The best science fiction films of the year

It’s no secret that one of the last places to enjoy non-woke art is science fiction. As the mind virus makes its Borgesque conquest of all entertainment, sci-fi has become a bastion of storytellers seeking to skip intersectional purity and instead try to entertain. These are our picks for the best sci-fi movies of the year.

'The Creator'

The Creator | Official Trailer youtu.be

It’s so refreshing when a movie like “The Creator” reminds us what great filmmaking is capable of. Gareth Edwards is a master at crafting realistic sci-fi worlds and characters. His 2016 “Rogue One” was the only modern Star Wars film that wasn’t insufferable. Edwards’ budget was only $85 million for “The Creator,” but it looks visually superior to films that cost three or four times as much.

We see people with authentic character development who have a genuine love for their machines and robots and who wrestle with difficult moral choices. The film looks breathtaking, and everything from the tech to the costumes resonates as if it were from a real future. It is a testament to what Hollywood can do when executives leave storytellers alone.

'Godzilla Minus One'

GODZILLA MINUS ONE Official Trailer 2 youtu.be

Perhaps the bar has been set extremely low, but when a movie comes along that is a triumph of old-school blockbuster action and adventure with heart, you can’t help but leave the theater smiling. “Godzilla Minus One” is that type of film.

It’s no coincidence that a movie with this much skill and drive to entertain is being made by foreigners outside the Hollywood factory. In the case of “Godzilla Minus One,” the Japanese have picked up the crown for producing an intelligent, fun action movie that had previously been dropped in the mud by the major American studios.

The movie is a purely Japanese production. Fair warning: it’s two hours of subtitles. However, if you can handle the subtitles, you’re left with a richly rewarding experience from the first frame to the last.

Currently in theaters.

'M3GAN'

M3GAN - official trailer youtu.be

"M3GAN" could have been a well-made thrill ride, but something much deeper than an evil, AI-controlled doll is disconcerting about the film. It explicitly calls attention to how much of parenting we've handed over to machines. Early on, the film’s protagonist gives an iPad to her niece so she can finish some work; the girl’s deceased parents had strict screen-time limits, but her aunt didn't share those concerns. She gleefully pitched M3GAN as a tool that can handle reading bedtime stories and reminding kids to flush the toilet so parents can get back to important things like listening to podcasts.

We’ve all seen it: the toddlers staring blankly at iPads in restaurants, the kids quietly playing games on their parents' phones at parties, barely interacting with each other. Balancing screen time is confounding for parents, but it’s worth noting the billionaires who created this technology almost universally don’t let their kids use it. Unfortunately, it seems most people are willing to blithely sacrifice their progeny to our digital gods.

"M3GAN" asks the painful question: when we outsource parenting to technology, are we creating horrors worse than anything Hollywood can conjure?

Currently streaming on Amazon Prime.

'65'

65 – Official Trailer (HD) youtu.be

Following a devastating spaceship crash on an uncharted planet, pilot Mills (portrayed by Adam Driver) is stunned to realize he's marooned on Earth, but not the Earth he knows. This is Earth as it existed 65 million years ago. Taking their lone opportunity for salvation, Mills and his sole companion, Koa (played by Ariana Greenblatt), embark on a treacherous journey through an unfamiliar landscape teeming with menacing prehistoric beasts. Their harrowing struggle for survival becomes an epic battle against the odds as they fight dinosaurs to find a way back home. It’s pure popcorn fun.

Currently streaming on Netflix.

Honorable mention:

'The Peripheral'

The Peripheral Season 1 - Official Trailer | Prime Video youtu.be

This last pick is cheating because it’s a TV series, and it came out at the end of 2022. "The Peripheral" is an eight-part series that received minimal buzz, which is a shame because it’s excellent. Produced by Jonathan Nolan, Christopher Nolan’s brother and the co-writer of classics like "The Dark Knight" and "Interstellar" and based on a novel of the same name by William Gibson, it centers on a young woman named Flynne and her brother Burton living in rural North Carolina in 2032.

It excels in world-building by crafting a believable vision of the future that terrifyingly seems to be around the corner. We see economic degradation and hopelessness alongside well-worn technology. Most people are addicted to painkillers and spend their time playing video games in VR. You get the sense that the country has become a part of the third world with better gadgets. Burton, played by Jack Reynor, is a veteran of an unspecified civil war. He spends time playing a badass VR version of Call of Duty: Medal of Honor with his Marine buddies. His sister Flynne, played by the excellent Chloë Grace Moretz, hustles to make enough money to keep her sick mother alive.

"The Peripheral" succeeds because the world seems real. The 3D-printed weapons and medicine, VR, armed drones, and augmented Marines don’t seem like the imaginary tech we usually see in sci-fi but rather realities just over the horizon, waiting to alter our lives.

Currently streaming on Amazon Prime.