Your top 5 sci-fi movies (and why)

[Deset Gled]

"The Day the Earth Stood Still" - A true classic and the first anti-nuke movie.
"Forbidden Planet" - Shakespeare in space and a serious Leslie Neilsen? What's not to love?
"Silent Running" - As we work to wipe ourselves out of existence, there's still hope.
"They Live" - You just have to have a silly alien invasion story.
"Logan's Run" - SciFi is at its best when it holds a light up to society. Commentary on the cult of youth in modern society for the win.

I respect the choices; they're all classics. But if I had to summarize your vibe here it would be: Preachy. Silent Running in particular is my go to example of "too heavy handed for its own good".

If you had to pick something from the last 30 years, is it safe to guess that District 9 would be on the list? Maybe Mute?

Edit: Adding in "Things to Come" to the list seems very on brand.

 

[sevenbastard]

Road Warrior: the action, the lack of words, the subtle world building, moraly Grey protagonist.

Fury Road: see above

Star Wars: the first films paints a picture that lets your imagination fill in the gaps. The more they filled in the gaps the less I liked it.

Black Hole: saw it as a kid so it stuck with me. The Gothic visuals, the robot design, the bizarre ending.

Aliens: game over man, game over. Great action, quotable as all get out, strong female protagonist. I like it more than Alien.

I feel bad i didn't have room for
Predator, Terminator 2, Beyond Thunderdome (killed by its pg 13 rating but still iconic) Furiosa, 12 Monkeys, Rouge One, Wrath of Kahn, and just for Bill Pulmans speech Independence Day.

 

[SkidAce]

1. The Abyss - so engaging, immersive, good message, all around fantastic movie.
2. Star Wars - speaks for its self.
3. JC's The Thing - almost horror, scary sci fi premise with faced by regular people, imagery is chef's kiss.
4. Bladerunner - all been said upthread.
5. Alien/Aliens - both deserve a slot for different reasons, best suspense, best action, best "game over man", etc.

Runners Up:

Fifth Element (almost heresy not to be in top 5, but hey?), Equilibrium, Dark City

 

[Ryujin]

I respect the choices; they're all classics. But if I had to summarize your vibe here it would be: Preachy. Silent Running in particular is my go to example of "too heavy handed for its own good".

If you had to pick something from the last 30 years, is it safe to guess that District 9 would be on the list? Maybe Mute?

Edit: Adding in "Things to Come" to the list seems very on brand.

The last 30 years? Add "The Matrix." It's the almost perfect movie. Ignore the sequels.

Edit - I've been a fan of Star Trek since '66, so there's your preachy

 

[Bagpuss]

It's tricky because you got the whole what's Sci-fi vs Sci-fantasy argument, you could rule out stuff like Star Wars if you are being strick about your definition of Sci-fi.

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that explores futuristic or imagined scientific and technological advancements and their impact on society.

If you stick to that could even rule out stuff like Aliens, because while having less fantastical elements, it still doesn't really explore the impact on society or technology in the film. I think it is a little unfair to lump sci-fi films that seek to provoke thoughts about society in with ones that just seek to entertain to pick your top five, although some manage both to a greater or lesser degree (The Matrix, Terminator, Inception, Blade Runner, I Robot). There are a load of films I think people should watch because they comment on societies interaction with technology, that are much more significant in that regard that say Star Wars, but you can't ignore the impact that has had culturally.

Ah naughty word it.

1. The Fifth Element
2. Battle Angel Alita
3. Aliens
4. The World's End
5. Terminator

But watch Gattaca if you haven't.

 

[Tonguez]

Metropolis
Planet of the Apes (Heston version)
Mad Max
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Terminator

Notable: The Blob, Lost in Space, Forbidden Planet, They Live, Short Circuit, Back to the Future, Total Recall
I consider Star Wars more fantasy than Sci-fi so it didnt make the list

 

[Ryujin]

It's tricky because you got the whole what's Sci-fi vs Sci-fantasy argument, you could rule out stuff like Star Wars if you are being strick about your definition of Sci-fi.

Science fiction is a genre of speculative fiction that explores futuristic or imagined scientific and technological advancements and their impact on society.

If you stick to that could even rule out stuff like Aliens, because while having less fantastical elements, it still doesn't really explore the impact on society or technology in the film. I think it is a little unfair to lump sci-fi films that seek to provoke thoughts about society in with ones that just seek to entertain to pick your top five, although some manage both to a greater or lesser degree (The Matrix, Terminator, Inception, Blade Runner, I Robot). There are a load of films I think people should watch because they comment on societies interaction with technology, that are much more significant in that regard that say Star Wars, but you can't ignore the impact that has had culturally.

Ah naughty word it.

1. The Fifth Element
2. Battle Angel Alita
3. Aliens
4. The World's End
5. Terminator

But watch Gattaca if you haven't.

I don't know about anywhere else but in Canada, we got the original "Battlestar Galactica" pilot as a movie in theatres. For the TV show they had to un-dead Baltar, because he was executed by the Cylons in the original movie.

 

[sevenbastard]

Planet of the Apes (Heston version)

Back in the 90s I worked at Blockbuster and we could only show G rated movies during the day. We'll for some unknown reason Planet of The Apes was rated G so I played this non stop till it was late enough to switch to the Goonies.

 

[Muad'dib Pendragon]

1. The Matrix: Could this be considered a binary pre-John Wick?
2. Star Trek 2: The Wrath of Khan
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
4. The Fifth Element
5. Alien

Honorable Mention: Ex Machina, The Planet of the Apes (1968), Tron (1982), Star Wars (1977), Terminator

As an aside, I originally saw The Matrix on opening night at a theater in which about 20 seconds of the Smith vs Neo train station fight went totally dark. It wasn't until a re-watch a couple years later that I saw that scene in full. Only added to the movie's mystique.

 

[dragoner]

Ex Machina is really well done, CUTS from the OST is awesome.