Sci Fi Movies

[MagicalPen]

Lately, these have been making me a little more skeptical about the genre in general.

I mean, Alien Spaceships - SPACESHIPS - that travel gazillion miles an hour and survive landing on Earth, and you're really going to tell me that WW2-Era Weaponry can destroy them? I think not!

I mean, seriously...highly advanced species of aliens, interstellar travel, body armor, etc...and a little piece of metal traveling like a snail (compared to them) can blow them up? Especially when the Aliens can generate a shield around all of Hawaii that is impenetrable?

Yeah, I'm thinking human extinction would be the most likely result.

[bigwad73]

You forget that we humans know the secrets of "alphanumeric targeting".  No technological advancement can hold up to the sheer power of "E7" or "B3"!

I did like how they made some of the alien ordnance look like the marker pegs.

[Brandon]

Consider for a moment the cultural technology they've developed. Most alien races are seen as creating energy based weapons like lasers so it makes sense that their style of body armor would be made to repel that kind of weaponry. The same  cant be said for projectile weaponry thats usually not in use. So if you have a 1/4 inch thick suit of body armor made to lessen the damage of laser weapons why would it effect bullets in the same way?

If you have a portable shield made to absorb and redirect energy weapons why would it effect bullets in the same way when theyre being driven by kenetic energy

Thats how I look at such things

[Shjade]

I mean, seriously...highly advanced species of aliens, interstellar travel, body armor, etc...and a little piece of metal traveling like a snail (compared to them) can blow them up? Especially when the Aliens can generate a shield around all of Hawaii that is impenetrable?

When wearing a kevlar vest, you can get stabbed to death more easily than shot.

Just something to think about.

[MagicalPen]

True, true, but you would think that their armor - since its used in space - would be projectile-proof. Their spaceships for sure. You don't land in the ocean at a gazillion miles and hour, after traveling through space, only for little projectiles to blow you up.

[Brandon]

True, true, but you would think that their armor - since its used in space - would be projectile-proof. Their spaceships for sure. You don't land in the ocean at a gazillion miles and hour, after traveling through space, only for little projectiles to blow you up.

How so? Getting hit by a meteor isnt a regular occurance and for the really big stuff like a comet you're going to have some warning before it gets close enough to worry about.

Besides that every craft has some kind of vulnerability which is generally exploited in such movies. Independance day is a great example of that

[Torch]

It's a movie, y'all.

A movie named after a childhood board game.

And you are expecting realism? Seriously?

Good luck with that.

[Rinzler]

How so? Getting hit by a meteor isnt a regular occurance and for the really big stuff like a comet you're going to have some warning before it gets close enough to worry about.

If we're talking spaceships that can travel at near lightspeed, then collision with even the tiniest dust particles in space would not only be likely but catastrophic - from the perspective of the spaceship, these particles are heading towards it at near lightspeed. Therefore, it would be logically internally consistent with the story to have some seriously heavy-duty shielding on the crafts.

[MagicalPen]

Torch, I'm talking about SciFi movies in general.

Independence Day did it right though - they had to fly an Alien Space Ship into the Mother Space Ship to deliver a bomb. No low-level projectiles involved in that one.

If you just stop to think about things for a few moments though, it does make sense. If Space Traveling Alien Race has vehicles etc that a lowly RPG can destroy, then shouldn't we be close to that level of Space Travel ourselves? Clearly not a far-cry off.

[Torch]

Torch, I'm talking about SciFi movies in general.

Independence Day did it right though - they had to fly an Alien Space Ship into the Mother Space Ship to deliver a bomb. No low-level projectiles involved in that one.

If you just stop to think about things for a few moments though, it does make sense. If Space Traveling Alien Race has vehicles etc that a lowly RPG can destroy, then shouldn't we be close to that level of Space Travel ourselves? Clearly not a far-cry off.

Again, if you are looking for realism in a movie, you are going to be disappointed.

That's why it's a........movie.

Suspend your disbelief and enjoy your $14 worth of entertainment ($30 if you buy popcorn and a soda).

[MagicalPen]

Suspension of belief still has to be slightly logical. Sure, I can believe in Magic and stuff like that, but really? Alien Race with technology beyond our world is really going to be destroyed by RPGs and WW2 Era munitions? Not so  much.

[Torch]

Suspension of belief still has to be slightly logical.

Actually no, it doesn't.

But if the current crop of sci-fi films offend your sensibilities, there is an easy solution: Don't spend your hard earned cash at the box office.

There, problem solved!

[Rinzler]

Actually no, it doesn't.

But if the current crop of sci-fi films offend your sensibilities, there is an easy solution: Don't spend your hard earned cash at the box office.

There, problem solved!

I'd disagree - I think any story has to be logically internally consistent, otherwise the writers would just have free reign to incur any deus ex machina or equally silly and unsatisfying plot development they liked. Sure, if it's estiblished in a story that yes, there is a little tinkering with reality going on here, then firm boundaries need to be established on what these changes are in order to have a satisfying narrative. The best example of where it goes both right and wrong is in the Spiderman movies. Now there's no problem in tinkering with reality to the effect that a guy can get special powers from the bite of genetically altered spider - for the sake of the story, I can buy that. However, if such powers included resistance to bullets and the ability to phase through walls, then nah: it's not consistent within the context. This is where it all went wrong with Spiderman 3, where the internal 'coherence' was broken by relying too much on coincidences, such as the one in a googol chance that the only meteor bearing an alien lifeform should land, intact, right beside Peter Parker (the only man on earth with spider super-powers), and that the otherworldly occupant should just so happen to attach itself to Peter's moped.

[Torch]

*sighs*

There is no law that requires entertainment to do anything except....entertain.

I'm baffled by the insistence that it must pass some sort of criteria of realism.

Again.....it's just a movie, folks.

[Brandon]

More telling then it being a movie is the fact that it is a Science fiction movie. Fiction being the most important part. I understand that lack of realism in speculative science can kill the enjoyment for others and if thats the case just walk out of the theatre and get a refund.

It really is that easy

[Cold Heritage]

*sighs*

There is no law that requires entertainment to do anything except....entertain.

I'm baffled by the insistence that it must pass some sort of criteria of realism.

Again.....it's just a movie, folks.

So . . . what? We're not allowed to talk about movies? We can't say anything at all?

[JDrew Spider]

*pops in*


Soooo....anybody hear about that live action Cowboy Bebop movie that was suppose to come out?? Staring Keanu Reeves as Spike?

http://teaser-trailer.com/cowboy-bebop-live-action/

[Brandon]

Im not a big fan of cowboy bebop in the first place but why would you make a live action? Why not just watch the anime again?

[Callie Del Noire]

Im not a big fan of cowboy bebop in the first place but why would you make a live action? Why not just watch the anime again?

Because Hollywood steals/mauls/rapes any other format and/or venue for true creative creations.

[Chris Brady]

Suspension of belief still has to be slightly logical. Sure, I can believe in Magic and stuff like that, but really? Alien Race with technology beyond our world is really going to be destroyed by RPGs and WW2 Era munitions? Not so  much.

Ignoring Torch's apparent unwillingness to discuss this topic, I will say that Suspension of Disbelief matters on a few things.  One:  How much are you willing to invest into the setting presented.  Two:  Internal consistency.  It doesn't matter if it's all powered by Phlobtonium, it either has to be explained, or in the way Star Wars does it, make it seem like it's so normal that no one within said setting makes much of it.  To continue Star Wars here, Blasters? Speeders? Spaceships that can and can't break the speed of light?  All fantastical things, but the characters take it as normal, so the audience is encouraged to as well.  And lastly, how 'grounded' in common things is the setting in question.  In Star Wars, yes, Laser Swords, and Blasters and Speeders and Starships are all fantastical, but there are analogs we can identify, and as long we are willing to just accept some things just are (Like the Force) we can enjoy the film.

Of course, this is all subjective, and people have different levels of things they are willing to accept and things they aren't.  As long as they explain WHY World War 2 stuff can hurt the bad guys, I'm willing to see it.  Of course, it might just be so fun, you don't even notice.

Like in Independence Day, that fact that A) Earth styled computing worked on the Aliens.  B) You could create a virus using Earth code.  C) That an Apple product would be able to have a virus created on it.  Not to mention the length of time needed to do so with any sense of reliability.  But the movie was a lot of fun so no one actually questions that until AFTER the movie.  And even then a lot of people just shrugged and moved on.

[Brandon]

Because Hollywood steals/mauls/rapes any other format and/or venue for true creative creations.

No I mean why would a cowboy bebop fan bother going to that movie when they can just watch the anime again? I already knew that theres nothing sacred in hollywood

[Oniya]

It probably rides the line between the 'fans' (watched the anime start to finish - possibly tracked down the uncensored version) and the 'fanatics' (OMG, it's BEBOP!)

That said, I do think that Benedict Cumberbatch from the new Sherlock series would be a much better choice for Spike.  I can't find it now, but I saw an image that compared several iconic Spike shots with stills from Sherlock.

EDIT:

Okay, not the one I was looking for, but he makes this too easy.

[JDrew Spider]

I concur. I would just see it out of curiosity and because Keanu Reeves would be in it. I do like old school anime though.

[Callie Del Noire]

I always pictured Spike more as a Hong Kong type... given he was a member of a triad.. and much younger than Reeves. Benedict Cumberbatch seems to have the pull htough.. he's whip pole thing and energetic.

[Silverfyre]

Suspension of disbelief and logical consistences aside, I did want to pipe up about "Independence Day" getting it "right". 

One scene does it in for me if we are going down the whole "belief in science fiction is a good thing" method of thinking: Goldblum's character hacking the alien mother ship's computers.  No way, no how.  That was just beyond ridiculous in an already ridiculous movie. 

...a ridiculous movie that I have watched multiple times because it was entertaining.  That's why I watch most films after all.  To be entertained.