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- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsCasper Van DienDenise RichardsDina MeyerHumans, in a fascist militaristic future, wage war with giant alien bugs.Here for the thumbnail, the list proper begins below:
- DirectorFred M. WilcoxStarsWalter PidgeonAnne FrancisLeslie NielsenA starship crew in the 23rd century goes to investigate the silence of a distant planet's colony, only to find just two survivors, a powerful robot, and the deadly secret of a lost civilization.Future War Stories describes why this fits: " I was impressed that in an era of popcorn cheesy space movies that Forbidden Planet featured a real spacefaring military organization, not just some Buck Rogers-type space hero or adventurer, but with ranks and military thinking. Forbidden Planet could be the first sci-fi film to have a military sci-fi element."
It is tricky pinning down the earliest such film*, The Day the Earth Stood Still has the army confronting aliens and there are other various films that are in the crossover between war and science fiction, but (until I can think of another example) this seems a good bet and was influential on later sci-fi like Star Trek (the majority of which I won't be including as, despite the military ranks, the franchise's main thrust is exploration, with some ass-kicking as a last resort - although I do make one exception below).
* There is this blog post: A Brief History Of Classic Military Sci Fi Films, which does mentions earlier films like Battle In The Clouds (1909) (viewing links here), S.O.S Coast Guard (1937), Invisible Agent (1942) and The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951). However, I'd tend to class them as science fiction war film or even, as I mention in the previous paragraph, science fiction films with a military element. - DirectorIshirô HondaStarsKenji SaharaYumi ShirakawaMomoko KôchiShortly after a giant robot destroys a village, aliens from outer space arrive offering friendship. Will the people of Earth tie these two events together?aka The Mysterians
The aliens turn up and unleash havoc upon us, so Japan and eventually the world bring their military might to bear on the threat. - DirectorIshirô HondaStarsRyô IkebeKyôko AnzaiMinoru TakadaThe nations of the Earth unite in a common cause to fight off an invader from outer space.aka Battle in Outer Space
A sequel to The Mysterians but this time the fight is taken into space. - DirectorIshirô HondaShûe MatsubayashiStarsTadao TakashimaYôko FujiyamaYû FujikiWhen an ancient underground civilization and their snake-like guardian plots to reclaim the surface world, those of the surface fights back.aka Atragon
One of the most nationalistic of these early Japanese sci-fi films, as the creator of the super sub (which also flies) is hoping to restore the Empire but instead his invention proves critical in the battle with the inhabitants of the sunken continent of Mu. - DirectorGerd OswaldStarsLloyd NolanMichael AnsaraTim O'ConnorA crossfire of energies accidentally sends two warring soldiers from the 38th Century into the distant past of 1964.Based on Harlan Ellison's "The Soldier From Tomorrow" the short story that would 'inspire' the Terminator films, although the famously litigious Ellison only got a credit after getting the lawyers involved. I won't include the Terminator franchise, as it is more about freedom fighters against the robots (and if you go down that road you'd start dragging in Dune and its ilk).
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.I hadn't really thought about it in this context until I started bringing my thoughts together to sketch out the first draft of this list (and it isn't in the list on Wikipedia), but there are obvious military tones throughout and each film usually features a large battle (although it is balanced well with character development and mixed in with a big dose of science fantasy). In the first three films only TESB doesn't end in a climatic battle, and it starts with one. The prequels are more obvious in the tone and feature conflict throughout including the massing of large armies. The video games are usually more explicitly military sci-fi.
I watched Star Wars (as it was then called) in the cinema when I was a nipper and it left me with a life-long love of sci-fi (especially military sci-fi - I've seen most of the released works on this list). - DirectorJun FukudaIshirô HondaToshio MasudaStarsKensaku MoritaYûko AsanoRyô IkebeEarth is attacked by alien spacecraft from Venus. But a Japanese scientist has constructed a space craft, the Gohten, with which he may save humanity.aka The War in Space (which in now way shows this was designed as a Star Wars cash-in, despite being initially devised as a sort-of sequel to Battle in Outer Space).
- DirectorRichard A. CollaAlan J. LeviStarsRichard HatchDirk BenedictLorne GreeneAfter the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Mankind, the last major fighter carrier leads a makeshift fugitive fleet on a desperate search for the legendary planet Earth.
- DirectorPeter BaldwinStarsWilliam PhippsFred WillardLarry BlockThe comic adventures that befall a crew of astronauts assigned to a remote military space station.
- CreatorGlen A. LarsonStarsLorne GreeneRichard HatchDirk BenedictAfter the destruction of the Twelve Colonies of Mankind, the last major fighter carrier leads a makeshift fugitive fleet on a desperate search for the legendary planet Earth.
- DirectorVince EdwardsChristian I. Nyby IIStarsRichard HatchDirk BenedictLorne GreeneRunning low on fuel, the Battlestar Galactica receives the help of the supposedly lost Battlestar Pegasus which is taking the offensive with the Cylons.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.
- CreatorGlen A. LarsonStarsKent McCordBarry Van DykeRobyn DouglassWhen the Battlestar Galactica finally arrives at Earth, they find they must subtly raise its tech level while protecting it from the Cylons.
- DirectorRichard MarquandStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter rescuing Han Solo from Jabba the Hutt, the Rebel Alliance attempt to destroy the second Death Star, while Luke struggles to help Darth Vader back from the dark side.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsDennis QuaidLouis Gossett Jr.Brion JamesDuring a long space war, the lives of two wounded enemies become dependent on their ability to forgive and to trust.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsSigourney WeaverMichael BiehnCarrie HennDecades after surviving the Nostromo incident, Ellen Ripley is sent out to re-establish contact with a terraforming colony but finds herself battling the Alien Queen and her offspring.The first film was space horror, but the sequel is pure military science-fiction (and horror - a three way we'd like to see more of). I was already a fan of the first film when I saw it on VHS (back in the day when it was a real chore to see anything - it was one of the first two films I saw on home media, along with Dark Star) and this made me a fan of the franchise (which helped get me through the future sequels) - I still have the Aliens ZX Spectrum game and a working machine to play it on too.
And where Alien converted me to horror, so Aliens planted the flag for MSF deep in my heart. - DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerCarl WeathersKevin Peter HallA team of commandos on a mission in a Central American jungle find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.A film that (along with Predators, The Objective and, to a lesser degree, Resident Evil) forms one of the edges of the MSF envelope as it is a modern, fairly standard, if over-muscled, military unit with conventional weapons (if a little implausible when it comes to Jesse Ventura's minigun) going up against a science-fictional threat. It is clearly on a continuum with Aliens and Stargate but those two firmly fall within MSF (nearish future and slightly fancier weapons for the former and, although present-day, the latter keeps incorporating advanced technology until you have epic space battles). Just beyond the Predator-esque films lies Zone Troopers and I'm going to draw the line just before that film because of its WWII setting.
- CreatorGary GoddardTony ChristopherStarsTim DuniganPeter MacNeillSven-Ole ThorsenA group of guerrilla fighters battles the evil machine forces that dominate a future Earth.
- StarsYasunori MatsumotoKazuhiko InoueShow HayamiMysterious monstrous alien creatures attack Earth's colonies. This six-part OVA focuses on Juan "Johnnie" Rico who joins the army because of Carmen, a girl he likes, his days in boot camps, his losses and Earth's first counterattack.Japanese Starship Troopers animated series pre-dating the more famous movie adaptation.
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsJean-Claude Van DammeDolph LundgrenAlly WalkerSoldiers who were killed in action are brought back to life in a top secret military experiment that creates superhuman warriors.
- DirectorRichard ComptonStarsMichael O'HareTamlyn TomitaJerry DoyleThe opening of a crucial space station is put in jeopardy when the commanding officer is accused of the attempted murder of a diplomat.
- CreatorRick BermanMichael PillerStarsAvery BrooksRene AuberjonoisCirroc LoftonIn the vicinity of the liberated planet of Bajor, the Federation space station Deep Space Nine guards the opening of a stable wormhole to the far side of the galaxy.Took the franchises general themes (exploration, etc.) off in a more military direction. Interestingly there is also a conspiracy theory that DS9 was a rip-off of JMS' Babylon 5 (he originally pitched the series to Paramount who eventually turned it down, but announced DS9 weeks after Warner Bros revealed they were picking it up), the latter most certainly being MSF. If this was ever proved (and there have been suggestions a smoking phaser had been found) it'd certainly explain the tone of the series.
- CreatorRockne S. O'BannonStarsJonathan BrandisDon FranklinTed RaimiIn the early 21st century, mankind has colonized the oceans. The United Earth Oceans Organization enlists Captain Nathan Bridger and the submarine seaQuest DSV to keep the peace and explore the last frontier on Earth.
- CreatorJeff SegalStarsStevie Louise VallanceCampbell LaneRobby BensonSet in the beginning of the 22nd century, an interplanetary war wages between humanity and the Neosapiens.