7. Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
A darker entry into a pretty great trilogy, splits the heroes up, furthers the story and features some great action scenes to boot. Plus, who can forget one of the greatest twists of all time? Awesome characters really help this story along, as does the amazing adventure they go on.
6. Blade Runner (1982)
Set the trend for all futuristic futures. A great story with strong performances from Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer and a little mystery at the end. A real sci-fi classic that has influenced many many films that have come since.
5. WALL-E (2008)
For a kids film, this really does have some great stuff for adults too. Pixar always nail their animation, but in this one they really nailed the story and characters in this robot romance in space. Wall-E is super cute and the fact that for the first 20 or more minutes there is no dialogue and you barely notice only goes to show the level of storytelling at play here.
4. Inception (2010)
Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending thriller is probably the best example of a really innovate film of the modern era. The great performances sure help, but he complex story and crazy visual effects really elevate this film to a new level. It’s so smart and fresh and new, it definitely warrants a second and even a tenth viewing!
3. The Terminator (1984)
It launched Arnold Schwarzenegger to fame and made robots really cool. It’s as much a horror as it is a science fiction movie, with Arnie’s killer robotic never ceasing in his quest to kill Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor. It’s scary, action packed and cool. It’s a great movie, let down by the fact it only ever had one great sequel.
2. Back to the Future (1985)
What more need I say? If you’ve never watched this film then shame on you. It’s one of those quintessential 80’s movies that really defines the decade of film. Marty and Doc are great characters and go on an awesome adventure back in time to the 50’s. The production design is great, the story is great, the characters are great and the film is just plain awesome.
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
For an early movie, it sure is a phenomenal feat of filmmaking. The music is haunting, wondrous and awe inspiring, much like the design and models of the spaceships. And the story. Well, the story is very complex and even on multiple viewings things don’t completely make sense. The film is an exploration of evolution in my eyes, brought about by the black monolith that is seen multiple times. From the dawn of man sequence to the murderous HAL-9000 super computer, this film is a real slow burn with some interesting payoff. What does it all mean? That’s the question you’ll ask yourself more than once throughout, and indeed after, this film. It really is a monumental movie and continues to be one of the most interesting pieces ever created.
Honourable Mentions:
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
The Matrix (1999)
Alien (1979)
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1 & 2 (2014 & 2017)
Total Recall (1990)
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