By: MattInRC
With this week's release of Star Trek: Into Darkness, we thought about serving up our own top 20 best Science Fiction films of all time. Then, we realized a much better idea was to offer those films that might have escaped your radar over the years that deserve a viewing on a Saturday night. There is a difference between Science Fiction and Sci-Fi, so read our previous article before making your list.
We're hoping you've already seen 2001: A Space Odyssey. If not, you should be spanked with a Blu-ray case before sitting down with 2001, then moving on to this list:
Outland - This 1981 Science Fiction classic stars Sean Connery as a marshal on the planet Io who gets involved in a drug-smuggling conspiracy, who soon finds himself marked for murder and with no backup. Hoping to cash in on the success of Alien, Outland is gritty and violent, with Connery caught between his love for his wife and his duty to bring the pushers to justice. Why it never gained traction is beyond me - Outland is a must-see.
No Escape - In 1994, Ray Liotta stared in this poorly-received futuristic vision as a solider who murders his commanding officer, and is sent to a prison island where two rival gangs vie for control. What's great about No Escape is that every character is as bad as the other, with Liotta rising just above the cream layer to be labeled 'the good guy.' But, it's not as black and white as that. The film weaves such a manipulative story about the actions we pay for our choices that we actually feel for Liotta as he tries to escape. But plot twists abound, making No Escape a thrill ride right up to the end. But don't take my word for it: check it out.
Metropolis (1927) - A grand slam of a film about class struggles in a futuristic city, Director Fritz Lang leaves nothing on the table, and the passionate work of German filmmakers to restore the print to its original glory is nothing short of amazing. The newest revision from 2010 pieces the original story back to its entirety, with a vision that's inspired everyone from Steven Spielberg to JJ Abrams. Its price point is also rather cheap as compared to modern films, making this is an instant buy.
Gattaca (1997) - A genetically inferior man switches roles with a superior one to live his dream of traveling into space. Simply put, this film is nearly perfect, with terrific performances by Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, and signals the arrival of Jude Law. Gattaca perfectly presents the class struggle, with the Utopian world of the privileged meeting headlong with the distopian and underprivileged one. I can see our society plunging headlong into this sort of crisis, and Gattaca spells out those dangers with fine precision.
The Last Starfighter - In an age before CGI was mainstreamed into a viable commercial venture, this 1984 flick about a teenager and the video game he loves gave us a tantalizing peek into how our modern world relies so heavily upon the computer. The world of Alex Rogan (Lance Guest) was every boy's dream: play a video game that doubles as a job interview for the real thing. How this didn't become a franchise will always be a mystery to me, but enjoy its good humor, somewhat cheesy dialogue, and the dream of traveling into space realized.
Got a favorite set of ignored Science Fiction or Sci-Fi films? Comment below, and let us know!
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