Thrilling science-fiction Hollywood movies even Elon Musk approves! Check the list

Apart from engineering and astronomy, one thing that is in the public domain due to Elon Musk’s love for Twitter is his interest in movies. The tech entrepreneur has on multiple occasions talked about cinema on the microblogging site, with the recent being his unforgiving review on The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power streaming on Amazon Prime Video. In his recent tweet, Musk concurred on a list of Hollywood movies listed by an Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert, the majority of which were of the science fiction genre. 

Interstellar

Directed by the legendary filmmaker Christopher Nolan, Interstellar has grown into a synonym for science fiction movies, especially in the domain of planetary exploration. The movie was released in 2014 and stars Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway who embark on a deep space journey to find a new home for humans, an alternative to Earth, basically. One reason for Musk’s preference for this movie certainly is his own ambition of making humans a spacefaring civilisation, the reason why he established SpaceX two decades ago. 

(A still of Matthew McConaughey from the movie Interstellar; Image: Paramount Pictures)

Contact

Again starring McConaughey, the movie Contact was released in 1997 and is based on the novel of the same name by one of the most loved astrophysicists, Carl Sagan. The film also stars Jodie Foster in the lead role and its plot revolves around Foster's character Ellie Arroway finding proof of extraterrestrial life through radio messages. This picture seems a perfect tribute to Sagan who helped design The Golden Record, which was equipped on both the Voyager probes with messages intending to say 'hello' to the aliens. 

(Matthew McConaughey and Jodie Foster in Contact; Image Warner Bros)

The Matrix

One of the biggest Hollywood blockbusters in terms of profit, The Matrix tells the story of a dystopian society as humans are trapped in a simulation. Starring big names such as Keanu Reeves, Lawrence Fishburne, and Carrie Ann-Moss, the movie's plot aligns with Musk's beliefs who has previously stated that we actually live in a simulation! During a 2.5-hour conversation with Joe Rogan on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast in 2018, Musk said that "we are most likely in a simulation", a theory that many scientists find compelling.

( Carrie Ann-Moss and Keanu Reeves in The Matrix; Image: Warner Bros)

Avatar

Based on the alien world named Pandora in Alpha Centauri, the movie stars Sam Worthington as a paraplegic Marine Jake Sully. Avatar is one of the highest-grossing movies of all time (over $2.7 billion) and the plot revolves around Sully mentally taking over the Avatars of creatures that could survive in the poisonous atmosphere of Pandora. 

(Zoe Saldaña and Sam Worthington from the movie Avatar; Image: 20th Century Fox)

Armageddon

Featuring action star Bruce Willis who is accompanied by Ben Affleck and Owen Wilson, the movie is based on a threat that even NASA is now taking seriously. Released in 1998, Armageddon is about a team of NASA astronauts who take it upon themselves to protect Earth from an approaching asteroid by nuking the space rock. The timing for the movie's suggestion is perfect as NASA recently desecrated an asteroid by intentionally ramming a spacecraft into it under the DART mission.  

(A still from the movie Armageddon; Image: Warner Bros)

Terminator 2

It is hard to leave out the Terminator series when talking about adrenaline-inducing science fiction movies. Starring the legendary Arnold Schwarzenegger, the movie attempts to give us a glimpse into the world that many AI experts fear-- robots turning against humans. While a humanoid robot does turn against humans in this thrilling flick, Schwarzenegger comes back to the rescue of the mother-son duo John and Sarah Connor. 

(Arnold Schwarzenegger and Edward Furlong in Terminator 2; Image: Carolco Pictures)