WHY YOU SHOULD CARE A Tom Cruise sci-fi film is something worth getting excited about. Here’s the thing: while Will Smith is on record as saying that he consciously chose sci-fi films as a means of becoming a bigger star, Tom Cruise only seems to have chosen those that particularly struck his fancy – and this is the first of his three not to be directed by one S. Spielberg (no, we’re not counting the Mission: Impossible films even though they arguably technically qualify). This effort, from Tron Legacy’s Joseph Kosinsky, will hopefully have all the visual flair of that belated sequel but a bit more, y’know, coherence and tension.

What really pricked our interest, however, is the plot. Cruise is a veteran soldier sent to a remote planet to wipe out the remains of an alien race there, only to arrive and discover another traveller who makes him question his mission. We’re hoping the questions he asks are something along the lines of “Hey, is xenocide such a great idea? How would we feel if someone tried to wipe us out? Have you guys really thought this through?”

Everything else is so far under wraps, to the extent that we would be engaging in wild speculation if we say too much more. But with a bit of luck, this should be another example of the sort of thinkier, smarter sci-fi that Hollywood is beginning to seriously indulge in again.

SEE ALSO Ender’s Game, which is soon to be a film but is already a great book, or you can watch Starship Troopers and just think it through.