Science Fiction: 316

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) is an American sci-fi action film directed by Matt Reeves. A decade after the deadly Simian Flu pandemic, the global human population has drastically decreased and only a small fraction are genetically immune. Human society collapsed as a result. Meanwhile, a group of apes with enhanced intelligence from the virus have settled in Muir Woods National Monument near San Francisco, led by Caesar and his lieutenants Maurice, Rocket, and Koba. Unknowingly, a team of humans led by Malcolm enter the apes’ territory in search of a hydroelectric dam to restore their community’s ...

Edge of Tomorrow (2014) is an American science fiction action film directed by Doug Liman and written by Christopher McQuarrie and the writing team of Jez and John-Henry Butterworth, adapted from Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s Japanese novel All You Need Is Kill. The story takes place in a world where an alien race known as ‘Mimics’ have invaded and conquered much of Europe, resulting in the formation of the ...

Transformers: Age of Extinction (2014) is an American science fiction action film based on Hasbro’s popular toy line. Sixty-five million years ago, an alien race known as the ‘Creators’ used special tools known as Seeds to cover Earth with a unique metallic substance called ‘Transformium’, resulting in the extinction of the dinosaurs. In the present day, geologist Darcy Tirrel excavates the Transformium for K.S.I. Industries, who then utilize it to create powerful Transformer drones. However, after the disastrous Battle of Chicago, humans now see Transformers as threats and cut off all partnerships with them. Despite claims of providing ...

Godzilla (2014) is an American monster film directed by Gareth Edwards and produced by Legendary Pictures. It is a remake of Toho Co., Ltd.’s Godzilla franchise, making it the 30th installment of the series. This movie also marks the first in the MonsterVerse and the second Godzilla film fully produced by a Hollywood studio. The story begins in 1954, when a prehistoric alpha predator, Godzilla, is drawn to Bikini Atoll with plans to destroy him using a nuclear bomb. Fast forward to 1999, where Monarch scientists Ishiro Serizawa and Vivienne Graham are studying a similar monster’s ...

Ex Machina (2014) is a science fiction thriller written and directed by Alex Garland. The plot follows Caleb Smith, a programmer at the search engine company Blue Book, who wins a contest for a one-week stay at the extravagant home of his CEO, Nathan Bateman. Along with Nathan and his quiet servant Kyoko, who Nathan claims does not speak English, they live with Ava, a humanoid robot created by Nathan with advanced artificial intelligence. As Ava has already passed a simple Turing test, Nathan wants Caleb to determine if she truly possesses consciousness and the ability to think. Despite being confined to her apartment, ...

Interstellar (2014), an epic science fiction film by Christopher Nolan, follows humanity in the near future as it faces extinction due to ecocide-induced global famine. Cooper’s family, including his children Tom and Murph, and father-in-law Donald, works on a farm like most of the surviving population. One night during a dust storm, Cooper and Murph stumble upon a strange gravitational disturbance in her bedroom. This anomaly ultimately leads them to NASA’s secret facility, long thought to be defunct. There they discover that NASA is planning a mission through a wormhole near Saturn to reach three ...

I Origins (2014) is a sci-fi romantic drama directed and written by Mike Cahill. The indie film premiered at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 18th. Ph.D. candidate, Ian Gray, studies the evolution of the eye with his research partner, Kenny, and lab assistant, Karen. At a Halloween party, Ian meets Sofi, a masked girl with striking hazel-speckled eyes. She leads him to a bathroom for an impromptu hook-up before disappearing. Strange coincidences, like the recurring number 11, lead Ian to a billboard where he recognizes Sofi’s eyes. Eventually they cross paths again on a train and begin a passionate ...

Star Wars: Rebels (2014–2018), a 3D animated science fiction TV series produced by Lucasfilm Animation, is set in the Star Wars universe. Taking place 15 years after Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), it leads up to the events of the original Star Wars (1977). The show follows the last of the Jedi being hunted by the Galactic Empire as a fledgling rebellion against them emerges. Drawing inspiration from Ralph McQuarrie’s concept art for the original trilogy, Rebels introduces new characters alongside familiar faces from both the previous animated series, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008-2020), and the original ...

The Hunger Games: Catching Fire (2013) is an American dystopian action film. It was directed by Francis Lawrence, with a screenplay from Simon Beaufoy and Michael deBruyn. The movie is based on the book Catching Fire, written by Suzanne Collins in 2009. After their joint victory in the 74th Hunger Games, Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark live comfortably but struggle with emotional turmoil in District 12. Katniss remains distant from Peeta due to her traumatic ...

G.I. Joe: Retaliation (2013) is an American sci-fi action movie inspired by the popular G.I. Joe toys. The film follows Duke, a skilled intel and infantry professional, as he leads the G.I. Joe Team on a rescue mission at the Korean Demilitarized Zone to retrieve a defector from North Korea. Later, they receive orders to carry out another task: stealing nuclear warheads from Pakistan after its President dies during a civil war. But their actions are deemed treacherous and cause an international incident, leading Zartan – still disguised as the U.S. President – to launch a deadly airstrike that takes out Duke and most of the other Joes. Luckily, ...

Under the Dome (2013–2015) is a science-fiction mystery drama that debuted on CBS in 2013 and ended in 2015. The Kinship, an alien species with the power to take over individuals and control their every move, faced destruction on their own world when another species attempted to conquer it. In order to survive, they fled to a new planet by placing an egg inside a meteor and launching it into space. This egg was meant to infect the first living creature it encountered on a habitable planet. In 1988, the Kinship’s meteor crashed in Chester’s Mill where teenagers Melanie, Pauline, Sam, and Lyle discovered it while exploring the woods. As they each touched one ...

The Last Days (2013) is a Spanish science fiction thriller film directed by David and Àlex Pastor. In the post-apocalyptic setting of downtown Barcelona, an office worker named Marc struggles to survive and find food in a city that has been devastated by disaster. He is tasked with digging a tunnel in the basement of a building, and his desperation to find out the fate of his girlfriend Julia, who was with him during the catastrophic event, leads him to nearly cause a collapse. Later on, when they reach a neighboring building, Marc encounters his ex-boss Enrique, who ...

After Earth (2013) is an American post-apocalyptic action film directed by M. Night Shyamalan and co-written with Gary Whitta. Loosely based on an original idea by Will Smith, the story follows a father-and-son journey in a futuristic world where humans have evacuated Earth due to a massive environmental disaster. Set 1,000 years later on the human-populated space colony Nova Prime, the S’krell extraterrestrial race threatens to take over using their fierce creatures known as Ursas, who hunt by sensing fear. The ...

Elysium (2013), an American sci-fi action film written, produced, and directed by Neill Blomkamp, depicts a dystopian future where Earth is overcrowded, plagued by disease and pollution. The wealthy inhabitants of the planet live in luxury on Elysium, an orbiting space station just beyond Earth’s reach. Spider, a skilled hacker residing in Los Angeles, operates three shuttle flights to Elysium in order to smuggle individuals seeking access to Med-Bays; advanced devices that can cure any ailment. Unfortunately, Elysium Defense Secretary Delacourt takes down two of the shuttles in space, causing the death of all ...

Terry Gilliam’s science fiction masterpiece, The Zero Theorem (2013), takes place in a bizarre cyberpunk future of the mid-21st century. It follows the story of Qohen Leth, an eccentric and reclusive programmer who works for the ontological research division of a large company known as Mancom. Qohen, who refers to himself in plural form, spends his days crunching ‘entities’ and avoiding the noisy office by requesting disability leave or permission to work from home. He fears missing an important phone call that he has been waiting for years and is also dealing with a recent loss of hair, which he ...

Oblivion (2013), an American post-apocalyptic film, was produced and directed by Joseph Kosinski, with a screenplay by Karl Gajdusek and Michael deBruyn. The movie is set in 2077, when repair technician Jack and communications officer Victoria seem to be the only survivors on Earth. In 2017, an alien invasion destroyed the Moon and rendered the planet uninhabitable due to nuclear warfare. Now, Jack’s job involves fixing combat drones that protect the hydrothermal platforms converting seawater into fusion energy. Their ...

Alfonso Cuarón’s sci-fi thriller, Gravity (2013), follows the journey of the Space Shuttle Explorer as it orbits Earth to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Commanded by veteran astronaut Matthew ‘Matt’ Kowalski, the ship is joined by Dr. Ryan Stone, who is on her first space mission to perform hardware upgrades on the telescope. However, their peaceful mission is interrupted when Houston reveals a dangerous situation caused by the Russian government shooting down a presumed defunct spy satellite. As more communication satellites are disabled by debris, Mission Control orders the crew to return to ...

Guillermo del Toro brought us Pacific Rim (2013), a thrilling American science fiction monster film. It introduces us to Kaiju, enormous alien monsters from another dimension that emerge through an interdimensional portal known as ‘the Breach’ located in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. These beasts proceed to attack coastal cities, prompting humanity to construct massive mechas called Jaegers. These machines require two or more pilots who are connected through a process called ‘Drifting’, allowing them to share the mental burden of controlling their Jaeger. Fast forward to 2020, and we see ...

Coherence (2013) is an American surreal science fiction psychological thriller film directed by James Ward Byrkit in his directorial debut. On the night of Miller’s Comet’s passing, eight friends gather for a dinner party at the home of couple Mike and Lee. A sense of unease lingers as Emily hesitates to accompany her boyfriend, Kevin, on an extended business trip abroad. To make matters worse, Amir brings along Kevin’s ex-girlfriend Laurie who proceeds to flirt inappropriately with him. As if things couldn’t get any stranger, a sudden power outage shakes up the evening. With only candles and ...

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) is a sci-fi action film directed by J.J. Abrams and written by Roberto Orci, Alex Kurtzman, and Damon Lindelof. As the twelfth installment in the Star Trek franchise, it serves as a sequel to the 2009 film and the second entry in a rebooted series. In the year 2259, Captain James T. Kirk’s command of the USS Enterprise is revoked after he ignores protocol by exposing the ship to primitive beings on Nibiru to save them from a ...