There are myriad definitions for what constitutes science fiction. Generally, it involves some variation on science or technology playing a key role either in plot, theme, or setting, and having the science involved exceed humanity’s current abilities in that field. Vague, we’ll grant you, but we’re not trying to create a very exclusionary term. Now, if you want to define good sci-fi? As author Graham Storrs has argued, the answer would have to involve stories that address the human condition, who we are, where we’re headed, and what that could mean for our future. It’s a meditative genre predicated on addressing the big philosophical questions of humankind’s existence.
Or, if you don’t buy all that, you can just slap some Daft Punk over your sci-fi movie and call it a day.
That’s what filmmaker Patrick Collins did recently, perhaps in an effort to show how nearly everything sci-fi-related is improved by the liberal application of the group’s music. According to The Verge, Collins recut a 22-minute version of Star Trek: The Motion Picture using the duo’s score for Tron: Legacy, a piece of music so good, it might make you forget that scene where Michael Sheen cries, “Libations for everybody!” like a frat bro from the 1920s hiding inside a MacBook. Given the similarities between the two stories (people being uploaded into computers), Collins’ desire to use Daft Punk’s music to update the feel of the film while still using the “pacing and staging of the original” works amazingly well. His sound cues pair smoothly with edits he chose, creating a version of the movie that would make an excellent argument for adding Daft Punk to other now nostalgic-seeming films. It also would make an excellent short film to watch with the aid of edibles, but we can’t speak to that.