4 Most Intricate Sci-Fi Crime Movies for Anyone Who Still Misses Blade Runner
David Cronenberg's masterpiece and a forgotten Tom Cruise flick.
Every good story needs an intriguing plot to grab and hold the audience's attention. As a rule, science fiction movies rarely venture into the realm of detective stories, preferring to entertain viewers with big-budget action and exciting adventures.
However, every rule has its exceptions, and crime sci-fi, though rare, still visits the cinemas.
1. Predestination, 2014
The movie, based on the short story All You Zombies by Robert A. Heinlein, explores the paradox of predestination. The protagonist, a Time Agent, attempts to apprehend an elusive terrorist bomber who keeps changing the locations of his crimes.
Set in 1970, the agent, posing as a bartender, tries to find common ground with a customer who looks suspiciously like his terrorist. But the case turns out to be much more complicated than it first appeared.
Despite the sci-fi theme, the movie is made more like a suspenseful dialogue thriller with detective elements, which captivates above all with unbelievable plot twists.
2. Crimes of the Future, 2022
In the near future, humanity is learning to adapt to a new world: people have developed an accelerated evolution syndrome, which causes their bodies to undergo amazing metamorphoses. Some accept the new reality, others try to fight it.
In Crimes of the Future, the master of body horror David Cronenberg returns to the origins and paints the story of a merciless world in which some people find themselves under the influence of accelerated evolution.
As is often the case, external changes divide society into innovators and conservatives, who exist in an unspoken confrontation with each other.
3. Minority Report, 2022
In Minority Report, Steven Spielberg consciously rejects the popular trope of a dystopian future. Instead, he creates a universe where high technology is used to benefit society, not harm it.
Detective John Anderton works in a special unit that deals with the prevention of crimes that have not yet occurred. Thanks to the cooperation of psychics, the police are able to track down potential criminals.
In this way, an innocent person is sent to prison and his potential victim remains safe. In his film, Spielberg explores the dark side of the morality of such a practice, focusing on the problems that preemptive justice could create.
4. Looper, 2012
The movie takes place in the near future, where people have learned to travel through time. For the corporations, the new technical possibility has become just another reason to do their dark deeds.
Hitman Joe travels back in time to eliminate unwanted people. An intricate detective story, connected not only to Joe's new mission, but also to his own past, makes Looper a movie you will want to see to the end.