Good point with your reasoning, but I'm not sure if I could handle the whole "hero" thing. You generally have to wind up sacrificing yourself for your followers all Jesus-style and I'm not sure if I'm up for that. Let's just say that in terms of the Matrix, I'd take the pill that lands me back IN to the Matrix... Reality and responsibility sucks.
ALSO, I have to think about being in this post-apocalyptic world as a woman which already comes loaded... Guys are going to be all like, "Hey, baby, let's copulate and save humanity..." FUCK THAT.
I have another rant in terms of why I, too, would also be the guy just trying to survive, but now I'm trying to focus on other post-apocalyptic movies that make me geek out:
- Road Warrior - My dad showed this to me when I was wee, so it has a special place in my heart. Say what you will about silly leather-clad survivor stereotypes, that movie is a HELL of a lot of fun, fantastic, and great.
- 28 Weeks Later - I actually liked this better than the first one; I really liked the post-apocalyptic world that was created by the outbreak and how it creates a pure human horror.
- Planet of the Apes (1968) - Obviously a CLASSIC. Also shown to me when I was wee.
- Matrix - This was really the first movie that made me identify with a coward. Quite frankly, I'm with the guy who would rather stay in the Matrix than unplug into the real world... Though I wouldn't necessarily rat out humankind to do so.
- Land of the Dead - Not my favorite zombie movie, by ANY means, but like I said, I geek out over post-apocalyptic stuff. Love seeing the distopic landscape.
- Blade Runner - While not necessarily post-apocalyptic, I lump it into the genre because it DOES display a distopic future, which is a concept that post-apocalyptic movies definitely play into. I might lump The Crow and Dark City into this category too.
- Resident Evil - Like Land of the Dead, I don't necessarily like the movies as a whole, but I like the world that they create - I'm more interested in taking on the role of Alice and just letting myself go with it. It's how I feel about Terminator: Salvation. Some people here have said that it's an unnecessary sequel. I don't care. I just like seeing the distopic concepts; the robots taking over the water, for example since humans need water.
- A Boy and his Dog - Been a while since I've seen this one, but FANTASTIC.
- Night of the Comet - Post-apocalypse in the IMMEDIATE future... Overlooked classic.
It's part of the reason why I totally dig Fallout 3 on the 360. I can live in that post-apocalyptic landscape and just be a survivor... LOVE that set up.
But I'm rambling - I feel like I'm leaving out a few key movies. :-/ Do you like this genre? What are your favorites? I definitely want to check out ones I haven't seen.