15 most ignored Sci-fi bombs that are great

[masraum]

I know that we've got a bunch of movie watchers and sci-fi fans, so I'm curious to see what your thoughts are on this list. I've only seen about half of them. Of the 8 that I've seen, I do think that 7 of them were really good to excellent movies with good stories or SFX or social commentary or ideas. Actually, the 8th probably fits in those as well. It just didn't do it for me.

15 - Ender’s Game (2013)
14 - Prospect (2018)
13 - Starship Troopers (1997)
12 - Dark City (1998)
11 - Underwater (2020)
10 - Annihilation (2018)
09 - Gemini Man (2019)
08 - The Abyss (1989)
07 - Gattaca (1997)
06 - Sunshine (2007)
05 - Brazil (1985)
04 - Cloud Atlas (2012)
03 - Titan A.E. (2000)
02 - Supernova (2000)
01 - Alita: Battle Angel (2019)

Of the 8 that I've seen, the only one that I struggled to watch (I guess just too weird) was Dark City. I did like Ender's Game, Starship Troopers, Annihilation, Gemini Man, The Abyss, Gattaca, and Alita. Some were good, entertaining movies, and some, I thought, were really great movies.

I'm on the hunt for a few of the movies in the list.

In case you're interested in the source of the list

[pwd72s]

I can see what prompted you to click...

[Steve Carlton]

It does look like Sci-Fi Boobs, though.

[Steve Carlton]

I thought The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) was good. Probably an ignored Boob. Pitch Black, Sputnik, and 2010: The Year We Make Contact are 10s in my book.

[fanaudical]

I'm an Orson Scott Card fan - and was disappointed with "Ender's Game" as a movie. It seemed too "clean". Starship Troopers is great! I haven't seen Dark City in years but remember liking it. Gattaca is one of my favorite movies. Gemini Man was really good. Sunshine had some intense moments.

[Alan A]

No love for waterworld?

Dark city was well strange.
Brazil needs to be watched as part of the trilogy.
Cloud atlas and prospect weren’t my thing.

[masraum]

And here's another list that's specific to Netflix

10. A.X.L. (2018) – High-tech robotic military dog sci-fi adventure starring Alex Neustaedter and Becky G.
9. Mute (2018) – Gritty, neon-soaked cyberpunk mystery directed by Duncan Jones and starring Alexander Skarsgård.
8. How It Ends (2018) – High-stakes apocalyptic road trip survival thriller starring Theo James and Forest Whitaker.
7. 2067 (2020) – Mind-bending post-apocalyptic time travel epic starring Kodi Smit-McPhee.
6. I.S.S. (2024) – Claustrophobic, paranoid space station thriller starring Ariana DeBose.
5. Alienoid (2022) – Massive South Korean sci-fi fantasy action epic blending alien battles and time travel.
4. Spiderhead (2022) – Dystopian psychological thriller featuring Chris Hemsworth and Miles Teller.
3. Spaceman (2024) – Cerebral deep-space psychological drama starring Adam Sandler.
2. Prometheus (2012) – Ridley Scott’s massive sci-fi horror masterpiece and Alien prequel starring Michael Fassbender.
1. Don't Look Up (2021) – Unbelievable star-studded black comedy and apocalyptic disaster epic.

I watched most of Mute once. I don't think I finished it, and it didn't grab me.
I like Prometheus.
I was not that impressed with Don't Look Up.

I was flabberghasted and gobsmacked to see that Spaceman is a serious Adam Sandler movie. I'll probably watch it out of morbid curiosity.

I'm curious about 2067, ISS, Alienoid, and Spiderhead and will probably watch those eventually.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Steve Carlton

I thought The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976) was good. Probably an ignored Boob. Pitch Black, Sputnik, and 2010: The Year We Make Contact are 10s in my book.

We loved Pitch Black, definitely a 10. I also enjoyed Red Planet (maybe a 9 or 10) and Day After Tomorrow a 10 in my book.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Alan A

No love for waterworld?

Dark city was well strange.
Brazil needs to be watched as part of the trilogy.
Cloud atlas and prospect weren’t my thing.

Good call, I liked Waterworld, but I seem to remember that it flopped or was considered a flop.

The "trailer" about Brazil in that video did not entice me to want to watch. It's part of a trilogy?

[Alan A]

Yeah. Gilliam’s an odd duck - says you are supposed to watch Time Bandits, Brazil and Baron Munchausen in that order. Something - iirc and it’s been a while - about individuals escaping reality.

12 Monkeys is his too. That’s quite odd as well.

Full disclosure- I like all 4. I like all of his except the last one - Dr Parnassus. Couldn’t get into it.

[A930Rocket]

I’m 1 for 8 in the OP list.

But did a little better in the Netflix list.

[GothingNC]

Air was a pretty good Sci Fi Flick

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2091478/

In the near future, breathable air is nonexistent and two engineers tasked with guarding the last hope for mankind struggle to preserve their own lives while administering to their vital task at hand.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by Alan A

Yeah. Gilliam’s an odd duck - says you are supposed to watch Time Bandits, Brazil and Baron Munchausen in that order. Something - iirc and it’s been a while - about individuals escaping reality.

12 Monkeys is his too. That’s quite odd as well.

Full disclosure- I like all 4. I like all of his except the last one - Dr Parnassus. Couldn’t get into it.

Time Bandits, the movie from 1981? Wow, I haven't thought of that in YEARS. I remember it from when I was a kid and probably watched it on HBO in 1982 or 83. I thought it was great, but then 12 or 13yo me likely had different criteria than I do now.

12 Monkeys, super weird, but I enjoyed it.

[Bob Kontak]

I've seen only four. Starship, Alita, Annihilation and Abyss. I liked them all.

That bear/person scene in Annihilation was like the basement scene at the end of Silence of the Lambs. Protracted suspense. It messed with me.

I have started Brazil a half dozen times. Stupid AF

[David Inc.]

I liked Alita but, while it was a very cool sci-fi movie, it had a weak story.

It also had someone kill a dog. You never kill the dog!

[GH85Carrera]

I just wish the movie makers would make more movies with a positive future, like in Star Trek. Almost every science fiction movie is a future apocalypse or zombie movie.

One thing for sure, I want some of the flashlights they all have in the apocalypse movies. The flashlights that decades or more in the future after the collapse those batteries and flashlights still work. And gasoline that lasts for decades in the cars they keep running with no new parts. Now days most gasoline is no good after just a year.

[vash]

Ender's Game and The Abyss are my two favorite stand alone sci-fi books.

I would argue Ender's Game rekindled my reading hobby. I didnt love the follow up book nearly as much.

the Abyss book-form has so much to it..the movie was a skeleton story.

[masraum]

Originally Posted by vash

Ender's Game and The Abyss are my two favorite stand alone sci-fi books.

I would argue Ender's Game rekindled my reading hobby. I didnt love the follow up book nearly as much.

the Abyss book-form has so much to it..the movie was a skeleton story.

Interesting. I'll have to check them out.

[vash]

Originally Posted by masraum

Interesting. I'll have to check them out.

super interesting how the book Abyss was written OSC wrote the book, giving the movie a head start. they were done concurrently for the most part, so he took liberties and added a bunch of stuff to really color in the lines of the movie.

[Alan A]

Originally Posted by vash

Ender's Game and The Abyss are my two favorite stand alone sci-fi books.

I would argue Ender's Game rekindled my reading hobby. I didnt love the follow up book nearly as much.

the Abyss book-form has so much to it..the movie was a skeleton story.

Follow up books. Plural. Four of them.
And - like the Dune ones, the first (imnsho) is the best of them.

I thought the abyss was just Card fleshing out the script (vs a script writer murdering a book).