10 Most Underrated Sci-Fi Movies

[BeastieRunner]

I guess my quarrel is with how they are appreciated and categorized. Most reviewers don't seem to get what I get from watching these movies and I wish they would.

I get where you are coming from.

IMHO it depends on the source of the reviews. I find fellow sci fi fans more open minded than your average cinephile. Those people tend to have a certain mindset about films in general.

For example, I find Peter Jackson's King Kong to have one of the better love stories of the 2000s between Kong & Ann. No kissing, no sex, just plain compassion and fun. Lots of people don't see that. They just see a slow, sweeping, epic monster movie.

I get you.

[Kirby101]

Apparently, The Abyss underwhelmed critics, and I loved it, so if it counts as underrated, I'd totally put it on the list.

The problem is the director's cut with the real ending is a very good film. The one they forced Cameron to release is not so good.

[Sutekh]

Another one I thought of:

Strange Days (1995)...cyberpunkish neo-noir thriller where virtual reality is practically a drug (because reality sucks), then there's racial/police politics and the approaching millennium.

That movie made me fall in love with Angela Basset, and want to see her play Storm. Five years go by, and then... Halle Berry got the role. Sigh.

[Jim Kelly]

For example, I find Peter Jackson's King Kong to have one of the better love stories of the 2000s between Kong & Ann. No kissing, no sex, just plain compassion and fun. Lots of people don't see that. They just see a slow, sweeping, epic monster movie.

I get you.

I always felt Naomi Watts deserved an Oscar for her performance in that movie--or at least to be nominated--she did win a Saturn Award. It's all her--she has no one to act against, so she has to create it all herself. She's doing so many different things in that picture. Her work ethic is exemplary.

[AnthonyO'Brien]

Predator 2. Dumped on coz it didnt have Arnie. One of the last pre-CGI SF films. One of the first to let an African-American save the day.

Terminator Dark Fate. Best one since T2. I like to view it as a badly censored, closeted lesbian romance between Grace and Dani Ramos...

[Donkey Hotay]

Dredd. How I wish it had gotten a sequel.

[ChrisIII]

Predator 2. Dumped on coz it didnt have Arnie. One of the last pre-CGI SF films. One of the first to let an African-American save the day.

Terminator Dark Fate. Best one since T2. I like to view it as a badly censored, closeted lesbian romance between Grace and Dani Ramos...

It did have a nice call-back in PREY where we learn where the gun came from. I suppose you could say PREY is a bit underrated too, maybe because it was mainly on streaming and sort of was under the radar.

Think that Kong sort of had some of the same problems the Hobbit films had-kind of took a more simple premise and stretched it over too much time. A lot of the boat stuff could've been cut or scaled down. Other than that and some dodgy FX with the Dinosaurs it was pretty good IMO.

Kind of funny that Kyle Chandler wound up in two very different Kong films.

[Dr. Skeleton]

Black Hole. This was practically Disney's version of Star Wars long before they actually acquired Star Wars.

Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow. Even though the special FX looks dated now, it was an interesting concept and was inspired by the Fleisher Superman cartoons.

THX 1138. George Lucas's directorial debut. A very complex sci-fi flick, but interesting.

[BeastieRunner]

I always felt Naomi Watts deserved an Oscar for her performance in that movie--or at least to be nominated--she did win a Saturn Award. It's all her--she has no one to act against, so she has to create it all herself. She's doing so many different things in that picture. Her work ethic is exemplary.

Here, here!

Dredd. How I wish it had gotten a sequel.

That's the Karl Urban one, right?

If so, yes please!

THX 1138. George Lucas's directorial debut. A very complex sci-fi flick, but interesting.

I find this one on a lot of cinephile and audiophile lists. Seems to have cult status. It's a good film IMHO.

[5Eyes]

Black Hole. This was practically Disney's version of Star Wars long before they actually acquired Star Wars.

Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow. Even though the special FX looks dated now, it was an interesting concept and was inspired by the Fleisher Superman cartoons.

THX 1138. George Lucas's directorial debut. A very complex sci-fi flick, but interesting.

Black Hole - I really liked that one ..

I say :
Ice Pirates
Saturn 3
The Last Starfighter
John Carter

[Sutekh]

Outland is an underrated but decent sci-fi story, starring Sean Connery!

[Powerboy]

I thought Starship Troopers was pretty popular. Surprised to see it on a list of underrated movies.

I think it's because a LOT of people judge it solely on it's presentation of a military dictatorship (where only people who have served in the military can vote) and/ or being a Fascist society that never questions its own fascism. I think, "It's okay to torture your enemy and cut them to pieces with chainsaws because they are not us" gave a Nazi feel to the humans. I think the first review I ever read began with, "This is what happens when you start letting Fascists make their own movies." Unlike Heinlein's book, it never questioned it's own system of government or had it change over the course of the movie. Which brings me to the other thing it got criticized for which was being a poor reflection of Heinlein's book. Movies generally are poor reflections of original novels.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess the vast majority of people who saw the movie never read Heinlein's book. So, it was likely the other things.

[Powerboy]

Think mainly because it was kind of a box office flop. The original wasn't exactly a huge hit either but developed a dedicated following later on.


A few more I would add: Nicholas Meyer's TIME AFTER TIME, Malcolm Mcdowell as H.G Wells creating an actual Time machine which is stolen by Jack the Ripper (David Warner) who flees to the late 70's. Some fun culture shock jokes but also an interesting thriller as well. Also Mary Steenburgen falls in love with a time traveler (Her future ex-husband in real life, to boot) years before BTTF III.

Also ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL, produced by James Cameron and directed by Rodrequiez. One of the few western decent anime/manga live action adaptations, something that's still rare (Netflix's disastorous Cowboy Bebop, for example).

Yes, I loved that line about how Jack the Ripper says that, in 1886, he was a monster beyond comprehension but, by 1979 (the present at that time) he's a base amateur. Also, I believe that Mary Steenbergen talked about some other actor she fell in love with while doing a movie and it was the same scenario as with McDowell: fell in love while making the movie; married; divorced.

[Powerboy]

In chronological order--

1. LA JETÉE [The Jetty] (1962), directed by Chris Marker:

Only 28 minutes and with almost no actual movement; nevertheless, 12 MONKEYS (1995) was based on this short experimental film.

2. THE BIRDS (1963), directed by Alfred Hitchcock:

Is this a science fiction movie? I think the only way to understand what happens in the movie is to use science fiction or else the supernatural--and I prefer the science fiction explanation. The movie is so eerie and leaves you hanging. Hitchcock captures this sense of omnipresent doom. On the other hand, Tippi Hedren was tortured on set in making this picture. So I feel conflicted about admiring the work, knowing what she was put through. Still, if one ignored this film, one would be ignoring Hedren's performance--so it's the lesser evil to admire THE BIRDS while acknowledging the actress's unnecessary suffering.

3. FARENHEIT 451 (1966), directed by François Truffaut:

Based on the book by Ray Bradbury, the future in this movie is surprisingly similar to our own timeline. Truffaut had a horrible experience making this picture, and never made another English language film after this, sticking to his eclectic French cinema. In particular, the director found his star, Okar Werner, impossible to work with. He hated the actor so much that he included him among his dead in his later movie, LE CHAMBRE VERTE [The Green Room] (1978). The two men were inextricably linked by destiny as they died within two days of each other.

4. BARBARELLA (1968), directed by Roger Vadim:

Any favourable critiques I see about this picture are mostly left-handed complements--calling it delightfully camp, etc. Yet I'm not being ironic when I say this is a wonderful work of the imagination. The production design, the costuming, the music are all outstanding. And Jane Fonda is absolutely amazing in this role. Already experienced in the art of motion pictures, she knows exactly how to play her scenes and what notes to hit in her line delivery. She has no reason to be embarrassed about her performance (although I've read she is)--maybe she only regrets it because she made it with her ex-husband (who no doubt became an ex- for good reasons).

5. STARMAN (1984), directed by John Carpenter:

This movie is best described as E.T. for adults. The release of E.T. THE EXTRATERRESTRIAL (1982) meant that this one was pushed, to be released later. Jeff Bridges, deservedly, was nominated for an Oscar. Karen Allen is equally as good.

6. THE QUIET EARTH (1985), directed by Geoff Murphy:

Of all the End of the World movies, this New Zealand picture is one of my favourites. With a small cast of actors (as suits the plot), it sticks to a grounded sense of what it would be like if the end did happen.

7. PRIMER (2004), directed by Shane Carruth:

There are a lot of time travel movies, but this is the one movie that actually makes sense and follows a logical sequence.

8. JOHN CARTER (2012), directed by Andrew Stanton:

A great adaptation of A PRINCESS OF MARS by Edgar Rice Burroughs which should have done much better at the box office than it did; however, Disney totally mishandled the marketing and release of this picture. It's quite unfortunate that this movie failed to gain an audience and that, therefore, no sequels were made.

9. ABOUT TIME (2013), directed by Richard Curtis:

One of my all-time favourite movies. I never get tired of watching it. I just wish I'd seen it when it came out in theatres, but it flew under my radar. Maybe that innocuous (but clever) title had something to do with it not getting enough attention. Also, Rachel McAdams had already appeared in the TIME TRAVELER'S WIFE (2009)--but ABOUT TIME was by far the better time travel movie.

10. HAPPY DEATH DAY 2U (2019), directed by Christopher Landon:

The first HAPPY DEATH DAY (2017) was a good movie but the second HAPPY DEATH DAY is eleven times better and is one of the best time loop movies. And that's a mathematically provable fact.

I think some issues are indeed in the categorizing. As you said, is "The Birds" sci fi or fantasy? Or horror which would seem to be the intent.

I can see why Barbarella would tend to get left-handed compliments that, alas, ignore it's brilliance.

[Scott Taylor]

THX 1138. George Lucas's directorial debut. A very complex sci-fi flick, but interesting.

Just watched this again the other day again. It is still so complex. I love how everything in the way the world is governed revolves around the efficacy of the situation, to the point where crime no longer matters if its too expensive to fight it. Like how the police are full on chasing THX until the point where to do so is no longer economically feasible. Then they make a half-hearted plea to him, and beg off.

Reminds me of a certain society I feel like I live in now.