[Binh Ngo]

Hey fellow Tomatoes. Since "Transformers" is coming to theaters in a couple weeks, we thought we launch our top 100 Sci-Fi movies list. Check it out at the link below and let us know what you think.

RT's Journey Through Sci-Fi


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[Quite-Gone Genie]

Finally, something I know a little about!

[Mr. Positive]

ET? The best Science Fiction movie of all time!?!? Uhm no. And 2001 only registers to 18th! and is below Galaxy Quest! How can a parody of Star Trek be listed higher than Star Trek itself? The Wrath of Kahn is amazing.
My top five:
1. Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back
2. 2001
3. Alien
4. Terminator
5. Matrix
6. Metropolis
7. The Road Warrior
8. Minority Report
9. Star Wars
10. Star Trek: The Wrath of Kahn

[Quite-Gone Genie]

I've always been amused by the Critical Consensus for The Empire Strikes Back.

It has the great visuals of the original but lacks the entertainment.

[Addict]

Haha, good for E.T. However, my loyalties are with The Empire Strikes Back.

[Mr. Positive]

I guess the real question remains, is if Empire is even a Science Fiction movie at all. Seems more fantasy to me. I'm also very suprised at how low Jurassic Park is.

[Sinful Desires]

Here's how I rank and rate the entries I've seen...

61. Dark Star - 32
60. Pi - 40
59. Death Race 2000 - 56
58. Time Bandits - 60
57. Starman - 61
56. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow - 62
55. Westworld - 65
54. Jurassic Park - 70
53. A Clockwork Orange - 72
52. Gattaca - 73
51. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome - 74
50. A.I. Artificial Intelligence - 75
49. E.T. - 77
48. Men In Black - 78
47. Serenity - 80
48. Donnie Darko - 80
47. THX 1138 - 81
46. Altered States - 82
45. The War of the Worlds - 83
44. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure - 83
43. The Abyss - 84
42. Time After Time - 85
41. Planet of the Apes - 86
40. Galaxy Quest - 87
39. Innerspace - 87
38. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - 88
37. Minority Report - 88
36. Star Wars - 89
35. Return of the Jedi - 89
34. 12 Monkeys - 89
33. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock - 89
32. Videodrome - 89
31. They Live - 89
30. Young Frankenstein - 89
29. Signs - 89
28. Total Recall - 89
27. Children of Men - 89
26. The Road Warrior - 90
25. War of the Worlds - 91
24. The Fly - 91
23. Re-Animator - 92
22. Star Trek: First Contact - 93

It's at this point that I realized I added this up wrong... lol

Blade Runner - 93
Dark City - 94
Mad Max - 94
The Matrix - 95
The Terminator - 96
Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country - 96
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan - 97
Escape From New York - 98
Robocop - 99
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) - 99
Alien - 100
The Empire Strikes Back - 100
The Thing - 100
Back to the Future - 100
Terminator 2: Judgment Day - 100
Aliens - 100
Ghostbusters - 100
The Matrix Reloaded - 100
Revenge of the Sith - 100

[Marv Vega]

Minority Report (I do like it btw) ranked better than The Terminator and T2 is laughable.

[Deadman]

Originally Posted by Marv Vega

Minority Report (I do like it btw) ranked better than The Terminator and T2 is laughable.

Minority Report is fun but it isn't "great", certainly not top 10 great. And ET? Never liked it even as a kid. I guess the problem is that "Sci-Fi" and what qualifies as a sci-fi movie is kind of subjective. There's damn little sci in the fi in ET - hey he's an alien, but its just an excuse for the odd-kid out friendship conquers all story that follows.

[Epistemophobia]

I'm baffled.

[Doubting Thomas]

Made it to 96 or something. A Boy and his Dog beat out The Thing? Yeah...no.

[The old man]

Star Wars:The Phantom Menace 9 1/2 /10

Star wars:Attack of the clones9/10

Star Wars:Revenge of the sith-10/10

Star Wars:A New hope 10/10

Star Wars:The Empire Strikes Back-10/10

Star Wars:Return of the Jedi- 9 1/2 /10

[Macphistojr]

I'd argue the Star Wars films don't really belong on a sci-fi list.

[GTP43]

Blade Runner should be higher...higher than ET anyway

[Red Beard]

Originally Posted by Marv Vega

Minority Report (I do like it btw) ranked better than The Terminator and T2 is laughable.

The Terminator movies are overrated. The first one's the only one that's really any good.

Minority Report is easily better than all of the Terminator's combined.

[Red Beard]

E.T. > Blade Runner

Just because a sci-fi movie isn't dark and morose doesn't mean it's not as important. E.T. is the better film.

[Sinful Desires]

Originally Posted by Red Beard

The Terminator movies are overrated. The first one's the only one that's really any good.

Minority Report is easily better than all of the Terminator's combined.

You are officially tasteless.

[Sinful Desires]

Originally Posted by Red Beard

E.T. > Blade Runner

Just because a sci-fi movie isn't dark and morose doesn't mean it's not as important. E.T. is the better film.

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHA

[Marv Vega]

Originally Posted by Red Beard

The Terminator movies are overrated. The first one's the only one that's really any good.

Minority Report is easily better than all of the Terminator's combined.

Great post, I'm still laughing...The last line may end up in my sig.

[Sinful Desires]

Originally Posted by Marv Vega

Great post, I'm still laughing...The last line may end up in my sig.

The funniest part being that it's coming from a guy with a Schwarzenneger avatar.

[Red Beard]

Originally Posted by Marv Vega

Great post, I'm still laughing...The last line may end up in my sig.

Terminator is the only truly great Terminator film. T2 and T3 are more or less just remakes of the first film from a structural point of view. On top of that, neither film really expands on anything in the first film in a meaningful way and only serve to overcomplicate the story to the point where it loses focus and purpose. Both sequels simply feel like cash-ins on the unexpected success of the first film. It's not surprising that Cameron made T2 after The Abyss bombed. T2 was pretty much a sure-fire hit.

Originally Posted by Randy Orton

You are officially tasteless.

[Rikalonius]

[quote=Red Beard]Just because a sci-fi movie isn't dark and morose doesn't mean it's not as important. E.T. is the better film.[/QUOTE]

Originally Posted by Sinful Desires

HAHAHAHAHAHAAHHA

QFE

Anyway, Red Beard, it does actually mean that just because it's not dark and morose, that it isn't a superior Sci-Fi movie. It is my humble opinion that any movie with a happy ending cannot qualify as a Sci-Fi movie. I think a credible argument could be made that E.T. is as much a Sci-Fi movie as the Star Wars series, that is, it isn't. It makes no attempt to marry science to any concepts. E.T. has seemingly magical powers. Now you could argue from Aurthur C. Clarke's third law that sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic, but there was no attempt to explain the magic. E.T. could just cure wounds and levitate stuff. The only science fiction aspect was the whole first contact thing, with a heaping helping of the often regurgitated fish out of water theme. Frankly it was more a coming of age story about Elliot than anything.

I'm glad to see this Rotten Tomotoes special. I love Sci-Fi movies. I don't want to get to long winded, so let's just get to my long held favorites

Blade Runner: An obvious front runner, though the movie dumbs down the concept somewhat, and the closing scene is classic.

2001 - A space Odessy: Still bordering on fantasy in my book, it's a very thoughtful attempt at explaining our origins.

Planet of the Apes (Original): A very pure Sci-Fi movie about a misonthrope who finds himself 2000 years in the future,after a failed attempt at faster than light travel to a distant star, only discover everything he feared and loathed about mankind has come to pass, and he is the heir of his own predictions.

Gattaca: I love this movie. In an Orwellian dystopia of genetic discrimination, a faith birth (someone not geneticaly manipulated at conception) fights his way through the entrenched system to achieve a childhood dream that everyone said was impossible.

The Day the Earth Stood Still: It tells of an Extra Terrestrial who comes to earth, not to bogart M&Ms, but to give humanity a stern warning about extending their violence beyond their own planet. Yes, its dated in its special effects, but science fiction is about story.

Logan's Run: Speaking of dated effects. In a post-Apocolypse world, there is a domed city. Noone gets out, everyone lives in a hedonist paradise, at least up until the age of 30, then you can renew, or so goes the exepted religion of the inhabitants. But you are an unbeliever, and you run away, then the Sandmen will get you. I like the book's term better, Deep Sleep Operative. Because if you are terminated by a Sandman, you don't renew, you sleep forever. But when the cities miticulous computer reaches a point at which it determaines there are too many unaccounted for, it sends one Sandman on a special mission to find "Sanctuary."

Westworld: I saw someone ask why Jurrasic Park wasn't higher. Well, it's simple, it is not superior to the original. If you want a story about a themepark gone bad, I feel Westworld is much better.

The Terminator: "I'll be back" Yes, it's a cheesy now, but it wasn't then. Post Apocolypse Los Angeles is a world where machines hunt humans. Machines created by a machine that was created by mankind. Apparently somewhere along the way the human spirit triumphed, but that hardly mattes to the protagonist, who is was sent back to 1984 after one of these human-like killers, whose aim is to eliminate the leader of the human resistance before he is born, by killing his mother.

Other favorites, since I'm running out of time:

Clockwork Orange
Forbidden Planet
Mary Shelly's Frankenstien and
Godzilla

[Red Beard]

Originally Posted by Rikalonius

It is my humble opinion that any movie with a happy ending cannot qualify as a Sci-Fi movie.

I don't guess you've ever seen an episode of Star Trek then?

E.T. is a remarkable film that while it's not about outer space or futuristic robots or anything like that, it's still about a fantastic event that shapes a young boy's life. It's as much a human drama as it is science fiction and that's why it's one of the best science fiction movies because it deals with the extraordinary in the most ordinary of situations.

And that in many ways is why Minority Report is a far more accomplished film than any of the Terminator's; because there's a genuine and affecting human drama at the center of the story. It's not about the science, it's about the people and that's the best kind of science fiction there is really. You can introduce all of these concepts about reality and perception and what not, but if you don't have any kind of emotional attachment to the characters, it's just a pseudo-science story lacking the fiction element.

For all of it's technological innovations and mesmerizing visuals and heady concepts, Blade Runner isn't that good of a movie. Why? Because it lacks the human interest that brings you as an audience member into the story. They throw a curveball at you near the third-act, but by then it's a little too late to try and get emotionally attached. By comparison, something like THX-1138 is a far more rewarding film from an emotional level because THX is the audience. We're with him on his adventure and we feel for what happens to him as he searches for the truth and for freedom.

[Sinful Desires]

Originally Posted by Red Beard

I don't guess you've ever seen an episode of Star Trek then?

E.T. is a remarkable film that while it's not about outer space or futuristic robots or anything like that, it's still about a fantastic event that shapes a young boy's life. It's as much a human drama as it is science fiction and that's why it's one of the best science fiction movies because it deals with the extraordinary in the most ordinary of situations.

And that in many ways is why Minority Report is a far more accomplished film than any of the Terminator's; because there's a genuine and affecting human drama at the center of the story. It's not about the science, it's about the people and that's the best kind of science fiction there is really. You can introduce all of these concepts about reality and perception and what not, but if you don't have any kind of emotional attachment to the characters, it's just a pseudo-science story lacking the fiction element.

You are such a moron. In T2 not only are you made to care more for the human characters but they make you care for a robot and the ending, honestly, made me cry when I saw it as a kid.

[Sinful Desires]

Originally Posted by Red Beard

Terminator is the only truly great Terminator film. T2 and T3 are more or less just remakes of the first film from a structural point of view. On top of that, neither film really expands on anything in the first film in a meaningful way and only serve to overcomplicate the story to the point where it loses focus and purpose. Both sequels simply feel like cash-ins on the unexpected success of the first film. It's not surprising that Cameron made T2 after The Abyss bombed. T2 was pretty much a sure-fire hit.

Yeah and I love how you try to sound intelligent by copying Max314's assessments of the Terminator sequels word for word. T2 destroys Commando.

[Red Beard]

Originally Posted by Sinful Desires

You are such a moron. In T2 not only are you made to care more for the human characters but they make you care for a robot and the ending, honestly, made me cry when I saw it as a kid.

Truth be told, I didn't really care about John or Sarah all that much. The T-800, however became the most interesting character in the film. I'm not sure what that says when a cyborg is a more lifelike creation than the supposed "real" characters in the film. I got a little emotional when the T-800 "died" at the end of the film, but a lot of it had more to do with Brad Fiedel's music and the imagery than any successful attempt at a human drama.

[Red Beard]

Originally Posted by Sinful Desires

Yeah and I love how you try to sound intelligent by copying Max314's assessments of the Terminator sequels word for word. T2 destroys Commando.

Max feels the same way? Cool. Didn't know that. I know he liked T2 a lot, but didn't know he felt the same way about the franchise as I. Which I have stated quite a number of times on this forum over my 3+ years here.

[eviltimes]

It would appear that everyone associated with this list hates good sci fi movies and is a slave to the hollywood mind control machine.

It only makes RT meaningless.

[Azlam Orlandu]

I could go on and on about how Blade Runner should have ranked higher, or how rediculous it is that First Contact is above Wrath of Khan, but I'm pretty happy with the Top 10. I was pleased to see newer films that I really enjoy like Minority Report and Children of Men mixed in with some of my all-time classics like Alien and Empire. I suppose if the list read like the one I have in my head it would be a pretty boring read.

[Neclord]

Why is the NX-01 from Enterprise (a television show) thrown in with the images on that page?