Movies After Star Wars

“The encounter could create a time paradox, the results of which could cause a chain reaction that would unravel the very fabric of the space-time continuum, and destroy the entire universe! …….Granted, that's a worse case scenario.” – Doc Brown, Back to the Future Part II

After Star Wars came out there was suddenly a huge demand for big, special effects laden movies.  This was both good and bad.  It was good because it created a huge market for summer movies.  (Believe it or not, the summer used to be kind of dead in regards to movies.)  It was bad because it meant studios mostly stopped making SF movies that made you think, and instead made dumbed down sci-fi movies.  They missed the fact that Star Wars was more than flashy effects.  This even led to the first incarnation of Battlestar Galactica on TV.  Let’s just say the writing left something to be desired.  (“Admiral, the cylons are two microns and closing.”)

First, explanations on a couple of terms I am going to use.  There are two kinds of science fiction movies – “sci-fi” and “SF.”  “Sci-fi” movies are the somewhat dumbed down ones whose only ambition is to sell tickets – lots of them.  These make up most of the science fiction movies that get released, from all the superhero movies, to all the space battle movies, to all the creepy/cute alien movies.  These have the biggest “wow” factors.

“SF” movies, on the other hand, are actually about something.  The best science fiction books and movies make you look at things in ways that you never have before.  They stimulate thought and maybe even discussion after you are done with them.  These kinds of movies do not get released as often because they usually do not sell as many tickets.  Also, let’s face it - a majority of moviegoers today don’t want to have to actually pay attention to a movie that makes them think.  They want one that they can still follow even though they are talking over it, texting, etc.  They just want to be entertained.

Both sci-fi and SF movies are entertaining to me.  Depending on what mood I am in, either one can provide a couple hours of enjoyment.  Are these two categories mutually exclusive?  Almost.  On very rare occasions a movie gets released that is both sci-fi and SF.  The Matrix is an example of this.

There are so many good science fiction movies that came out after Star Wars that I will probably revisit this category at a later date.  To pare this list down for this first post I will skip any big name films like The Matrix, as well as any superhero movies. 

In this set I am going to cover Contact (1997) – SF, Dark City (1998) - SF, The Iron Giant (1999) – SF and sci-fi, Battle Royale (2000) – sci-fi, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004) – sci-fi, Serenity (2005) – SF and sci-fi, Children of Men (2006) – SF, and The Man from Earth (2007) – SF.

You can find my posts for these movies here:

Contact (1997)

Dark City (1998)

The Iron Giant (1999)

Battle Royale (2000)

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Serenity (2005) - [previously posted]

Children of Men (2006)

The Man from Earth (2007)

You can also see my Before Star Wars category by clicking here.

On to the reviews…

Movie – Contact (1997)

Few movies treat science with respect.  Usually there is the person who is trying to use it to abuse power (the mad scientist), or it is pseudoscience at best.  Just as few movies treat faith with respect.  Most people of faith in movies are played as naïve, as nuts, or as extremists.  Contact actually treats both with respect, and shows that they don’t have to be bitter enemies of each other.  This is one of the reasons that Contact is the best movie of 1997; yes, even better than Best Picture winner Titanic.

Movie – Dark City (1998)

Dark City could at first be described as “SF noir”.  Digging a little deeper it becomes far more than that.  It was director Alex Proyas’ follow-up to The Crow (1994) and it displays some of the same tone and mood.  This is not your mainstream science fiction movie, but it does display some themes and images that would explode into the public consciousness when The Matrix also used them the next year.

Movie – The Iron Giant (1999)

In the summer of 1999 Warner Brothers responded to all of the parents who had been crying out for a quality animated movie that they could take their whole family to; one that wasn’t the toy advertising that Disney had become.  Warner Brothers selected a well respected story – The Iron Man – and hired up and comer Brad Bird to direct the movie.  The result – parents avoided this movie like the plague.  “No singing animals?  My kids won’t want to see that.”  The result was that a truly great movie was hardly seen at all.

Movie – Battle Royale (2000)

Battle Royale is a Japanese film that has struck a chord around the world.  There has been talk for years of an American remake, but because of the subject matter I don’t know if it ever would be made.  The closest we will come in the near term is the upcoming movie The Hunger Games (2012), whose plot borrows heavily from Battle Royale.  (Click here for my book review of The Hunger Games.)

Movie – Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004)

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow was originally intended to be a big summer movie in 2004.  To avoid bumping up against Spider-Man 2 it was moved to the end of September, where movies are sent to die (see also Serenity.)  It didn’t quite end up making back its budget, which was small for a summer movie, but large for a fall movie.  Based on this, some people consider it a flop.  I am not a studio head, so I could care less what the box office was for a movie.  I just care if it was entertaining and this one was.

Movie – Children of Men (2006)

Children of Men is science fiction for adults, meaning it is intelligent, moving, and actually about something.  It came out very late in 2006 and received three Oscar nominations, including one for Best Adapted Screenplay.  It is based on the P.D. James novel The Children of Men.  The other two nominations were for Best Cinematography and Best Editing, so don’t think it is a snorefest.  The movie literally starts with a bang and puts you in the middle of the action when it happens.

Movie – The Man from Earth (2007)

This movie is also known as Jerome Bixby’s The Man from Earth.  Bixby was a talented science fiction writer.  Among other credits, he wrote the classic Twilight Zone episode “It’s a Good Life”, as well as several episodes of Star Trek.  While he lay dying he wrote his last and perhaps his greatest story – The Man from Earth.

The premise - a professor who is moving on is thrown an impromptu party by some colleagues.  They press him for why he is leaving.  At first he resists, but then finally starts to tell them a tale about a man who has lived for 14,000 years - himself.

Movie – Serenity (2005)

Serenity was a movie Joss Whedon wrote and directed based on his TV show Firefly.  Please see my post on the TV series here.  It was a hugely satisfying movie, not just for fans, but also for people who had never seen the TV show.  One reviewer said that this was the kind of movie that Star Wars fans wished George Lucas was making when he was doing the prequels.  I consider this movie to be the best science fiction film released since The Matrix had come out six years earlier.