How do you like your Science Fiction/Fantasy Movies?

[Gojira]

I have come to the awareness that the type of science fiction/Fantasy/Super Hero movie I liken are ones that are lighthearted fun and entertaining without being too serious.

I figured that was why I could never get past 20 minutes of "Blade Runner" or why I really didn't care for "District 9" despite my recognition of it being a well crafted story.

I am an unashamed special effects junkie that likes a story that doesn't take itself too seriously. Now there are exceptions to the rule...I do like the recent serious tone in the Batman movies but all in all I like the movies that are more fun and entertaining.

I didn't care for the second Transformers movie (even I have my limits) but the new "Battleship" movie looks like a lot of fun. I am a very forgiving movie goer.

Your thoughts?

Give me Gritty/Dystopian/Dark Sci-Fi every single time.

I can only take them in small doses.

Here are some of the lighter movies I enjoy:

Independence Day
Godzilla (Japanese & American versions)
Fifth Element
Iron Man
GI Joe
2012
Star Trek (movies and series)
Clash of the Titans (the remake I like better than the original)
Avatar
Transformers 1 & 3
Green Lantern
Thor
X-Men franchise
Superman franchise
Batman franchise (Burton et al.)
ET
Close Encounters
Jurassic Park franchise

The darker dystopian and the grittier movies I like are:

Terminator franchise
Reign of Fire
Batman franchise (Nolan)
War of the Worlds
Minority Report

I am sure there are others in both categories but the ones that are more lighthearted are my favorite choice.

 

[Mistral]

I like a variety of scifi movies but I know one thing I don't want. I've read a lot of books, and I don't want to watch a movie where they botch the believability when it would have taken a tiny effort to realize such-and-such author already addressed that topic-and had it worked out. Baring that, I guess I like movies made by people who actually know the genre and enjoy it on a personal level-it is so obvious (Cameron, Scott) when this is the case.

 

[xortex]

I would like more light heavy movies - optomistic space operas without aliens per se - at least not Humanoid in any way. Realistic, believable and uplifting.

 

[sonak]

A mix. I like both "quiet," non-space opera sci-fi, like "Blade Runner," " Gattaca," "Donnie Darko," etc., but I still like the action stuff like "Star Wars," "Fifth Element," "Terminator," etc.

I don't like more horror/sci-fi stuff, though.

 

[Gojira]

I would like more light heavy movies - optomistic space operas without aliens per se - at least not Humanoid in any way. Realistic, believable and uplifting.

I can agree with that. I like positive uplifting movies. I like aliens so I don't mind if they're humanoid or not.

 

[Kelthaz]

I don't like realism. I'm watching a bunch of actors standing in front of some cardboard sets while some fat guy with his pants down too low is filming them while sipping on his coffee -- it's all fake. I don't care if the movie makes logical sense, has continuity errors, or even obeys the laws of physics. Although, despite what I just said, I also enjoy highly serialized, complex plots with excellent character development. Outside of Japan (words cannot describe my love of anime) this is pretty much impossible to find together, so I tend to go for one or the other. A little Game of Thrones here and a little Hercules: The Legendary Journeys there. A little Babylon 5 here and then a little Power Rangers there.

Something like this with the storytelling of A Song of Fire & Ice would be damn near perfect.

 

[Klaus]

Exactly. Depends on my mood. Sometime you want Blade Runner, sometimes you want The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms . . ..

QFT.

And an even wider range if you count things like Underworld [on Skiffy as I type] or Riddick that I watch with the sound off and music on to see the eye candy and overacting. And it leads you to wonderful random mashups like watching vampires and werefolk eviscerate each other while "Saturday in the Park" plays in the background.

 

[davejames]

Actually Underworld and Riddick are two of the only kinds of scifi movies I don't like-- stuffy, overblown movies that are way more complex than they should have been.

A vampires vs werewolves movie is exactly the kind of thing I'd normally go crazy for, but Underworld was so humorless and deadly dull that I couldn't get past the 30 minute mark. And Riddick took a cool character from a fun guilty pleasure movie, and tried to build this incredibly thick, Dune-style mythology around him.

I would also add the last three Pirates movies. They took a really cool, unique character and inserted him into stories that were WAY more complex and plot-heavy than they should have been.

When I watch an action or adventure movie, I'm looking for something that's actually, you know, fun.

 

[xortex]

I used to watch the Trek motion picture to Prokofiev's first violin concerto. For some reason they seemed to fit stylistically.

 

[sonak]

I used to watch the Trek motion picture to Prokofiev's first violin concerto. For some reason they seemed to fit stylistically.

but TMP already has great music of its own.