"Best Sci-fi "War" movie ever???" Topic

Ok, I've throen down the (powered) gauntlet. Whats the best Sci-Fi war movies ever made? To qualify this to some degree I will allow "War" movies to include any sci-fi flicks that have included a future battle scene, rebelion, large scale shoot-out even if its topic was not "war".

Me?

#1 Star Wars (The original, ok…obvious…but still a classic!)
#2 Aliens
#3 Matrix #1
#4 Terminator 2
#5 The Empire Strikes Back

Sorry, as the topic starter I couldnt pick just 1, lol.

Some of the "Terminator" scenes from the future were quite good.

Ooppps… "thrown"…"rebellion"

Soldier, with Kurt Russell. imdb.com/title/tt0120157

Aliens hands down.

enemy mine?

The short battle-scenes at the start of "Soldier" just scream to be played out with minis:

- War of the Six Cities
- Moscow Incident
- Battle of the Argentine Moons

The names alone are so evocative…

"Aliens" is my favorite, by far.

Second for "Enemy Mine".

Allen

Starship Troopers? Especially the trap scene – looks like Rorke's drift in outer space.

Space: Above and Beyond.

Brian

Aliens, no contest. Also at the top of my list for "favorite move ever."

Aliens, Enemy Mine, both good.

I'll add in something lesser-known, though:

'Screamers'. Not as good as the short story, of course.

Space Hunters: Adventures in the forbidden zone
and
Cherry 2000

top my list

Dune

Cherry 2000, lol! Yetch (no offense).

Screamers is great.

Sadly, there don't seem to be any good ones with grav tanks, drop infantry, planetary assaults, etc.

A film based upon Renegade Legion's books, or something along similar lines would be nice.

I prefer a more adult SciFi variant, than one that eventually succumbs to Ewoks beating up on Imperial Troopers and Armor to defeat them.

"Sadly, there don't seem to be any good ones with grav tanks, drop infantry, planetary assaults, etc."

Star Wars Episode 1?

Cherry 2000, lol! Yetch (no offense).

None taken, I love bad sci-fi films. They are great fun to watch.

"dropzonetoe", I totally agree. I actually really enjoyed Starship Troopers when I saw it in the movie theater even though it looks laughable to me now.

Yet another vote for Aliens.

Actually, IMHO, "Mad Max" is more of a "war" movie than "Aliens", and while A was a better movie, MM was a better "War" movie.

@dropzonetoe – No "Tank Girl"? No "Ice Pirates"? No "Battle Beyond the Stars"? We'll skip "Barb Wire".

Regards, the Gorb

"Aliens", "Enemy Mine", "Screamers" and I suppose I have to mention that couple of seconds in whatever "Firefly" episode had the gunship thingy and all the tracers flying around.

Pitch Black and whatever the second movie is called were both good.

I think its got to be Empire Strikes back. The Hoth scene if probably the longest and best sci-fi battle scene made yet.

I have to say Aliens as well..

2nd would be Starship Troopers, because as bad as the acting was, the CGI was awesome and it was action packed.

"The only good bug's a dead bug".

3rd would be all the Starwars films.

TW

"whatever the second movie is called were both good"

Tales of Riddick…I loved that flick!

"I think its got to be Empire Strikes back. The Hoth scene if probably the longest and best sci-fi battle scene made yet."

Ivan, apparently you are not alone:
imdb.com/chart/scifi

Aliens for me too.

Has anyone seen "Wing Commander" based off the sci-fi space sim game?

Also the preview clips of the not yet made "HALO" movie…
ignore the first 1:06 minutes, lots of similar examples of this on YouTube
link

Aliens

Tank Girl has the best sound track. Pity about the movie.

As an actual war movie Starship Troopers, as a movie with good war scenes, SW Empire Stikes Back.

Sure there is a degree of sillyness in ST, but it is a satire, so that is to be expected. It has everything a war movie should have though, doomed heroes, gritty comradeship, the platoon misfit, the bad drill sergeant with a heart of gold, wet liberal civilians, insanely unrealistic combat scenes and really bad baddies. The whole thing is of course a recruitment put up job for the MI. Want to know more?

Chronicles of Riddick – this somehow manages to short out my ometer. I love this film, awful though it apparently was. The Look was good as well.

Pat

Battlestar Galactica, the new series.

I rarely can select a single best of anything, but I do believe "Starship Troopers" takes the cake for this category. Other scifi movies with good battle scenes are not really movies about a war, but instead about something else with a smattering of battles thrown in.

I'd say Starship Troopers is more of a war film than most of the films mentioned here.

Aliens? hardly a war film is it?

The battle for Hoth is also brilliant but doesn't really fill very much of the film (although getting there and leaving does add flavour to Empire Strikes Back).

A war film needs to have a couple of big armies in it to make it worthwhile…well…in my opinion, anyway ;).

I remember what did it for me many, many years ago when I was a kid (dating myself here). Anyone remember "Robinson Crusoe on Mars?" Once I saw that movie, I was hooked. Been a huge sci-fi fan ever since.

:?)
Wolf

C'mon guys. Aliens isn't a war flick. It's a slasher flick updated to adult status. Think about it. Group of folks get picked off one by one until only our hero is left. Sure they are "colonial marines" and armed, but there isn't any war going on. Substitute stupid kids in an old house and put some unseen monster in there with them and you've got Aliens.

Still liked it.

The orginal Star Wars was a sorta war movie and did give us all those great effects we no longer go "wow!" at.

But if you toss out the name Starship Troopers and call it something else, like BUGS!!! then that trilogy is a pretty darn good B grade scifi war movie. Better writers and it could have been a classic. But c'mon now, you know you liked the scenes of the fleet getting it's butt obliterated above the planet and those massive ships getting hulled. And those hordes of bugs pouring across the plains toward the small band of humans. Like I said, better writing and better acting and they could have had a real winner.

1. The Clone Wars in Star Wars: Attack of the Clones and Star wars: Revenge of the Sith
2. The battles in Matrix Revolutions
3. Flash Gordon (love the Hawkmen!)
4. Starship Troopers
5. Soldier
6. Dune the Miniseries

Soldier gets my vote

Enemy Mine got panned at the box office, but is also a pretty good movie

Of the Alien series, Alien is, I think, the best – the latest is just sad

If that video for the 'movie' Halo is real then it looks like a real winner. It looks like Peter Jackson has been spending time watching the Military Channel.

Best Sci-Fi war movie? I don't really know of any other than maybe Starship Troopers. Star Wars (despite the name) wasn't a war movie to me. Enemy Mine comes close, but it only has a couple of combat sequences. Aliens is a slasher movie with a military taste, but yeah, take out the marines and add screaming teens and you have a slasher flick. Sort of…

Now my favorite battle sequences, that's different!

1. Empire Strikes back: Assault on Hoth
2. Starship Troopers: Whiskey Outpost
3. Attack of the Clones: Battle of Geonsis (?)
4. A New Hope: The Battle of Yavin
5. Aliens: The Ambush in the Reactor, The Ops Center.
6. Enemy Mine: The opening dog fight
7. Terminator II: The opening fight

Just some thoughts there.

Babylon 5

While the entire series isn't a movie, it is definitely about war and there were some full length movies for it.

Well, I've grown a little biased in my opinion of great sci-fi war movies.

Legend of Galactic Heroes: My Conquest is the Sea of Stars (massive starship battles)

Gundam F91 (cool mobile suit fights)

Gundam Char's Counterattack (more awesome mobile suit fights)

Star Wars (they all had some kind of awesomeness to them)

I'd have more but you're only asking for movies.

Babylon 5 TV movie "In the Beginning" covering the Minbari vs. Earth War – just excellent

Well number one is of course the last starfighter :)
More sci fi war movies are navy ones I suspect.
You can pretend das boot is set in any time period – in the future it will be just like then! :)
Otherwise starship troopers is the only traditional ground war film, recruitment advert though it is.
Oh and Dune I guess.

Following the premise that "War is Hell" then it must be "Hell Comes to Frogtown"!

Doesn't Lou Gossett jr. have a baby in Enemy Mine? I think any movie where one of the two lead males living isolated on a planet becomes pregnant must be technically be disqualified as a War Movie! (j/k)

Happy Turkey Day.

Great posts, keep 'em coming, I'm filling up ny Net-Flix list!

LOL – I thought I was the only one who had scene "Hell Comes to Frogtown". Brilliant title for a movie, and a fun movie to boot.

@dropzonetoe – No "Tank Girl"? No "Ice Pirates"? No "Battle Beyond the Stars"? We'll skip "Barb Wire".

All good flix! I just posted the two that I had right next to me.

some other favs
Krull
the last starfighter
Critters in space
the ghosts of mars

Not necessarily the best movies, but:

The Puppet Masters
Natural City
Aliens (good squad level action)
Appleseed
Cyborg (JCVD)

I'm waiting fpr The Mutant Chronicles..

I was sooooo disappointed in Starship Troopers..:-(