In other words, geeky movies. 2014 was a good year for such films. Although we didn’t have any DC offerings (did we?), we had a number of good Marvel movies from all holders of Marvel properties (Sony, Fox, Disney), as well as some Biblical epics.
That aside, we also saw the closing of some trilogies (Hobbit, Rurouni Kenshin), the opening of others (The Maze Runner, Divergent, and I’m betting Guardians of the Galaxy), some amazing animated movies (The Lego Movie, Stand By Me Doraemon), as well as the announcement of the upcoming Marvel and DC movies (in that light, 2016 will be a good year as well).
It was a good year. But what are the movies that people will be Amazoning in the years to come?
5. Transformers: Age of Extinction
You cannot say you didn’t see this coming. What you can ask, though, is why I ranked “Transformers: Age of Extinction” at number 5 and not any higher? Well, plot-wise it’s quite an awful movie. But in terms of special effects, fighting, the hype leading up to it, the awesome characters we got from it (Lockdown and Glavatron), the visuals (Optimus riding Grimlock is an inspired touch), and the sheer wealth of merchandise connected to it – yeah, AOE was amazing.
It also spelt a soft reboot of the series, and what is possible a multi-movie plot thread (the origins of the Transformers). By Transformers standards, this level of advanced plot planning is gold. They’re actually setting up future movies in a film and thinking ahead to more toys later stories! Not fantastic, but it’s a start.
And then we had two Optimus Prime designs in the same movie (as we did for Bumblebee). The G1 callbacks from Optimus’ first form are a sweet reference for old timers. Pity we didn’t get some version of Jetwing Optimus or a Optimus-Grimlock combined form (let me try and fiddle with my toys now that I mention it). Transformers may not have been a great movie, but as a sci-fi film it was excellent.
I wasn’t that big a fan of the Guardians before the film was out (I would still maintain I’m a casual fan, but given that I’ve gotten the Marvel Universe 3-pack and the Marvel Legends BAF Groot, nobody is going to believe that), but I was aware of their existence thanks to their guest spots on Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and Ultimate Spider-Man.
The biggest thing that “Guardians of the Galaxy” had going for it were, of course, the references to the Infinity Gauntlet and the appearance of Thanos. The breakout star was Groot, necessitating my purchase, but the fact that we got see what goes on in the rest of the Marvel Universe (beyond Earth, that is) showed us just how marvellous the Marvel Cinematic Universe is. Things happen, whether or not the heroes get involved.
I wasn’t too big a fan of the all the 80’s set dressing and other props, but I guess it’s a stylistic thing, more than anything else. What I’d like to see next in the sequel is a real, flying, energy blasting Nova.
Ostensibly this is a young adult film, and there’s some sort of stigma against it if you’re a mainstream geek, I believe. I don’t care. I still think this was a good sci-fi movie, even it is an adaptation (aren’t they all?) of a book.
It had that whole “Lord of the Flies” vibe to it, a group of young teenagers forced into the baseness of humanity by virtue of their circumstances. But it also had some great metaphors, not just for young folks, but for all of us as well, in that the heroes were trapped by their situation.
They were lost, and too scared to find a way out because that held great danger and peril to themselves. But staying put in their comfort zone would eventually be the death of them, and they had to push themselves to find their path if they wanted to survive. All this, set in a giant labyrinth of metal and monsters, in a dystopian society.
Sounds kind of like the real world, doesn’t it? It helps that the kids were really all Woobies, and really elicited your sympathy for them.
I’ve mentioned many times that the story of “X-Men: Days of Future Past” is all about Professor X learning to be emotionally vulnerable after a devastating heartbreak, coupled with the literal and visual metaphor of him becoming crippled as he regains his vast telepathic abilities. But let’s look at the sci-fi aspect.
It’s got super-powered beings fighting off a set of giant robots specifically designed to kill them. It’s got a risky time-travel plot that handily turns all the problems that time-travel brings (namely, retcons) into a giant plot device to mesh all the X-Men films together. It’s got high tech, futuristic machines that can enhance mutant powers. You’ve got a guy wielding claws made of the hardest metal in existence. What’s there not to like about X-Men?
It takes the idea of bigotry and discrimination to the extreme (mutant-hunting Sentinels) and makes the discriminated minority popular (super powered mutants). What a great metaphor, and no wonder it’s been so effective the past 5 decades.
And of course, it’s all grounded in Professor X’s heartbreak. To see the wise and unflappable sage of the X-Men succumbing to this most human of emotions, reminds us that he is just a man, subject to all the foibles of normal people.
1. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
It is for this movie, mostly, that the title had to be “5 top fantasy/sci-fi movies” rather “5 top sci-fi movies.” There aren’t enough fantasy movies to list a decent 5, so this had to be folded in here.
The Hobbit brought an end to six movies worth of Tolkien goodness. We saw spectacular battles, subtext-heavy conflicts, and the fate of all creation resting on some little hobbits. Beautiful scenery, wondrous magic, and elaborate costumes all came together to create a world that only existed on the silver screen.
And it set a whole new generation of children playing Dungeons & Dragons and reading. Reading! Admittedly, with the “Game of Thrones” hype this was already underway, but the Hobbit series just kept things piping along nicely.
And the final scene, the lead-in to “The Lord of the Rings” gave you such feels. The grand danger was already looming in this movie, as we saw the heavyweights battle the forces of Sauron and his Nazgul in an epic battle, and we all know what happens in “The Lord of the Rings.”
Sheer awesomeness.
So what did you think? Too geeky or too mainstream?
Leave a Reply