Space combat science fiction. Novelty Fiction

In Russia, the movie genre term “combat science fiction” was originally used; in the West, the term “military sci-fi & fantasy” (literally translated as “military science fiction and fantasy”) is used. At first glance, an inexperienced viewer may think that the difference between them is small, but it is quite significant.

Essence

The basis in the structure of films related to combat fiction is the battle itself, a bloody battle, but the military is inclined to pay more attention to the various facets of the action called war. The descriptive reflection of battles, star squadrons is just a detail, undoubtedly important, but not the only one. In addition to battles, the plot contains diplomacy, politics, tactics and strategy, ethics and morality. The predominant part of military science fiction is pure "entertainment", or, as it is also called, "combat". However, there are films, the creators of which, to one degree or another, touch upon rather serious problems, strive to analyze the causes and consequences of military conflicts, design a strategy for future wars, and even convey anti-war messages to the audience.

Cinema Geometry

Often, combat science fiction uses one of the most popular plot schemes - a military epic, which is a whole complex of stories that are closely intertwined. Individual directors and directors are swaying at a detailed description of events with an impressive number of characters. A typical example is the Star Wars movie epic by J. Lucas, which continues to enjoy phenomenal popularity and success in many countries around the world. By the way, there is practically no blood in the epic movie, even in the most ambitious battle scenes.

The history of the development of the genre. Start

The 20-30s of the twentieth century gave mankind many fantastic paintings, but it is difficult to attribute them to the category of "combat fantasy." Films of this period are mostly focused on human dramas, and not on wars, space and aliens. But in the middle of the century in the film industry, the era of films about monsters, mainly aliens, which, of course, are trying in every possible way to harm the inhabitants of planet Earth, has come.

A striking example is Byron Haskin’s film “War of the Worlds”. And at the end of the decade, the theme of space exploration and the possible consequences became incredibly popular, and space combat science fiction pushed aside other movie genres: “When the Worlds Collide”, “Destination - Moon”, “Space Conquest”, “Evil Red Planet”, “It! Horror from space "(a film-harbinger of" Alien ")," Earth versus flying saucers. " After the appearance of Kubrick’s masterpiece “2001: A Space Odyssey”, the studios began with a great desire to invest in paintings about space and space battles. Through the efforts of the directors, mysticism was added to the cinema science fiction, such films as “Silent Run”, “Planet of the Apes” (with numerous sequels), “The Western World” and the gloomy “THX 1138” by D. Lucas can be cited as examples.

Closer to the present

The futuristic fairy tale “Star Wars” ruled the movie in the 80s, thanks to its success several iconic films appeared: “Star Trek”, “Blade Runner” (1982), “Something” (1982) and “Alien” Ridley Scott. Towards the end of the 20th century, certain patterns were outlined in the development of cinema science fiction that determined what the viewer would watch in the future. They were reflected in the following paintings: “End of the World”, “The Matrix” (1999), “Equilibrium” (2002) and “Independence Day”.

In the era of scientific and technological revolution

The rapid development of computer technology, which transformed the look of the entire cinema, stimulated a new surge in the appearance of films in the genre of "combat science fiction" in the new century. The best of the variety that appeared was appreciated by the viewer:

1. Divergent (2014). A vivid anti-utopia, where the heroes fight for the freedom and independence of everyone, for new laws and the reconstruction of the world. In the film, only one city remained inhabited on the planet, and the world became completely different. It is in the vastness of Chicago, the last home on earth, that all events unfold.
2. Lucy (2014). The film became a cult and captivated the audience with its colorful plot and exciting action. Lucy - a girl who accidentally became the main participant in the events, suddenly knew everything that is in the world. This hinders many, and militants are trying to destroy it, and scientists want to get knowledge for progress and the rule of world science.
3. “The Maze Runner” (2014). A film with an exciting plot. Several people live in a safe area in the center of a maze, which is not so easy to find a way out of. However, this security disappears when two other characters appear in their world. Will everyone be able to get out of the maze or will he swallow them?
4. "Iron Man" (2008), a film about progress, about the development of one successful engineer and businessman - iron protective shells. Can people with such armor save the world this time?
5. Guardians of the Galaxy, which became in 2014 one of the most popular films of its genre. The film solves the intergalactic conflict, which the American pilot was involuntarily witnessing.

In the USSR, there were no “fights”?

Fighting science fiction is a genre beloved and long mastered in the vastness of our country. But films of the Soviet era clearly go beyond its scope. Soviet directors were much more interested in the development of mankind, they have a lot of "social programs". The firstborn of cinema science fiction of the USSR is considered to be Aelita. After that, a real boom of science fiction films spurred the release of such films: “Silent Star”, “Sky Calls”, “Planet of the Storms”, “Prisoners of the Iron Star”, “Moscow - Cassiopeia”, “Inquiry of the Pirks Pilot”. Russian combat science fiction of that period is filled with an agitational spirit - positive cosmonauts fought with vicious astronauts. All films are similar in their shortcomings: gross scientific mistakes, timidity of author's fiction and stereotyped characters.

Domestic cinema. Rebirth

Russian science fiction corresponds to the trends of the new era, there are paintings that can compete with foreign ones:

1. "Night Watch" (2004). One of the most popular Russian films and the most popular domestic film of its genre. Great action and incredible world with vampires, witches and other supernatural forces, and with the “watch” opposing them.
2. Day Watch (2005) is a continuation of the idea and plot of the film Night Watch, a little less popular in the first part. Here, in order to maintain a balance in a world with dark and light power, the daily patrol balances the forces of good and prevents it from becoming stronger than dark forces.
3. “Keepers of the Network” (2010). The film is about a secret organization that monitors the Internet. The heroes of the film, who were once professional hackers, now serve their homeland and are ready to control life on the network.
4. “We are from the future” (2008). In the film, a group of people who are engaged in the illegal extraction of artifacts found during their work special documents of the war years. There they found their photographs, but taken during the Great Patriotic War. Soon, the heroes themselves become participants in the fighting to solve the riddle of this find.
5. “We are from the Future-2” (2010). Continuation of the plot of the first film that captivated the audience with its action and originality. A group of people who have fallen into the war in the past should influence its outcome and the future of the country.

Unprecedented phenomenon

All the latest fiction novels are a single unprecedented phenomenon. Mostly these are large-scale action blockbusters with an unexpected but impressive cast:

1. Avengers: Age of Ultron (2015). Avengers attack the enemy headquarters of G.I.D.R.A. Taking advantage of enemy developments, part of the team secretly from the rest creates Ultron - a robot whose purpose is to protect the world and order. But something went wrong ...
2. Divergent, Chapter 2: Insurgent (2015). Beatrice Prior confronts the internal demons to save society.
3. The Rise of Jupiter (2015). The simple cleaner Jupiter Jones is at the epicenter of intergalactic intrigue that can change the universe. The routine of a girl changes dramatically.
4. “Welcome to Paradise” (2015). A city has been created for millionaires, where they can fulfill all their desires with the help of androids. With the robot you can do anything, and there are a lot of people who want to try, despite the price. Then the devices are sent for repair and erased the memory, but once the program crashes, one of the androids recalls all the horrors that happened to him and his brothers.