The Five Underrated Sci-Fi Movie Masterpieces

I find your list…acceptable. Glad you changed your mind about including Serenity.

This is a list for all of us, so given the comments from you and others, how could I not include!!

What are your thoughts though: Isn’t it about time that we get Serenity 2? What’s the holdup….

@ SJS – Please use your vast network of contacts in the entertainment industry to get an answer to this question: In an era where all studios talk about is the next big franchise, why isn’t another Serenity movie on anyone’s drawing board? Whedon has shown he can deliver the goods relatively cheaply and it’s got a built-in fan base. Are the studios doing so well that they can turn their noses up at a movie that’s almost guaranteed to return a profit, even if they aren’t Avatar numbers? For the cost of one Land of the Lost, they could have made three or four Serenity’s with money made on each. Me no understand Hollywood logic….

Here’s a great movie that never gets mentioned and for the life of me I can’t understand why:

Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow

It’s not an intellectual sci-fi movie, just a great fun adventure film with an amazing look. I feel like I was one of the 9 people that saw that in the theater and it tanked so badly it doesn’t even seem to have found a 2nd life on cable or DVD (which I own and watch regularly). Even after the bad box office I would have thought for sure that Kerry Conran would be seen again on another project. His vision for that movie was so unique but his IMDB page has nothing beyond Sky Captain listed :(

I actually think a couple of these movies are severely OVER rated. Gattaca and Serenity are good, but great? I don’t think so.

Having said that, Dark City is awesome, and absolutely deserves to be on this list.

@crb – totally agree with the Sky Captain comments. I’ve been lobbying for that film from the get go.
And no Hitchhikers??? Please tell me that makes your no-less-underrated “rental list”. Otherwise a largly pleasant list. Serenity sequel needs to happen. I cant stand seeing Alan Tudyk doing DirecTV commercials.

couldn’t agree more with your first two picks…that of The Fountain and of Solaris, very, very underrated…it almost upsets me that more people don’t see those two films the way I do, and that I don’t have the faculty to explain it to them..subtle, beautiful, genius…and the soundtracks for both are amazing, I listen to them all the time..nice to see someone giving them their due..so if you haven’t seen them…run, don’t walk to the video store…

where is Shane Carruth now? let’s call him!

Gattaca…yes! One of the most thought provoking and beautiful looking sci-fi movies I’ve ever seen. The scene where Jude Law is climbing a staircase shaped like a DNA strand just kills me.

And completely underrated. I’ve often believed that the main reason it flopped is because moviegoers couldn’t pronounce the title and didn’t know what it meant. For those of us in the know, the title is just one morsel of the brilliance behind this movie.

(Hyperbolic plug alert: When I was a lowly film critic, I reviewed Gattaca. A quote from my review appears on laserdisc and first-gen DVD sleeves. I called it “our generation’s 2001.”)

Why didn’t you include AI, I thought you were its staunch defender?

I actually put a call out to try and get Shane last Thursday – have also already talked to Ethan about Gattaca!

radiohank – AI’s a masterpiece, but is it really underrated? It got some critical love when it came out, and can anything by Spielberg really be all that marginal? That was the debate I dealt with…make any sense? I also didn’t want to eat up 2 spots on different lists with the same title. I guess I could have made it an honorable mention, due to the fact that the ending is so often misunderstood (in my humble opinion)

I’ll echo a previous comment that the the list is “acceptable.” Having The Fountain as a runner up and Serenity on the list though is an affront to all that is holy.

What about 12 Monkeys? I think it is a great movie. Although I am not sure if it is underrated or not, since it does star Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt.

Thank you for including Serenity. I am always pushing this film on people. Once they see it, they love it…and usually end up wanting to watch Firefly. If only they would make a sequal, but alas, there isn’t enough money in it for the studio.

Could any film be more underrated than “The Man from Earth,” the final effort from the late Star Trek screenwriter, Jerome Bixby? Lovingly produced by his son, this unpretentious film has no A-list actors, no future-tech looking sets, no strange-looking aliens, not even any CGI or other special effects. It’s the rare effort that goes all in on the most important part of any film: the story.

Darren Aranofsky’s Black and White Classic “Pi”. Slightly less than timeless but deep and haunting.

Also have to add Logans Run. It was a bit of recognition when it came out but only the nerdiest scifi fans watched it after that and mostly as a late night movie in the 80′s.

It had amazing sets and was ambitious in its scope and was a full roller coaster ride in classic sci-fi sense but placed in a modernist futuristic world as only the late 60′s to late 70′s could produce.

@steven- your reasons make sense to me although I don’t recall many critics viewing AI too fondly when it came out. I’m sure they’re out there, though.

I think there’s a certain amount of argument about Pi being Sci-Fi. It’s a genre so casually applied to so many films, you really need to agree on a good definition in order to have a discussion.

Take a look at IMDB’s list of the top sci-fi films. (http://www.imdb.com/Sections/Genres/Sci-Fi/average-vote). I mean V for Vendetta and Young Frankenstein are apparently included for some strange reason.

While it may not hit the top 5, I am somewhat dismayed that Groundhog Day was never considered. There’s no SF whiz bang in it, it’s just boiled down to the pure essence of it’s SF premise: What if you lived the same day over and over again? And it’s a comedy!

eXistenZ (1999)

Not one “masterpiece” mentioned in the entire piece. Underrated? Sometimes films aren’t really underrated, they just suck. I mean, Gattaca and Sunshine are the snooziest of snoozers with absolutely no satisfying payoff. Dark City another severe disappointment that starts with promise. Solaris was slow and plodding (I understand the original was better). The Fountain was mostly incomprehensible and quite dull. (Seems to be the only common thread here.)

I know there are a lot of Serenity-heads out there, but that’s another one that just left me cold (as extended television pilots often do…)

Sleeper was indeed a wonderful film, but not only was it not underrated and not a masterpiece, it’s not sci-fi.

I think Sunshine should have made the list and would’ve liked to read your opinion on it.
Iagree with the choices of Gttaca, my favorite movie of all time; and also Dark City definetely Proyas at his best. But i think i got one evrybody dismissed or passed over.
Jaccobs Ladder. I think one of the most shocking movie endings ever and an wretched trip through the mind, memories and fears of an agonizing man.
What does everybody think? Does this one count as underrated sci fi.

I suggest The Blood of Heroes, with Joan Chen and Rutger Hauer beating one another senseless with spare car parts in a post-apocalyptic desert.

The sickening violence is justified by a thrilling concept, a perfect script, imaginative costumes, and earnest choreography, as well as a turn by pre-MIB Vincent D’Onofrio, AKA Private Pyle from Platoon.

I highly agree with your choice of Primer as the top pick. That movie blew me away. It’s a must for fans of Lost and Fringe.

Love your list! Thought The Fountain was spectacular. And I love Dark City. Another one that I’m sure just didn’t have the budget to get out there to the masses is a film from this year called Ink. I thought it was original and very well done. Great images! At times it reminded me of Dark City.

“Dark Star” (1974), John Carpenter’s and the late Dan O’Bannon’s debut film, riffs on post-Vietnam War malaise and the sixties hippie movement, as an Earth-based starship continues its near endless mission to destroy “unstable” planets using truly “smart” bombs. With a frozen captain who consults via speakerphone and an astrogator only interested in finding the mythical Phoenix Asteroids, the other three completely demoralized crew members only want to drop their last container-sized thermonuclear weapon and go home, except there’s been a malfunction, thanks to the beachball-shaped alien they picked up along the way: The armed bomb doesn’t recognize the crew’s authority to order a bomb drop.

The film lays the groundwork for Ridley Scott’s “Alien” (1979) and Jim Cameron’s “Aliens” (1986) with a broad nod to the dark humor of Stanley Kubrick’s “Dr. Strangelove” (1964). A definite treasure if you can find it.

Wish I’d known about this effort while voting was open; I’d have lobbied long and hard for the original 1980 made-for-PBS adaptation of The Lathe of Heaven. I haven’t seen it in 30 years, but I remember it like yesterday. Since its return to TV (and DVD) 10 years ago, I’ve been loath to watch it for fear it might not have held up. But a movie that stays with you for 30 years without a refresh has got to be worth at least mentioning.

I TOTALLY agree that Gattaca (GREAT film) should be in the Top 5; maybe even higher than #4. “Dark City” was also AWESOME and deserves to be listed. I heard about “Serenity” and “Fountain” but never saw them (wanted to see Serenity but never got around to it, actually); “Primer” sounds interesting but never heard of it; and “Silent Running” sounds absolutely BORING but I never saw it (heard of it though – I will have to try and see that one…).

Wait a minute – that’s more than 5!?! What did I include that shouldnt be on the top 5? LOL

Anyhoo, another “underrated” sci-fi film that I thought should be in the ranking includes “The Watchmen” – it wasnt wildly popular so I think it qualifies as “underrated.” For some reason that movie made an impression on me. I also thought “Reign of Fire” was surprisingly good and could be on this list – I dont think it received a lot of hoopla and could fall in as “underrated.”

What about “Children of Men” – would that qualify as underrated – I thought that was WELL done, as well?

Joining the blog late – thought ‘City of Lost Children’ was a visually beautiful, though dark film – unusual. Not sure if it even showed in US, as it’s French with subtitles as I recall, think I rented a copy. Check it out.

Oh, hells yes!! THE FOUNTAIN!! I’m with YOU! This film is totally incredible. I’m a spiritual teacher and author and this film is so loaded with higher truth, its amazing. Everyone should watch this, several times. Beautiful, beautiful piece. Thanks for sharing!

What about the 2009 independent film Moon? It got zero attention in Scandinavia, wasn’t run in my local theatre yet strikes me as this generation’s 2001.

I really like the list and I’m in agreement with the choices. I too put Primer at the top. I have watched the movie at least 8 times and always find something new in it that I missed in previous viewings. I agree with another commenter about “Man from Earth” one of my favorites and probably in my top 10.

I haven’t seen some of the movies mentioned, I thought I would add some that I enjoyed watching.

I really liked the movie Moon. It was boring at first, but gradually you see there’s more to it than at first appears.

Also, many years ago I watched a movie called Screamers, I really liked it too. Don’t think it had a huge budget either. Maybe if I saw it today I would feel differently. It was based on a short story by Philip K Dick. Somehow self replicating machines fascinate me, kind of like zombies I guess.

Ink – along with Silent Running – is a movie that moved me emotionally.

I know I’m late to the discussion, but there is a really great overlooked sci fi movie starring Jeff Daniels. It’s Timescape (1992) but was titled Grand Tour: Disaster in Time for the DVD market (as near as I can tell).

The story involves time travelling “tourists” that go on trips to the great disasters in the past.

If you haven’t seen it, get ready for a real treat.

My vote goes to Mimic. Fun to watch, great effects, Mira Sorvino doesn’t ruin it, and its got Carl Winslow reprising his role as the twinkie eating cop from Die Hard. This flick was amazing. It’s an homage to those old giant insect invasion movies, but faster, smarter, and more aggressive. Fully realizes what it must be like to be attacked by a hungry, man-sized cockroach with lungs. Scary stuff.

A film I have not seen mentioned but which has remained one of my favorites over the years is “The Quiet Earth” (1985), directed by Geoff Murphy.

Set in New Zealand, Zac Hobson (Bruno Lawrence) awakes to a world without people. He eventually meets a beautiful woman named Joanne (Alison Routledge) and they begin to figure out the connection between the missing human race to the government project Zac has been working on as well as why they were spared.

Anyway, a great little indi doomsday movie worth a view.

As to the submitted list, I concur full-heartedly with the inclusion of “Silent Running” and “Gattaca”. I might have wished to see “The City of Lost Children” included on this list as well, but c’est la vie.

List is fine, but in my humble opinion, Sunshine should absolutely be on this list.

Gaaahhh!

What a terrible list. The internet is full of these crappy lists, one after another about this subject and that.

The movies you chose were weak, weak, weak.

Gattica had a clever idea but it moved at a leaden pace, had stiff acting, very little drama, and was all surface veneer. It rates a 3-5 out of ten at best.

Dark City? Another one that had a good concept but middling execution. Boy, your standards are pretty low.

Silent Running isn’t underrated, it is over-rated! It stands as a classic for it’s eco-message but A Boy and His Dog, Phase IV, Omega Man and Soylent Green are all much much better.

Here are some good to great films you totally missed:
eXistenZ, Supernova, Man Facing SouthEast, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Fantastic Planet, The Quiet Earth, original Rollerball, Zardoz, and 100 more!

The films you chose are thin in the story area and thick with the atmospherics – I guess a comment on our times.

No doubt you liked the final season of Battlestar Galactica and the terrible terrible ending with angels and mitochondreal Eve.

So does its exclusion from this list mean that Event Horizon is an masterpiece?

i am a huge sci fi fan and i was just wondering where is event horizon! unless you concider that a horror movie but, i think it is completly underrated and a awsome movie. also city of lost children is really underrated.

The #1 underrated Sci-Fi masterpiece of all time imho is 12 Monkeys.

Dark City is well deserving and happy to see it on this list, always been one of my favorites, as well as Serenity.

If you are a fan see the new director’s cut of Dark City, far superior to the theatrical cut.

i agree with titforrat, 12 monkeys is a great movie and quite underappreciated. oh and imattdotnet, vincent d’onofrio wasnt in platoon. youre thinking ful metal jacket. same thing, really. one everyone likes, the other people tihnk is too slow and bizarre. i prefer full metal jacket of course.

I haven’t seen any of the earlier debate, but here are some thoughts on this list. I’ve seen the top four and really don’t have any desire to see Silent Running. (My favourite film for eco-consciousness is not sci-fi but animated fantasy, actually; Princess Mononoke or Mononoke-Hime in Japanese. I get annoyed with the preachy doomsday message of many eco-obsessive films that seem to suggest that humanity really ought to get rid of itself so that poor old earth has a shot at getting better, and I think Princess Mononoke highlights both sides of the environmental issue. )

I totally agree with Primer and Gattaca. Primer is thoroughly convoluted (http://xkcd.com/657/) but very thought inspiring, and I liked that the main characters seem to actually have thought things through in terms of causality a little bit, and try to avoid the usual stupid errors. I also really appreciated the inspiring and hopeful tone of Gattaca, which explores genetic modification but also has a passionate take on what human beings are, recognising that it goes beyond genes. I found Dark City to be a wonderful and fascinating film with an outrageous premise, although one that nevertheless leads to some interesting concepts & conclusions.

Serenity is where I’m stuck. Please be aware – I adore the film, the actors, and Joss Whedon’s directing. I am a Serenity/Firefly junkie; however, I don’t know that it’s truly great. :( I’m still totally psyched about a sequel, although I’ll miss Alan Tudyk incredibly.

My addition to this list: Avalon (directed by Mamoru Oshii). It’s definitely underrated, although the sci-fi is a bit more arguable. I think it qualifies. But science fiction or not, everyone ought to give it a chance; it questions “what is real?” in the way Primer and Dark City do, but deals with overt virtual reality instead of imposed multiple- or false-realities. It follows in the legacy of Tron because it explores the impact of virtualisation on society, and is also atmospherically wonderful. Check it out!

The Silver Globe http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093593/

Hi there,

I am glad to see that I am not the only one on Earth to have seen and appreciated PRIMER. out of the 5, I have the honor to possess the DVDs of three of them (Dark City, Primer, GATTACA). Keep up the good work.

ps May I suggest the beautiful “Immortel” from E. Bilal? Cocorico from France :)

Thank you for this compilation… HOWEVER, how did the epic “DUNE” not make the list????!!!!???? Talk about under-rated… also, “Brazil” seems to be an extremely under-rated sci-fi flic worthy of praise.

Gattaca, Dark City, AND Serenity? Great movies! I own them all. As a kid, I really liked the old “Forbidden Planet” with its dream monster. It’s kind of a cheesy film, but a precursor to a lot of horror/sci-fi films–deeds done in dreams becoming real actions. :)

Re: synalle–I liked Avalon, too.

jadesmith09: Forbidden Planet doesn’t belong on the list because it’s a pretty highly rated sci-fi classic. It might seem a little cheesy today (in the same way most classics may seem when compared to modern films) but in it’s day it was ground breaking and as you point out a precursor to a lot of today’s fare.

One film I think is missing is Fantastic Voyage. A great tour of the human body played as a thriller. Why it hasn’t been remade is a complete mystery to me. With today’s understanding of what makes us tick combined with modern special effects it could be a fantastic voyage indeed.

Another vote for Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Cheers, CRB.

Try out also Special — The Movie by Hal Haberman and Jeremy Passmore

Not the greatest movie in the world, but it was touching on something. Probably Kick Ass will be better.

The Dark Crystal.
Flight of the Navigator.
What on Earth! (A cartoon from the mid-1960s that shows life on Earth from a Martian viewpoint.)
Hunger (The first computer-generated film ever.)

Dark City is one of my all-time favorite films. Sadly, few people know of this gem. I introduce it to every movie-lover I know.

The Fountain, also, amazing. Can’t believe it got such mediocre reviews. I think a lot of folks just didn’t get it.

Silent Running and Primer are new to me, so I’ll check those out.

One oldie-but-goodie that I believe to be seriously underrated is The Day the Earth Stood Still. Yeah, it’s a classic…but the remake just cast such a shadow over the name that I get the impression people have forgotten it.

As for Serenity…loved it, but was it underrated? Doesn’t stand up to multiple viewings, for me at least, like Dark City, The Fountain or the original Day the Earth Stood Still. Still, it’s worthy as a film. I wouldn’t say it’s underrated so much as off-the-radar.

I like the list. I have two additions: Hardware (1990) and Brazil (1998). The only half-way recognizable name in Hardware is Dylan McDermott, who found greater fame on TV with “The Practice”. Although Hardware is a small, slightly-dated movie mostly taking place entirely within a woman’s apartment, it’s filled with disturbing, dreamlike images and hypnotic music. In many ways, it was ahead of its time with its post-apocalyptic themes touching on ruthless population control and environmental degradation. Meanwhile Brazil updates Orwell’s 1984 and adds a touch of humor and satire. Still, the original ending is devastating.

i’m posting a late comment, because i just happened onto your blog. It’s hard to limit a list like this to only five or ten, so it’s good to see a forum like this & hear others’ opinions, Now have some must-see movies that I haven’t yet, such as Primer, Sunshine…. Thanks!

Other good ones are Wim Wenders’ Until the End of the World, but can only get it in PAL format. I’m not crazy about William Hurt, who plays the lead role, but loved the concepts of “filming for the blind” & “dream addiction”. Speaking of William Hurt, what about Altered States? Another great concept – sensory deprivation & evolution regression (?) .

Loved the concept for Gattacca also & couldn’t figure out why no one had heard of it. The Man Who Fell to Earth, Pi, Event Horizon, 12 Monkeys & Brazil (Terry Gilliam), A Boy & His Dog (Don Johnson at his best..ha,ha) – all great.

Check out Peter Greenaway’s Pillow Book. Not sure if it would be classified as sci-fi, but it’s pretty wild (probably too long for most audiences).

Dune was too cartoonish for me. The book was so much better (the first one). Don’t think I would include Tron and eXistenZ.

The director’s cut of “Aliens” is still the best sci-fi film I have sever seen start to finish. I thought “Silent Running” was way overrated. “The Andromeda Strain” (1969) still stands up as does another one you are overlooking “Colossus: The Forbin Project” (1970). Absolutely loved the ending to that one.

Perhaps the most perfect science fiction movie ever made was “The Man in the White Suit” (1951), which starred a very young Alec Guiness. It does what classic science fiction should: based on real or plausible science, it explores the effect of new knowledge and/or technology upon human society. This movie is a timeless cautionary tale about unintended consequences, and in it’s final scene, a quick jab of a warning about the foolishness and futility of trying to stifle scientific inquiry and the ramifying and viral nature of knowledge.

PRIMER!!!!!!

I think Science fiction is the genre with the most potential. However, I hate most Sci-fi movies. Why do we ignore the science part so stubbornly? When will we see an intelligent life from from another planet that isn’t a humanoid? We see more diversity on our own planet than writers seem to imagine there being in all the Universe; I promise, if doesn’t have a recognizable face and communicate vocally I will still buy a ticket! But, if a non-anthropocentric alien is too much to ask for, how about a little attention to detail. Less noisy, fiery explosions in space. Less famous theory name dropping which make no sense and assume the audience is entirely composed of ignorant philistines…. my list of complaints is endless and it appears I’m ranting.

Anyhow, thank you for making Primer the number one. This is truly underrated. Made for about 7000 dollars, (its impossible to make a movie for $7000,) this one of the best movies I have ever seen. There is a unshakable realism in every corner of this movie. Taking a impossible notion, and making it believable is the mark of a genius. You are not watching an actor pretend he is a engineer; You are watching an how an engineer acts!

GATTACA is another example a great movie which portrays a very possible reality. There is a hundred different things I would like to mention about it but it is a fairly well known movie, thus, doesn’t need my promotion.

Not to ignore the rest of the list, some good movies there. I really just hoped on to applaud the choice of Primer and to encourage more people to see it tho.

Crack In the World is so notable as being prophetic in nature in regards to what is happening now with the BP Gulf disaster. Greed and corruption overtake the rationale of science to where the Earth may come apart. The dialogue in the movie uses many of the same terms you would here right now on CNN. Fortunatley, this 1964 movie is going to be finally released on DVD this August 2010. It should not be overlooked for the acting, music and direction along with the sci-fi is excellent!

I don’t know how Sunshine, a film with so many script flaws could even be at TOP10: “Look! My film is boring me, let’s add a mutated man with superpowers to kill everyone”. I hate Boyle on its own, because that kinda of crap is a constant on his films.

Its quite a shame ppl get so connected to the 00′s DVD U.S. releases while making these lists, the lists become biased by themselves.

Wanna watch “underrated” sci-fi movies? Why don’t you start with Planet of the Vampires? An italian B-movie which inspired Alien & Aliens in several motions (including plot).

How someone dare listing Sodenbergh’s Solaris over Tarkovsky’s Solaris? Carpenter’s The Thing? Verhoeven’s Total Recall? Marker’s La Jetèe? Cronenberg’s The Fly? Godard’s Alphaville? I’m glad to see Primer around here, but what pisses me off isn’t that these films were not in the list, they were not even in discussion!

Dark City is one of my all-time favs. And, while I agree that Gattaca had some good stuff with plot, emotion and situation, I don’t find it as watchable. I’ve seen it twice and might never see it again. Dark City, on the other hand, I’ve seen nearly a dozen times.

Someone mentioned “The Man From Earth.” Is that science fiction? I suppose one could classify it as such. But I have to agree that Jerome Bixby’s last work is a work of art. Not often am I riveted by “talking heads” scenes. This is an entire movie that is almost completely “talking heads.” What holds it together are the people and the dialog. I dream of writing dialog that compelling — ripe with implications.

And thanks for the heads up on Primer. I gotta check it out.

screamers, pitch black, star troopers… all cliche, b-grade films… but all fun