Home

Modern Sci-Fi Masterpieces... Mostly

image by Veronica V. Jones

Post-Blade Runner Science Fiction Standouts

Angry Kaneda from Akira.
Akira
An alien? from District 9.
District 9
Carl Urban as Judge Dredd from Dredd.
Dredd
Rufus Sewell as John Murdoch in Dark City.
Dark City

A short while ago, The AV Club celebrated the release of Blade Runner 2049 with a list of The 35 best science-fiction movies since Blade Runner. I’ve added The Host to my must-see list, and will try yet again to stay awake for all of Brazil, but I’ve seen the other 33. With that knowledge, I humbly offer a few replacements.

I know I deeply hated A.I. Artificial Intelligence, but all I can remember is the horrible, pointless ending. Let’s replace this film with Akira. Those kids have it pretty rough too, but at least there’s a little light at the end of the Neo Tokyo tunnel. OK, a lot of light.

Of course Jurassic Park was groundbreaking, but I can’t really consider a little genetic hand waving real science fiction. Karl Urban as the judge named Dredd was a much more satisfying resurrected dinosaur.

I know I’ve watched Upstream Color, and I’m sure I could watch it a few more times without understanding anything at all about it. It might’ve touched on themes of transformation, so I’d recommend District 9 instead.

Finally, I have to ask again… haven’t you guys ever seen Dark City?

Written by in March of 2019. Last edited March 2019.

Related Features

Jean-Paul Mavinga

A small cyborg child sits in a red rock landscape. A shapely woman crawls out of a very small tank. Two children fly though a desolate urban region. A woman with blond hair and a white cowboy hat casually stands. A young woman with a puzzle-cut head stares serenely.

Terror and Triumph Beget Children of Men

Clive Owen as Theo and Claire-Hope Ashitey as Kee. Clive Owen as Theo. Julianne Moore as Julian. Claire-Hope Ashitey as Kee. Michael Caine as Jasper.

Universal Delays Our Serenity

The Serenity above a cloudy planet, The Serenity logo.

Catching up to the Apocalypse and Southland Tales

Dwayne Johnson as Boxer Santaros / Jericho Cane. Sarah Michelle Gellar as Krysta Now / Krysta Lynn Kapowski. Seann William Scott as Private Roland Taverner / Officer Ronald Taverner. Justin Timberlake as Private Pilot Abilene.

Tim Hildebrandt’s White Ship Sails

A portrait of Tim Hildebradt. Luke and Leia in the iconic Star Wars movie poster. A hobbit named Bilbo Baggins.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *