2008's best Scifi movie..

[miraclefan]

I never thoght of The Dark Knight as SCI-FI, and did'nt see The day the earth stood still, so I would say there we're no REAL great or best sci-fi films of 08. Overall a pretty disapointing year.

 

[PurpleBuddha]

I don't consider comic book movies scifi-at least, not if they are the Spandex Circle-type.

Have you seen IronMan? It's not like Superman with all this super flight, laser eyes, planet kryptonite nonsense and it ain't like Hulk where people all of a sudden turn into green giants. A lot of the stuff in IronMan is scientifically plausible,
ok maybe a guy in a tin suit fighting off an F-22 raptor is a bit nuts.
However they did put a lot of effort in getting the 'science' in the movie right and its not a movie which takes itself too seriously

Anyways I voted for Wall-E.....
just saying IronMan is well deserving of its scifi rank

The power source in IronMan is certainly enough to push it over to being sci-fi.

 

[Daneel]

Indeed, and I also agree with what TheArsenal said.

I can't explain it perfectly, but if there is some kind of "scale of sci-fi/fantasy", then Iron Man is a lot higher up on it than The Dark Knight is. Most of TDK, with the exception of the "cell phone sonar" aspect and a few other little things, seems fairly plausible to me -- more so than Iron Man anyway.

Not that such assessments affect my enjoyment of a film, of course.

 

[TheArsenal]

TheArsenal, to a certain extent, I can see your approach. I do find it ironic, though, that your avatar appears to be from The Avengers, a show that probably wouldn't qualify as sci-fi, either, by your criteria, but which easily falls into that category. And Diana Rigg in spandex is definitely an extrapolation and application of technology, with social ramifications .

Not to derail the thread, so briefly I'll say: The Avengers introduced more sci-fi elements as it went along. From '61 to '65 - prior to the excellent Emma Peel years - it was more a straight government/spy thriller. And in the latter half of the 60s, where the light sci-fi elements became much more pronounced, it was still on the early Bond level of sci-fi for me, and the show dealt chiefly in covert ops and spy work.

But it's really all just a matter of opinion.

 

[RAMA]

Dark Knight maybe be a "psychological thriller superhero movie", but it falls well within the purvue of SF. Consider it the results of a futuristic (yes most of that stuff would be years away from practical use), technological billionaire's efforts to fight crime. It could also be considered an "alternate history", another SF staple.

 

[Gov Kodos]

Wall*E's execution is better but the redemption of humanity was incredibly easy. Literally incredible.

The Day the Earth Stood Still went a lot futher in facing the questions asked than the original, but it still muted itself at the end. Plus the execution wasn't as smooth---they should have foregone repeating the Einstein sequence from the original, for instance. The "biological altruism" stuff was far more pertinent. Still, unpopular as the opinion may be, I think this is the movie that will stand up, while things like Dark Knight are forgotten.

If the satire in one is arbitrarily resolved but the other is not as well done, it's hard to decide which is "best." Plus, Iron Man was thematically light but for what it was, was pretty well pitch perfect. So is it best?

I suppose I go with Wall*E. (Barring some 2008 SF movie I haven't even seen or fell from my memory.)

I saw TDTESS last nightand I liked it quite a bit. I certainly enjoyed it far more than The Dark Knight, which I came close to walking out of from utter boredom. I still prefer the original "Stood Still" but I enjoyed the new effort very much.

 

[Corwwyn]

1. Iron Man

2. Hellboy 2 (if it counts as Scifi)

3.

 

[TheMasterOfOrion]

2. Hellboy 2 (if it counts as Scifi)

although I think its a good movie and worth watching, personally I'd put it in the fantasy genre