Science-fiction films often present a stilted view of modern technologies, and biotechnology has not escaped cinema’s searching gaze. These films might not stand up to rigorous scientific study, but they do present fascinating questions about current technologies.Jurassic Park (1993): You know it would be on here, so we might as well get it out of the way. As Spielberg’s most financially successful film, it certainly made the right moves cinema-wise. However, it was inaccurate in some of its depictions of dinosaur features (like the featherless and intelligent velociraptors). It’s also unlikely that the dinosaurs could have been cloned from mosquitoes, since a mosquito would have to have had only one species as its food source.Gattaca (1997): The second-best known biotech film, this sci-fi thriller imagines a world in which children can be genetically modified before birth. Those so modified are treated preferentially, even though the law (in the film) forbids this. Molecular biologist Lee M. Silver has said that the film is one “that all geneticists should see if for no other reason than to understand the perception of our trade held by so many of the public-at-large.”The Sixth Day (2000): This schmaltzy action thriller stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a helicopter pilot who is illegally cloned against his will. Amid much action and explosions, Schwarzenegger discovers some unpleasant truths about his own past. While the film does portray a character with a religious opposition to cloning, it’s not very even-minded in either direction. Overall, this is one movie that’s more fun to watch than it is to think about.

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