Feel-Good Movies For the Science Fiction Fan

Science fiction is a genre that's inherently pessimistic. It was invented as a tool for authors to point out the flaws of the current society by enlarging it and placing it in a far-off land, perhaps at another time. This is maybe the reason why the vast majority of science fiction books - and movies - are pretty bleak. While most of them have happy endings - the readers and the viewers love those - they are almost always pervaded by a sense of doom, fear, perhaps disgust. And this is perhaps the reason why there are almost no works of science fiction among the best feel-good movies you can watch.

But if you look closely, you can stumble upon a few of them that will not only feel good while you watch it but will leave you with a lasting positive mood.

The Fifth Element

Something wicked this way comes - and it can't be stopped by anyone but the tough (but surprisingly fragile) hero from another world. This pretty much sums up the plot of The Fifth Element, Luc Besson's 1997 blockbuster. The story of the film is not very substantial - but its visuals, its overall atmosphere, its humour, and its optimistic tone make up for it, turning it into a warm, entertaining and wild sci-fi extravaganza.

The Fifth Element is one of the most divisive movies of its kind - people either love it or hate it, there's no in-between. And while it does have a few dystopian moments, its overall tone is positive enough for it to qualify as a feel-good movie. Especially because in the end, it's love that saves the world.

Bicentennial Man

It is hard to turn a classic "hard" sci-fi story into a movie. It's even harder when it's a story written by two giants of the genre: Robert Silverberg and Isaac Asimov. As always, the story is an allegory for our modern society: it tackles discrimination, slavery, intellectual freedom, and the nature of humanity itself.

Chris Columbus' Bicentennial Man fails in many areas - its storytelling is inconsistent at times, and Robin Williams' expressive face is enclosed in a robot mask for most of the movie, with no expressions coming through at all. Still, the movie has enough fans not because of its visuals and action sequences but because of its optimistic tone.

Set in an alternative 2005 in Asimov's Foundation universe, the movie tells the story of Andrew (NDR), a domestic robot bought by the Martin family to help out with various duties around the house. The Martins' younger daughter Amanda develops a friendship with the robot, and Andrew - surprisingly - reciprocates. Soon after, Andrew gains creativity and begins to carve wood, ultimately becoming a master clock-maker and amassing a small fortune. In time, Andrew becomes increasingly human-like, even getting an upgrade to have facial expressions. Later, it tries to buy his freedom - its owner, Richard Martin, refuses the money but grants it independence but banishes it from the house. He later feels remorse for this gesture, and apologizes to Andrew on his deathbed.

Aside from emotions and creativity, Andrew also has curiosity. He leaves on a quest to find out if any other robots from its series have developed similar capabilities. It stumbles upon Rupert Burns, the son of the engineer that created the NDR series who specializes in various upgrades for them. The two decide to work together on a variety of upgrades - Andrew becomes increasingly human, gaining the ability to eat, and soon looking like a human. Ultimately, he finds the one trait that makes humans human: they can pass away.

The movie may not be a masterpiece - it is flawed in many ways - but its overall tone is very optimistic, with the hero - a robot who turned into a real human - obtains the ultimate recognition, becoming the oldest man who has ever lived. And it does this in the most emotional and lovable way possible.

The Martian

Being stranded on a distant planet, even if it's Earth's closest neighbour Mars, doesn't come with too much optimism attached. Still, the movie adaptation of Andy Weir's hard sci-fi novel The Martian is a movie about determination, hard work, and optimism prevailing against all odds.

The movie tells the story of Mark Watney, a botanist member of the Ares III Mars mission, who is left behind when the rest of the crew has to flee the surface of the Red Planet. Wounded and alone, Watney is in a seemingly hopeless situation - but he doesn't give up, instead deciding to make the most of the situation he's in: he does his best to survive in an inhospitable environment, with limited resources at hand. The film follows his triumphs and failures, as he manages to communicate with Earth, then produce food in Martian soil, and finally - as a result of a daring plan on NASA's part and at great personal risk - manages to board a spacecraft and go home.

The movie manages to sprinkle even its most desperate moments with hits of humor that will make you smile, and its happy ending will make you proud to be a human.