science and faith.

Mars Attacks of course was very much riffing on the very pulpy and very goofy sci-fi films of the 50s.



Fantasy films though deal with a pretty distinct set of tropes and more importantly often differ on thematic levels. There aim is pretty different in the types of stories they're telling.

There is of course more "science fantasy" however that deal more in mythic and fantasy tropes but use solidly science fiction elements and settings, Star Wars of course being chief among them.

 

[jmc]

Children of Men. Brilliant movie.

 

[Thundarr]

If The Matrix had come out in 2001, then I'd say The Matrix would be at the top of my list. Unfortunately, the only ones that came out after 2000 were Reloaded and Revolutions, both of which totally sucked.

 

[Maximus One]

No mention of A Scanner Darkly?? Shame on you people

 

[Maximus One]

Southland Tales and Donnie Darko especially deserve honorable mentions as well.
I'm trying to think of some more I haven't seen anybody mention but the science fiction pickings have been pretty damn slim for years now. With some of the **** movies I've seen some of you guys mention I can't believe nobody has mentioned The Day The Earth Stood Still. It was ok. The Matrix was released in 1999 though so you couldn't consider it 21st century. If you would consider it then I would argue to add Dark City as well