Thursday 31 December 2009

From the Moon to Pandora

2009 has witnessed another prolific year in the fantasy and sci-fi genre on the big screen - much of which I will have to revisit in 2010 by way of LOVEFiLM.

As Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and Terminator Salvation collapsed into an incoherent mechanised mess. Moon, Star Trek and James Cameron's Avatar were in the ascension...

Much has already been written about these films. So, I'll try not to reprise what other critics have already said, nor are there any spoilers per se. Think of this more as an end of year review haiku.

Moon was a love letter to the sci-fi cinema and television I watched as a child. And James Cameron's Avatar, predictable out of necessity, invited audiences to 'discover and explore' a beautiful, immersive and mesmeric digital 3D world. Tantamount to seeing Star Wars for the first time; I left the cinema yearning to return to the moon of Pandora.

I refuse to select any of the above as my genre film of the year 2009! That accolade goes to a film from 2007. Cheating? Well, maybe of a sorts. But, this post is about the fantasy and sci-fi films I saw, for the first time, this year. For its life-affirming, and poignant, narrative, Bridge to Terabithia is my choice!

2 comments:

  1. I mostly agree with, however while it is was confusing mess, I will always have a soft spot for Transformers.

    Terminator Salvation's biggest problem was the involvement of Christian Bale. He was awful as John Connor to the point where I was hoping Skynet would indeed wipe out humanity.

    Though I generally disliked the time travel episodes in the Star Trek TV series, it worked brilliantly as a plot device to reboot the franchise.

    Avatar was simply a visual treat and all the better seeing on a big screen in 3D (thank you Vue Exeter). I just wished they'd made the story less predictable or at least throw in a couple of twists. Still 9.5/10 with 10/10 going to one film you haven't mentioned, District 9...

    Never before as a film make me so sympathetic to characters or have me urging aloud in a cinema for the good guys to pummel the bad. For me this was the best sci-fi film of the year,out of the ones I've seen.

    This leaves me with Moon, which missed me by down here in Torbay. Hopefully I'll be able to see it on DVD or Blu-ray soon. I've heard good reviews so maybe my opinion with regards to the best sci-fi film of 2009 will change...

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  2. I'm looking forward to seeing District 9 in the New Year, and hope Moon meets with your approval too.

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