I don't really know if this technically counts as science fiction, but then, that's why I left my blog so vaguely sub-titled. Forward The Future isn't about science fiction, it's about 'all things futuristic', after all. And Upside Down is pretty futuristic looking.
I can't tell you how happy high-concept genre fiction makes me. So happy, in fact, that I'm not even troubled by what looks to be a fairly formulaic forbidden love story mixed in with an action-adventure-style chase film. I realize that my views on pop culture are in the decided minority, so if a fantastical story has to be grounded with more familiar elements to make it viable as a major motion picture, well, you can't let the perfect be the enemy of the good. After all, Hollywood-backed movies are at best art made by committee for a multitude of viewers, none of whom will be quite the same. The odds of any movie being perfect for you, as a distinct individual, are pretty close to zero. Even the best-written movie is still at the mercy of directors, cinematographers, sound engineers, actors, special effects engineers, stunt artists, and so on and so forth. And all it takes is for a few of them to give less than your perfect performance to swing things.
But that doesn't mean movies can't be enjoyed on their own, and Upside Down looks like an entirely enjoyable film. An idea as strange and inventive as this one deserves support, if for no other reason than to remind filmmakers that there's a market for the strange and the inventive.
Not that I won't take it to pieces afterwards if it warrants it, of course. There's being supportive, and then there's just being silly.
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