Reader Top Ten Greatest Science Fiction Films 2000 - 2013: Jeffrey Siniard of A Beachfront Cineaste

Reader, friend, and blogger at A Beachfront Cineaste, Jeffrey Siniard shares his list of the top ten science fiction films of the era 2000 – 2013 to cap off the day.

Jeffrey writes:

“Thanks again for posting these lists. I always enjoy seeing opinions and ideas from other people. In all honesty, I think this was a tougher task than coming up with the top 10 all time.

 
Also, thanks to everyone else who's participated - your lists helped me recall films that made me feel stupid for forgetting them in the first place.

Before we begin, I'd like to give the following films an honorable mention:

Star Trek (2009)

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013)

Cloud Atlas (2012)

Solaris (2002)

Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

Mission to Mars (2000)

Looper (2012)

Onto the list:

#10 - TRON: Legacy (2010)

I thought Joseph Kosinski's directorial debut was criminally underrated. In addition to being a rite of passage film, it's about the relationship between man and his creations - a relationship one step removed from man's relationship with God. It's beautifully realized and executed, the action is fast but never incoherent, the performances are strong and Daft Punk's incredible score is a valentine to great works by Vangelis, Wendy Carlos, and Giorgio Moroder in the early to mid-80s.

#9 - Serenity (2005)

Joss Whedon's film is simply the most entertaining Saturday afternoon matinee film of its kind in a long time, like a fusion of Star Wars, Star Trek, and The Magnificent Seven. It shouldn't work at all, but it works beautifully. Like the best pulp fiction, it has no compunction about putting beloved characters into harm's way. There's some nicely veiled social commentary as well, and a wonderful Nathan Fillion performance as Mal Reynolds - anchoring the film's moral center. "I aim to misbehave" indeed!

#8 - Wall-E (2008)

John, I agree with your take about Wall-E being a modern take on Chaplin's Tramp. For me, what draws me into the film is the vision of a spent and wasted Earth, corporate greed reaching into the heavens, and the literal infantilization of humanity. It's the way the movie does this, with skyscrapers of trash, dust storms, Wall-E's collection of commercial detritus, the failed attempts at Green energy that speak of a civilization which lost its way the moment it abandoned intimacy with the living world. This movie has a river of sadness running underneath the surface.

#7 - Sunshine (2007)

What I enjoy so much about Danny Boyle's film is the dedication to process. There are no gimmicks, no big twists, no closing revelations. HIs focus on the crew of Icarus II and their journey to save the Sun is all the more compelling and heartbreaking because he cares about how these astronauts do their jobs, and the consequences that come from simple mistakes in arithmetic. There's also a classic heroic performance by Chris Evans, and I love how he can both be a jerk, and yet he embodies the very best of humanity when facing humanity's worst.

#6 - Avatar (2009)

The ultimate gift of science fiction is to create another world and transport you to that world convincingly. Regardless of how you view the film's politics, the clumsiness of the screenplay, the ego of its maker, or it's astronomical success, the truth is James Cameron manages to tell another intimate and moving love story. He also transports you to Pandora for 2 hours and 30 minutes with an I AM THERE verisimilitude no film before or since has achieved. One of the (very) few films of this century which fully justifies the 3D IMAX movie going experience.

#5 - Moon (2009)

A smart script and smart direction by Duncan Jones, with smart performances by Sam Rockwell and Kevin Spacey allow you to forget you're not watching a film with a huge budget (or even CGI - all hail mattes and miniatures) or big stars. It remains quiet and intimate, allows its story to unfold as the main character discovers more, and the plot twists and conclusion are compelling precisely because they're anchored in character. Moon is a textbook example of "less is more", much more.

#4 - Prometheus (2012)

Prometheus isn't a perfect film. Yes there are plot holes. But when it works (which is most of the time) it's as great as Ridley Scott's previous science fiction masterworks. The design and effects are stunning (much credit to Scott and Arthur Max for building practical sets as much as possible) the visualizations are beautiful, and the performances, especially Michael Fassbender's David, are terrific. Prometheus is one of the few films (science fiction or otherwise) which really respects the mystery of creation, the size of the universe, and the ability of the audience to decipher the symbols and determine what it all means.

#3 - Minority Report (2002)

Steven Spielberg shows us the near future, and it's a savage place. The complete assimilation of humanity by consumer capitalism, as evidenced by the barrage of advertising. The creation of thought police, able to arrest and convict before the crime has been committed. Tom Cruise's last great performance. Also, we have Spielberg's unsurpassed command of craft, as the showman takes us from dazzling set-piece to dazzling set-piece, and a darker, more mature filmmaker willing to indulge (and implicate) his audience with voyeurism and macabre humor. This is the apex of Spielberg the entertainer and Spielberg the maturing artist.

#2 - Children of Men (2006)

Alfonso Cuaron's dystopic England is the most terrifying science fiction movie-scape I've ever seen. The film seems largely a meditation on the Anger level of the Five Stages of Grief, with England reacting in a collective rage over the impending end of humanity. Clive Owen has never been put to better use than in this film, which makes superb use of both his physical presence and hangdog expression in service of Theo; a man who's seen too much, been hurt too often, and yet has the strength to carry the future of humanity (and the film) to safety when the opportunity arises. Also, I simply love Michael Caine in this film - I can't ever recall a child's joke ever carrying the mixture of sadness and defiance it does when he says "Pull my finger." 

#1 - A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Spielberg's film about the future of robotics in human relationships is also an acid commentary about the technological consumer society we've turned into. There's no sense of responsibility of humans toward their creations, as every human is interested in A.I. only as it fulfills their immediate needs, including parenting, love, sex, violence, and racism, then discarding and moving on to the next advancement. What amazes me more than anything in this film is how Spielberg divides the audience against itself, repeatedly inviting us to know the humans, then the machines, then to turn the humans against their machines with cavalier disregard. No film of Spielberg's matches this one for emotional intensity and dissonance, and no film of Spielberg's is by turns beautiful, haunting, wrenching, terrifying, lyrical, and intimate like A.I. Artificial Intelligence.

On the "To Watch" list:

District 9

Elysium

Pacific Rim

Primer."

Jeffrey: I loved reading your appreciative commentary on your top ten selections.  Your writing is downright poetic in spots. 

I am thrilled to see TRON: Legacy on the list, as I feel the film was criminally underrated.  I also think your defense and explanation of Avatar’s success is one of the finest -- along with Le0pard13’s -- that I’ve read.  Your commentary on A.I. --coupled with other positive reader writing about the same film -- makes it a re-watch necessity for me.  Great job!