How important is a premise to a film? As the jumping off point of the narrative, it is critical for high-concept science fiction to have a premise that both supports the themes and ideas of the film, but also isn't too intellectual to alienate audiences looking for entertainment. 2013 experienced a surprising surge of original-concept science fiction films. While the number of unoriginal science fiction films will always outnumber the original ones (films like The Host and Ender's Game come to mind), the number of big budget original science fiction films came surprisingly close to their adapted counterparts last year - such films as Elysium, Pacific Rim, Oblivion, and yes, even After Earth, represented a wave of original science fiction premises with the potential to stimulate the market and save us from mediocre young adult sci-fi and Transformers sequels. In 2014, there is much to look forward to in the area of idea-based science fiction, such as Wally Pfister's directorial debut Transcendence - a film backed by Christopher Nolan, who never has been accused of making shallow films. In anticipation of more smart science fiction to come, we have assembled the top 10 best Science Fiction Premises of the last decade! All the premises here are taken from original films, so ones based on previously published material has been excluded (which is why "Children of Men" did not make the cut) - Enjoy, and as always, comment if you think there are more terrific science fiction premises that didn't make the list!
Self-evidently a man who writes for the Internet, Robert also writes films, plays, teleplays, and short stories when he's not working on a movie set somewhere. He lives somewhere behind the Hollywood sign.
