9 Biggest Sci-Fi Movies of 2013

Assuming the world does not get destroyed, subject to an alien invasion, zombie apocalypse, robot/computer uprising or an extinction level 'natural' event like the Mayans predicted, 2013 is turning out to be a landmark year for tentpole movies. And although an X Files 3 is unfortunately not on this list (apparently its still waiting for a script), here is a rundown of several other notable genre movies we should keep an eye out for over the next 12 months. 

After Earth 

Two of the biggest names in Hollywood come together for this sci-fi adventure that will most probably be a hit, regardless of the quality. Will Smith and M. Night Shyamalan's blockbuster will tell the story of a father and son duo who crash land on a future desolate Earth, one thousand years after it had been destroyed. An exciting premise, if it was not for the worrying fact that Jaden Smith will play the lead role next to his father. Maybe Shyamalan's signature twist ending would be that Jaden Smith can actually act? That, or they bump into Tom Cruise and fly off into Oblivion.

Iron Man 3
Since every other sci-fi action and drama has to be 'dark' in order to emulate Nolan's Batman trilogy, it is not surprising that Iron Man 3 will be taking a similar route. Although at the time of writing the story details were somewhat sketchy, the trailer and press reports speak of a grimmer story regarding loss on both a personal and international scale for playboy industrialist Tony Stark.

Now You See Me 

You can consider this as a remake of Christopher Nolan's classic mystery (sci-fi?) thriller The Prestige. Just take the same premise and plot elements from his 2007 classic, turn it into yet another heist movie, shift it all to a 21st Century Las Vegas setting and what you have is a re-imagining of the story + several more of the biggest names in Hollywood including two Nolan alumna Morgan Freeman and Michael Cane. 

World War Z 

Already considered to be 2013's biggest flop, this controversial adaptation of the novel 'World War Z' has already riled up many fans of the post-Zombie apocalypse book due to the creative liberties Brad Pitt has made to the story. Instead of Romero's slow shambling type zombies, we have the 28 Days Later type variant; ultimately changing a key and crucial aspect of the entire premise. But the controversy does not stop there. As World War Z becomes more famous, so does it's controversial (and somewhat bigoted) side plot regarding Israel's portrayal and response to the zombie threat, most of which come in the form of hordes of infected 'blood thirsty' Arabs.

Star Trek 12 (aka Into Darkness)

Star Trek Into Darkness is part two of the semi-rebooted franchise that takes place in an 'alternate reality', separating it from the superior TV shows and the superior-ish movies before them. Judging by the trailer, expect another slick looking but fundamentally flawed action movie from JJ Abrams. In this latest chapter, one incredibly powerful bad guy who is out to get revenge will destroy everything in his path to get it. I believe the previous two Star Trek movies had the same plot as well....

Oz The Great 

This prequel/reboot, or re-adapation of the events leading up to the original 1939 Wizard of Oz, so far seems to be paying a heavy homage to the Judy Garland classic with its mixture of technicolor and black and white for the portrayal of the worlds of Oz and Kansas. Although the casting seems questionable with the casting of James Franco as Oz, the new movie does look a lot closer to the childlike fairytale feel of the original and not the twistly (spellchecker tells me thats not a real word) dark and disturbing sequel 'Return To Oz' from the 80s.

Warm Bodies
I do not like zombie movies. Apart from the excellent original Night and Dawn of the Dead movies, plus the Night of the Living Dead remake, 28 Days Later,  parts of the Resident Evil series and Zombieland, I find the rest of the genre as a whole way too repetitive, pessimistic, violent and nihilistic, not to mention overrated *coughs Walking Dead for each of those points*. However like the aforementioned titles, its always fun to watch a movie that defies the genre with originality and wit by going against convention, and this is what the zomromcom Warm Bodies seems to be attempting. Coupled with World War Z, it seems that as zombies continue to become more mainstream, so is the diversity of the type of stories that are being told. 

Pacific Rim

With all the other big budget (all year round), summer blockbusters coming out over the next year, its quite likely this one will be quickly forgotten in all the noise. Looking like a Cloverfield 2 , Guillermo del Toro's monster flick now has humans engaged in an all out war with giant sea monster aliens, via the use of giant robots and several other elements that looks like it could have been written by my 10 year old nephew. At least it stars man of the moment Idris Elba.

Man of Steel

Two of 2012's biggest movies, The Dark Knight Rises and The Avengers has had studio execs confused about how to cash in on the hype for another superhero ensemble series. The Avengers franchise has been a success due to a cleverly structured business plan that has been nearly a decade in the making.  DC owned ensemble group of heroes called The Justice League, a league that features both the Batman and Superman characters now seems set for exploitation.

So the dilemma and the logistics for the studio involves backtracking on the events of The Dark Knight trilogy and retrofitting its 'real world' superhero-less reality, into a reality that features the likes of Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and of course The Man of Steel. Since money has always been a key motivator more than telling a consistent story, it seems that The Man of Steel will be the first stepping stone to link The Dark Knight Trilogy with The Justice League movie, simultaneously dismissing the events of the Green Lantern movie and placing the continuity of this new incarnation of Superman into the dark and gritty universe of Nolan's Batman. *le sigh*

This will be my final post before the entire blog will be upgraded to its own 'dot com' by the end of the year. But until then, thanks for stopping by over the past two years and I hope to see you guys soon.