The Watch's Top 10 Sci-Fi Movies

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Lord High Filmquisitor
Most definitely watch the final cut and Cloud Atlas has to be your next DVD/BLU-RAY or internet purchase, make it happen!
I actually did blind buy the final cut of Bladerunner a while back (I have a weakness for Half Priced Books). I just haven't sat down to watch it yet.

I whole-heartedly agree with The Matrix. It holds up well on repeatedly (and recent) viewings, has some of the best action of any movie I've seen and just has that "cool factor" to tie it all together. It's also ones of keanu Reeves' few good roles.
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I am the Watcher in the Night
Sorry I've been so slow with these but unis over now, I've finally started recovering from the manic last two nights, so here are my top 2 sci-fi movies ever!

The Terminator/Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Dir. James Cameron

Why I Like it so Much:
Ok, ok, I know I'm cheating a little here by picking these two movies but this is probably the best duality of films ever. The initial movie is a terrific thriller and the sequel, the better of the two, is the greatest action movie to be ever made, on top of all that, they are both science fiction flicks. James Cameron, before he got bogged down by terrible romance flicks and mediocre CGI fests delivers his masterpiece(s).

The Terminator made Arnold Schwarzenegger into a household name and made a splash at the box office. It was also one of those rare breeds, a blockbuster which actually made you think (Michael Bay take note). Linda Hamilton makes a great Sarah Connor, mother of the future saviour of the human race. Michael Biehn is serviceable as Kyle Reese but this is Arnie's movie, every scene he is in reeks of menace. The sheer physicality of his persona comes into it's own here. If there was ever an actor to born to play a killer, almost indestructible cyborg from the future, it's this guy!

The sequel had a lot to live up to, could Cameron deliver again? Most definitely! This is bigger, louder, slicker, more beautiful and more thought provoking. Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor is a different woman now, she can take care of herself and knows how to use some big weapons. It was Cameron with Aliens that created the first truly kick-arse female action heroine but it is here, in T2 that role is perfected.

Again, I have to repeat, this movie belongs to Arnie, the Terminator, now a "good guy" is funnier and more human. The bond between the T-800 and the young John Connor is startling heart felt, considering this is meant to be a big budget blockbuster. Cameron was the Spielberg of his day. The sci-fi here is perfectly complemented by CGI which still manages to hold up, how does it hold up? Because, like many great special effects movies before, it is used as a means to tell a story rather than a simple tool to entertain.

Why It's Here:
There's so much I could say as to why these 2 movies are ranked at 2 but if you haven't seen it, watch them both, if you have seen them, then you know why. Nuff said.


Bad to the Bone!


Gatling Gun


T1
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Lord High Filmquisitor
Both movies are absolutely phenominal, especially T2, which is the perfect action movie (although you really need to watch e director's cut, which is so incredibly better than the theatrical one).



I am the Watcher in the Night
Both movies are absolutely phenominal, especially T2, which is the perfect action movie (although you really need to watch e director's cut, which is so incredibly better than the theatrical one).
theres a directors cut?? what's added or taken out?



Lord High Filmquisitor
theres a directors cut?? what's added or taken out?
They added a scene in which they change the Terminator from "read only" to a learning function, allowing him to change, grow and develop as something other than a machine: a character. This explains why he develops the way that he does later in the film. There are also a couple of scenes with Miles Dyson, where he is developed as something other than a new-aged Oppenheimer. There is also a dream sequence which features Kyle Reese. Basically, it closes arguable plot holes and vastly adds toward character development.



I would rate The Matrix as the best



Wow, hard for me to believe "The Matrix" and "Cloud Atlas" are right next to each other on your list! One is one of my favorite movies of all time...

...and the other is "Cloud Atlas".

Ambition isn't enough...



I am the Watcher in the Night
It's taken a while to get here, we've gone through Spielberg, Nolan, the Wachowskis and even Emmerich but at last, the number one sci-fi movie, according to me, is revealed:

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Irvin Kershner

Why I Like It So Much:
This has everything most other science fictions movies aspire for, a sense of wonder, adventure, great special effects, costume and creature designs, a well crafted story and characters you can relate to. Ford is back as fan favourite Han Solo, Hamill manages to add layers to Luke Skywalker and Fisher is once again convincing as a Galactic Princess turned rebel fighter. The set pieces are bigger, the light saber duels longer and better choreographed and the space sequences truly thrilling, this is everything you want in a Star Wars movie. Still to this day, it's the pinnacle of he series, the movie all future sequels and prequels look upon in envy.

From the opening sequence on Hoth to the closing moments and quite possibly the most famous movie line in history, Empire is iconic, every frame, every shot and every battle. Lucas and Kershner have both spoken about how the sequel was meant to be darker and more adult than the original but unlike many modern sequels that look to do the same, it still manages to maintain it's sense of fun and cheese.

The stand out for me though, is how Darth Vader is developed further as a character, he is no longer the one dimensional movie villain, stalking his prey across the galaxy. He is a tragic figure, Shakespearian almost, a father who has lost his son and his humanity. It's not until the Return of the Jedi that we see his redemption but it's here, in the depth of battle that we see Vader's true motivations for hunting Luke...he just wants to spend a little quality time with his son. That might sound funny but the fact is, if Vader can convert Luke to "The Dark Side", maybe they can, "Rule the galaxy, as father and son".

Beyond all the character development and the special effects, this is a rip roaring action adventure, something Lucas was known for in the 80s. Everything moves along at the right pace, the action is slick and never meaningless, Peter Jackson could learn from it in his Hobbit trilogy. Nothing is ever drawn out and when the movie ends, it's like getting off a roller coaster, you just want to get back on.

Why It's Here:
Well, it was a close call between the Terminator movies and Empire, in my opinion the two are almost interchangeable at 1 and 2 but Star Wars started it all, the trend of highly successful science fiction blockbusters that could be watched by both young and old. Still to this day, there are few movies that have managed to combine adventure, story, action and the wow factor in such a complete package.

...I am your father!


The Battle of Hoth


Oh Han Solo, you rascal




It's taken a while to get here, we've gone through Spielberg, Nolan, the Wachowskis and even Emmerich but at last, the number one sci-fi movie, according to me, is revealed:

Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
Irvin Kershner
Well, lo and behold - we're in agreement on this one!

I can still remember sitting in the movie theater watching it. I was in college, sitting next to a friend, and when the most famous plot point in movie history played on screen ("Luke, I am your--") we literally turned to each other with slack-jawed, wide-eyed astonishment.

It was like a cartoon moment.

The only time that's ever happened to me.



I am the Watcher in the Night
Well, lo and behold - we're in agreement on this one!

I can still remember sitting in the movie theater watching it. I was in college, sitting next to a friend, and when the most famous plot point in movie history played on screen ("Luke, I am your--") we literally turned to each other with slack-jawed, wide-eyed astonishment.

It was like a cartoon moment.

The only time that's ever happened to me.
I wasn't even born when this was released but I saw it on TV many, many years ago, I must have been 8 or 9 and I had no idea about the whole Vader/Luke relationship and then BANG!! I too had that cartoon moment



I am the Watcher in the Night
Wow, hard for me to believe "The Matrix" and "Cloud Atlas" are right next to each other on your list! One is one of my favorite movies of all time...

...and the other is "Cloud Atlas".

Ambition isn't enough...
I think CA was more than just ambition, it was visually stunning, brilliantly acted and an extremely complex story put on screen that actually made sense (for the most part).



I think CA was more than just ambition, it was visually stunning, brilliantly acted and an extremely complex story put on screen that actually made sense (for the most part).
We still disagree about "Cloud Atlas":

- Visually stunning: Perhaps, but I've come to expect that for any picture that clocks in with a budget of $200M+.

- Brilliantly acted: Yes and no. Actors can be aided or hindered by burying themselves under layers of makeup and wardrobe, which is pretty much necessary when playing multiple roles. In many cases in "Cloud Atlas", I thought this "stunt casting" hindered rather than helped.

- Story actually made sense: I was up for a multi-parallel story structure in the movie, which was indeed ambitious. However, like many, I ultimately felt the "parallel" elements didn't work and, worse, did not come together to form a sum greater than their parts. And since story is the most important part of a movie to me...

...that greatly undermined the whole experience.

The Wachowskis deserve a lot of credit for their ambition, and for trying to do things that are different, but I'll stick to my original aphorism: "Ambition isn't enough."

All that said, I'm glad we shared the same cartoon moment of astonishment in "The Empire Strikes Back". That movie remains very near the top of my all-time (not just sci-fi) favorite list.

"I... I don't believe it."

"That is why you fail."



I am the Watcher in the Night
We still disagree about "Cloud Atlas":

- Visually stunning: Perhaps, but I've come to expect that for any picture that clocks in with a budget of $200M+.

- Brilliantly acted: Yes and no. Actors can be aided or hindered by burying themselves under layers of makeup and wardrobe, which is pretty much necessary when playing multiple roles. In many cases in "Cloud Atlas", I thought this "stunt casting" hindered rather than helped.

- Story actually made sense: I was up for a multi-parallel story structure in the movie, which was indeed ambitious. However, like many, I ultimately felt the "parallel" elements didn't work and, worse, did not come together to form a sum greater than their parts. And since story is the most important part of a movie to me...

...that greatly undermined the whole experience.

The Wachowskis deserve a lot of credit for their ambition, and for trying to do things that are different, but I'll stick to my original aphorism: "Ambition isn't enough."

All that said, I'm glad we shared the same cartoon moment of astonishment in "The Empire Strikes Back". That movie remains very near the top of my all-time (not just sci-fi) favorite list.

"I... I don't believe it."

"That is why you fail."
$102 million budget actually

But ye, all the points you make, I could counter simply because I think of them differently, so I think we'll have to agree to disagree. That's why movies are so subjective, there is rarely a 100% consensus on what everyone likes.

And going back to Empire, it's definitely one of my top 10 favourite ever movies, along with T2. They are completely ageless and I reckon will hold up better than most modern blockbusters in years to come.