The strength of a Sci-Fi

movie often lies in its premise, presenting a unique conundrum or thought experiment about the world we live in. The common recipe for good sci-fi is tweaking some facts about our reality and following the journeys of characters affected by this change. The tweak usually reflects a source of anxiety or concern in the people at the time of the film’s production. For instance, if you’re already nervous about AI, you should avoid sci-fi movies that delve into the subject in detail.

The correlation between premise and film isn’t always direct, as some great films sound awful when explained, and some great premises lead to forgettable viewing experiences. It’s not uncommon for a brilliant movie concept to lead to something unsubstantial, especially if blockbuster filmmaking is involved. It is unfortunate that sci-fi, the genre that Steven Spielberg, considered the founding father of the summer blockbuster, worked on so often to give us gems like Jurᴀssic Park, a perfect non-animated action movie for kids to watch, has become filled with average movies that waste their potential.

10

Cowboys & Aliens (2011)

Directed By Jon Favreau

Jon Favreau has achieved some lofty goals throughout his career, from revitalizing Robert Downey Jr.’s career and laying the foundation for the MCU with the first two Iron Man movies to reviving people’s faith in Star Wars with his work on the Disney+ shows after the sequel movies left fans disappointed. Unfortunately, one of Favreau’s most ambitious non-franchise projects didn’t have the same success as his MCU or Star Wars work, despite having potential.

Starring Daniel Craig, Olivia Wilde, and Harrison Ford, who remains most known for his breakout role as Han Solo in Star Wars and has proven comfort with sci-fi, Cowboys & Aliens is unable to make the most of its cast’s star power. If ever there was a movie that would benefit from choosing the style-over-substance approach to storytelling, it’s Cowboys & Aliens. The epic idea of cowboys, Apache warriors, and outlaws fighting an alien invasion sounds like it deserves action-comedy treatment, and Favreau’s film is instead too self-serious to entertain, presenting a contrast between the film’s tone and its premise.

9

Tomorrowland (2015)

Directed By Brad Bird

Brad Bird, known for directing the Pixar movies The Incredibles and Ratatouille, both featuring characters who deserve spinoff movies from Pixar, has only a couple of live-action тιтles to his name. Apart from one of the more forgettable entries in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Bird took on the ambitious project of turning one of Disney’s famous theme park rides into a movie.

While Pirates of the Caribbean is one of Disney’s best live-action franchises, unfortunately, Tomorrowland didn’t enjoy the same level of success. Starring George Clooney as the primary supporting character, a jaded inventor, it follows a young idealist interested in science, who goes on a quest to find the elusive Tomorrowland with the inventor. Unlike the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, which bring the charm of the theme park rides to life, Tomorrowland dwells too long on the journey to give viewers much time inside Tomorrowland, and the movie failed to make up its hefty budget at the box office.

8

Underwater (2020)

Directed By William Eubank

The Descent, a horror movie with monsters that are actually nightmare fuel, is often considered one of the best survival horror movies of all time. The characters get trapped in a cave system with minimal resources and race against time to get out alive. Underwater follows a group of marine researchers who are exposed to the creatures of the deep sea after their base is destroyed, and they only have a few hours to get to safety at another base. So, it would be reasonable to expect Underwater to have the same thrill factor as The Descent.

Unfortunately, all Underwater has going for it is its cast. Kristen Stewart and Vincent Cᴀssel are especially compelling as the leads, but they can’t salvage the forgettable mess that the movie becomes. There isn’t enough detail in the character writing to care about them beyond a basic level. The creature designs aren’t nearly as scary and memorable as the monsters from The Descent. Moreover, the jumpscares become predictable quickly, and you’re simply waiting for the film to end, knowing fully well it will waste all its potential.

7

Jurᴀssic World Dominion (2022)

Directed By Colin Trevorrow

Jurᴀssic Park, with its amazing opening scene that sets the pace for the rest of the movie, is one of the most iconic sci-fi adventure films of all time. Its influence cannot be exaggerated, as over three decades later, there are still new movies being made based on its concept. However, many of the later films have struggled to live up to the standard set by Spielberg’s uniquely imaginative film and its sequel that he made.

The second trilogy, renamed Jurᴀssic World, starring Chris Pratt, clearly prioritizes the action sequences over the emotional and moral themes that the original movies explore in great detail. Still, the third film has a remarkable concept – what if dinosaurs and humans attempted to coexist in the real world without cages and doors between them? Unfortunately, the pulpy writing and the focus on the set pieces detract from the exploration of the food chain dynamics and the nature of apex predatory behavior in both species fighting for domination.

6

Downsizing (2017)

Directed By Alexander Payne

With Alexander Payne directing, Matt Damon, Christoph Waltz, and Kristen Wiig starring, and a refreshingly unique premise, Downsizing has no right to be as boring as it is. It follows a therapist who agrees to shrink himself and join a community of shrunken people to help with population-related problems in the world. Despite originally agreeing to join him in this endeavor, his wife pulls out of the plan at the last minute.

The concept of Downsizing is compelling, and so is the premise for the emotional drama concerning the central couple. Unfortunately, the characters aren’t interesting or engaging, making it nearly impossible to get invested in the story. Comparisons are inevitable to Honey, I Shrunk The Kids. The latter film didn’t take a heady approach but leaned into the comedy of the situation, and thus feels superior to Downsizing, which seems bland in comparison.

5

Pᴀssengers (2016)

Directed By Morten Tyldum

A misogynistic mess that fails to fully investigate the implications of its protagonist’s actions, Pᴀssengers is one of the worst examples of a movie ruining its potential. Chris Pratt plays one of many humans being transported in hibernation aboard a ship that has an accident that causes him to wake up decades before they reach their destination. After being bored and lonely for a year, he sees an attractive woman in hibernation, played by Jennifer Lawrence, and wakes her up to be his companion after going back and forth on that decision for a while.

While there is a brief moment where we get to see how she reacts to discovering her current state was a deliberate choice, bordering on abusive behavior, made by him, Pᴀssengers weirdly focuses on the romance between the characters. What could have been a compelling exploration of the role of women in a world where men believe they deserve control over women’s lives and bodies devolves into an uncomfortably romantic film, with a score that clearly highlights that part of their bond. The entire subplot about the ship’s cascading malfunctions is unnecessary.

4

Escape From L.A. (1996)

Directed By John Carpenter

John Carpenter is perhaps the director who has been most reᴀssessed over the course of his career. From The Thing, one of the greatest horror sci-fi movies ever, to Halloween III: Season of the Witch, a horror movie that gets a lot of flack, but enjoys a cult following, his movies often earn him praise years after their release, even if they were initially panned.

Similarly, Carpenter’s Escape from L.A. enjoys a cult fandom, even though it remains poorly reviewed because it’s a significant step-down from its predecessor, Escape from New York. The previous film is also bonkers and campy, but it strikes a great balance between the over-the-top dialogue and action and sincere character moments. Escape from L.A., despite being set in a lawless futuristic city with Russell Crowe reprising his antihero role, and having the potential to be a pulp classic, is just bizarre, with disjointed moments that never come together.

3

In Time (2011)

Directed By Andrew Niccol

One of the greatest sci-fi movie concepts ever can be found in In Time, where time is currency. Every purchase and transaction is done with the amount of time one has left to live. People in this world die very young due to extreme inflation, which prevents anyone from amᴀssing enough time to live without stressing about getting more time. The capitalist state of the world has left reserves of time to the social elite while the working class has been forced to find illegal ways to make time since they can’t earn enough through legal means.

The social commentary that In Time offers, despite its brilliant premise, is so on-the-nose that it doesn’t feel effective. The themes are sidelined anyway, to highlight the slick action in the film, which, though well-choreographed, isn’t as interesting as the places such a concept could be taken to. It’s frustrating to sit through In Time as the potential of the movie is clear to see, but the film fails to fulfill it.

2

High-Rise (2015)

Directed By Ben Wheatley

What makes Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Rise a horror movie that will stick with you after the credits roll is that it blends horror and comedy well, but is also set almost entirely in an apartment building. The claustrophobic effect created by the confined spaces in the location adds to the thrill of the affair. Almost a decade before Evil ᴅᴇᴀᴅ Rise, a sci-fi attempted a similar thing with an unbelievably stacked cast. Unfortunately, High-Rise fails to capitalize on its potential.

The amenities afforded to the elite members of an apartment building start malfunctioning as tensions between the residents start rising, leading to all-out class warfare. With Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Irons, Sienna Miller, Luke Evans, and Elisabeth Moss, among others, the film has great acting talent in front of the camera. Unfortunately, the movie wastes its potential to be thought-provoking, choosing style over substance, and squandering the skills of the talented cast. High-Rise is so incoherent, the circumstances don’t even feel terrifying, even if they should.

1

Valerian And The City Of A Thousand Planets (2017)

Directed By Luc Besson

Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element, one of Bruce Willis’ best action movies that’s not Die Hard, demonstrates the director’s mastery of the sci-fi action genre. So, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets, based on the graphic novel series, sounds like a promising project for him. Unfortunately, despite the brilliant visuals and the imaginative world design, the film falls flat on many fronts.

Both Dane DeHaan and Cara Delevingne are underwhelming as the main characters, and deliver forgettable performances devoid of chemistry. Moreover, the story is bland, and the film would have benefited from committing to a character-driven narrative instead of the style-over-substance approach. Despite the potential to introduce viewers to a unique sci-fi world with a compelling group of characters that could maybe even evolve into a franchise, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets fails to engage viewers.