Dreams of Futures Past: Futuristic Movies that Got it Wrong

Futuristic Movies Have Pretty Poor Track Records When it Comes to Predicting the Wold of Tomorrow.

One thing I love is watching futuristic movies of yesteryear and seeing just how wrong their predictions were. Not because I’m a smug bastard (okay, not strictly because of that), but because a lot of times, I wish that modern times were half as interesting or advanced as people thought they would be decades ago. Sure, a lot of futuristic movies are set in dystopian or even apocalyptic times but, considering how awful 2020 has been, some are starting to look like half-decent alternatives to our current reality. Now, I understand that futuristic movies are meant to be works of fiction and not serious prophecies, but with how bad things are, I thought it might be nice to look back at some of the predictions that Hollywood (thankfully) got wrong. The only rule I put in place was that all the films had to be set in a year (or years) that have come and gone without incident or at least not the incident foretold. Now, not to be a total killjoy, I’ll suggest that you can still enjoy these futuristic movies by just pretending they’re in an alternate universe or different timeline or something like that. With that aside, let’s get ready to laugh at some of the more ridiculous prophecies to come out of Hollywood over the years as I examine what might have been according to these futuristic movies.    

The Movie(s): The Mad Max Franchise 

The Year(s): 1994 (Mad Max), 1999 (The Road Warrior), 2012 (Beyond Thunderdome), 2015 (Fury Road)

In all honesty, I haven’t actually been to Australia. So for all I know, the outback could be a lawless wasteland filled with road warriors cruising around in obsolete jalopies in BDSM outfits. Chances are I would have probably heard something about that or at least seen a meme or two. So, I’m going to have to say that when it comes to futuristic movies, Mad Max’s predictions definitely missed the mark. Creator George Miller kept on guessing though as he set each of the sequels during years that have come and gone without a Bartertown or Immortan Joe insight. Don’t think I’m hating on these flicks though. After everything that’s happened in 2020, they might not be totally inaccurate, just delayed a bit.  

The Movie(s): John Carpenter’s Escape Films

The Year(s): 1997 (Escape from New York) and 2013 (Escape from LA) 

It would seem that John Carpenter didn’t have high hopes for the future back in the 80s. One version that he envisioned featured New York City being walled off and turned into the world’s largest prison. Criminals would be dumped inside and forced to fend for themselves in the hellscape that once was the Big Apple. Well, 1997 came and went without incident (though some might argue the modern prison system is way worse). So, Carpenter moved his vision to the West Coast and decided LA would be a great prison if it broke off from California and floated out into the ocean in 2013. Alas, neither of those futuristic movies (or his other film Prince of Darkness set in 1999) proved accurate. Carpenter might be a master of horror, but he’s definitely not a soothsayer. 

The Movie: 2001: A Space Odyssey 

The Year: 2001

This was an easy one since the year it’s set in (kinda) is right there in the title. Unfortunately, there are no manned missions to other planets right now and probably won’t be for a long time thanks to the government neutering NASA’s budget. Stanley Kubrick wasn’t all wrong with his predictions in 2001: A Space Odyssey. While we might not have artificial intelligence as smart as HAL these days, it can certainly feel like Siri and Alexa are plotting against us more often than not. Of all the futuristic movie predictions I hunted down, 2001: A Space Odyssey is probably the least depressing of them all, and the one I wish had come to pass. Oh well, maybe Elon Musk and SpaceX will discover the secrets of the universe instead. 

The Movie: Death Race 2000

The Year: 2000

Despite what idiots might have thought about Obamacare back in 2009, America hasn’t gotten in the business of executing sick people (well, unless you count the mentally ill in Texas). Death Race 2000 envisioned a murderous convoy of wacky racers running down the downtrodden and disenfranchised of society in a race to not only reach the finish line but also rack up the highest body count. As much as I’d like to say this is one futuristic movie that gets it totally wrong, the fact is a lot of people these days seem to find entertainment in the suffering of others and will even cheer for murderers. Then again, maybe I’d be more in favor of something like this if we used, say, jerks who refuse to wear masks during a pandemic for points.   

The Movie: Double Dragon

The Year: 2007

Back in the 90s, futuristic movies seemed to think that we’d be dealing with a lot of mutants and toxic waste in the new millennium. Fortunately, we don’t seem to have that problem. In fact, I’m glad to announce that none of the insane predictions from the basically unwatchable movie Double Dragon have come to pass. Los Angeles isn’t a flooded hellscape controlled by roving gangs in the employ of a millionaire in search of a magical talisman (who is strangely caucasian for a guy named Koga Shuko…). To be fair, there was never any chance of the future Double Dragon prophesied ever coming to pass since everything about it was just too stupid to ever happen. Then again, a lot of really absurd things have happened recently…