5. “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” (2014)
The original 1968 “Planet of the Apes,” in which a fallen mankind has been replaced by intelligent apes as Earth’s dominant species, is one of the greatest science fiction films. Some of the many sequels capture some glimmer of that glory while taking the story into new and occasionally ridiculous directions. In a rare turn, however, the most recent film, the second of two “prequel” movies, is the best of the sequel bunch, with boundary-pushing digital effects turning human performances (by Andy Serkis and Toby Kebbell, among others) into compelling ape characters. Here, mankind has already lost his perch at the top of the food chain, but there’s still hope for some semblance of cross-species relations as evolved simians create their own crude civilization. As with the very first movie, the best moments envision ape life without humans and show humanity’s central attributes in the process.
4. “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980)
Indulge arguments over whether “Star Wars” is or isn’t science fiction on your own time: with respect to the business of movies, “Star Wars” is in many ways the core of the genre. A space opera that dresses up evergreen conflict with fancy effects, no matter how you slice it (or how you slice him), Darth Vader, who exists only as a mechanized reflection of his former self, is an essential sci-fi concept. This isn’t just a better film than “Star Wars.” It is the most important and effective chapter in Vader’s story, showing what the dark side enforcer has truly lost, and how easy it would be for friendship and good intentions to cause someone like him to follow in his footsteps. Bonus points for being the only film in the original trilogy to not feature a Death Star.
3. “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” (1991)
Decades before the business of Hollywood was entirely predicated on fan service and ouroboros loops of original stories turning into deep self-homage, James Cameron returned to his “Terminator” calling card. ‘Judgement Day’ flipped the script on the original film’s hero/villain dynamic by turning Arnie’s terminator into a hero balanced by a vicious new antagonist. It never hurts to use genre conventions as an excuse to showcase new filmmaking tricks, and there was nothing like the fluid metal of the T-1000 in 1991, especially as brought to life in Robert Patrick‘s performance and Cameron’s clever filmmaking. Even those not swayed by the saccharine relationship between young John Connor and his robotic protector couldn’t deny the impact of the film’s digital effects. The idea of a machine takeover was hardly new when Cameron’s sequel arrived, but ‘Judgement Day’ imagines a digitally-controlled future that feels oddly prescient many years later.
2. “Bride of Frankenstein” (1935)
The bond between horror and science fiction was established early. Credit Mary Shelley, whose novel “Frankenstein” effectively birthed science fiction by imagining a man able to create new life, or a facsimile thereof, through scientific means. James Whale‘s filmed adaptation likewise stands as key early sci-fi on film, and this sequel, Whale’s greatest achievement, improves upon his vision by going deeper into the mad ambition to create “a new world of gods and monsters.” The original monster’s evolution in this film proves that creating some semblance of human life may be possible, but that actually achieving humanity, with all its emotional honesty and connection to the divine, is a far more difficult thing.
1. “Aliens” (1986)
James Cameron continued the story of the 1979 “Alien” but completely changed up tone and dynamics to engage the culture and politics of the 1980s. Cameron pushed Ripley’s battle with two different enemies – corporate stooges and the swarm of shape-shifting xenomorphs they seek to protect – into borderline satirical territory, even as the alien developed from solo space beast to massively damaging infestation. The weaponized warriors accompanying Ripley to a lost colony seem like all-powerful supersoldiers right up to the point where they’re decimated on a bug hunt, and that’s where the film’s true sympathies are engaged. Cameron nearly remakes the end of “Alien,” with Ripley on a solo mission of mercy, this time adding a big dollop of new thematic heft to enhance the finale’s impact. Sigourney Weaver is in top form, as is the supporting cast, and “Aliens” shows Cameron evolving from the raw young filmmaker of “The Terminator” to the visualist who would eventually launch “Titanic.” Even without the additional context of the director’s past and future career, this is a massively confident sequel that strikes an ideal balance between maintaining old ideas and infusing new blood.
Honorable Mentions
The list of films that probably make the cut for some die-hard audiences could be longer than what we’ve assembled above. Let’s start with a big one. Why does “28 Weeks Later” count as a sci-fi sequel, but George Romero’s “Dawn of the Dead” strike us as a horror entry? The answer is a judgement call, but I’ll just say that if we wanted to collectively call Romero’s movie science fiction, it would be really high on this list; it’s a great movie in any estimation.
Then there’s stuff like “RoboCop 2,” which has its finer points, but in the end just seems like a somewhat admirable but ineffective attempt to capture the lightning in a bottle nature of the original movie. Want guns and drugs and a foul-mouthed kid and more cynicism than you can fit in the trunk of a 6000-SUX? This one’s for you. That said, “RoboCop” set a very high bar and this sequel doesn’t come close to clearing it.
The second “Doctor Who” film, “Daleks: Invasion Earth 2150 A.D.,” has a freaky version of the Daleks, but Peter Cushing just isn’t a definitive Doctor (in fact he’s actually a human doctor named Who) and it takes a special sort of dedicated fan to appreciate the Tom Campbell character. It takes a similarly dedicated fan to really love “Escape From LA,” though aspects of Carpenter‘s approach are great ideas, and the whole nearly comes together in places.
“Pitch Black” is a good, compact film, but neither of the two sequels, “The Chronicles of Riddick” or “Riddick,” really work. It’s basically the same situation with the “Cube” sequels – a good original film followed by diminishing returns. Speaking of, the “Matrix” sequels do have their defenders, and both ‘Reloaded’ and ‘Revolutions‘ have ambition to spare and the willingness to completely upend what audiences expected after “The Matrix,” but unfortunately they’re just not good.
We also nearly listed “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” which if nothing else got a great many things right that the first film in the series didn’t manage, but that felt like slightly faint praise compared with the stand-alone strengths of our favorites. Any you feel we’ve missed out on? Shout them out below.
Thank you for realizing “Catching Fire” was essentially a rehash and correction of the first film. Overall, the series never had much weight but the second one was always praised because, like the transition from “Assassin’s Creed” to “Assassin’s Creed II” in video games, they listened to fans to fix the tone and all. Personally, I think “The Hunger Games” would have been more successful if it hadn’t tried to be so bland. A lot of the writing felt like it was taken from other sources, not just “Battle Royale”. I have to say thank you for praising “Back to the Future Part II”. The sequels have never been particularly praised but I feel that Part II and Part III were made with a love of filmmaking and creativity, especially with Zemeckis who is a master of the visual medium. He likes to let himself run amok sometimes but when he’s on, he keeps you interested. Not to mention the split screen techniques used to have Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd talking to themselves or be in the same scene as each other is still pretty mind-blowing, especially how it’s utilized in the story. In a lot of ways, while being simpler and fun, it’s what “Primer” did years later. The continuing misuse of time travel and how it sort of folds over on itself. That’s just my thought anyway.
I’m going to check your prostate…with my foot. (^.~)