I was reading this list of the 50 greatest sci-fi movies of the last 50 years, and it was all fairly predictable. There’s only a couple that I’d disagree with, but there were a few that would have made the list in place of them if I were compiling it myself, and I realised my additions were less mainstream or less critically acclaimed than were on there.
What guilty-pleasure sci-fi movies would you recommend?
For starters, ones I’ve watched a bunch of times would be:
Dredd (2012)
Pandorum (2009)
Lockout (2012)
Monsters (2010)
I keep reading that Event Horizon is supposed to be a flawed movie. I disagree, and quite like it. “Go in blind”, as in don’t read up on the plot, if you plan on seeing it, though.
It’s great, and Sam Neill is a superb antagonist. It ruined every other film of his I’ve watched since though, because all I can picture is him as a manifestation of insanity.
He’s surprisingly adept at that.
The last quarter of the movie has a weird tone shift that I don’t want to get too deep into here.
No spoilers ;)
Guilty:
- Ready Player One
- Frequently Asked Questions About Time Travel
- Godzilla vs Kong
- Resident Evil
- Transformers (first Michael Bay one)
- Ghostbusters Afterlife
- Dune 1984
- Armageddon
- The Day After Tomorrow
- Johnny Mnemonic
- Equilibrium
Not That Guilty:
- Ghostbusters 2016
- Pacific Rim
- Bumblebee
- Tron: Legacy
- Bill & Ted’s Bogus Journey
- Bill & Ted Face the Music
- Robocop
- Alien Romulus
- The Terminator
- Terminator Dark Fate
- Star Trek 2009
- Star Wars Rogue One
- Solo: a Star Wars Story
- Minority Report
- Upgrade
- Short Circuit
- V for Vendetta
- Dredd
- Hot Tub Time Machine
I Will Defend These To My Grave As Masterpieces
- Interstellar
- Independence Day
- Tron
- Back to the Future trilogy
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- The Matrix
- The Fifth Element
- Terminator 2
- The Abyss
- Arrival
- Blade Runner and Blade Runner 2049
- Ghostbusters OG
- Inception
- The Martian
- Mad Max Fury Road
- Edge of Tomorrow
- Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
- Dune 2021
- Alien and Aliens
- Star Wars original trilogy
- Total Recall
- Event Horizon
- Wall-E
- The Rocketeer
Great list, for Equilibrium alone, which I loved. Event Horizon also, that’s an unquestionable masterpiece.
The extreme horror of Event Horizon limits its appeal but I think it’s brilliant.
I read a while back that there was a much longer, far more gruesome version of the blood orgy scene that had to be cut because of how disturbing it was. I hate that sort of thing generally - I usually can’t watch horror without shitting myself - but the fact that it’s part of a film I loved makes me disappointed I won’t see it.
I’ve heard of that too, that the original film decayed in a vault or something. Pity. I’m not a torture porn fan or total gorehound myself, but I’d pay to see that footage just out of curiosity.
Where would the movie The Cell end up on this list?
Honestly I only saw it once. Might watch it again as a guilty pleasure though.
Rocketeer was so good. I’m amazed Disney hasn’t rebooted it as a TV series.
It’s one of the most underrated movies of all time in my opinion. It’s just a gem and it’s incredible fun for all ages.
Starship Troopers??
I’d say that’s universally loved tbh, plus it also makes the top 50 in the Kotaku link above, but otherwise, yes!
Yeah, I didn’t even read what you were saying…just saw Sci-Fi and blurted it out. Lol
In no particular order…
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Hulk (2003)
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Dark City (1998) (Pro tip: Start the movie, but mute it until Kiefer Sutherland comes in and looks at his watch, just a minute or so into the film).
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Armitage III: Poly-Matrix (1995)
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Virtuosity (1995)
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Jupiter Ascending (2015)
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Santa Claus: The Movie (1985)
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Super Mario Bros. (1993)
These are ones that I have true fondness for, but if I had to really get down to it, I would have to admit are kind of terrible.
I could list a handful of others like Transformers: The Movie, Heavy Metal, Willow, or Highlander that I would mark down as “Pulpy, arguably even a bit trashy, but absolutely fantastic and not at all guilty pleasures.”
Dark City is a great shout. The director’s cut loses the voiceover at the start, and is definitely the version to watch.
Excellent mention of the og Mario brothers. Dark city too. Well done!
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I’m gonna add Riddick (2013) to my list too. Pitch Black is obviously better and more well regarded so not really a guilty pleasure, but Riddick is another great underdog imo.
For me would have to be:
Johnny Mnemonic
District 9
Mars Attacks
Natural City
Pacific Rim
*Edit to add 12 Monkeys
This is the first time hearing of Natural City. Seeing it with all those other movies, though, makes me wanna find it because it has to be good to fit with the others.
(Btw, you need to hit two line breaks to get new lines)
Thanks for the reminder, the markdown on mobile caches me sideways if I’m not paying attention (which is more often than not)
+1 for Johnny Mnemonic
Not familiar with natural city.
District 9, Mars Attacks, and Pacific Rim are masterpieces and I will hear no criticisms.
I was running a video rental store at the time and discovered it as one of our new release foreign titles.
Another one for the list: Cube (1997). Low budget sci-fi horror-ish movie that I remember being pretty polarising.
I love Cube! But don’t forget about Cube 2: Hypercube, or the (admittedly weaker) prequel, Cube: Zero. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cube_(film_series)
So this is fantasy, but we’re all friends here right? I honestly don’t recall if I watched two or three, but I admit I kind of enjoyed the first entries in the “Mythica” series. Imagine LOTR ambitions on a Clerks budget, with a commitment to a very soft PG-13. IIRC, the production company is based out of Utah. The supposed “highlight” is that each one features a perfunctory cameo from a very bored Kevin Sorbo. Don’t worry though, Mister Jeebus Creep always leaves after one or two scenes. They’re quite awful by almost any measure, but I dunno. Something about the sheer balls to do a full-on high-fantasy franchise with absolutely zero money was compelling. It was also an early mover in the trend of unashamedly setting your D&D gang to film.
For better known (and actually sci-fi) guilty pleasures, I thought Jupiter Ascending was kinda stupid fun. Also, apparently I’m supposed to be ashamed of liking The Last Jedi, but with the possible exception of Andor it’s my favorite SW of the Disney era; perhaps a different shade of meaning on “guilty” there. Finally, as a kid I was also into The Adventures of Briscoe County, Jr, which does count once you watch a few episodes, and I never quite forgave the X-Files for being more successful.
Absolutely no judgement here! It’s all personal preference.
That said, Last Jedi over Rogue One is a bold call ;)
I like Rogue One a lot, but I can’t quite love it. To me, it’s a 6/10 war movie in lovely Star Wars cosplay and with ample fan service that runs maybe 2:1 on the side of the fun versus the cringey. In its favor, I am an absolute sucker for a well-storyboarded space battle, a weakness in almost every other SW media since ROTJ.
TLJ hit me in the exact right spot with what I felt like it was trying to set up, and once you make the initial mistake of resetting the galaxy ala TFA, I thought it was a reasonable, compelling, and occasionally touching set of next steps.
I think that’s why I preferred Rogue One (and Andor), in that they were more like war movies/shows that expanded upon this galaxy we were promised, but only previously had exposure to the same handful of individuals and their lightsabers.
Regarding the reset of the galaxy via TFA as a mistake and what you do with it after that is actually a superb take. I think your second paragraph might even have made me want to give TLJ another go!
Silent Running (1972)
Haha I saw the title and thought “Pandorum” but you’ve got that covered. It’s not very /good/ but it scratches all my sci-fi itches and I love the way it looks and sounds
I watched it again with my kids the other day, hoping they’d enjoy it like I did. Towards the end, but far enough away for it not to be obvious, my youngest said
Tap for spoiler
“I bet the ship’s underwater”
which was disappointing in that she guessed one of the twists, but at least it shows she was paying attention!
Strange Days
Dark City
13th Floor
Moon
Cube
Animatrix
Heavy Metal
Dude Where’s My Car
Cowboys Vs Aliens
Paprika
Patlabor II
Strange Days is like an alternate universe where the miniDisc became the dominant format.
Excellent mention of 13th floor and moon. Patlabor too. Nice!
thanks. would you count City of Lost Children as sci-fi?
I’ve personally never seen it. It looks pretty interesting from the overview. At first glance, it seems there is a very plausible argument for it being considered sci-fi. I feel like there might be a 12 Monkeys sort of vibe to it. Nice suggestion, thanks!
Just rewatched the 13th floor this week, it’s SO close to being excellent, but doesn’t quite reach what it could be capable of.
Fun flick, main actor is better than I remembered.
I never understood guilt pleasures. If you enjoy something why are you feeling guilty?
It’s just a phrase, you don’t literally have to feel guilty.
watch Crippled Masters. then you’ll understand
Elysium was great. I think I spent most of my time watching Ready Player One the same way I did with Deadpool & Wolverine - pointing at the screen going “Look, that’s x from y!”
Spectral! Unique plot, as far as I know. Never seen anything quite like it, probably watched it 10-times by now.
I really enjoyed Total Recall, but I expect 99% of that was down to my obsession with Beckinsale.
Agreed, the Rebel Moon movies were beyond awful. I have no clue how they got greenlit. There’s no guilty pleasure there, they’re just objectively bad.
My list would be way too long to type on my phone, but I’m glad no one said Chappie.
Roland Emmerich’s movies are more disaster than sci-fi predominantly, but I enjoy them even though they are of very questionable quality, especially 2012.
I liked Shin Kamen Rider even though the acting leaves something to be desired and the plot is kind of obtuse, plus the CGI is kind of cheesy.
The American Digimon movie (2000) is kind of a mess in terms of editing and the third part sucks, but I really enjoy the voice acting and the first two parts are solid if a bit rushed. Also the Barenaked Ladies needle drop is iconic.
