Best Science Fiction Movies
Star Wars III: Revenge of the Sith is good but nowhere as great as The Empire Strikes Back. Every time I look at a top ten on this site, I find that many of the selections are jokes indeed. 2001 or The Empire Strikes Back are the finest science fiction films ever made.
But I will give a selection of what a great list should look like.
1. The Empire Strikes Back
2. 2001
3. Star Wars
4. Frankenstein
5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
6. The Bride of Frankenstein
7. A Clockwork Orange
8. Day the Earth Stood Still
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
10. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
This is my favorite movie of all time. I was about 15 when it was released and saw it in Cinerama in Tampa. It was totally amazing and cemented my desire to have a career in the space program, ultimately supporting every shuttle mission for NASA at KSC.
The overall theme was cerebral and amazing. The story was fantastic, and the SFX are still beyond even some of what we see today. I will admit it is not for everyone and I highly recommend reading the book for explanations of some of the more esoteric parts, but it is truly an astounding film accomplishment, particularly when considering the date it was made.
The special effects are brilliant! It is much more relatable than Star Wars or Star Trek because it's based on Earth, not some made-up planet or galaxy. Jurassic Park is great too, but there is really no way dinosaurs can be brought back to life. I do believe that robots or androids are realistic. They are already being made.
This movie was such a monumental step in the history of science-fiction movies, and in all of filmmaking, with its still-impressive CGI effects. The story, of course, is brilliant as well.
Number 2 after The Empire Strikes Back. This is a cult franchise already due to its surrealism, incredible story, and the single most terrifying creature in cinema: the xenomorph. It doesn't even need to be a discussion. This movie is just iconic in the whole sense of the word.
A combination of science fiction and horror. If you like Forbidden Planet, you will love this movie. Plus, it is the first movie of any time with a woman playing the hero as a physically and mentally imposing figure.
A huge inspiration for the Metroid series and way better than The Matrix, which is just a live-action version of the first Ghost in the Shell film!
Greatest Star Wars movie of all time. Return of the Jedi was a disgrace.
Should've been #1 for science fiction. I haven't seen a sci-fi flick that was actually better than this one. The story is fascinating, and the actors are talented. However, I think the best part about the movie is the action sequences and the visual effects.
The first half of the movie is pure sci-fi, which is still very interesting. But the second half is action-packed. It's a must-watch for nerds.
Difficult decision. Love science fiction movies.
- 2001: A Space Odyssey was amazing and is a CLASSIC.
- Loved Close Encounters of the Third Kind back in the day.
But The Matrix was awesome.
Alien was always one of my favorite movies. Having never seen Aliens, I didn't think it could top the outstanding original. Oh boy, was I wrong. This movie is just an outstanding piece of art and will be forever hailed as one of the best sci-fi and action movies of all time.
I like how James Cameron took the horror premise of the first movie and moved it in a more action-heavy direction with lots of guns, explosions, and even more aliens.
Aliens is the best horror/action movie ever! Absolutely awesome!
Blade Runner was the last true science fiction film because it didn't need all the computer-generated images. Everything you see was actually made by hand and filmed on the sets. The way Ridley Scott uses the combination of lighting and sound and the camera has yet to be beaten.
"You Blade Runner." And Harrison Ford does all he can to not get sucked back into the life of a Blade Runner. But even with the Director's Cut, the count of Replicants STILL doesn't add up. So, like in the book... Is Deckard secretly a Replicant?
This film is indeed science fiction as proved by the constant reference to the way they created the dinosaurs through gene splicing and editing. The dinosaurs didn't just pop up because of some wizard's spell, but were engineered by scientists.
Deserves an everlasting place in the top ten ever made. I don't even need to look at the other sci-fi/fantasy films to know. It's a one-of-a-kind wonder in cinema's history. Just to state the rather obvious.
A new theme park that features dinosaurs falls to pieces after the security fails and all the dinosaurs run loose!
The best movie I've ever seen, and that's not an exaggeration. Everything is perfect, from the acting to the score by Hans Zimmer, and to the drop-dead amazing cinematography.
What's not there in this film! There is a heavenly feeling while seeing this film, but it took the 18th place?
37? Come on, people, this movie deserves more. Nolan, Thorne, and McConaughey did incredible work.
Back to the Future is an epic movie. The cool part is that, unlike Star Wars, it is set in a place on Earth. It's a great movie, but I can understand how Star Wars is in 1st place. You can't compete with the second best-selling movie of all time.
Marty goes back to 1955 and meets his father and mother when they were 17 years old. This is some good!
Spaceballs and Brazil are above this? Unacceptable.
Wrath of Khan is awesome. Finding out later in Lower Decks animation that Khan is the greatest villain to canon so far in Star Trek was amazing. Certainly a unique character feature shown in this movie. Amazing show as well with many great moments. Much good to say about Wrath of Khan.
This is the entertaining side of the genre, but with some strong things to say.
A gripping franchise like that of Alien, which saw its rise to the top with action figures, sequels, comics, etc.
Metropolis is so well done for a movie from the '20s! Also, it inspired a lot of famous movies like Star Wars, The Matrix.
This is the greatest silent film of all time.
Definitely not a good "movie" compared to the classics. This film instead focuses on an idea that no sci-fi film has dared: the fall of hope, the tragedy of good people losing their morality, and the rise of fascism in the decaying aftermath of a brutal war.
The original trilogy follows a basic good vs. evil story with heroes in a backdrop of a war where no one really important dies and, like all Star Wars films, suffers from stilted dialogue. That isn't a problem because George Lucas takes his inspiration from 1940s serials, which never had great dialogue to begin with.
From the amazingly action-packed finale of the Clone Wars, to the raid of the Jedi Temple, to Order 66 and the Mustafar duel between Anakin (technically Vader) and Obi-Wan, to the final sunrise leading to a new hope, this film captures the biggest questions the franchise speculated and delivers a space opera of tragedy, loss, angst, and hope.
This film gave Star Wars a much darker tone that raised the stakes and showed the brutality of the Empire that was never displayed in the incompetent stormtroopers of the original trilogy (Ewoks, anybody?). Overall, I am proud of this movie and am especially excited for The Force Awakens to hit theaters. Bring on the Force!
The Thing is awesome! Way better than the first Alien film. Why is it down here?!
Practical effects are outstanding!
Sci-Fi or reality? The book was the author's nightmare vision in response to his wife being brutally assaulted. Provocative with its violence, and we can't keep our eyes off of it. Kubrick's best.
Really? 78? Come on, people. This one is a masterpiece, a true classic of proper cinema that should be in at least the top 10 or 15.
I can't believe how low this is. This list is better than the other one, but still awful.
Aliens aren't always brutal and savage. Mostly not, indeed.
No offense to those who loved the Star Wars movies, but I feel that The Fifth Element is quite simply the perfect sci-fi movie. There was great humor, amazing story, fantastic visual effects, wonderful acting, fantastic action, etc.
Luc Besson is an unparalleled director - even going so far as to create Leeloo's language. Yes, The Fifth Element is, in a word, perfect.
Best ending I've seen, so deep and fascinating. A movie that talks about prejudices and more.
Not so sci, but less fi than Star Wars. And not clearly unbelievable, with a social criticism.
Why is Inception at number 36? It should be at least in the top five spot. Great film by a great writer and director. The plot is amazing and unpredictable. Really the best science fiction movie for me.
Personally, it was hard to choose between this, Back to the Future, The Matrix, A Clockwork Orange, and Metropolis, but ultimately, this really impresses me.
Don't you want to take a leap of faith? Or become an old man, filled with regret, waiting to die alone?
Watch this instead of the sequels.