What do you want to see on SF?

I may be showing my age or just reminiscing too much but for all the money and splashy (and very clever) special effects, I find most modern Sci Fis lack the freshness, suspense, musical support, tight editing, dialogue, strong plots and believable characters of many of the good sci fis of yesteryear. I sit watching Them , The Beast from 20000 Fathoms or the Day the Earth Stood Still and I still get chills. I watch The Forbidden Planet, This Island Earth and War of the Worlds and I still marvel at the non CGI effects and the engrossing concepts at play. If you've ever seen The Day the Earth Caught Fire you'll be captivated by what is a fairly standard central idea protrayed in such a believeable manner with very limited special effects, great story line and acting. And what of the limitations of the original KIng Kong and yet it is still a classic.

Something is missing in most modern Sci Fi films I'm afraid or am I just getting old and stale....maybe both

The thing missing from most new sci fi is a decent unpredictable new plot, with new technologies. This has all sadly been replaced by special effects with a few lines thrown in. When they give us a combination of new storylines, told by great actors with new inventions....then a great new sci fi will come along. The greatest problem with delivering a good sci fi is the lack of brilliant minds to create these new technologies or possible future outcomes. They all seemed to have died out and the people creating the stories in this day and age only half understand the possible technologies out there, so thus cannot expand or extrapolate to the next level as to what might be lying in wait out there for us to discover. That is when they pull in the special effects to try and fill the void the storytelling lacks, and unfortunately many sci fi's these days just can't pull it off.


But thank goodness for DVD's and remakes (if they don't botch it up).

I agree regarding plots. Another factor contributing to the lack of plots is that good writers usually command a decent wage. These days, a fair portion of a movie budget goes to the main character - they command very high wages, at the expense of decent writers, secondary and tertiary plots (B and C storylines), decent music etc etc. Special effects have become cheaper and cheaper (much cheaper than manpower) - so SciFi movies have become mindless effect heavy plotless unoriginal drivel. Avatar is a great example - great action and nice to look at but the plot was quite unimaginative and simple. Same as StarTrek 2009 (great action but very little to do with Roddenberry's StarTrek).



I think great writers etc are still around - but they are involved in activies and pursuits that actually pay them well - which isn't Hollywood.

so they have run out of new ideas in short

No.They havent run out of ideas. In another Forum the question of great Sci Fi novels from the past was discussed and the number is legion. They have some great and imaginative plots that would be ideal for the big screen. I noted Morgan Freeman having to fight tooth and nail over many years trying to get the very imaginative Rendevous with Rama into production. Generally though they are ignoring these plots for plots I think thought up only by the producers of films and they arent good sci fi writers, while ignoring the myriad great sci fis written by the professionals. Then yes they over pay some top actors, scrimp on the screenplay writers converting any good story line into non sensical narratives and dialogue for film and use some splashy special effects to hide the faults. Few good sci fis on film these days also have good editing and pacing that keep up the suspense and maintain your attention. Good pacing doesnt mean being fast. It means developing the theme in a manner that draws you in and increasingly adds to the suspense. The original Halloween and The Exorcist are a good examples of effective pacing and therefore were successful films. Too often they turn to fast action options rather than effectively building up the tension and story line. Its the difference between a fast food Macburger and chips as opposed to a sumptuous steady three course meal. Quick fix but nothing to savour. Eye candy but no mind sustenance. You can always judge a good film by how often over the years you want to watch it again. Most modern sci fis are one watch films.

ps Along with Halloween and The Exorcist there is no doubting Alien should be included for good pacing. Its sequels were good and flashier but they didnt have the growing tension of the first and I think overall the best. However the sequels were all good films for differing reasons (I liked the darker No. 3 despite its critics) and there is no doubting Ripley's confrontation with the Alien and famous 'You bitch' scene (Aliens) was a classic scene and quote in Sci Fi film history.

As a young boy (good 'evens that was almost ancient history) I remember a black and white film called Quatermass 2: Enemy from Space. Scared the daylights out of me as much as Them. Have a copy of it now and I must admit its aged quite well and was an excellent story. It was later followed by Quatermass 3: Quatermass and the Pit (aka 5 Million Years to Earth) which was also a top movie and I suspect the very good Pertwee Dr Who episode Daemons was based on it. Oldies but goodies.

e Pals not forget the movies by George pal destination moon), the minor English classic Moon 02, and many of the english serials such as A for Andromeda.

What I would like to see is some enterprising type serialise the ringworld stories as new production.