2017 holds plenty of uncertainty, but great sci-fi movies look like a sure thing. We'll see the return of Rick Deckard in Blade Runner 2049 and finally get some Luke Skywalker in the eighth installment of the Star Wars saga. But 2017 is full of exciting releases, crossing huge franchises, wonderful one-offs, and yes, a few bottom feeders likely not worth your time. We'll walk you through the biggest sci-fi releases of the year, and which ones are worth a skip or a trip to the theater.
Note: We'll be updating this post as more films debut and others are announced.
Underworld: Blood Wars
Release: January 6, 2017
Verdict: Skip
At this point, the world is divided into people who already love Underworld movies and people who never will—and that's the way it's going to stay. Blood Wars offers nothing new to entice anyone who wasn't interested, but it's more guns-blazing, blue-filtered red meat for Selyne's diehards. Lara Pulver, recently of "Sherlock" fame, shows up here as a villain who could have been much more interesting. Charles Dance from "Game of Thrones" appears, too, and he's great. Despite all the delightful gunfire and violence, however, Blood Wars feels like what it is—a bridge to yet another Underworld movie already in development.
Resident Evil: The Final Chapter
Release: January 27, 2017
Verdict: Skip
Unless you happen to like this franchise already, there is nothing for you here. Just be thankful it's over.
The Space Between Us
Release: February 3, 2017
Verdict: Skip
The Space Between Us comes with an interesting enough premise— sort of a Martian bildungsroman—and it gives viewers respite from human-killing aliens and other explosion-prone films in 2017. Unfortunately, this interesting idea collapses beneath a cast that lacks chemistry, ultimately turning what I think was supposed to be a heart-wrenching drama into a film you can't help but chuckle your way through. Time is better spent elsewhere.
A Cure for Wellness
Release: February 17, 2017
Verdict: Skip
If you like beautiful films with a interesting enough premise, you could spend time with Gore Verbinski's latest sci-fi horror film A Cure for Wellness, but it's hardly worth the investment. The film feels like it struggles to be deeper than it actually is, and whatever depth it does have is handled in the most painstakingly obvious of ways. You could see worse films (in fact there are worse on this list), but there are much, much better movies to consider—like this next one.
Logan
Release: March 3, 2017
Verdict: Must watch
"Finally," was the the near-collective response from Wolverine and X-Men fans everywhere after the release of Logan. Although an iconic character since Hugh Jackman's first appearance as Logan in X-Men in 2000, 17 year later the character still didn't have a definitive, rated-R adventure. Now he does. Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Dafne Keen as X-23 are all excellent. Seriously, you should have seen this film yesterday.
Power Rangers
Release: March 24, 2017
Verdict: Maybe
Power Rangers doesn't innovate on what Marvel has been doing with its comic franchise. In fact, the film feels remarkably similar to 2011's Thor—even the very last big baddie looks remarkably similar. The film does its best to straddle the line between its campy past and the gritty "realism" of superhero films of today, and it does an admirable job though it's certainly not as lighthearted as the TV show that captured the imagination of millions.
The acting is surprisingly solid, the script significantly less so, but Power Rangers has never been much for substance. It's more about kicking the crap out of monsters with martial arts and dino machines, and in that respect, Power Rangers delivers.
Life
Release: March 24, 2017
Verdict: Maybe
Life certainly wants to be the Alien of modern cinema, but more often than not, the movie ends up falling flat. There are a few genuinely gripping moments, but the only character with any personality is the first to get killed, leaving a mostly boring cast of characters to get picked off one by one.
Jake Gyllenhaal's David Jordan, who serves as the story's main character, spends most of his time yelling bad advice during the chaotic horror scenes and whining about the violence of humanity. The slaughtering of the crew by the alien creature named Calvin can be horrifyingly intriguing, but it's hard to care about the loss of one-dimensional characters.
In the end, the octopoid monster of Life can't hold a candle to the xenomorph we have all come to know and love.
Ghost In the Shell
Release: March 31, 2017
Verdict: Maybe
Primarily concerned with exploring the character Major (controversially played by Scarlett Johansson), Ghost in the Shell delivers on the strange and weird but lacks the substance of the original manga. Johansson is great in her role as Major and is supported by a strong cast of characters, but you can't help leaving the theater thinking you've just watched a wasted opportunity.
Colossal
Release: April 7, 2017
Verdict: Maybe
As clever as it is disjointed, Colossal is an ambitious mixture of genres that doesn't always come together but consistently keeps you wondering where it will go next. It's great for people who don't mind lighthearted treatments of usually dark and serious genres, but the kaiju diehards might not find much to love.
The Circle
Release: April 28, 2017
Verdict: Skip
Based on a novel by Dave Eggers, The Circle is a film full of important themes and deep acting talent, but not the narrative structure to support it. Perhaps even more so than last year's Passengers, this film demonstrates that a star-studded cast—Emma Watson, Tom Hanks, John Boyega—doesn't necessary guarantee that a film will be worth watching. The Circle asks an incredibly relevant question—What if technology and surveillance becomes too pervasive?—but it's a question it ultimately fails to answer in a convincing and entertaining way.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
Release: May 5, 2017
Verdict: Must watch
Guardians of the Galaxy remains Marvel Studios' greatest sleeper franchise. While Vol. 2 doesn't feel as fresh as its predecessor, its cast of characters still delivers a fun two-hour romp through the Marvel universe, creating the textbook definition of a plain fun popcorn flick. Simply put, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 is fun as hell and well worth the price of admission.
Alien: Covenant
Release: May 19, 2017
Verdict: Maybe
Many diehard Alien fans will happy with Ridley Scott's latest, Alien: Covenant. The sixth film in the franchise expounds on the universe created in the original Alien and delves into some backstory behind the fearsome, acid-spewing monster. But for those hoping that Covenant would be a return to groundbreaking storytelling that made the original Alien so memorable, then Covenant isn't what you're looking for. In fact, it's very possible that Covenant is a film that's all too familiar.
Transformers Whatever
Release: June 20, 2017
Verdict: Skip
Michael Bay, haven't you done enough?
War of the Planet of the Apes
Release: July 14, 2017
Verdict: Must Watch
This year has seen ton of action flicks, but War for the Planet of the Apes should be at the top of your list. With a plot that has plenty of fighting but not overburdened by it, characters—ape and human alike— shine through creating another compelling entry into the ever-growing Apes franchise. We could delve deeper into what we love about this film, but it's best if you just experience it yourself.
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets
Release: July 21, 2017
Verdict: Maybe
Adapted from a beloved French comic, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets has a lot to live up to. Although the film's lush visuals are certainly a sight to behold, this optic eye candy serves a boring narrative with some pretty terrible acting and a robotic script. If you're looking for something to gawk at, Valerian might be worth the price of admission, but be prepared to be underwhelmed by the rest of what the film has to offer.
The Dark Tower
Release: August 4, 2017
Verdict: Skip
Nikolaj Arcel's The Dark Tower is shoddy storytelling at a dizzying pace that ranks damn near the bottom of King's worst of the worst. Idris Elba's Roland Deschain is a rare bright spot in the film, but ultimately watching The Dark Tower is like sprinting through the Louvre. Each nook and gallery hints to a world full of promise, but it passes in a blur as the director drags you along before you can get a good look. It's a film that starts leaking from your memory the moment it fades to black.
Flatliners
Release: September 29, 2017
Verdict: Skip
A remake of the 1990 film starring Kevin Bacon and Kiefer Sutherland, Flatliners is sci-fi psychological horror film that explores what happens when we die—and it should have stayed dead. Boring, stupid, and unintentionally funny, there are many, many others films more deserving of your time.
Blade Runner 2049
[youtube ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCcx85zbxz4[/youtube]Release: October 6, 2017
Verdict: Must watch
Blade Runner 2049 is steeped in rich, eerie synthesizer tones and big, striking imagery (yes, we open on an eyeball, like in the original). Director Denis Villeneuve (Arrival, Enemy) tackles the mythos of Ridley's Scott cinema classic head-on, but this is no mere act of mimicry. This continuing and expanding story of the androids and the cops who chase them plays in the same mind-scrambling sandbox that original book author Philip K. Dick called home. And despite the 35-year gap between movies and many different names in the credits, this feels like a natural addition to the story.
Star Wars: The Last Jedi
[youtube ]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0CbN8sfihY[/youtube]Release: December 15, 2017
Verdict: Must watch
Saving the big one for last. Rian Johnson's The Last Jedi will no doubt leaves some fans disappointed, but it remains the most beautifully cinematic film in the entire franchise, eclipsing even The Force Awakens and Rogue One. Following the legacy of the usual trilogy structure, The Last Jedi does take a darker turn, but it does so with a purpose that extends beyond just the action we see on screen. Some uneven pacing and a few head-scratching plot decisions keep this film from grasping the title of "Best Star Wars Film Ever Made," but it is 2-and-a-half hours of pure sci-fi fantasy that you're definitely not going to want to miss.
Darren lives in Portland, has a cat, and writes/edits about sci-fi and how our world works. You can find his previous stuff at Gizmodo and Paste if you look hard enough.