Defining Military science fiction can be tricky-
it's a subgenre of sci-fi that
features a protagonist -who's normally part
of the chain of command, and
is directly involved in some kind of war or
military situation- where there is
a clear difference between a military lifestyle,
and one of that from a
civilian perspective.
Which leads me towards the opinion, that the
best military sci-fi aren't
necessarily the ones with the most space battles
and armed combat,
although those are always fun to watch.
So today I thought I would make a video -focusing
on Military science fiction
in all shapes and forms, and where better
place to start than with
Paul Verhoven's sci-fi action adventure -Starship
troopers
Set in a futuristic military earth, where
high school teenagers are
encouraged to become citizens by joining the
military. Johnny Rico joins the
military for all the wrong reasons his love
for a girl- But what Johnny
doesn't realise is that he'll soon be right
in the middle of a full scale war
against a race of large alien insects.
Starship troopers is pretty much a working
definition of a military sci-fi,
where it has mindless violence vs nameless
enemies -with tonnes and
tonnes of action, quotable one liners and
nonstop entertainment.
While some will criticise this movie for its
wooden acting, and questionable
military tactics�- they would be missing
the whole point of the film. It's
supposed to be clich� and satirical - where
this militaristic world
government uses its control of the media to
brainwash its people into
supporting its war. It's a great movie, and
if for some strange reason you
still haven't seen it yet, what are you waiting
for?
Fred Wilcox's classic sci-fi adventure
Forbidden planet Based on Shakespeare's "The
Tempest" is set where an
Earth starship crew goes to investigate and
look for survivors on a planet
whose colony has gone silent. Only able to
find two survivors and a robot,
the crew are informed by a Dr Morbius that
some unknown force which
roams the planet killed the rest of the colonists
some 20 years ago.
With ground breaking special effects on its
release, and a very young but
serious Leslie Nielsen as a captain, this
movie is still entertaining with a
original plot that will keep you intrigued,
especially when it comes to the
murdering monster.
Yes this movie has men in a flying saucer
& Robbie the Robot is a guy in a
suit, but he is thoroughly believable as a
robot. Forget about dated plots,
cheesy acting and old special effects, Forbidden
planet is a true classic of
its type and definitely worth a viewing.
Paul W.S. Andersons sci-fi Action Drama -Soldier
Set in the future -where soldiers are selected
at birth, and trained in such a
manner that they become inhuman killing machines.
The most successful
veterans Todd 3465 finds himself replaced
by a new breed of soldier. After
being believed to be dead Todd is dumped on
a waste disposal planet-
where he finds a new purpose in life and takes
it upon himself to defend his
new home.
While it's not a perfect movie -Kurt Russell
does a great job staying in
character -not speaking and being virtually
an emotionless badass for the
entire film. As the protagonist of the movie
he only has 104 words of
dialog. The film is also meant to be set in
the same world as Blade-Runner
where you have engineers soldiers fighting
on off world colonies.
If your after a movie with near endless explosions,
and slow motion fights
then you will probably love this movie, but
if you want character
development and a dialog -then all mean, give
this a miss.
Director Christian Duguay's sci-fi Thriller
� Screamers
Based on Philip K Dicks short story -Second
variety, is set on a distant
mining planet ravaged by a decade of war between
two rival factions.
Where scientists have created the perfect
weapon: a blade-wielding, self-
replicating, killing devices known as Screamers.
But unknown to its
creators this weapon has continued to evolve,
and now has devised a new
mission: to kill all life.
Starring Peter Weller known for his role in
'Robocop', this film aptly shows
that you don't need a big budget to make a
good movie. The story is pretty
original and imaginative, and faithfully follows
Phillips K Dicks work.
While the supporting cast all play clich�
roles- the real stars are the
Screamers who start out as these creepy mobile
buzz saws that gradually
evolve into something quite a bit different.
Don't let the low budget visuals
put you off, this is an underrated sci-fi
classic.
Doug Limans Action adventure Edge of Tomorrow
Based on the manga "All you need is Kill"
follows an inexperienced major
in the United Defence Force, who against his
will is forced to fight on the
frontline against extraterrestrial beings
- that have invaded the earth. On
the field he violently dies and wakes up back
in boot camp -where he soon
realises he has acquired the ability to reset
time -every time he dies .
Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt play their characters
perfectly, it has a
fantastic story, which is well told with really
fast action which also looks
amazing.
Believe it or not, this movie was not a commercial
success, probably due to
its very bleak and depressing trailer. The
comical aspects during the first
half of this movie work really well,�as
well as the tone and pacing, which is
incredibly tight, It's not overly gloomy-
instead it focus on fun, action,
thrills and wit. Even though the movie repeats
it's self a lot, it never has a
dull moment and will keep you gripped to the
edge of your seat from start
to finish.
Wolfgang Petersen's sci-fi action adventure
-Enemy Mine
In the distant future, humanity goes to war
against a reptilian race called
the Dracs. During a space battle a soldier
from Earth crash-lands on an
alien world where he eventually encounters
another survivor, a Drac. They
both put aside their differences and band
together to survive on this
hostile world.
This is pretty much a sci-fi remake of Hell
in the Pacific, where Dennis
Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr both have great
performances in their
respective roles as enemies. and the space
battles, props and matte
paintings are really well done for film of
its age.
Here's a sci-fi film that doesn't heavily
rely on space battles or special
effects. Instead, it focus on a touching and
compelling story of conflict,
hate and survival between bitter enemies becoming
unlikely allies and
eventually, close friends.
Roland Emmerichs sci-fi action adventure �StargateWhen
a giant structure
is found in the Egyptian desert, it's revealed
to be
an interstellar teleportation device. The
story kicks off when Egyptologist
Daniel Jackson is brought in to decoded the
symbols on this device. Where
a team led by Air Force Colonel Jack' O' Neil
and Jackson -are sent on a
mission to travel across the known universe
to a distant planet.
For the time, this was a pretty original and
refreshingly different type of
sci-fi, where Kurt Russell and James Spader
are good as the exact
opposites, the scientist and the soldier.
With a capable cast, solid script and set
design, Stargate itself is a really
solid movie and worth seeing. While isn't
going to knock your socks off, its
superb atmospheric music, & intriguing story
easily compensate for any of
its shortcomings. It's premise had so much
potential it's no surprise that a
few years after its release, it produced a
very successful TV franchise.
Michael Vejar's sci-fi action drama Babylon
5: In the Beginning
The story follows where Earth military encounters
an advanced alien race
called the Minbari. Through a series of misunderstandings,
accidents and
sabotage, a very one sided war breaks out
that nearly results in the death
of every human on Earth.
I've saved this to last, as you're kinda required
to have at least seen the
1st Season of the TV series Babylon 5 for
it to fully make sense. But it's
still a really solid movie as a standalone,
and a perfect reason to bother
getting into the series itself if you aren't
already a fan.
On its own, the narrative and characters are
great, where it tells a
dramatic story of courage and heroism in the
face of overwhelming odds.�
Those of you interested in good military sci-fi
would do well to check this
movie and franchise out.
