Maybe it's because of the propensity for awe-inducing visuals, or the generally revved-up plots, or the sense of wonder and escapism. Any way you slice it, science fiction has always been a popular genre for movies--particularly summer blockbusters. This year is no exception, and these three movies are a bit of what sci-fi Hollywood has to offer.

"X-Men" serves as a prequel to the wildly popular comic book series about mutant superheroes--an intelligent decision, since it allows the uninitiated to catch up on years' worth of storylines while keeping the interest of fans with cool details and nifty tricks. The core gang's all here--Professor Xavier, Storm, Cyclops, Wolverine, Rogue, Jean Grey--along with favorite villains Magneto, Sabertooth, and Mystique. The plot is pretty standard (save New York from the supervillain's evil machine--although making the villain's cause somewhat sympathetic was a stroke of summer-blockbuster genius), but the one-liner-riddled dialogue is clever and snappy, the acting is generally good, and the visuals (while occasionally uneven--you can tell they farmed the thing out to a dozen different effects studios, some higher-end than others, before you even see the mile-long list of F/X credits) are eye candy. Who could ask for more in a summer movie?

And despite my best efforts not to see "Titan A.E.," last week I found myself paying a dollar at the local budget theatre and mumbling, "That's all this is worth" anyhow. And I must admit, the previews chose to emphasize every derivative plot point and drab, ugly frame of animation they could find. They made it look awful. This is not the first time that previews have been wrong.

True, the far-future coming-of-age-following-the-utter-destruction-of-Earth plot has been done (and done better) hundreds of times in SF literature. But old plots get that way because they were interesting to begin with, and "Titan A.E." rises above its humble origins and sucks you in with (you guessed it) truly cool visuals. It blends spiffy CGI settings with anime-inspired hand-drawn characters to create an exotic, gritty world like nothing I've ever seen before. This is animation the way it should be, used to create breathtaking vistas you'd never see in a live-action movie. Like a planet covered in glowing gas spheres like giant Christmas ornaments, an eerily beautiful race of bat-winged beings, a spaceship inhabited by beings of pure energy, or (most impressive) a dramatic scene of spaceships playing cat-and-mouse through an ice field.

Having said all this, "Titan A.E."'s plot is kind of lame. The dialogue is occasionally clunky, the science is horribly inaccurate, "Star Wars" is far too close to home at all times, and the final shots are lifted directly from the end of "Total Recall." But it's all worth it for the hilarious scene where our heroes try to trick a guard, and just one frame of that amazing animation. The Verdict: It was worth my dollar, and then some. 3.5 out of 5.

And suck it certainly did not--sort of. Kevin Bacon is, as usual, excellent as Sebastian Caine, an arrogant scientist who invents an invisibility serum. Of course he volunteers to test it, of course the experiment goes horribly wrong, and of course he goes wacko and starts picking off his fellow scientists one by one in gory ways (and in reverse order of acting ability). Sure, it's a corny B-movie; what would you expect from director Paul Verhoeven, who was also responsible for "Robocop," "Basic Instinct," and, for crying out loud, "Showgirls?" But I like corny B-movies, and this one is saved by special effects which are several million cuts above--well, everything!

"Hollow Man" instantly sets yet another new benchmark for visual effects;I can guarantee you've never seen anything like this. The transformation scenes are show-stopping. My jaw was on the floor when an invisible gorilla (sounds like the setup to a bad joke) slowly reappeared as the "reverse invisibility" drug ran through all its arteries, pulsed out from its heart, seeped into the muscles, bones, and internal organs, and ended with the skin. Later, Sebastian went invisible one layer at a time in a scene that garnered my highest praise for a visual effect: "Wow." Those scenes (and the ones that find creative ways to reveal Sebastian) are worth the price of admission.

"Hollow Man" had the potential to be great. For a very short while, it's a movie about a regular guy with evil thoughts. Would he follow through on those thoughts if he knew he couldn't be caught? What would there be to stop him? That's an art film concept, folks. But of course this is a summer blockbuster, and the writers had to blame the invisibility serum. Ironically, the movie is at its most provocative and disturbing when we're looking away from sex and gore and into the mind of the main character. Who'd think a Paul Verhoeven film wouldn't go far enough?

Then there's the matter of the storyline. (Why would they have duct tape, defibrillator paddles, and the materials to make a working electromagnet in a freezer? Why do the heroes keep forgetting about their thermographic goggles at the dramatically appropriate moment? It's the mysterious magic of the movies, folks.) And the awful dialogue. The characterizations are paper-thin (except Sebastian--he was so much more interesting than the heroes, I was cheering for him all along!). The female characters are always either topless, soaking wet, or wearing belly shirts (but Kevin Bacon spent 95% of the movie naked so I think we're even on that one, folks). And the final twenty minutes of the movie are an avalance of action and horror clichés piled one on top of the other. But you know what? I still liked this movie. A lot. Along with "Mars Attacks!" and "Army Of Darkness," it joins my Holy Trinity of Great Bad Movies. And I am not ashamed! The Verdict: I can't wait to "MST3K" this one on video! Woohoo! 3.5 out of 5.