I hate how they just lump Sci Fi and Fantasy and Horror all into one category. It slike if you put War Movies and Action Movies in the same category. Predator beats out the Longest Day in this week's top ten!!!!!
Blaerunner really is the best Sci Fi film. Visually its also incredible. Without egregious CGI, before computers dominated every effect in every movie, looks just as good as anything made today.
The real heart of Sci Fi is the discussion of the nature of humanity, or the nature of reality, which is a similar if the same topic. Bladerunner really hits the balance in feeding us a story about the nature of humanity but still having that essential plot and action.
I felt that movies like Minority Report weren't as good because they took that essential purpose of the story and kind of fed it through a "Lets make a really cool plot" machine and left you with a lot of effects and a lot of action and basically turns an abstract discussion of ideas into a clever "whodunnit".
This is why I'm really glad that its taken forever for Ender's Game to get anywhere in production for filming. I don't even know if it ever will get made, all I know is that book would get ruined by a treatment anything below the standard of Bladerunner. Sadly, Sci Fi today is mostly seen as action in space.
Luckily while CGI ruins most blockbusters, smaller indie flicks can afford to look as good as they should if the director and producers can keep their heads on straight. Sunshine is a brilliant example of Sci Fi done right balanced with an appropriate level of modern CGI.
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