Science-Fiction Movies of 2004

Ay-yay-yay. You can slice it and dice it any way you want, but 2004 just wasn’t a good year for Science Fiction cinema, even if you want to include Fantasy in the list. Oh, there were a few tolerable films here and there… but once again, SF cinema remained the retarded cousin of SF literature this year.

The good

I suppose that once all else is said and done, THE DAY AFTER TOMORROW remains my favourite Science Fiction film of the year, though in this particular crowd of misshapen lumps of media SF trash, that’s not saying much. But hey: good visuals, chilling premise and excellent SF attitude (The universe doesn’t care about you! Knowledge is power! The nerds survive!): Who needs sophistication where there’s world-wide death and destruction?

I’ve got roughly the same attitude toward I, ROBOT: Yes, it’s a parody of Asimov’s original stories with plot problems the size of Lake Michigan. No, it’s not good or memorable if you’re not an action junkie. But I was swept along with the film when it became obvious that, at least, it was reasonably authentic to its low aspirations: There are a few amusing nods to Asimov’s fiction, a few creditable attempts at world building and a few fantastic SFX shots. There’s not much more to it, but it works reasonably well as an action SF film for the blockbuster crowd.

Finally, calling THE BUTTERFLY EFFECT Science Fiction is generous when it’s more accurately lumped in the horror or even the fantasy category. But the film reminded me of 1960s SF short stories like few other this year and still comfortably fits in the "speculative fiction" category. It also helps that’s its dark, tense, surprisingly scary and, all told, rather good. Well worth a look if you’ve missed it so far, or have been stuck in the anti-Kutcher hype.

The okay

What can I say about SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW that hasn’t been said already? Fantastic retro-SF visuals, lovely classical photography, luscious Gwyneth Paltrow. But that’s not quite enough when the dialogue is so ordinary and when the plot-holes accumulate at a ferocious clip. Ah, wouldn’t it have been nice if a competent writer had been on-staff? I would love to love this film, but it’s just too difficult to be overly indulgent in this case.

I have similar feelings about ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND: On one hand, it’s inventive, original and clever in how it wraps a pure SF premise in mundane characters. On the other hand, it’s far too self-absorbed for its own good, and the gritty visuals end up making the film an unpleasant viewing experience. I love it and I hate it at the same time; what’s wrong with me?

Loving and hating are also the end result after watching THE CHRONICLES OF RIDDICK: Vin Diesel is good! Some of the concepts are great! The design is original! But! It’s ugly to look at! It doesn’t make a shred of sense! My brain stopped working when they tried outrunning the sunrise!

The bad and ugly

RESIDENT EVIL: APOCALYPSE: I admit it: It was pretty damn sweet to see Toronto being destroyed as "Raccoon City" and the last two minutes of the film are a blast. But it is too much to ask than to expect more than a trailer’s worth of goodness?

What can you say about ALIEN VS PREDATOR? Heck, can you even remember ALIEN VS PREDATOR six months later?

THE FORGOTTEN: Hey, I’d love to talk about this film, but as it happens I can’t remember anything about it. My notes say that I shouldn’t be surprised nor worry about that.

Oh, and there was a STARSHIP TROOPERS 2 this year. I recall being generally unimpressed by this straight-to-video release, though it got steadily better as it went along, and featured two or three truly good scenes.

The fringes

Lord of the Rings was out of business for 2004, which only left HARRY POTTER AND THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN in the running as the dependable fantasy series of 2004. Potter was okay, despite adaptation problems and a generally less-memorable experience. Far more successful was THE INCREDIBLES, by a significant margin the best superhero film of the year. (No, don’t talk to me about the saccharine blandness of SPIDER-MAN 2) HELLBOY almost managed to deliver a great film, but somehow ended up just being a good one. The less said about VAN HELSING the best, I suppose, though to this day I remain favourably impressed by the fantastic special effects work and the virtual cinematography. SHREK 2 and ELLA ENCHANTED were both quite good for feature films destined to the younger audience, with ELLA ENCHANTED being an unexpected surprise.

In horror fiction, I’ve got a huge fondness for SHAUN OF THE DEAD: romance, zombies and laugh-out-loud comedy… what else can you ask for? I was creeped out, but not particularly impressed by THE GRUDGE.

Coming up

We’ve been here before: After finding out that the previous year has sucked, we take a good look at the list for the next year and foolishly get excited all over again. Well, no more of that. Just let me warm up the Internet Movie Database’s power search, search for all 2005 "Sci Fi" releases and let the trashing begin… OK, here we go:

Even at this point, the blockbusters are obvious. These are the films that are going to be promoted until we can sing along with the trailer. Ready? Okay, how about The Spielberg/Cruise WAR OF THE WORLD? How about Yet Another Comic Book Adaptation THE FANTASTIC FOUR? How about the animated ROBOTS, featuring the voice of Robin Williams, always an indicator of good filmmaking? Still not convinced? Okay, how about STAR WARS III? Oh, yeah I can sense that you’re as excited as I am; there will be plenty of fanboys in line for this one!

If adaptations are you’re thing, maybe you’ll be relieved to learn that A SOUND OF THUNDER will finally be released in 2005. Hey, it’s got to be good if they’ve delayed it for a year, right? M’kay, how about THE CHILDREN OF MEN, from the "science fiction" novel of Patricia Higgins Smith? The original was such a good book… How about DOOM, from the video game? These adaptations have such a reliable track record after all… TV Shows to the big screen? Take your pick: RED DWARF, SERENITY or AEON FLUX, anyone? Anime-wise, are you more excited about ASTRO BOY, EVANGELION or POKEMON: DESTINY DEOXYS? Unless it’s remakes you want? Which one do you think they’ll screw up the most: THE FLY, SECONDS or LOGAN’S RUN, Oooh, you say you’re more of a reader, aren’t you? Well, which one of the following classic books are you most anxious to see completely misadapted to the big screen? THE DEMOLISHED MAN, FAHRENHEIT 451, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, A SCANNER DARKLY, WATCHMEN or THE HITCHIKER’S GUIDE TO THE GALAXY? Which integral part of your childhood are you most ready to see desecrated and left in the trashcan of pop-culture three weeks after release?

Of course, maybe you’re brain-damaged enough that the mere mention of sequels has you drooling. You’re still in luck, for DECOYS 2, MAD MAX: FURY ROAD and RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD 4: NECROPOLIS are films made just for people like you.

Now, if you’d hang me over a fire and ask me if there are four films I’m intrigued about, I may be tempted to say something about Kurt Wimmer’s ULTRAVIOLET, Michael Bay’s THE ISLAND, Darren Aronofski’s THE FOUNTAIN and Francis Ford Coppola’s MEGAPOLIS. But with the strict understanding that they may not come out in 2005, that they may not be very good and that you’d be holding me over a fire, dammit!

Looking at the on-line trailer for the spoof THE HELIX LOADED, I can’t decide whether I really, really really want to see this right now, or if hanging over a fire may not be preferable.

And, of course, there’s the rest of the list. In alphabetical order: 11 MINUTES AGO, ADINA, THE ADVENTURES OF BUSTER SMITH, ALIEN ABDUCTION, ANIMAL, CARGO, THE CAVE, CONTACT, D
ELTA, THE GENE GENERATION, THE GHASTLY LOVE OF JOHNNY X, THE GIRL FROM MONDAY, THE GIVER, GODSPEED, HEADSPACE, IT CAME FROM TRAFALGAR, L.V.J., MAN-THING, MANSQUITO, NIGHTFALL, PERFECT CREATURE, RAGING SHARKS, RAIDERS OF THE DAMNED, RAM, REPLICA, REPTILICANT, STOMP! SHOUT! SCREAM!, SURVEILLANCE, TARGET AUDIENCE 9.1, TELEVISION, THROUGH THE MOEBIUS STRIP, THE WATER WARRIORS and WICKED PRAYER. Most those will never see widespread distribution. Most of those will be complete trash. But, seeing the year we’ve just had, the prospect of even one of those having any merit is enough to fill me with hope.

But then I come back to reality and don’t expect much. You’ll see how right I was in twelve months.