Sci-fi masterpieces to watch after The Creator
The Creator is one of the best sci-fi movies we’ve seen in years. It came out last week to rave reviews, with visionary director Gareth Edwards gaining particular credit for its superb visual nuances.
So what is there to watch now to recreate the buzz felt when leaving the cinema last week? Sci-fi epics like The Creator don’t come around all too often, but there have been a plethora of top-quality movies in this genre throughout the years. Here are some to keep you entertained until the next sci-fi masterpiece comes out.
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
Before Gareth Edwards took on The Creator, he was known for directing one of the most under-appreciated Star Wars movies. Rogue One tells the story of a rebel team that steals the plans for the Death Star in a prequel set just before Star Wars: A New Hope.
It’s a visually stunning movie that clearly set Edwards on the journey towards his newest offering, and is well worth a watch regardless of whether you like the Star Wars movies or not. It’s quite simply a great science fiction piece.
Blade Runner (1982)
Ridley Scott is a master of the science fiction genre, and Blade Runner is arguably his best movie to date. It was very ahead of its time in many ways, with the focus on a man who is essentially hunting down artificial intelligence. This is a subject that arises in The Creator and is a general topic of discussion in 2023.
Harrison Ford is superb as Deckard, a man who resides in a dystopian Los Angeles suffering the effects of nuclear warfare. The movie has had so many different versions over the years, it’s difficult to know which is the definitive one, but it remains a must-see for any fan of the sci-fi genre.
The Terminator (1984)
No movie portrays the battle between humans and machines better than James Cameron’s original Terminator movie. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the titular robot sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the mother of the unborn child who will later lead the resistance against the machines.
The franchise has suffered over the years from numerous sequels that have failed to recreate the magic of the first two movies.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick is one of the best directors to ever grace the earth, and this sci-fi classic still stands up as one of the greatest of all time.
It’s a slow burner, but builds up to an epic climax that needs to be seen to be believed. This movie is one of the earliest cinematic explorations into artificial intelligence, featuring the character of HAL-9000, and it’s a prominent inspiration for many sci-fi movies that followed it.
Robocop (1987)
This 1987 sci-fi thriller was directed by Paul Verhoeven, and is about police officer Alex Murphy (Peter Weller), who gets murdered by a gang of thugs, only to get revived by a corporation that turns him into a law enforcement cyborg called Robocop.
The movie spawned a number of sequels and a remake in 2014, but none of these movies could recreate the magic of the first outing.
Arrival (2016)
This was Denis Villeneuve’s breakthrough movie, which led him to later direct Blade Runner 2049. It’s all about communication with extraterrestrial intelligence, which fits it into the same subcategory as The Creator.
Blessed with an all-star cast featuring Amy Adams, Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker, it’s a thoroughly entertaining watch while also providing an insightful commentary on artificial intelligence.
District 9 (2009)
Back in 2009, District 9 came out of nowhere to thrill audiences around the world with a unique take on the science fiction genre. It was Neil Blomkamp’s debut feature, and it initially takes place in an alternate 1982 in Johannesburg, South Africa.
An alien spaceship lands with insect-like aliens on board. The government gets wind of this and places them in a camp called District 9. Move forward 20 years, and the government is relocating the aliens to another camp when one of the aliens tries to escape. The movie acts as a commentary on apartheid South Africa, but it’s also a genuinely entertaining indie sci-fi classic.
Minority Report (2002)
Tom Cruise collaborated for the first time with legendary director Steven Spielberg for this entertaining sci-fi classic, based on a Philip K. Dick novella. Set in the year 2054, a specialised police department that deals with ‘Precrime’ apprehends criminals based on crimes they think they might commit. This knowledge is brought to them by ‘Precogs’ who correctly predict these future crimes until the system breaks down.
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Another Tom Cruise movie to add to the list. Sometimes billed as ‘Live Die Repeat,’ this sci-fi movie is essentially Groundhog Day with action sequences. A brilliantly entertaining story of Major William Cage, a public relations officer who finds himself forced to join an operation against aliens, but in trying to defeat the creatures, he dies. But he wakes up in a time loop, trying to improve his skills enough to defeat them each time.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Many people consider the second Terminator movie to be better than the original, with the budget being significantly increased for James Cameron’s epic follow-up to his classic 1984 flick. Arnold Schwarzenegger plays a robot who has been sent to save Sarah Connor, rather than kill her this time, and he excels in the role.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day is bigger on every scale, and the special effects still stand the test of time in todays heavily CGI-based movie world. A must-watch for sci-fi fans.
There you have it, our list of 10 best movies like The Creator. What do you think about our picks? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.