That which is unfathomable is often exciting and thrilling—both essential components of a successful film. Hollywood, especially, has never been immune to the pulse of its audience and has hungrily pounced on the sci-fi genre in the past. With increasingly potent special effects and more plausible plots, sci-fi has evolved into a highly entertaining and top-grossing genre in the last two decades. For the layperson, watching disaster unfolding on screen provides a sort of vicarious thrill that cannot be beat. So grab your favourite snack and get set to watch these immensely popular space disaster-themed flicks for the first or the nth time. Let the (meteor) showers begin!
Independence Day (1996)
A star-studded cast (Will Smith, Bill Pullman, Jeff Goldblum), mind-blowing special effects and unadulterated imagination make Independence Day a classic sci-fi flick worthy of being enjoyed again and again. When giant hostile alien spacecraft attack Earth, it is up to a team of machismo experts to save humanity from annihilation. The plot is straightforward but it is the cinematography and the cast that make this movie a classic in the sci-fi genre. If you have a big-screen TV and a darkened media room, this is one essential movie to have in your DVD collection.
Deep Impact (1998)
Based on the premise that the collision of a large space rock with Earth has the potential to wipe out humanity, Deep Impact delivers quality entertainment in terms of boisterous special effects, a brisk pace and edge-of-the-seat action. The plot and acting (Robert Duvall, Tea Leoni, Morgan Freeman) garnered a bit of flak from reviewers; however, it was one of the top grossers for its year of release. If exciting sequences of approaching comets, the unimaginable doom of a mega-tsunami and moving scenes of familial separation along with non-stop action is what you are looking for, Deep Impact is the movie to rent.Armageddon (1998)
This movie was released the same year as Deep Impact, and although both movies have similar storylines, Armageddon has a heavier star cast (Bruce Willis, Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, Owen Wilson), a bigger budget and was a bigger hit than the latter. When an asteroid the size of Texas approaches Earth, a team of experts is dispatched to drill a hole in the asteroid's surface to embed a bomb that will blow it apart. With each setback to the team, the sense of impending doom is heightened. With every lost personnel the tension mounts. Added to this are splendidly recreated scenes of devastation of cities like Paris and Shanghai. An example of larger-than-life filmmaking, Armageddon delivers on all counts of action, adventure and a major adrenaline rush for an entirely entertaining sci-fi experience.The Core (2003)
The Earth's crust has stopped spinning. Its magnetic fields are deteriorating, which is causing problems ranging from earthquakes to heart failures. A team of scientists have to blast their way into the Earth's core to try to nuke it back into action. Starring the absolutely watchable Aaron Eckhart and Hilary Swank, The Core presents impending disaster from within rather than the more common outer space variety. Not a classic but definitely a highly entertaining disaster movie.The Day After Tomorrow (2004)
Here is a movie that depicts the threat of global warming at its worst but somewhat believable culmination. With extreme warming of the Earth's climate, a new Ice Age dawns, leaving destruction, horrific natural phenomena and a rapidly freezing Earth in its wake. North America is engulfed by a hurricane-like superstorm that drops surface temperatures below freezing, leaving only a small band of survivors who must somehow stay alive until rescue. Big budget special effects, explosive action and a plausible plot earned The Day After Tomorrow big entertainment thumbs up from moviegoers and critics alike.
If perfect science is not what you expect from an entertaining thriller but you are looking for loud, engaging, lighthearted fun, then these apocalyptic disaster movies will quickly become your Top 5 favourites.
Puja Gupta - Puja is a freelancer with a wide variety of interests ranging from Medieval England to modern India, from science to literature. However, ...
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