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Message: <blockquote data-quote="The Firebird" data-source="post: 9782822" data-attributes="member: 7015803">Is Mad Max scifi? No spaceships. If so, then both Fury Road and Furiosa top my list. I'm tempted to make it 5 mad Max movies and call it a day.If not, I'll put Revenge of the Sith, which manages the unique task of being an ending and tying together two separate acts in a satisfying way. It works more effectively as a social commentary than any of the other films. While the OT does a great job of timeless characterization, it is mostly backward looking in terms of what it's commenting on socially. Revenge, in contrast, is nothing if not prescient. "So this is how liberty dies..."Next, I'll place Jurassic Park. It's executed so well, it's entertaining, and it has an important, and still very relevant, message. I don't know what you want out of a movie if you don't like this film.Then, Snowpiercer. It's surprisingly poorly known in my experience, even after Bong Joon Ho won the Oscar. It's one of the few movies I've seen addressing climate change that actually something interesting to say (Don't Look Up) ain't it. But it's not just about climate; it presents an entire society in microcosm, combining sharp critique with a delightful sense of whimsy. The shot of Ed Harris grilling a steak will live forever in my mind.Next I'll put Gattaca. I'll say less about this because I think most people are familiar with it. It becomes more and more relevant with every passing year and has a human core that I find deeply appealing.I'll round out the list with Wall-E. I've never seen a movie balance accessibility with depth of theme in this way. It's not just climate, or development or sustainability--it poses spiritual and existential questions, giving us the best cinematic depiction of Nietzsche's Last Man. At the moment of existential awakening, we hear Nietzsche disciple Richard Strauss's Thus Spake Zarathustra; our survivors then return to a life of pain and self-actualization. It's referencing 2001 but shows technological progress as spiritual death.---Ones that don't do it for me, and why:Blade Runner: It has a lot to say but is slow to say them and has aged rather poorly, with certain scenes.Blade Runner 2049: On the verge of greatness but muddled in terms of its commentary. Are we worried about nuclear weapons or climate change or evil billionaires or the commodification of people? It feels like it is playing the post apocalyptic hits rather than saying anything original about these topics.2001: The visuals and the use of music are incredible, and it is ambitious thematically, but, dare I say, it ultimately says too little and too weakly.The Matrix: It is a fun action movie, but at least to me comes off as trite. Maybe it landed differently earlier on.Terminator: I like these movies, but the fears they're addressing seem less relevant today.</blockquote>

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