50 Essential Sci-Fi Films of the 21st Century (So Far)

Avatar: the film that not only revived 3D, but launched a whole new branch of mo-cap/3D/CG technology, wowing audiences globally and giving director James Cameron the highest-grossing film of all time - for the second time.

We are taken to Pandora, a world rich in fauna, flora, and blue tribal aliens, the Na'vi, where human industrial interests threaten the very stability of the planet. Paraplegic former marine Jake Sully (Sam Worthington) gets kitted out with a remote human/Na'vi hybrid Avatar, which allows him to survive the planet’s poisonous atmosphere, get his legs back, and gain the trust of the Na’vi, reporting back to a team of scientists. There are only two things he didn’t count on: him falling for Na'vi native Neytiri (Zoe Saldaña), and the destruction humanity is willing to undertake in the name of profit.

Although the plot is basically identical to Dances with Wolves, Pocahontas, The Last Samurai, and any number of other popular films with a stranger in a strange land or white saviour narrative, this is not the point. Avatar is pure spectacle, built to demonstrate the full capabilities of the digital technology Cameron had been championing for the past couple of decades, and even 16 years on, it is still one of the best-looking science fiction films of all time.