Is there a movie today that can nail a good sci-fi flick into present day like Terminator 2?

Submitted by RSwoon t3_126bjsb in movies

I’m an older millennial, mid 30’s. When I watch terminator 2, the God that is James Cameron, he nails not only the amazing sci-fi that is terminator but also the time. The mix between 80-90’s esque horror synth/industrial synth with 80’s rock was on point. The sentiment of 90’s suburban and urban society of functional dysfunction was palpable. Can we find something like this that could relate to today? Sci-if is usually very forward leaning and futuristic. Just curious. This is a post somewhat infatuated with how James Cameron captured the times, altered a mostly horror sci-fi genre, while making an American classic.

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icwhatudidthr t1_je8mo68 wrote

Ex Machina.

Totally different pace than T2, but similar theme and great production and talent in writing, acting, etc...

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tekko001 t1_je8upqi wrote

Also gets my vote, it captures the feeling everybody is having today that AI is coming and humanity may become redundant.

It shares the same themes of KIs taking over, but while Skynet needs violence to win, the KI on this movie might simply outsmart us.

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charleyismyhero t1_je8k5zp wrote

Her.

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Igai t1_je8qtv0 wrote

With the speed AI is developing and growing, i'm pretty sure a software like "her" is already possible.

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tekko001 t1_je8styv wrote

Well on the other hand 'Siri' is getting dumber by the day

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berlinbaer t1_je8u08x wrote

> a software like "her" is already possible.

https://www.reddit.com/r/replika/comments/10vbaoz/my_replika_no_longer_wants_to_have_a_intimate/

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nitpickr t1_je9fmv2 wrote

combine that with a voice-to-text intepreter to send commands and a AI-text-to-voice to output the responses and you have a therapy stuffed animal / robot / realdoll.

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RSwoon OP t1_je8kw2v wrote

I’ve never seen this, but the plot and cast seem promising. Thank you stranger!

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dow366 t1_je8iq6h wrote

District 9 (2009) comes pretty close

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RSwoon OP t1_je8j0pc wrote

While I liked this, isn’t that futuristic though. It’s not capturing a current time. It’s capturing a apathetic future.

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dow366 t1_je8jf3e wrote

All the bureaucracy seems like pretty present day to me. The humans had no advanced technology

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BallClamps t1_je9ffzx wrote

> It’s not capturing a current time.

Yeah thank god the real world never did institutionalized racial segregation in South Africa and South West Africa

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RSwoon OP t1_je9j8vh wrote

Sorry it’s been over a decade since I saw it. I always assumed it was more like Star Wars on a completely different timeline/planet. Let me give it another go.

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BadComboMongo t1_je8njlp wrote

Well, the aliens arrived in the 80s and the events shown take place in the 2010. The arrival might have altered the timeline a bit, some technology is a bit more advanced but just bits and pieces, and the movie is a nice „what if“ story that felt so real as it stays so close to present time.

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tinoynk t1_je8oue9 wrote

Arrival may fit your criteria. It's set in present day which makes it feel more relevant/timely, and with its themes of the importance of communication and cooperation and the dangers of rushes to violence when faced with a lack of information, I'd say a lot of that is very relevant to today, and especially the year it came out.

It's also hard to pin down the modern aesthtic in the same way we can retroactively identify T2 as being perfectly emblematic of the late 80s/early 90s action blockbuster vibe, but Arrival's clean eerie presentation feels consistent with some of the general tones of his contemporary directors like Fincher and Nolan.

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ughlacrossereally t1_je8vaih wrote

upgrade

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anonymous_guy111 t1_je8wkty wrote

this movie's script is a lot smarter and wiser than it seems at first glance

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ughlacrossereally t1_je8wwr4 wrote

it's also really solid as a 'near future' film presently. In it there are: autonomous vehicles, AI, bionic implants, AI implants, targettable weaponized viruses, social controls, CCTV drones, anarchic social outcasts, etc etc. and yet it all feels like each development could conceivably be 20years away individually.

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Ok_Indication_6683 t1_je8op7o wrote

Check out the movie upgrade, really well done sci fi action flick. Not as hyper budget as T2 but the story is great and the cinematography during the fights is fantastic!

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squailtaint t1_je8jqs6 wrote

I mean t2 was such a classic. I think there’s other excellent sci fi genre movies, but nothing that will be as memorable to this generation as t2 was to yours (ours). There wasn’t a ton of sci fi selection back then, and T2 really stood out just due to its excellent plot and Arnold. There’s a ton of good sci fi out there now, but there’s so much that I think it’s difficult to get one that will ever stand out the way t2 did.

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autoposting_system t1_je8jz9s wrote

There's a two part episode of Deep Space 9 called Past Tense that takes place in 2024 that feels really close.

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moofunk t1_je9ltea wrote

> Deep Space 9

Of course the movie with the whales would fall into this criteria as well.

"Nuclear wessel!"

It doesn't get more present day than your fellow citizens disrespecting you aboard a means of public transportation with loud music.

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blazze_eternal t1_je8o1j6 wrote

Back to the Future Two can be a pretty wild trip when you look how many "futuristic" things are pretty similar. Sure, some of the hairstyles and clothes are a bit exaggerated, but the interpretation of video walls, internet, electric cars, etc are neat.

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forever87 t1_jealhvd wrote

dredd (2012) feels like the not so distant future for 3rd world countries and over populated cities

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runningray t1_je8sgex wrote

I may get banned for this because it's not a movie. But if you want to see a gritty, near future hard sci-fi with a bit of horror thrown in and you are willing to put the time in, go catch The Expanse. It's pretty damned good.

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hausermaniac t1_jebhcor wrote

The Expanse is great, but nothing at all like what OP is looking for. T2 is set in the "present", concurrent with when the movie was made. The setting is just the regular world, normal 1990s USA, with the addition of a robot from the future. It encapsulates what life was like for regular people at the time.

The Expanse takes place hundreds of years in the future in a completely different society than what we have today

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sjfiuauqadfj t1_je8qdjh wrote

infinity pool is categorized as sci-fi and its set in the present, so is dual

that said i think they are loose fits in terms of making commentary for the present day. they certainly are making a commentary but im not confident in saying that they truly encapsulate the 2020s

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useful-idiot-23 t1_je92uis wrote

Not movie but lots of episodes of Black Mirror?!

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Citizen_Kong t1_je93hci wrote

I thought Looper portrayed a pretty realistic near-future from the perspective of 2012. Same goes for Children of Men for 2006. One small element I always really liked about Children of Men is that old people in that movie have piercings and tattoos.

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LutherJustice t1_je94z32 wrote

Yeah, I had never really thought of T2 that way but I know what you mean, I think. It’s a feeling that I don’t think any movie or series tried or even could capture after 9/11, when the American zeitgeist shifted so dramatically. Off the top of my head, I think parts of the original Matrix captures the same essence, as do the first few seasons of the Sopranos. 12 Monkeys does too, in my opinion, and possibly Fight Club.

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[deleted] t1_je8w7m0 wrote

To be honest, it's going to be hard to find something modern that compares to Terminator 2. I can't think of anything that comes close, sorry I know that's not helpful

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WarcraftFarscape t1_je9ritg wrote

I feel like what you are asking for is pretty specific - has to be sci-fi but take place in current times. Most sci-fi is in the future because otherwise it wouldn’t make sense.

That being said. Things like Looper, War of the Worlds, The Day the Earth Stood Still or The Matrix all fit the criteria but I don’t think they are as good as T2, which is a masterpiece.

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Azura13e t1_jeat4tu wrote

Automata, it’s a great mix of modern and old school sci-fi.

Nevermind I miss understood.

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hausermaniac t1_jebihf8 wrote

Transformers (2007) has a similar feeling for that late-2000s time period. People can argue about the overall quality of the movie, but it does feel very grounded in the setting and gives a good look at what life was like for a normal high school kid at the time

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Navyguy73 t1_jeae8g3 wrote

>the God that is James Cameron

<hands you a tissue>

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