MyTop 20 Science Fiction Movies (not involving time travel)
Having already completed a top ten time travel movie list, I have barred any of those from being in this list to save duplicity. Sci-fi movies have been, and always will be, my favorite genre. I have been obsessed by space and future/alternative world movies since I could first put cognitive thoughts together.
This list is very personal and many will shake their heads with incredulity at some of the choices, and more so at those I have left out. I have always been a popcorn moviegoer as opposed to the more serious critic and these choices bare this out. These are simply the sci-fi movies I love to watch the most, nothing more, nothing less.
Honorable mentions go to: When Worlds Collide; Forbidden Planet; On the Beach; The Day of the Triffids; Fantastic Voyage; Rollerball; Logan's Run; Outland; ET; Ghostbusters; Starman; Total Recall; Minority Report; Iron Man; District 9.
Comment if you care to.
This list is very personal and many will shake their heads with incredulity at some of the choices, and more so at those I have left out. I have always been a popcorn moviegoer as opposed to the more serious critic and these choices bare this out. These are simply the sci-fi movies I love to watch the most, nothing more, nothing less.
Honorable mentions go to: When Worlds Collide; Forbidden Planet; On the Beach; The Day of the Triffids; Fantastic Voyage; Rollerball; Logan's Run; Outland; ET; Ghostbusters; Starman; Total Recall; Minority Report; Iron Man; District 9.
Comment if you care to.
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- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader."I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced. I fear something terrible has happened."
Even after 34 years, I still love this movie; its cast, its setting, its story. It is everything you could ever want from a science fiction movie and so much more. There are so many reasons it is the most successful sci-fi movie of all time and to name them all would be nearly impossible. The new Star Wars movies lack everything this has, and more than anything they lack its soul. It's David v Goliath, Good v Evil, father v son (though we don't know that yet), and a ride through a wondrous galactic wilderness filled with exotic worlds and the most vile scum of the universe. Simply, It is the king of all space movies! - DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin."You still don't understand what you're dealing with, do you? Perfect organism. Its structural perfection is matched only by its hostility."
Still the creepiest, most suspenseful sci-fi movie I have ever seen. It stands the test of time by any measurement you want to use. The film represented a squalid view of long term space travel and also spoke to an Earth controlled by corporate greed as opposed to human need. Sigourney Weaver is brilliant at Ripley, and the bad guy himself is perhaps singularly the most terrifying enemy in space history. There's no turning this creature from the dark side and that is what makes him so juicy! - DirectorByron HaskinStarsGene BarryAnn RobinsonLes TremayneA small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion."Yet, across the gulf of space on the planet Mars, intellects vast and cool and unsympathetic regarded our Earth with envious eyes, and slowly and surely joined their plans against us."
One of the oldest on this list and one I watched over and over again as a youngster, and even today. I know you can see the strings on the spaceships occasionally, and I know by today's standards most of the visual effects are archaic and cheesy, but I love it nonetheless. Ann Robinson, without doubt, provides the greatest, and loudest, screams seen in movie history, and yet not even that puts me off this movie. The movie Hollywoodizes the H.G. Wells classic and yet again, I still love it. If you've never see this movie, please watch it with an open mind and don't judge it by today's effect standards, after all, this was the Inception, or Terminator 2 of its generation in terms of visuals. Just have fun with it. - DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence."Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure."
A sci-fi movie that changed the game and set new standards. Ingenious in its conception and stunning to the eye, The Matrix took us into a world within a world where machines harvested humans for power. Any movie that can make Keanu Reeves look good has to have something special, and this movie did just that. When it moved to DVD it was equally groundbreaking, being the first film to truly take advantage of the new medium and stretch conventional norms with regard to home video watching. A great story with breathtaking visuals! - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsRichard DreyfussFrançois TruffautTeri GarrRoy Neary, an Indiana electric lineman, finds his quiet and ordinary daily life turned upside down after a close encounter with a UFO, spurring him to an obsessed cross-country quest for answers as a momentous event approaches."If everything's ready here on the Dark Side of the Moon... play the five tones."
I always thought this was a thinking man's sci-fi movie. Of course it wasn't it was just that Spielberg managed to make me think that it was. Playing on our UFO obsessions, the story manages to intertwine the Bermuda Triangle with the Devils Tower in Wyoming. The director's cut ending was spectacular at the time and still looks good today. Richard Dreyfuss carries the movie both cleverly and funnily with just the right neurotic tone. I was 12 when I first saw it and I looked into the skies every night for a week afterward. - DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsJodie FosterMatthew McConaugheyTom SkerrittDr. Ellie Arroway, after years of searching, finds conclusive radio proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, sending plans for a mysterious machine."For as long as I can remember, I've been searching for something, some reason why we're here. What are we doing here? Who are we? If this is a chance to find out even just a little part of that answer... I don't know, I think it's worth a human life. Don't you?"
A very personal choice. It was all I could do not to put this movie in my top three. I love it's story, the way it is acted and the ideas and thoughts it provokes. It goes to the very core of who we are and why are we here; but doesn't really provide answers but rather ideas. Foster, as usual, is superb in the lead and is ably supported by McConnaughy throughout. The movie leads you and the main character down blind alleys, only to find new ways to escape them. Some don't like the ending, calling it cheesy or unfinished; I prefer to think that being ambiguous was the perfect ending and that the watcher could decide for him/herself which way to go. Science and religion are pitted together and yet the movie kind of suggests that there may be room for both. I could go on forever about why I love this, but no one would care! - DirectorDon SiegelStarsKevin McCarthyDana WynterLarry GatesA small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates."This is the oddest thing I've ever heard of. Let's hope we don't catch it. I'd hate to wake up some morning and find out that you weren't you."
It was creepy then and still is now. Pods copying humans and distilling out their emotions, sounds like a Republican convention. Seriously, the longer the movie went on the more I was always sucked in to the desperation faced by the lead, Kevin McCarthy. Who could he trust now, who would he be able to trust tomorrow; oh and don't fall asleep dude or your next. Fabulous stuff at a fast pace. Many prefer the remake with Donald Sutherland but I still like my body snatching pods to be in black and white. Once again you are left wondering about the ending; could they stop the spread before it was too late.... a sequel never came.... unfortunately. Born out of the fear engendered during McCarthy era witch-hunts the movie asks the audience to decide what are the really important things in life. Awesome! - DirectorRichard DonnerStarsChristopher ReeveMargot KidderGene HackmanAn alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero."Lois, Clark Kent may seem like just a mild-mannered reporter, but listen, not only does he know how to treat his editor-in-chief with the proper respect, not only does he have a snappy, punchy prose style, but he is, in my forty years in this business, the fastest typist I've ever seen."
Ok, its a superhero movie, but I still class it as a sci-fi movie, just deal with it. Christopher Reeve will always be the quintessential Superman; large of build, humble of mind, yet heroic of action, he was just perfect. The plot seemed straight from the comic pages and Lex Luthor was lusciously played by Gene Hackman. Lois Lane was played with suitable spice by Margot Kidder; her and Reeve seem perfect for their role and relationship. Another one of those movies that when I come across it, I always leave it on that channel... the surf abatement test. - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsSam NeillLaura DernJeff GoldblumA pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose."Yeah, but your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn't stop to think if they should."
I was completely blown away when I saw this movie for the first time, Spielberg at his popcorn best. Like millions of boys before me I had numerous dinosaur books and devoured each page, now here was the movie that brought them to life realistically for the first time, and now they were devouring people. It will stand the test of time and after nearly 20 years the visual effects are still stunning and seamless. A great ensemble cast is taken on a roller coaster ride through jungle, mountainous terrain, all mixed in with a passing hurricane. Once you's seen this movie you would know exactly what a Veloceraptor was, and what it could do. The best dinosaur movie of all time, and that is why it is on this list! - DirectorNicholas MeyerStarsWilliam ShatnerLeonard NimoyDeForest KelleyWith the assistance of the Enterprise crew, Admiral Kirk must stop an old nemesis, Khan Noonien Singh, from using the life-generating Genesis Device as the ultimate weapon."He tasks me. He tasks me and I shall have him! I'll chase him 'round the moons of Nibia and 'round the Antares Maelstrom and 'round Perdition's flames before I give him up!"
Yes, I am a bit of a Trekkie, and while many Trekkies were somewhat disappointed by the first movie (not me) this one brought them back to the movie theater in droves. Ricardo Montalban puts in an unforgettable performance as Khan as he goes after Kirk like Ahab would go after his whale. Blinded by his need for total revenge Khan, a superior human, chases Kirk and ultimately his own destruction. Along the way we are treated to pure Star Trek theater played out by across the galaxy. It does however, come back to Montalban; without him it wouldn't have been half the movie; he is the true star here. - DirectorRobert WiseStarsMichael RenniePatricia NealHugh MarloweAn alien lands in Washington, D.C. and tells the people of Earth that they must live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets."Your choice is simple: join us and live in peace, or pursue your present course and face obliteration. We shall be waiting for your answer. The decision rests with you."
The oldest movie on the list and one that I seriously thought about putting into the top seven or eight. The idea and message are simple; stop fighting each other or we will destroy you. Actually the message is a tad more complicated than that, but it's the main gist. It is well acted throughout and the lead, Klaatu, played by Michael Rennie, is magnificent. Klaatu wishes to deliver a message, but he also wants to learn more about us. The visuals are good for the time, but the movie is not about the effects, but all about the message. We manage to shoot him as soon as he lands and then he escapes to a small boarding house where he can examine the human condition more closely. If you've never seen this, please try to find the time to watch it, it won't disappoint. - DirectorJames McTeigueStarsHugo WeavingNatalie PortmanRupert GravesIn a future British dystopian society, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of "V", plots to overthrow the tyrannical government - with the help of a young woman."Remember, remember the 5th of November. The gunpowder, treason, and plot. I know of no reason why the gunpowder treason should ever be forgot."
My love affair with this movie was instant. 'V' is the ultimate vigilante with almost superhero powers straight from the pages of a graphic novel. A future Britain is controlled by a fascist government grounded in false religion and based on societal control. Secret police and curfews abound and the British public have meekly succumbed to the powers that be. Our masked hero (voiced by Hugo Weaving) wants to change all that by invoking the memory of Guy Fawkes and the failed gunpowder plot. Hugo Weaving eloquently tiptoes through the lead and Natalie Portman is fabulous as Evie, his unwitting apprentice. The message is unambiguous; don't let your government creep up on you. The movie has it's faults with occasional script lapses, but the story flows well through quite a complex plot. The visuals are excellent and the whole film fizzes along with crisp attention paid to the chilling nature of a controlling government. Great stuff! - DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett."No. *I* am your father."
Yes it's a great sequel, yes we discover Luke's lineage, and yes that big fluffy ice monster wasn't that scary at all. All this is besides the point, this movies is all about one character in particular, the little green fella, Yoda. He is Jesus, Merlin and God all wrapped in a little raggedy bundle of clothes designed for the average goat herder. His powers are almost as immense as his wisdom, and Luke had better listen up. Many like this as much, if not more, than the original, and I can't blame them. The plot moves quickly and new faces abound as the Empire begins to take the Rebels to task for destroying the Death Star. Once again, wonderful stuff from Lucas. - DirectorLuc BessonStarsBruce WillisMilla JovovichGary OldmanIn the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr. Zorg at bay."I hate warriors, too narrow-minded. I'll tell you what I do like though: a killer, a dyed-in-the-wool killer. Cold blooded, clean, methodical and thorough."
You either love this or think it's a pile of dog poo. As someone who loves all things bright and shiny, I really had no choice. It is perhaps the most colorful sci-fi movie ever made, as well as being the most manic. It is uncontrolled mayhem from start to finish with Bruce Willis pulling off the hero's role with his usual tortured soul dragging behind him. Some wonderful supporting acts come from the likes of Ian Holm, and Chris Rock is positively insane. Somehow it all works, for me. Earth is about to be destroyed by pure evil and only a down and out taxi driver (former special ops) can save the planet. Just sit down and don't judge me or the film; have fun with it. You'll either end up with a migraine or a smile. - DirectorVal GuestStarsEdward JuddJanet MunroLeo McKernWhen the U.S. and Russia unwittingly test atomic bombs at the same time, it alters the nutation (axis of rotation) of the Earth."They've shifted the tilt of the earth. The stupid, crazy, irresponsible bastards! They've finally done it."
Another anti-war/nuclear message is given in this relatively little known classic of the early 60s. I was first ensnared by this as a teenager and it has remained one of my favorites since. Not an action movie by any means, the film provides characters filled with depth and dry humor. Earth's orbit has been shifted due to two simultaneously exploded nuclear bombs; we are getting warmer by the second and time is running out. Rivers are drying up, the human body is reaching its heat sufferance limit, and the masses are panicking. Wonderfully acted, this movie ends perfectly.... watch it and see! - DirectorBarry SonnenfeldStarsTommy Lee JonesWill SmithLinda FiorentinoJames, an NYC cop, is hired by Agent K of a secret government agency that monitors extraterrestrial life on Earth. Together, they must recover an item that has been stolen by an intergalactic villain."All right, kid, here's the deal. At any given time there are approximately 1500 aliens on the planet, most of them right here in Manhattan. And most of them are decent enough, they're just trying to make a living."
The best sci-fi comedy there is; yes, even better than Spaceballs. It is very slick, at times, very funny. Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones are awesome together as they fight to save the planet from another doomsday scenario. The movie pokes fun at conspiracy theorists in a very luscious way. Violence and cruelty towards aliens is apparently all the rage for the MIBs and it is all in a days work for the suit wearing policemen. The visuals are impressive and the plot moves smoothly. The laughs are constant and plentiful. Brighten up your day and watch this comedy classic! - DirectorPaul W.S. AndersonStarsLaurence FishburneSam NeillKathleen QuinlanA rescue crew is tasked with investigating the mysterious reappearance of a spaceship that had been lost for seven years."I created the Event Horizon to reach the stars, but she's gone much, much farther than that. She tore a hole in our universe, a gateway to another dimension."
The last of my really personal choices. This, to me, is one of the most underrated sci-fi movies of all time. It is a thriller, a chiller, and a psychologically disturbing mix of terror and no little amount of gore. Sam Neal's character once built a ship; that ship disappeared on its maiden voyage only to reappear some years later. The Lewis and Clark rescue ship carrying Sam Neal and others, goes to rescue it. After they board it to begin repairs, things then start to get a little squirly. What follows is a terrorized acid trip filled with blood and death as the crew tries to survive. The Event Horizon has been to another universe, one where chaos rules; it brought some of that chaos back with it. Have a couple of beers, watch this movie. When I first saw it I found myself sitting staring at a blank screen for 10 minutes after the credits finished. I had been totally mind bombed.... fantastic! - DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsKurt RussellJames SpaderJaye DavidsonAn interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra."I don't want to die. And your men don't want to die, and these people certainly don't wan to to die. It's a shame you're in such a hurry to."
I love the premise of this movie and enough others loved it to spawn multiple tv series long after the original film first aired. Archeologists find a metallic disc in the earth. With the aid of an Egyptologist, and resident geek, played by James Spader, it is discovered that the disc is a gateway to the stars. In steps Kurt Russell, the military man brought in to take control of the mission to the new world. This is just a great story, cleverly tying in ancient Earth history with far away worlds. Pure popcorn, and despite the occasional annoyance of Kurt Russell’s overly zealous military type, it takes you on a wonderful journey. The ending is exhilarating to say the least; the perfect end to a very good movie. - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsLeonardo DiCaprioJoseph Gordon-LevittElliot PageA thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster."What is the most resilient parasite? Bacteria? A virus? An intestinal worm? An idea. Resilient... highly contagious. Once an idea has taken hold of the brain it's almost impossible to eradicate."
So much has been written about Inception in the last year, it would be a bit redundant to add too much here. The story is fiendishly complex, the visuals are at times breath-taking, and as usual Dicaprio does a superb job in the lead role. Don’t miss ten minutes of this movie or you’ll be lost. Some still are after watching every second. Christopher Nolan’s mark is all over this movie, which is no bad thing. - DirectorStanley KubrickStarsKeir DulleaGary LockwoodWilliam SylvesterAfter uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000."Let me put it this way, Mr. Amor. The 9000 series is the most reliable computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error."
When 2001 was made in the late 60s, the space special effects were decades ahead of their time, and they still stand up to scrutiny today. The Kubrick classic shifts from early man to a future world. The two eras linked by the mysterious appearance of a black monolith. The star of the show is a neurotic computer called Hal whose voice is still creepy after 43 years. It is a visually stunning movie interlaced with serenity and wonderment. Many consider this to be Kubrick’s finest film; some consider it a relative bore. I prefer the former, though I understand how some could grow tiresome of it all. It is indeed too slow for many younger viewers and I was not a fan years ago. However, the movie’s greatness has grown on me through the years and I now have some appreciation for its genius. A classic!