Accion Mutante (1993)
Future Mutant Terrorists/Gonzo Comedy
The directorial debut of Spain’s Alex de la Iglesia, a planetary adventure about a group of mutant terrorists that comes with a bizarrely wacky sense of humour
Planetary Adventure
A Planetary Adventure takes place on an Alien Planet. It may involve adventurers, explorers or else travellers who are stranded and trying to make it to safety or get off world. The story will follow said party as they make their way across the world, encountering aliens and their different societies, along with assorted examples of native flora and fauna.
Planetary Adventures are closely related to Space Operas – it could be said that the Planetary Adventure is simply a Space Opera where the scope of action is restricted to a single planet rather than takes place across a galaxy.
The first planetary adventurer in fiction was Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars; the most famous Planetary Adventures on screen were the adventures of Flash Gordon. There have been various other films and tv series, a number of which came out in the aftermath of Star Wars (1977).
The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl in 3-D (2005)
Gonzo Children's Planetary Adventure
This is another one of Robert Rodriguez’s home made children’s films that takes off in a wackily gonzo manner. The results are uneven but often cutely appealing
AE: Apocalypse Earth (2013)
The Asylum Mockbuster/Planetary Adventure
Another of The Asylum’s mockbusters, intended to come out the same time as M. Night Shyamalan’s After Earth. This feels like a cheap planetary adventure that recycles Avatar and Planet of the Apes
Aelita (1924)
Soviet Science-Fiction/Expedition to Mars
Silent film depiction of a journey to Mars from the early days of the Soviet Union that makes for an interesting curiosity piece. The arrival on Mars contains some imaginative sets and costumes
After Earth (2013)
Planetary Survival Adventure
Enough with the M. Night Shyamalan bashing. Here Shyamalan pulls off a solid and interesting planetary adventure where the only real misstep is that much of the film rests on the non-acting shoulders of Jaden Smith
Age of Tomorrow (2014)
The Asylum Mockbuster/Alien Invasion
The Asylum’s mockbuster answer to the Tom Cruise film Edge of Tomorrow, which has very little to do with it other than both featuring an alien invasion. A film created with more ambition than budget to convey it
Aliens vs Titanic (2017)
Stranded on a Planet with Alien Parasites
Full marks for the title. Rather than any spacegoing version of Titanic, we have a spaceship named Titan1-C, which is soon abandoned and thereafter a cheesily ridiculous film about alien chestbusters
Atlas (2024)
War with the Machines
The idea of Jennifer Lopez in a transformer suit kicking robot ass has an outlandishness to it. The surprise is that this is a really good, well written SF film of planetary survival
Avatar (2009)
War Between Human Colonists and Aliens
James Cameron’s film was a smash phenomenon. Cameron has relocated the plot of Dances With Wolves on another planet and uses motion capture to create one of the most dazzlingly realised alien worlds on film
Avatar: Fire and Ash (2025)
War Between Human Colonists and Aliens
James Cameron makes a third venture into the world of Pandora. The question is whether he finds any new territory to explore. What you cannot deny is that he creates a pretty and absorbing picture out of it all
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
War Between Human Colonists and Aliens
James Cameron finally delivers his sequel to Avatar. Nothing could quite repeat the same phenomenon a second time but this does well with Cameron taking the opportunity to show more depth to his alien world
Barbarella (1968)
Softcore Space Opera
Charmingly capricious and silly adaptation of the comic-strip with a wide-eyed Jane Fonda as the spacegoing heroine. Filled with some wonderfully naughty gags and a production and costume design scheme that goes to a gorgeously deranged excess
Battle for Pandora (2022)
Planetary Exploration/Alien Body Snatchers
The Asylum’s mockbuster take on Avatar: The Way of Water, which ingeniously exploits the fact that Saturn has a moon called Pandora. The rest is a low-budget body snatchers film
Battle for Terra (2007)
Animation/War Between Human Colonists and Aliens
Animated film that has a remarkable number of similarities to Avatar – even though it was released before. A simplistic variant of the same human colonists vs alien natives plot conducted with corner-cut CGI animation
Borderlands (2024)
Videogame Adaptation/Planetary Adventure
Eli Roth adapts the popular videogame and corrals a surprisingly high-profile cast in a knockabout planetary adventure. Alas, that met a very mixed reception and was widely regarded as a bad movie
Chaos Walking (2021)
Planet Where Thoughts Are Visible
Doug Liman’s adaptation of a Young Adult series that was problem-ridden behind the scenes. This certainly creates an interesting scenario set on a planet where men’s thoughts are visibly manifest
Colonials (2023)
Colonist Return to Post-Apocalyptic Earth
A low-budget film with some very accomplished effects that takes place in a devastated future as a Martian colonist returns to find what has happened to Earth
The Colony (2021)
Astronaut Returns to a Post-Apocalyptic Earth
A Roland Emmerich-produced film about a space expedition returned to a post-apocalyptic Earth to find a very changed world
Dark Space (2013)
Crashlanded on an Alien Planet
A low budget indie film about a spaceship crashlanded on an alien planet that is no more than a glorified fan film that features a level of effects that are extremely well accomplished
The Dawnseeker (2018)
Planetary Adventure/Hunted by an Alien
A low-budget film about a group of soldiers crashed on another planet where they find themselves hunted by an alien. This channels the basics of Predator
Dune Drifter (2020)
Planetary Survival
Modestly well made low-budget planetary survival film about a pilot crashlanded on a hostile world. An entire space opera that was shot in the director’s apartment during the Covid-19 lockdown
Empire of the Apes (2013)
Planet of Talking Apes
When 20th Century Fox began their Planet of the Apes reboot series, director Mark Polonia quickly jumped in with his own Z-budget mockbuster take. Several sequels followed
Enemy Mind (2010)
Enemies Stranded on an Alien Planet
A modest and effective low-budget reworking of the classic Enemy Mine delivered with a quite reasonable intelligence and professionalism
Enemy Mine (1985)
Human-Alien Enemies Stranded on a Hostile Planet
SF film with Dennis Quaid and Louis Gossett Jr as human and alien who are enemies but are forced to cooperate to survive after crashlanding on a hostile alien planet
The Ewok Adventure (1984)
Children's Planetary Adventure/Star Wars Spinoff
Crass attempt by George Lucas to further milk the Star Wars phenomenon with a tv movie (released to theatres outside the US) given over the Ewoks from Return of the Jedi
Ewoks and the Marauders of Endor (1986)
Children's Planetary Adventure/Star Wars Spinoff
Follow-up to The Ewok Adventure, a tv movie released to theatres internationally. This is a better film than its predecessor that even captures something of the Star Wars spirit on occasions
Fantastic Planet (1973)
Bizarre Alien Planet/Animation
The first film from French animator Rene Laloux, a trippily surreal vision and one of the few portraits of a genuinely alien world on film
Flash Gordon (1936)
Serial/Space Opera
The original and greatest of all SF serial adventures and a huge influence on George Lucas. Despite the primitive effects, this still has a marvellously rousing imagination that stands up today. Two serial sequels followed
Flash Gordon (1980)
Campy Space Opera
Dino de Laurentiis climbed aboard the Star Wars fad with this remake of the classic serial. Against expectation, the film’s campy tone and eye-popping sets and costumes work and it has become an audience favourite
Flash Gordon Conquers the Universe (1940)
Serial/Space Opera
The third of the Flash Gordon serials, not quite at the heights of the previous two but with a colour and exoticism that was head and shoulders above the other serials of the era
Flash Gordon’s Trip to Mars (1938)
Serial/Space Opera
The second of the Flash Gordon serials, which relocates action to Mars following the popularity of Orson Welles’ War of the Worlds broadcast. The film has a wonderful imagination that far outshines the tattiness of usual serial production values
Flesh Gordon (1974)
Softcore Flash Gordon Parody
This offers the amusing idea of a softcore parody of the old Flash Gordon serials. A surprisingly well-made film in terms of effects but the jokes often seems belaboured amid the witless mugging
Flesh Gordon Meets the Cosmic Cheerleaders (1991)
Softcore Flash Gordon Parody
This sequel to Flesh Gordon, the R-rated parody of the Flash Gordon serials, feels like a joke that is belaboured in the retelling. The film does have a crass level of nonsensical absurdity that proves amusing
Forbidden Planet (1956)
Alien Artefacts/Monster from the Subconscious
A classic of 1950s SF that creates one of the most well remembered screen robots. An uncredited adaptation of Shakespeare’s The Tempest, there are few other films that devote so much attention to creating a sense of wonder
Gandahar (1988)
Animation/Planetary Adventure
The final film of French animator Rene Laloux, a planetary adventure set on a world where Laloux delights in creating exotically trippy aliens and landscapes. Released in English as Light Years with an Isaac Asimov script
Godzilla: City on the Edge of Battle (2018)
Anime/Japanese Monster Movie
The second of the anime Godzilla films and much more successful than its predecessor. The reconceptions of some of the classic monsters has a dazzling ambitiousness while Godzilla has all the ferocity it should have had in the first film
Godzilla: Planet of the Monsters (2017)
Anime/Japanese Monster Movie
The 30th Japanese Godzilla film, this is the first anime Godzilla film and the first in a trilogy. More disappointingly, it is more a space opera and planetary adventure than it is ever a Godzilla film
Godzilla: The Planet Eater (2018)
Anime/Japanese Monster Movie
The concluding chapter in the trilogy of Godzilla anime films. This reintroduces two familiar monsters but takes a long time to build to the monster bash we have come to see
Gor (1987)
Barbarian Planet
Cannon Films adaptation of John Norman’s series of books. The books come with heavy BDSM content but this is a planetary adventure about a professor transported to become a hero on a barbarian planet
Halo Nightfall (2014)
Videogame Adaptation/Planetary Survival
At last a good film spun off from the Halo videogame (and produced Ridley Scott!). A harsh story of planetary survival as stranded soldiers fight to escape aboard a two-person ship
Heavy Metal (1981)
Adult Animation Anthology
Cult animated film that adapts several stories from the adult fantasy comic-book Metal Hurlant/Heavy Metal. These vary but in its better moments that has a trippy cult hallucinatory quality
Hunter Prey (2010)
Human-Alien Enemies in Pursuit Across a Desert Planet
An SF film with minimal resources – just two characters in a desert – that deliver a modest variant on the Enemy Mine scenario about an alien and human enemy stranded on a planet
Inhabited Island (2008)
Russian Science Fiction/Dystopian Planet
Russian-made adaptation of a classic Soviet-era SF novel that plays what was originally a complex social allegory as a disappointing Hollywood effects extravaganza and gets lost after mutating into a terrestrial war film of sorts
John Carter (2012)
Planetary Adventure/Edgar Rice Burroughs Adaptation
While the film bombed at the box-office, it emerges as a fairly good and faithful adaptation of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ swashbuckling planetary adventure that is lavishly produced and written on an epic canvas
Lightyear (2022)
Pixar Animation/Space Opera
Spinoff from Pixar’s Toy Story films, giving Buzz Lightyear a film all of his own. Likeable fun but aargh the rewrites to series continuity
Long Distance (2024)
Planetary Survival
SF film with Anthony Ramos as survivor of a crashed ship who must make a journey across a hostile planet to find another survivor while low on oxygen
Metalstorm: The Destruction of Jared-Syn (1983)
Planetary Adventure
Early Charles Band exploiting the mid-80s 3D revival fad. The film is a cheap planetary adventure that feels like a magpie collage of other SF films around at the time, most notably Star Wars and Mad Max 2
Mom and Dad Save the World (1992)
Adventures on a Planet of Stupid People Comedy
Films about stupid people are rarely funny – this concerns a whole planet of stupid people. Despite reasonable production values, there is little that raises even a mild smile in this comedic take on Flash Gordon
Neverland (2011)
SF Version of Peter Pan
Following Tin Man and Alice, another of Nick Willing’s ingenious rewritings and rationalisations of classic children’s tales in science-fiction terms. Here the essentials of Peter Pan are transported to another planet
Oblivion (1994)
Western on an Alien Planet
One of the best films from Full Moon Productions that locates a Western on another planet and manages a perfectly pitched homage to either genre
On the Silver Globe (1988)
Colonisation of a Alien Planet
Andrzej Zulawski, known for the demented Possession, makes an SF film about planetary colonisation. The spirit of Andrei Tarkovsky hangs over the film, which is long and philosophically rambling. What you cannot deny is the film’s epic scope and the mad splendour of Zulawski’s visuals
Per Aspera Ad Astra (1981)
Soviet Science-Fiction/Female Alien Visitor
Soviet-made science-fiction film about a mysterious female alien visitor. The set-up intrigues for a time but the directorial delivery is dull and prosaic, while the mystery about who the alien woman is sidetracked by a long-winded interplanetary adventure in the second half
Pitch Black (2000)
Planetary Survival
A gripping and particularly well conceived planetary survival story. The film that launched Vin Diesel’s career and he has never been better than as the lethal, tight-lipped serial killer Riddick
Planet Hulk (2010)
Animation/Marvel Comics Superhero
Animated adaptation of the one of the biggest Marvel Comics event storylines of the 2000s – the same one also used in Thor Ragnarok. Essentially Spartacus recast with The Incredible Hulk
Planet of Dinosaurs (1977)
Survival on a Dinosaur-Inhabited Planet
Modest effort featuring some stop-motion animated dinosaur effects that are reasonably accomplished for the pre-CGI era. On the other hand, it seems a professionally-made amateur production designed to highlight effects and with not much beyond that
Planet of the Apes (2001)
Planet of Talking Apes
Tim Burton’s much disliked remake. Certainly, the ape makeups are superb. While Burton touches many points with the original, he has dropped the biting satire in favour of adventure, while the ending left everyone scratching their heads
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Planet of Talking Apes
The film that started it all. This takes what could have been a jokey premise and delivers it in bold, exciting stokes. What elevates the film is Rod Serling’s script. filled with embittered soliloquies that become a biting commentary on the human condition, before the film reaches one of the great cinematic twist endings
Predator: Badlands (2025)
Alien Huntsman on a Death Planet
The ninth Predator film. This changes the mix quite considerably from the usual alien huntsman vs human prey formula we have had so far. It also offers a return to the Alien universe, although not quite what we expect
Princess of Mars (2009)
Planetary Adventure
The Asylum conduct their own version of Edgar Rice Burroughs’ John Carter of Mars adventures three years before the Disney film and, despite one of their impoverished budgets, do an almost halfway reasonable version
Prospect (2018)
Interstellar Prospectors/Planetary Adventure
I can’t say the premise of this – a gold prospecting story located in space – did much for me. Contrary to expectation, this is a surprisingly good planetary adventure that does a fine job creating an alien world with minimalist effect and telling a strong character-driven story
Riddick (2013)
Planetary Survival
The third Riddick film abandons the dark space opera of the less popular Chronicles of Riddick and tries to return to the planetary survival story of Pitch Black. Despite the effort showing at times, the film gets to be a good deal of fun when it gets to the scenes of Riddick outwitting the mercenaries
Science Fiction Volume One: The Osiris Child (2016)
Planetary Adventure
A film naming itself after an entire genre either has massive ambition or reeks of huge pretensions. Beyond the grandiose title, this boils down to not much more than a better budgeted version of an 80s planetary adventure but never makes the journey dramatically interesting enough
Screamers (1995)
Evolved Androids/Planetary Journey/Philip K. Dick Adaptation
Modest and underrated Philip K. Dick adaptation that builds reasonable atmosphere during its journey across a planet and doubt as to who among the party might be one of a breed of evolving androids
Screamers: The Hunting (2009)
Evolved Androids/Planetary Survival
Disappointing sequel to the modest original that does little but revisit and re-run the first film’s scenario with little to add to it
65 (2023)
Trapped on Prehistoric Earth
This seemed to have a lot of promise in its set-up of Adam Driver crashlanded in Earth’s prehistoric past fighting off dinosaurs
Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone (1983)
Planetary Adventure
Planetary adventure in the Star Wars vein with a few shakes of the junkyard future look of Mad Max 2. This was made to exploit the short-lived early 80s 3D revival fad
Spacerage: Breakout on Prison Planet (1985)
Interstellar Prison Escape
SF action with Michael Paré convicted to a prison planet from which he attempts to organise the prisoners to make an escape. This is essentially a Western that takes place in SF terms
Star Raiders: The Adventures of Saber Raine (2017)
Space Opera
Space opera (or more correctly planetary adventure) conducted on a low-budget where you can see the filmmakers are making a clear effort to go way above and beyond the resources to hand
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
Space Opera
George Lucas’s return to the Star Wars series after a sixteen year absence and a build-up rivaled only by the Second Coming. Instead most audiences went away disappointed. Lucas has used the interim to push the technology to its heights but the story and characters are lacking
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002)
Space Opera
The second of George Lucas’s Stars Wars prequels is no particular improvement. The romance is stiff and awkward, badly written while the effects sequences seem to be running out of new things to do and so just up the scale of what has happened before with so much going on it reaches a point of visual overload
Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
Space Opera
A disappointing end to George Lucas’s original Star Wars trilogy. The script lazily wraps up loose ends while sidelining the new characters introduced the last time, and the climax rehashes the climaxes of the two other films
Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008)
Space Opera/Animation
Theatrical spinoff from the Star Wars prequels, released to introduce the popular animated series. This shows it is time for George Lucas to move beyond recycling something that was successful three decades ago
Stargate (1994)
Intergalactic Portal/Planetary Adventure
The first of Roland Emmerich’s special effects epics. Emmerich rehashes Erich von Daniken’s Ancient Astronauts theories but casts it as a planetary adventure on an epic canvas with surprisingly entertaining results
Starship (1984)
Planetary Adventure
A planetary adventure from the director of Battlefield Earth. I waited 35 years to find a copy of this – it looked incredibly promising when I saw production artwork back in the 1980s
Starship Troopers 2: Hero of the Federation (2003)
War with Aliens/Alien Body Snatchers
Passable video-released Starship Troopers sequel the heads more in the direction of a body snatchers film. Directed by Phil Tippett
The Time Masters (1982)
Animation/Planetary Adventure
Rene Laloux, the animator who made Fantastic Planet, collaborates with cult fantasy artist Moebius and the result is a planetary adventure filled with trippily exotic backgrounds and creatures
The Turkish Star Wars (1982)
Planetary Adventure/Bad Movie Classic
A strong contender for Worst Film Ever. Rather than create any effects, it has simply uplifted footage from Star Wars, while the score is a mismash taken from popular films of the era. The dialogue is so bizarrely surreal it makes the brain hurt trying to understand it
Ultramarines (2010)
Animation/Wargame Adaptation/Space Marines vs Demonic Forces
Animated film based on the popular fantasy wargame. The set-up is a fascinating mix of SF and mediaeval religion but the plot rehashes Aliens without much payoff and the animation is B-budget
Valley of the Dragons (1961)
Jules Verne Adaptation/Prehistoric Lost World on a Comet
Among the 1950s/60s spate of Jules Verne films, this was an adaptation of one of Vernr’s lesser-known works Hector Servadac/Off on a Comet. That said, all the but the notion of people swept up on a comet is thrown out and the rest played as a prehistoric lost world adventure
The Warrior and the Sorceress (1984)
Sword and Sorcery
One of the spate of sword and sorcery films that came out during this period, marginally better than most. The plot is a blatant copy of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo where a swordsman (David Carradine) sets two rival gang factions in a town against one another
The Wizard of Mars (1965)
The Wizard of Oz on Mars
Low-budget film about an expedition to Mars The novelty the film holds is that it attempts to rework The Wizard of Oz in SF terms