Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Movies (Rank Ordered)

Submitted by baker on Thu, 02/24/2005 - 10:57
Tags: 
  • Delicious
  • Digg
  • StumbleUpon
  • Facebook
  • Google
  • Technorati

  1. Sci-Fi/Fantasy

  2. GOLD: The Matrix (1999)
  3. SILVER: Batman (1989)
  4. BRONZE: Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)
  5. HONORABLE MENTION: Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  6. Back to the Future (1985)
  7. Aliens (1986)
  8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
  9. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
  10. Superman (1978)
  11. Spider-Man (2002)
  12. Terminator (1984)
  13. Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith (2005)
  14. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
  15. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
  16. Orpheus (1949)
  17. X-Men (2000)
  18. Superman II (1980)
  19. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
  20. Alien (1979)
  21. Apollo 13 (1995)
  22. Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
  23. Contact (1997)
  24. Ghost Busters (1984)
  25. The Running Man (1987)
  26. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
  27. X2 (2003)
  28. Pi (1998)
  29. Minority Report (2002)
  30. Conan the Destroyer (1984)
  31. Jurassic Park (1993)
  32. Flight of the Navigator (1986)
  33. Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
  34. Primer (2004)
  35. Gattaca (1997)
  36. Batman Returns (1992)
  37. Dark City (1998)
  38. Robocop (1987)
  39. Superman III (1983)
  40. Blade (1998)
  41. The Flash (1990)
  42. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
  43. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
  44. Batman Begins (2005)
  45. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
  46. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
  47. The Princess Bride (1987)
  48. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
  49. Darkman (1990)
  50. Excalibur (1981)
  51. Demolition Man (1993)
  52. Robocop 2 (1990)
  53. Mission to Mars (2000)
  54. Stay Tuned (1992)
  55. Back to the Future Part II (1989)
  56. Total Recall (1990)
  57. Ewoks: The Battle for Endor (1985)
  58. Men In Black (1997)
  59. The Time Machine (2002)
  60. Artificial Intelligence: AI (2001)
  61. The Neverending Story (1984)
  62. Blade Runner (1982)
  63. Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989)
  64. Ghost (1990)
  65. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)
  66. Beetlejuice (1988)
  67. The Crow (1994)
  68. The Mummy (1999)
  69. The Butterfly Effect (2004)
  70. Fallen (1998)
  71. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
  72. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
  73. Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
  74. Edward Scissorhands (1990)
  75. Dune (1984)
  76. Starship Troopers (1997)
  77. Donnie Darko (2001)
  78. Conan the Barbarian (1982)
  79. Stargate (1994)
  80. Fantastic Voyage (1966)
  81. Sphere (1998)
  82. Back to the Future Part III (1990)
  83. Hollow Man (2000)
  84. Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones (2002)
  85. Batman Forever (1995)
  86. Legend (1985)
  87. Waterworld (1995)
  88. Ghostbusters II (1989)
  89. Star Trek: Insurrection (1998)
  90. Brazil (1985)
  91. Van Helsing (2004)
  92. 2010 (1984)
  93. Star Trek: Generations (1994)
  94. Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone (2001)
  95. Knight Rider 2000 (1991)
  96. Alien 3 (1992)
  97. Femalien II (1998)
  98. Masters of the Universe (1987)
  99. Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
  100. The Phantom (1996)
  101. The Ninth Gate (1999)
  102. Star Trek: Nemesis (2002)
  103. The Ewok Adventure (1984)
  104. Weird Science (1985)
  105. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)
  106. Short Circuit (1986)
  107. Men In Black II (2002)
  108. Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987)
  109. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
  110. Predator 2 (1990)
  111. Batteries Not Included (1987)
  112. The Abyss (1989)
  113. Fire in the Sky (1993)
  114. Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (1991)
  115. Star Trek III: The Search For Spock (1984)
  116. The Mummy Returns (2001)
  117. The Last Starfighter (1984)
  118. The Fly (1986)
  119. The Fifth Element (1997)
  120. The Matrix Reloaded (2003)
  121. Unbreakable (2000)
  122. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (2003)
  123. Solaris (2002)
  124. I, Robot (2004)
  125. Willow (1988)
  126. Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
  127. Short Circuit 2 (1988)
  128. Red Planet (2000)
  129. RoboCop 3 (1993)
  130. Hook (1991)
  131. Lost Highway (1997)*
  132. Judge Dredd (1995)*
  133. Hitchhiker's Guide To the Galaxy (2005)*
  134. Dreamcatcher (2003)*
  135. Dungeons and Dragons (2000)*
  136. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (1990)*
  137. Blade II (2002)*
  138. The Matrix Revolutions (2003)*
  139. The Mask (1994)*
  140. Timecop (1994)*
  141. The X-Files (1998)*
  142. Spawn (1997)*
  143. Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey (1991)*
  144. Macross II: The Movie (1992)*
  145. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)*
  146. Hellboy (2004)*
  147. Armageddon (1998)*
  148. Batman & Robin (1997)*
  149. Captain America (1991)*
  151. * - Not Recommended
cramoukji02/24/2005

Well, I understand that this is a very personal ranking order but I find it highly surprising that A Space Odyssey would get such a low rating and especially is rated below Mission to Mars and the Star Trek movies... I would like to know your reasoning behind that... and basically, but that is only a personal view, I am not sure it's very relevant to rate Sci-Fi movies with Heroic-Fantasy with Super-Heroes...

baker02/24/2005

I appreciate you pointing this out. A Space Odyssey certainly should not be ranked behind Mission to Mars. As for the Star Trek movies, I've bunched them up as a series for now, until I take the time to rank them individually. I enjoyed Star Trek II more than A Space Odyssey, but Star Trek VI was much inferior.

While I thought A Space Odyssey was a great movie, I didn't find it to be one of my favorites. I think the biggest reason for this is that I grew up watching much newer sci-fi movies with better special effects, so I feel the breathtaking awe that Kubrick labored to create was somewhat lost on me. I liked HAL and the mysteriousness of the obelisks and all that, but I definitely had more fun watching movies like Aliens and Return of the Jedi.

cramoukji02/25/2005

I agree that 2001 is not a particularly funny movie but it did set the aestethics for life in space and spaceships for every sci-fi movie that followed... From Star Wars to Contact and every movie in between owe something to the vision of Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke... The Star Trek legacy is different because the first series was clearly rooted in 50's sci-fi like Forbidden Planet or this Island Earth but Gene Roddenberry added political and social values that were unprecendented in the sci-fi genre so I won't argue about your high ranking of James T. Kirk's and crew's adventures on the big screen even if the first Star Trek movie shows the same signs of borrowing aesthetics from 2001 as any other movie... Anyway, thankfully, everyone has got different tastes and everyone is invited to express theirs... and I enjoy your list a lot.

kenji03/30/2005

How about sci-fi classics like Metropolis (Lang), Brazil (Gilliam),(Cocteau), Stalker (Tarkovsky), The Day the Earth Stood Still (Wise), The Incredible Shrinking Man (Arnold)? And fantasies like Orphée (Cocteau), La Belle et la Bete (Cocteau), Celine and Julie go Boating (Rivette), A Matter of Life and Death (Powell, Pressburger), The Thief of Bagdad (Berger, Powell, Whelan), Groundhog Day (Ramis), It's a Wonderful Life (Capra)- or do the fantasies ned to be sci-fi too?

baker03/30/2005

Definitely some great suggestions. I have several on my "To See" list (Metropolis, Brazil, It's A Wonderful Life). Orphee (great film) I accidentally classified as a drama, but I'll fix that presently.

Groundhog Day I liked a lot, but I decided to classify it as a comedy instead of fantasy. I keep the movies in my lists limited to one genre for the sake of simplicity.

You have some great lists of your own, by the way. Quite a few good looking foreign films I've added to my "To See" list.