| Commission us: the most homely fictional worlds You asked us which film worlds we would like to inhabit. We can think of a few, but fantastical might not always mean fantasticThis instalment of Commission us comes in association with reader Northridgechilli, specifically with his request for "an article featuring a countdown of the top 10 fictional film worlds your film team would most like to inhabit".That's exactly what you're getting, except that it isn't really a countdown and there aren't going to be 10 entries and it's just me instead of the film team. But that's close enough, surely. So here goes ...Pandora, Avatar (2009)Thanks to all the cutting-edge 3D technology used to create it, Avatar's home planet is probably the most immersive fictional world that cinema has ever produced. In fact, Avatar's entire universe is so fully formed that you can even buy a book detailing its social and biological history. But would you actually want to live there? Sure, the otherwordly bioluminescence of the Helicoradian plants and the trippy swarms of woodsprites might hold your attention for a minute or two, but after that it'd be all angry pterodactyls and giant leathery panthers and armies of vicious robo-men. Plus, you can only ride a horse if you plug your hair into it first. And there's something called a Tree Of Souls, which sounds like some sort of ghastly homeopathic feminine beauty company. Best to avoid.Tatooine, Star Wars (1977)One of Star Wars's central locations, packed with all kinds of iconic potential tourist destinations. Marvel at the desolate expanse of the Dune Sea! Have your photo taken with the Great Pit Of Carkoon's resident Sarlacc! Take your kids to one of the planet's working moisture farms! Start a fight with a pig and a mollusc at the glittering Mos Eisley cantina! On the other hand, Tatooine does just look quite a lot like Tunisia, and you can go there for about £70 these days. Fewer argumentative molluscs there, too.Future Earth, The Matrix (1999)There are two ways to live in the world of The Matrix. The first is to be unconsciously bundled into a goo-filled pod where you'll be used as a fuel source by your robot overlords. The second is to live undercover as a renegade, determined to bring about the fall of the robots. Of these, the former is undoubtedly the best option – spend too long as a freedom fighter and you'll end up having all kinds of grotty underground raves with people who don't look like they wash very often. But this is a dilemma for another time, because humanity has yet to be enslaved by computers. That's a theory I'm sticking with, even though the writing of this paragraph has been interrupted by a bleeping washing machine, a flashing iPhone and a browser that can't go any longer than a couple of minutes without crashing.Krypton, Superman (1978)True, it might have been destroyed by a raging supernova some time ago, but Superman's home planet was a wonderful place while it lasted. It had a scenic crystalline vista, a population of finely-evolved supermodel geniuses and a legal system that saw wrongdoers sealed up in bits of glass and flung out into the depths of the universe. But Krypton was a far from perfect land: it was doomed by its proximity to a dying sun, it was made of a material that could be used to weaken its residents and, possibly worst of all, there probably weren't any branches of Nando's. It gets a solid six out of ten, nevertheless.Romcom Earth, assorted films (various)What a strange and beguiling world Romcom Earth is. It's a world where visiting Keira Knightley's house in the middle of the night to declare your love for her with a pile of creepy handwritten cue cards doesn't end with your arrest. A world where halting a wedding midway through makes you an endearing romantic and not the world's most inconsiderate dick. Where prostitutes look like Julia Roberts and, in the case of Mannequin, where penetrative intercourse with shop dummies is strictly de rigueur. I want to live there more than anything.Science fiction and fantasyStuart Heritageguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
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