SCIENCE FICTION PURITY TESTING

A recent post of mine on FB sparked a conversation about the "purity" of science fiction in films.  Christopher Nolan's "Interstellar" posted a trailer HERE and I remarked that Hollywood was releasing a "pure" science fiction film and I hoped audiences would embrace it.

A friend asked for a "purity scale" and I just used an arbitrary 5 point system.  It would measure how close a film adheres to science fiction concepts without aping other genre conventions.  Just based on the trailer and what I've heard about "Interstellar" this film looks at best to explore a human's place in the universe or perhaps some variation on a first contact type of situation.  I gave it a four out of five. 
For contrast I used James Cameron's "Avatar" as a counterpoint for something that looks like science fiction but is clearly a western instead.  The alien NaVi are the Native Americans.  The humans are the calvary.  Jake Sully is the officer that goes native and joins the war against the oppressors while trying to make his CO see where he's wrong.  (He's also stealing from Edgar Rice Burroughs' "A Princess of Mars" but everybody steals from that book so he gets a pass there.)  Avatar gets a 1 out of 5 on this scale.

My friend's next question prompted this entry.  "What's 5 out of 5" on this scale?"

Before I dive into that I need to clarify a few things.  Science Fiction revels in exploring really big ideas--explaining the origin of life, our place in this universe, what being human really means.  It's a great strength and sometimes a weakness in that sometimes the concept outshines the characters.  Asimov, as great as he was, was a better idea man than a character writer.  I think this is part of the reason that science fiction isn't embraced as easily by some audiences.  You need to care to have an emotional reaction.  It's no accident that Interstellar is focusing on that main family in that trailer.  The heart latches on.  The head will follow.

Let's stipulate that story, whatever it is, trumps everything but in telling that story sometimes genres cross.  Films do this less than books but that's primarily a matter of time.  Urban Fantasy seems to borrow from everywhere--horror, science fiction, romance, mystery.

With that in mind here's a few films that rate a 5 out of 5 for the most pure science fiction films out there.  Order doesn't indicate preference and these are limited to what I've seen.

Robert Wise's Star Trek: The Motion Picture:  Yes, this is the one that everyone seems to hate and you can lob a lot of critcism on it for it's pacing, stiff acting and such but in terms of pure science fiction this film is the closest out of the dozen that have been made.  It's a first contact story even if the alien turned out to be our own creation.  It embodied everything that made the original Trek such a phenonenon.  What happens when we actually discover new alien life?

Stanley Kubrick's 2001:  Another alien contact saga filled with multitple interpretations that required a sequel (2010) to explain what happened in this one.  I'm going on some very vague memories here but I don't know if this film is known more for what that alien presence was trying to teach us humans or Hal 9000s homicidal rampage and the perils of messing with artificial intelligence.
Ridley Scott's Prometheus:  A group of scientists attempt to unlock a mystery about what seeded the Earth with life.  They are essentially trying to find God (in a plot that Star Trek V only wish it had) and they get more than they bargained for.  Yes, this is part of the "Alien" series and ironically it was the least well received out of the series despite being the only one that qualifies as science fiction.

Alex Proyas' Dark City:  Lots of science fiction deals with that perception of reality and how we relate to it.  This story of a man trying to figure out what's hunting him in a city that changes every night is fascinating in just how much is held back until the ulitmate reveal.  Others I know figured it out before I did but I didn't and I was thrilled for it. 

I've barely scratched the surface here but I'll close with a list of honorable mentions and why they didn't quite make 5.

Ridley Scott's Blade Runner:  No matter what version you've seen (there are technically seven) they are all wrestling with that question of "What makes us human?"  This film is a noir thriller in science fiction dress and plays like a Raymond Chandler novel.

Christopher Nolan's Inception:  Even though this is wrestling with things like memory, reality, dreams and such it's a heist film only instead of knocking over a bank they are knocking over a brain. 

James Cameron's The Terminator:  Despite the time travel, apocalpytic trappings this is a horror film.  The Terminator is an unstoppable killer and Sarah Connor is the babysitter running up the stairs into the closet.

Danny Boyle's Sunshine:  A group of scientists attempt to use a nuclear device to restart the sun when the first expedition doesn't succeed.  The science is plausible but this is a horror film once they get where they are going. 

Kathryn Bigelow's Strange Days:  A very misunderstood picture with stomach churning violence but despite the tech trappings is a psychological thriller about an ex-cop trying to uncover the identity of a serial killer.