Remember that scene from Toy Story, when the kid caught Buzz Lightyear (from Star Command) and started ignoring his old friend, Woody the cowboy? Well, western movies are a thing of the past, not like the ones you see in Rio Bravos or High Noons these days. What you do see, most of the time, are science fiction movies. There are a couple of those a year, more if you count those that happen in the not too distant future. And let’s face it, what other film genre allows such use of imagination (except fantasy)? What separates many of these films is not what category they fall into, be it post-apocalyptic, alien invasion, or deep space horror, but the way the idea is approached. And there are only two kinds of sci-fi movies once you get to the core: psychological ones and action/adventure ones. Now, while action sci-fi is known to be quite popular, let’s see how different movies can be formed from the same basic idea.
sun vs core
The idea: A cosmic body is dying and the human species is dying with it. A mission to save the world ensues.
The action: Planet Earth is dying in The Core, due to some really bad geology. Aaron Eckhart led an elite team of military personnel and scientists to reset the core with a nuclear device so no more pigeons would die. The Core doesn’t just leave science at the door, he keeps making fun of her for not being able to get in throughout the entire movie. It focuses on special effects, action, and Hilary Swank.
the psychological: Apparently a Q-ball slid into the Sun and is dying. An elite team of military personnel and scientists is assembled to deliver a payload to the sun, rebooting the dying star. And as difficult as some of the scenes are to digest, the film featured a CERN physicist as an adviser. Hears! a human being can survive exposure to the vacuum of space for quite a few seconds, although it is uncomfortable. The film focuses on the crew and the problems that arise due to the stress of the mission, the fascination with the Sun, and the claustrophobia that comes with being in a spaceship for over a year.
Result: In a battle of a half-burnt man and Aaron Eckhart in the observation room of the Icarus II, the latter is directly exposed to the Sun’s glare, turning him into Two-Face.
Solaris vs. event horizon
The idea: A supernatural presence causes a ship’s crew to hallucinate, confronting them with aspects of their psyche that they must confront. Both in the presence of an imposing cosmic body: Jupiter for Event Horizon and the planet Solaris for the film of the same title.
The action: Event Horizon had Sam Neill and Laurence Fishburne investigating a spaceship that had gone missing 7 years ago. The rescuers experience hallucinations of their fears and regrets as they realize there is a presence aboard the ship. They are basically ghosts in space. The classic haunted house but with a spaceship instead. The decent acting makes this more than the usual space horror, but it eventually ditches the perception for explosions and fistfights.
The Psychological: Solaris (whichever you prefer, the Tarkovsky or the Soderbergh) sees a man named Kelvin (Kris in the original, Chris in the 2002 version) arrive at a research station orbiting an alien planet. Here, the crew is haunted by manifestations of his memories. The movies use science fiction more as a setting and starting point for what is ultimately an exploration of the human mind and emotions. The original film is a classic, and his love for it led Soderbergh to present a lesser (but still above-average) version to new audiences (sarcasm included).
Result: Solaris (the entity) draws Lewis and Clark (the Event Horizon spaceship) into its gravitational field and engulfs him.
moon against the island
The idea: It’s about cloning, whether it’s for solo space work or organ harvesting. And in both cases, the clones realize that they are clones (it seems to affect them quite a bit, I wonder why the Star Wars clones never cared).
The action: Well, it’s Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson on the run with Michael Bay in the lead. Need I say more? Well, his organs are destined for the unscrupulous rich Ewan McGregor and Scarlett Johansson and they don’t like it, so they run off in search of a normal life. It’s got action, explosion, chases, special effects, screaming and the thought provoking stuff only lasts a few seconds… wait! I can sum it up in two words: Michael Bay.
The Psychological: Sam Rockwell runs an industrial resource mining camp on the Moon. All alone. Except for his close friend, GERTY, the computer. Finding himself after a series of unfortunate events, he realizes that he is nothing more than a clone, and that all the things he longs for (wife and daughter) are not his. It is a one-man show starring Rockwell, Rockwell and Rockwell that shows us the reaction of the same man at different stages of his life to the same realization.
Result: The three Rockwells turn in fugitives McGregor and Johansson for a bounty and live happily ever after knowing there are always at least two spares when it comes to organs.
Other Science Fiction movies that would fit in a confrontation: Alien vs Aliens, AI: Artificial Intelligence vs. me, robot, dark city vs. Matrix, Brazil vs. 1984 and up.