Two kinds of Sci-fi movie..realistic vs fantasy- which do you like?

[Rac80]

I have noticed there are two kinds of science fiction movies...the realistic ones...things that incporporate real scientific principles and those that are plain fun and simply ignore realistic science. Which do you prefer?
In our house it depends on how well it's written...with a good script/direction/actors, even silly science can be ignored-- Armageddon for example...terrible science but a generally fun movie. It's fluff and it's fun fluff. Then there is The Core...horrible movie with silly science as well. bad acting choices/directing/script- a total snorefest! (I have long said the sg1 ripoff version was much better!)

So what works for you in a science fiction movie

 

[shavedape]

I can be fine with a movie that doesn't explain everything if it is just plain good fun. I disconnect though when movies become cartoonish and completely ignore the science.

 

[mzzz]

It's all fantasy. I like either one, not a whole lot of fantasy stuff though, don't mean sci-fi fantasy, just fantasy. I dislike the sci-fi movies that take themselves too seriously, trying too hard to be dark and gritty just because it's this new fad. I especially dislike the sci-fi movies that turn into derivative horror towards the end, where one or a few of those on board were crazy the whole time. I've lost count how many of those I've seen, Sunshine stood out.

 

[shavedape]

It's all fantasy. I like either one, not a whole lot of fantasy stuff though, don't mean sci-fi fantasy, just fantasy. I dislike the sci-fi movies that take themselves too seriously, trying too hard to be dark and gritty just because it's this new fad. I especially dislike the sci-fi movies that turn into derivative horror towards the end, where one or a few of those on board were crazy the whole time. I've lost count how many of those I've seen, Sunshine stood out.

Pandorum is another one of those. Don't want to give away too many spoilers but suffice to say it could have been a good movie.

 

[mzzz]

Yea, that's another one I saw that fits that bill. It could have been great if they explored the planet rather than what they ended up doing.

 

[Overmind One]

I have noticed there are two kinds of science fiction movies...the realistic ones...things that incporporate real scientific principles and those that are plain fun and simply ignore realistic science. Which do you prefer?

Well, to me if sound scientific principles are not followed or are clearly in conflict with KNOWN science, it cant be considered science fiction. A perfect example would be the communications stones in Stargate Universe. In Star Trek it would be the existence of the Q. When given actual science to control the limits of the writer's imagination, the fiction can remain squarely in the "science fiction" category and not stray into fantasy. Star Wars is fantasy, not science fiction. I hasve no problem with fantasy, just when people mix up what is what because they might not know the difference.

In our house it depends on how well it's written...with a good script/direction/actors, even silly science can be ignored-- Armageddon for example...terrible science but a generally fun movie. It's fluff and it's fun fluff. Then there is The Core...horrible movie with silly science as well. bad acting choices/directing/script- a total snorefest! (I have long said the sg1 ripoff version was much better!)

So what works for you in a science fiction movie

I love hard science movies, but not when it is a dramacitized documentary like Apollo 13. I dont like it when drama in space is passed off as science fiction or if fantasy tries to take itself too seriously as though it were science. The Q in Star Trek TNG and others are pure fantasy. If such being existed, they certainly would not fall under the purview of anything scientific or evolutionary. Beings like the Q interacting with humans would be like us humans testing the mettle and morals of parameciums or bacteria.

LOVE science fiction
LOVE fantasy (including science fantasy)
HATE soap-fi
HATE fiction-science

 

[shavedape]

Nothing is worse than getting into what you think is a good scifi movie about a ship in space or a colony on an alien planet only to have it become a ghost story.

 

[Gatefan1976]

Speaking for myself, I don't mind if it's hard or soft scifi, Sci fantasy, Space opera or hard or soft fantasy on one proviso, THAT I KNOW WHAT IT IS GOING INTO THE MOVIE/SHOW. tell me X is gonna be "dark and gritty" and you damn well better deliver, tell me it's marshmallow scifi, and I'm good with that too. Just DELIVER what you say you are going to deliver, that's all I need because the way I judge or percieve the movie will be based on that. The other alternative is to just say nothing or know nothing and go in blind, that way you avoid any preconceptions or whatever. Gimmie what I paid for, that all you have to do.

 

[shavedape]

Yeah dude but ghosts in space??? Don't know what you think about that but to me it's incredibly lame. I just never got the whole 'ghost in space' story thing.

 

[Gatefan1976]

Ghosts in space??Enlighten me.

 

[shavedape]

Ghosts in space??Enlighten me.

There's been a spate of so called scifi movies where it turns out that the mysterious goings on aren't by aliens but rather ghosts. John Carpenters "Ghosts of Mars" is just one of several movies with this theme. Given time I'm sure I could list more but suffice to say it's a lame premise.

 

[Gatefan1976]

Ahh, never saw ghosts of Mars The idea has some "possibilities" but thats more of a esoteric/philsophical/religious debate, but as a scifi movie basis, err, yeah, not that cool.

 

[Red Mage]

There's been a spate of so called scifi movies where it turns out that the mysterious goings on aren't by aliens but rather ghosts. John Carpenters "Ghosts of Mars" is just one of several movies with this theme. Given time I'm sure I could list more but suffice to say it's a lame premise.

The "Ghosts in Space" concept reminds of the box-office flop Final Fantasy: The Spirts Within film where the phantom aliens that crash landed on Earth and are killing everything are actually revealed to be ghosts or spirits of an extinct alien race from a dead planet. Kind of a mix of both scifi and fantasy as the phantoms are aliens AND ghosts. It was stupid and unecessary. If I just spoiled the movie for anyone reading, congratulations I saved you 2 hours of your life by sparing the need to ever watch that awful film.

 

[Backstep]

As love as the movie is entertaining i'll watch sci-fi, sci-fantasy. Sci-fi needs to stay within the realm of physics as we understand today. Fantasy is not my first choice, as long as it's entertaining and not preachy i can watch.

No soap-fi

 

[Overmind One]

The "Ghosts in Space" concept reminds of the box-office flop Final Fantasy: The Spirts Within film where the phantom aliens that crash landed on Earth and are killing everything are actually revealed to be ghosts or spirits of an extinct alien race from a dead planet. Kind of a mix of both scifi and fantasy as the phantoms are aliens AND ghosts. It was stupid and unecessary. If I just spoiled the movie for anyone reading, congratulations I saved you 2 hours of your life by sparing the need to ever watch that awful film.

The very WORST of the ghosts in space movies to me was "The Ghosts of Mars" with Ice Cube, no less. :roll: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0228333/

 

[Overmind One]

As love as the movie is entertaining i'll watch sci-fi, sci-fantasy. Sci-fi needs to stay within the realm of physics as we understand today. Fantasy is not my first choice, as long as it's entertaining and not preachy i can watch.

No soap-fi

:tealc_new049:

 

[shavedape]

The "Ghosts in Space" concept reminds of the box-office flop Final Fantasy: The Spirts Within film where the phantom aliens that crash landed on Earth and are killing everything are actually revealed to be ghosts or spirits of an extinct alien race from a dead planet. Kind of a mix of both scifi and fantasy as the phantoms are aliens AND ghosts. It was stupid and unecessary. If I just spoiled the movie for anyone reading, congratulations I saved you 2 hours of your life by sparing the need to ever watch that awful film.

This is exactly what I was thinking but didn't want to piss off any Final Fantasy fans.

I actually watched that "movie" and liked it until I figured out what the hell they were going for. Ugh! I was pissed for wasting the time to even sit thru it. Simply terrible and not in a way that you can even make fun of, it was just bad.

 

[shavedape]

The very WORST of the ghosts in space movies to me was "The Ghosts of Mars" with Ice Cube, no less. :roll: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0228333/

Yes, this movie is a HUGE piece of crap. I actually turned it off about 1/3 of the way in. Terrible, simply terrible. I'm stupider for having watched even a few minutes of that cinematic disaster.

 

[Backstep]

What i love see someone make The Martian Chronicles by Ray Bradbury as the next Mars movie.

 

[heisenberg]

I love both tbh...but I much prefer the realistic sort of science fiction though.

However,As long as the content is good I'll watch it