More than a decade ago, researchers working for the American Space Agency (NASA) listed their preferences in terms of science fiction (SF) films. They also listed the worst films of the genre, in other words the least interesting and/or credible.
The best and worst sci-fi films
Fans of astrophysics, robotics or even ufology and anticipation necessarily appreciate science fiction films. A mainly literary, cinematographic and video game narrative genre, SF can sometimes approach reality as we know it or a possible future or alternative reality. Others have the merit of simply being very entertaining. NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labopratory (JPL) has listed the seven best films of the genre, but also the seven most boring films, as relayed in a 2011 Smithsonian Magazine publication.
According to the space agency, most interesting sci-fi films are Welcome to Gattaca (1997), Contact (1997), Metropolis (1927), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951), The Woman on the Moon (1926), The Thing from Another World (1951), and Jurassic Park (1993). Let us also mention the worst films of the genreto know 2012 (2009), Fusion/The Core (2003), Armageddon (1998), Volcano (1997), Pursuit (1996), At the dawn of the sixth day (2000), and What do we really know about reality!? (2004).
Welcome to Gattaca VS 2012
Judged the best SF production by JPL researchers, Welcome to Gattaca is a anticipation film and dystopian science fiction that features actors such as Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman and Jude Law. The story takes place in a futuristic, highly technological world in which children’s genotype can be chosen. The company presented here practicing eugenics on a large scale, a selection of the parents’ gametes which allows for offspring with the fewest defects and the most advantages possible. In this world, naturally conceived people are discriminated against and find themselves confined to menial jobs.
At the opposite extreme, the disaster film 2012, the least appreciated by researchers, rode on the popularity of the eschatological predictions of December 21, 2012 of the Mayan calendar, the end of a long cycle synonymous with total annihilation of the planet. Of the neutrino bombardments resulting from a solar flare had the effect of heating the Earth’s core at an unprecedented rate. This was followed by movements of the earth’s crust and thus countless disasters all over the world, mainly earthquakes, tsunamis and volcanic eruptions of unprecedented magnitude.
Remember that the films mentioned in the JPL list were released between 1927 and 2009. Since then, many other sci-fi films have been released in sales. So, it would be interesting to get an updated list of the best and worst films of the genre. Some titles could appear there, notably Interstellar (2014), Alone on Mars (2015), First contact (2016) and Upgrade (2018) on the side of the best. For “turnips”, here are some credible suggestions: Prometheus (2012), Transcendence (2014), Midnight in the universe (2020) or even Moonfall (2022).
