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

I was distinctly underwealmed by mutant chronicles. If you are going to do the dirty dozen, it should at least be as good as the original. Rather than 14 characters I think you get 5 if you are generous.

Someone said Mad MAx, but has anyone said The Road Warrior? More future war (slings and arrows) than sci-fi war (lasers and force fields), I reckon'.

To the Aliens detractors: Maybe if we look at this topic as sci fi "combat" as opposed to sci-fi "war," then I'd say Aliens is close to the top of my list.

Did I see someone mention the Hawkmen battle from Flash Gordon?? Yes!! "DIIIIIIIVE!!!!"

Certainly the battle scenes in Star Wars are the first 'SciFi War' to pop into my head… too bad there wasn't more 'War' in 'Star Wars' and less 'acting'.

Star wars (IV and V)
Starship Troopers
Aliens
Battlestar Galactica (both of them)
Mars Attacks
War of the Worlds (1953)

Appleseed (the new CG one) and Appleseed Ex Machina have some mindblowing combat sequences. So does Vexille, even though none of them are actually about War.

There's 'Roughnecks Chronicles' which is much better than the SST movies.

Soldier.

Spaced Invaders has a bit of war in the early part.

Several anime *series* do well in this genre, but aren't movies.

Appleseed definately, love the firefight in the ruined city.
Robert

Aliens – first, second and third!!

Blade Runner

Empire Strikes Back then Soldier or ALIENS.

Although, I have to say we are still waiting for a true "sci-fi" battle from beginning to end with at least company or battalion level as opposed to what amounts to squad level in ALIENS or Soldier.

Aliens. I dont really see any true "War Movies" in SF. Perhaps the B5 ones but I dont consider TV and Movies to be the same thing.

"too bad there wasn't more 'War' in 'Star Wars' and less 'acting'."

The 'war' in SW is just a backdrop to the story of the fall and redemption of Anakin Skywalker, but as I said above, some of the battle scenes are very impressive indeed.

I'm racking my brains now to think of good naval war type Sci Fi films. I guess the trouble is that war films per se are a bit boring, we relate to historical war films as they have some cultural resonance, but a made up war film about some mythical war in the the future? What is the point? It needs to have something else to make it hang together, which is why the war bit is alomost always just something to hang the real story off. We end up with a space version of 'Pearl Harbor', when what we want is a 'A Bridge Too Far'.

Blade Runner

Blade Runner's a great film, but not a war movie, surely?

Starship Troopers (the first one and the animated version)
Aliens
Space Above and Beyond

Ridley Scott is going to direct the film adaptation of Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War"

link

I really can't wait for this!

Weird definition of war movies going on here. Apparently a war movie is a movie with constant battle scenes, not a movie where the setting is at war.

Passchendaele not a war film by that standard?

Star Wars
Starship Troopers
Dune

The simple look using broad definitions of 'war':

Firefly
Starwars (original)
Wizards
Starship Troopers (not nearly as cheezy as many believe for the oringial. Not the best acting, but perfect for what the director wanted).
Matrix

Wizards, a classic CC!

Good news about "The Forever War." Sounds interesting.

@dwartist

Aliens first, second and third?
The second one I can understand but what kind of war was there in the first or third? 1 alien taking out a lot of mostly unarmed people commando style? Is that really considered a war?

And I forgot the anime Venus Wars.
Tanks vs. monobikes, that's sci-fi war any way you look at it.

"Ridley Scott is going to direct the film adaptation of Joe Haldeman's "The Forever War""

Best sci-fi movie news I have heard in a VERY long time.

There is urely nothing more Epic in scope and "ultimate" in terms of warfare than The Forever War?

And with Ridley Soctt as Director?

Can it get any better than this?

"Can it get any better than this?"

A "Warhammer 40k" themed movie by Ridley Scott or James Cameron ?

I would love to see a "Hammer's Slammers" movie done. I have always thought a Terminator movie that is completely in the future about the war between the humans and skynet would be awesome.
I would have to say that my favorite sci-fi war movies (at least my definition of "war" movies) would have to be, and not in any particular order:

Starship Troopers
Screamers
Wing Commander
Dune
Final Fantasy – Spirits Within
Titan A.E.

There are tons of anime features that could fit the bill so I am not including any of those.

Echo5Hotel,

"I have always thought a Terminator movie that is completely in the future about the war between the humans and skynet would be awesome'

Your prayers are answered:
link

Aliens, The Road Warrior, Star Wars(particularly the space battles at the ends of A New Hope and Return of the Jedi).

""Can it get any better than this?"

A "Warhammer 40k" themed movie by Ridley Scott or James Cameron ?"

Even better would be a faithful adaption of Starship Troopers

Inspired by this thread I watched "Dune"

Thanks guys, I had forgotten how genuinly bad that film was.

Aliens
Wing Commander
Terminator – the future scenes
Starship Troopers I & III (notice no II)
Starship Troopers animated series
Babylon 5
Battlestar Galactica
Star Wars I, II, III, IV & V
Star Wars VI if you take out all the ewoks. hahhaa

Okay here goes in no particular order:

Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
Aliens
Starship Troopers
Screamers
Wing Commander
Last Starfighter
Serenity: River's last stand against the Reavers just made shout "GO RIVER" in the theater
Star Trek II: Wrath of Khan is it just me or was the battle between Enterprise and Reliant in the nebula just way cool.

As for TV
Babylon 5 hands down fave
Space Above and Beyond (Stupid Fox progamming execs killed it before it could fly.)
Firefly (The Old West in Space had hooked from the first episode. Damn Fox progamming execs and the horse they rode in on!!)
Roughnecks: Starship Trooper Chronicles (Better than the theatrical release.)
Battlstar Galactica (Sci-Fi Channel series the combat is pretty gritty but I don't care for the story at all.)
Robotech all three series.

I'd love to see a Battletech movie complete with System Battles, Space Combat Drops, and Mech Battles. Yes I'm still a Mechhead after twenty years.

I'm racking my brains now to think of good naval war type Sci Fi films.

If you are looking for Naval combat in the future, my personal favorite is the Blue Submarine Number 6 series (anime).

All of the choices made are good & i cannot find anything wrong with them. As i wrack my brain for some esoteric film that is on the same level of "coolness" i keep coming up with military sci-fi books, so with that in mind please allow these contenders even though no movie version exsists yet:

1. Bolo series by Keith Laumer
2. Starfist series by David Sherman
3. Starship Troopers by Robert Heinlin
4. Bezerker by Fred Saberhagen

OK in a last minute idea the pilot for Buck Rogers, some real cool battle scenes & Col Wilma Deering.

Matrix Revolutions
Battlestar Galactica
Starship Troopers
Wing Commander
The Clone Wars

So we are counting TV series now, then there's also
Legend of Galactic Heroes
Mobile Suit Gundam
Gundam 08th MS Team
Gundam 0083 Stardust Memory
Zeta Gundam
ZZ Gundam
Victory Gundam
AT Votoms
Gall Force
Banner of the Stars

The Japanese seem to like sci-fi war. Even if some of them do get a little weird.

The Starship troopers animated show was pretty good, and its ALL war

I'm not sure Starship Troopers, as the book presents it, would make a good movie. Lots of boy growing up, not much real action.

Armor would make a much better movie (or series of movies)

Chronicles of Riddick is one of my "guilty pleasure" sci-fi flicks, and, i think, counts as a Sci-Fi war "themed" movie (close enough).