11 sci-fi films you don't think of as romantic (but surprisingly are)
Sometimes it's better if the romance just sneaks up on you.
Valentine's Day is here again, and while we can certainly appreciate the value of a little head-on, saccharine romanticism, we also really, really need our sci-fi fix. Sorry, it's just how we're wired.
But not to worry, because over the years, sci-fi cinema has found plenty of opportunities to deliver the goods while still sowing some love in here and there. You don't have to give up romance for the sake of spaceships and robots, and you don't have to sit through spaceships and robotos without feeling the love, because there are plenty of flicks out there that manage to deliver both.
In honor of the holiday of love, here's a handful of films that satisfy on a genre level while still dishing out some often unexpected romance.
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Blade Runner: Just when you think all Deckard wants to do is hunt Replicants down, he goes and falls in love with one.
Looper: Time travel is center stage in this flick, sure, but it also features a man who's willing to do anything to live out his days with the woman he loves.
Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home: The great James T. Kirk has had more than his share of women over the years, but none were more special than a certain marine biologist from the past who helped him save the whales, and therefore save the world.
The Terminator: If these two hadn't gotten together, the world would have been permanently overrun by robots. So, what will really destroy Skynet? Love. Love will destroy Skynet.
The Crow: Though this dark urban fantasy is mostly about vengeance, the love story at its heart is what really drives it, and it's made all the more poignant and devastating by the tragic on-set death of star Brandon Lee.
King Kong: As far as unconventional sci-fi romances go, this one set the standard.
Inception: Yeah, the dream heist stuff is awesome, but the most devastating part of Christopher Nolan's mind-bending thriller is the tortured dream romance embedded in its hero's past.
Donnie Darko: Even if you don't really know what's going on in this often surreal piece of sci-fi darkness, you can at least relate to Donnie's crush on Gretchen.
District 9: This movie turned out to be proof that even if you change species, you try your best to be romantic.
The Empire Strikes Back: This movie is mostly about how Darth Vader can really mess you up, but it also features perhaps the greatest scene of nonchalant love in movie history.
Hellboy: Even big red demons need love sometimes.
