Movies

5 Sci-Fi Gems That Steer Clear of the 'Dystopian Future' Cliche  

5 Sci-Fi Gems That Steer Clear of the 'Dystopian Future' Cliche  
Image credit: Legion-Media

It is bizarre how many stories portray the future as a dark and unwelcoming place, unlike these five.

Given the wide variety of sci-fi stories about the future, have you ever wondered how many of them are actually, well, livable?

If you think about it, the answer might surprise you, because all too many futures are pretty unpleasant, like the heavily polluted megapolises of Blade Runner or the post-nuclear wasteland of The Terminator.

So here are five of the brightest on-screen depictions of the future that you might want to live in for a change.

Star Trek

Aside from the occasional catastrophic event (which, to be fair, happens in the real world), Star Trek paints a rather optimistic picture of a world in which humanity has conquered space, made contact with alien species, and technological development has solved many of the old problems of ordinary people.

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The Fifth Element

Yes, the story features "the great evil" (which is defeated before it can do any significant damage), but otherwise this Luc Besson movie shows a rather comfortable future, even if it is not idyllic.

Flying cars, alien opera singers, and Chinese food that you can buy directly from a food cart passing by your window.

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Back to the Future Part II

Of course, we are long past the year 2015 as presented in this sci-fi classic, but people still wish for their hoverboards (the real ones, not that pathetic wheeled excuse we have now) to finally become a reality.

Although it seems more like a retro-future now, it is still quite pleasant and we are sure that many people would have given a lot to live in it.



Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

While the story itself was disappointing, the colorful visuals showed the potential future in all its glory, especially the titular space city, Alpha, where countless alien species live together in a mix of cultures from different planets.



Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure

This one is quite tricky, because if you don't like our title duo, this would be a living hell for you, as everything here is inspired by their music and philosophy. Still, it is much better than living in another dystopia or post-apocalypse, and almost everyone seems to love Keanu Reeves, who played Ted in this cult classic.

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