15 Greatest Hard Science Fiction Movies Of All Time

13. Gattaca

Ex Machina
Columbia Pictures

With its theories of genetic superiority and a population controlled by eugenics, Gattaca has more than a few things in common with the writings of Aldous Huxley. His novel Brave New World includes many of the concepts featured in Andrew Niccol's film which capture the essence of a dystopian future structured around chemically induced compliance.

As with many other dystopian works of fiction, Gattaca's central concern is the idea of free will in a system in which everyone's function in society is controlled by their genetic inheritance. Here, the character of Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) moves up the social hierarchy from in-valid to valid by using someone else's genetic code, and is soon embroiled in a murder plot as he desperately tries to keep his true identity a secret.

Gattaca's plot might slip into the familiar in the final act, but it's held together by good performance from Hawke and Uma Thurman, and more significantly it has influenced real-world geneticists to exercise caution in their field of work, concerned how the brave new world we're entering could become Brave New World.

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Andrew Dilks hasn't written a bio just yet, but if they had... it would appear here.