Aliens, astronauts, time travel – you name it, there’s a dazzling sci-fi film about it. That makes compiling a list of the best sci-fi nigh on impossible. For one, where do you start Wedding Affair brings to you the ever evolving selection of the sci-fi movies everyone should watch, starting with something a little obscure but hugely influential.
Guardians Of The Galaxy
Superhero movies may be a zeitgeist-defining genre in and of themselves, but most of these colorful characters and concepts have straight-up science-fiction roots. This was never more clear than in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s elaborate homage to the rollicking space operas of yesteryear. As a veteran of the Troma sci-fi schlock factory, co-writer/director James Gunn kept the action properly boisterous, the aliens suitably weird, and the tone fun and frothy. A star-making performance from Chris Pratt as displaced human space-pirate Peter “Starlord” Quill and a cast of crazy characters previously relegated to the margins of Marvel comics sure didn’t hurt, either.
A Clockwork Orange
Based on the 1962 novel of the same name, Stanley Kubrick’s Clockwork Orange is a classic of the dystopian genre. Alex, played by Malcolm McDowell, is a teenage delinquent with a fetish for classical music and violence. As his crimes catch up to him, he’s eventually sent to prison, in the hopes that he will be cured of his taste for violence and sex by experimental aversion therapy. Shot with extreme wide-angle lenses to create the dreamy, fantastical quality that pervades the film, it went on to become one of the era’s most controversial films.
Donnie Darko
Call it the In the Aeroplane Over the Sea of sci-fi flicks – a personal, dense, left-of-center work that time helped turn into a modern touchstone. Richard Kelly’s gloriously odd cult film about time travel, toothy rabbit-costumed doomsayers, and a misfit named Donnie may not be the masterpiece that some claim. But its skewed look at suburban America and scarred psyches do make it an intriguing and eerily prescient work, one that had the misfortune of coming out right after 9/11 yet somehow anticipated the mindset of that moment’s aftermath.
Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes
The Empire Strikes Back of the Apes prequels. Darker than the first installment and operating on a grander canvas – Dawn is where Caesar takes his rightful place as this franchise’s towering central figure. Played by Andy Serkis, the reluctant ape leader tries negotiating a fragile truce with the surviving humans (including Jason Clarke and Keri Russell), but distrust on both sides soon proves tragic. Director Matt Reeves delivers a robustly epic sequel, crafting spectacular action sequences – the 360-degree tank scene is already a classic.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
E.T. is a classic sci-fi film. A sweet, sappy take on friendship, without any of the heavy handedness of its contemporaries. The basic plot is recognisable. An alien, E.T., is left behind on Earth, and a ten year old boy ends up befriending it, ensuing in shenanigans. Where E.T. differs from other films with a similar conceit is in how Spielberg chooses to focus on the heady experience of childhood and forming emotional bonds, as opposed to creating a special effects blockbuster.
