Reader Jeremy Meyer presents his
list for ten greatest science fiction film characters, and there’s a new name
in the number one slot!
Jeremy writes:
1. Dana Scully - The
X-Files
Not simply there to be the rational
counterpoint to Mulder. When people talk about character arcs and development,
they should think first of Dana Scully. Well drawn to begin with, she then gets
run through the mill for season after season (her abduction/cancer, death of
father/sister, events that constantly seem to fly in the face of her commitment
to scientific truth) and is portrayed with such consistent brilliance.
2. Spock - Star Trek
Similar to Scully in a way in that
Spock is intended to complement the protagonist, yet it is Spock's battle
between emotion and rationality that for me has always been at the heart of Star
Trek and science fiction as a whole.
3. Dr. Zaius - POTA
As you've said many times, simply
the best and deepest villain in the genre.
4. David - A.I.
A.I.
is so often overlooked, and does admittedly have a poor ending, but David is
exceptionally acted by Haley Joel Osment. I love this story for some of the
same reasons as Blade Runner - that it's a cautionary tale how dangerous A.I.
could be, not for humans, but for the evil which could all too easily befall
those we create.
5. Roy Batty - Blade Runner
Roy's saving of Deckard makes him
one of the most complete characters in movie history for me.
6. Macready - The Thing
Stoic and nihilistic, along with
Ethan Bishop from AOP13 Macready is the quintessential Carpenter hero.
7. George Taylor - POTA
Taylor's arc, from vague misanthropy
to arguing for the rights of all humans, is simply brilliant. I have always
found Heston wooden at times, not just in POTA, but Taylor is such a fantastic
character that he still makes my top 10.
8. Darth Vader - Star
Wars
I feel a little uncomfortable
putting Vader here to be honest, having never been a huge Star Wars fan. Still,
he's just about the only character not totally butchered in ROTJ, and the
unmasking scene is wonderful cinema.
9. Elizabeth Shaw - Prometheus
In true Ridley Scott fashion, it
takes a hell of a lot of balls to see your whole crew get butchered and STILL
have enough left in the tank to perform a self-administered c-section.
10. GERTY - Moon
I know HAL9000 will (quite rightly)
get a lot of votes, but I'd like to make the case for a ship computer that doesn't
have malicious intent. Brilliant cast as well; after Se7en and The
Usual Suspects I expect Kevin Spacey to be villainous every time I hear
him. Getting the audience to think of HAL and mistrust Spacey was key to the
success of the movie in my opinion.
In
addition to placing Dana Scully on this list, I admire the fact that Jeremy has
also selected heroes, R.J. MacReady from John Carpenter’s The Thing, and
Elizabeth Shaw from Prometheus. Both of these
characters face great physical danger -- and existential terror -- and hold
their composures brilliantly. I love ‘em
both.
It’s
been some time since I’ve seen A.I.
I remember that my wife and I wept through the movie, and I swore I
would never make her watch it again. Is
it bad if I go back on my word?
Keep
sending me those lists at Muirbusiness@yahoo.com.
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