Top 10 Science Fiction Movies of the Decade, 2000-2009
Column, Movies | Elena Nola | January 1, 2010 at 11:30 am
All the end-of-year/decade lists going up right now inspired me to hit one up of my own. And all the hype about James Cameron’s Avatar, which is being trumpeted as some sort of monumental science fiction success, gave me just the topic: the actual best science fiction movies of the aughts.
This list might be controversial, but I stand by it. I watch a lot of movies, and not just the big-name stuff–indie and foreign flicks comprise probably half of what I see between the big screen and my DVD player. Science fiction is a problematic genre; it is one of my first loves in movies (although, interestingly, not really in books)–but it is so rarely done well. 2000-9 was a decade of remakes and sequels and also, I suppose, an average decade for SF films. It had enough true gems to fill out a top 10 list and not a whole lot more. The years represented tended to be two or three movies in a year or two-year span, then a gap before the next grouping.
And lest any accusations fly over my being some sort of movie snob who won’t watch a big-budget SF movie, here’s a list of movies you might be expecting to see on here and won’t, despite the fact that I did see them–they just weren’t good enough: Avatar, Minority Report, Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, any of this decade’s Star Trek movies (although I did like the newest one quite a lot, and it might have made a top 20), War of the Worlds, Transformers, Terminator III (well, maybe you wouldn’t expect to see that one here, but I did see it), Alien vs. Predator (and half the sequel, which was all I could sit through), Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, either of the Matrix sequels…I’m sure there were a few others I can’t remember, because, if there is one thing big-budget, studio SF movies seem to have in common, it’s that they are forgettable. Oh, yeah, saw Iron Man. See what I mean?
Finally, a few words about criteria–fantasy (i.e., magic and not technology) was not considered, so no Harry Potter or Lord of the Rings. I am using as my definition for SF stories that are based in science (anything from medicine to theoretical physics), technology, or a projection of the future. Magic, the occult, and Middle Earth don’t cut it. Television series were not considered, so no Battlestar Galactica or Stargate. I looked at the film equivalents of monographs (vs. serials) only.
So, without further ado…My Top Ten Best Science Fiction Movies of the Decade
10. Cloverfield.
Included because of the possibility that the monster was an alien, and even if it wasn’t the monster vs. technology mode is a classic form of the SF movie; but I’ll list an alternate at the bottom in case anyone disagrees that this is SF. Regardless, this movie is a classic monster movie, updated to modern times and given a fresh start. It took documentary-style filming to a new extreme, and it was very careful to operate within its capabilities. It didn’t try and reach too far with its special effects, instead playing on the fear of the unknown and the fear of the monster’s destruction rather than of the monster itself. It showed that a team of unknowns on a shoestring budget can do with dedication, heart, and a creative approach what a studio can’t with endless funds and countless CG programmers.
9. Serenity.
Was this a 2-hour episode of Firefly disguised as a movie? Perhaps. Was it good enough to convince me to go buy the series (which I had missed entirely) on the strength of the movie alone? Yes. And was it a hilarious action caper that also had heart, consequences, and a truly fabulous villain? Also yes. I fell in love with the characters in one sitting, and I appreciated the darkness included in the movie. Despite it starting out light-hearted and ending on a bittersweet but overall happy note, the movie didn’t shy away from brutality or the bleak responsibility for actions. The Reavers were truly horrifying, not just for what they were but also for what they represented: an attempt to stamp out the conflict in the human heart. I loved the sentiment that to take away human conflict is to take away humanity; we’re a flawed but beautiful species, and too often humanity is represented simply as being flawed. I also loved the philosophical villain, who is frightening because he is so implacable, and wonderful because he can recognize when he is wrong and change his course because of that recognition.
8. Code 46
The first of the dystopian-future movies to make the list. This was an overlooked little movie that is disturbing on a lot of different levels, everything from the control given to the governments over literally every individual, to the horror of being reconditioned to hate what you love or to forget what you hate, to the Freudian sensuality of falling in love with a copy of a genetic parent. The ending is so very bittersweet; this is one for those of you who love impossible love stories–the stories of a love so great it had to be put aside. Haunting. That’s what this story is.
7. District 9
What a fabulous movie this was. Forget all the comparisons to apartheid too many critics made, and just look at it as I think it was intended to be looked at–a what if movie. What if aliens landed a ship above Earth and had no way to get home? What would happen to them politically and socially? How far would humanity go to push them away from us…and how far might one man go to save them? Wikus is the perfect anti-hero: he is an average man, who operates on a brutally selfish level (as, if we are honest with ourselves, most of us probably would do in those same circumstances) but yet finds a kernel of true heroism in himself at the same time. The ship effects were fabulous; every detail mattered here, as the groaning and rattling of car windows as the ship moves recall childhood rides on the school bus, and the tractor beam picks up not just its target but also a whole ton of other stuff, and the dirt and filth and grit of the setting tell you that when the interviewees called District 9 a ghetto, they meant it. The filming is a perfect balance between documentary and cinematic styles, with a few odd-angle fixed shots to keep things ever-interesting on a visual level. Some of the deaths might even rate a spot on a best deaths of the decade list, so if you like that sort of thing it even has that going for it.
6. Sunshine
Danny Boyle is a fabulous director, and he did an excellent job with this film. So much to love…first, I think, is the simple fact that it’s a movie about heroes. Every single one of the people on that ship make a personal sacrifice to save the world; they are all heroes, in a day and age where movies seem reluctant to give us heroes because that’s “not realistic.” These heroes were; some were weak, some were brave, but all of them were human. Second, because he showcases the human fascination with a destructive power, the absolute beauty of something that has the ability to obliterate us. Third, because there were no stars in his space–that close to the sun, there wouldn’t be. I know for a lot of people this movie went haywire with the madman part, and the ship’s AI was really questionable for not catching the intrusion sooner, but I didn’t mind the final wrinkle in the plotline, and the ending was simply beautiful. Visually, and for the outcome of the mission.
5. Solaris
Even my list is not immune to the remake syndrome afflicting this decade! But this was a remake that might have justified its existence by trumping the original. The movie is compelling because of its acting. The visuals are great, and the special effects subtle. The story is achingly relatable–both in the sense that we are all haunted by the memories we carry around, and also in the sense that anyone who has lost their true love can understand the main character’s decision to go back into space, if that meant he could find her again.
4. Moon
I can’t say enough good things about Duncan Jones’ debut movie. If you didn’t get the chance–or didn’t take the chance–to see this movie on the big screen, then you really missed out. This movie shows why modeling is still a thousand times to be preferred to CG renderings, as Jones went back to some of the old masters to help out on this one. Every detail was attended to, to make you feel like you are up there on the moon alone with Sam and his AI and his fragmented communication with Earth, from the dirty jumpsuit of a blue-collar working man to the lonely tracks on the moon showing that he was the only one to drive across that landscape to the beautiful blue planet hovering so close but so very far away. The story will punch you in the gut with its tragedy and frighten you with its implications, and Sam Rockwell deserves a Best Actor nod for his performance, and this was quite possibly the best movie of 2009.
3. The Fountain
Darren Aranofsky’s foray into SF wasn’t for everyone, but it was for me. I have seen this movie upwards of ten times, and I love it more every time I watch it. I love his oils-in-water, 1960s-light-show special effects, and I love the heartbreaking story of a man who spends 500 years trying to save his dying wife, and I love the fact that it is such an open text that after that many viewings I’m still not sure what actually happened and what was simply story-within-story–as in, didn’t actually happen. And I love that Aranofsky refuses to explain, that he wants people to not be sure, to be able to see what they want in the film. Also, I love the conception of a truly unique means of space travel; 500 years into the future the technological mechanisms they’re using are going to be as incomprehensible to us as an Ipod would be to William the Conquerer, so, sure, why not make it a floating bubble in space? It’s not likely to seem any more familiar to us than that does, whatever the future holds. Also, one of the best love stories of all time, period.
2. Donnie Darko
I struggled with whether this is a science fiction movie or some other brand of speculative fiction, but in the end decided that the parallel universe and time traveling ideas counted as physics, therefore…here it is. This is probably the out-and-out weirdest of the movies on this list, which is saying something considering the company it keeps, but it is a strange little story. It makes you think: it makes you wonder what’s going on, and it makes you wonder what if, and it makes you wonder if you’d be brave enough to make the same choice. It’s another movie that is fabulous from a production standpoint, with excellent cinematography and directing, and a break-out performance from Jake Gyllenhaal.
1. Children of Men
This is not just the best science fiction movie of the decade, but a movie that would make my best of all time list. This movie is a slow burn. The first time you watch it you might just think it’s interesting and sometimes funny, has a compelling story and good acting, crazy dystopian future and a wild scary premise, but maybe not one that you immediately recognize as amazing. But if you let it sink into your brain for a few days or weeks or months, and come back to it again…you realize that this movie is perfect. There is not one detail to be changed in its filming or execution, and that is a rare thing to say, indeed. It has some of the best war scenes I’ve ever seen in an SF film, and the directing pulls off some rather incredible sequences of extended action and choreography ranging into the minutes before any editing break occurs. The acting is across the board excellent, and the conflict open enough that you don’t really know what’s going on, whether there is a giant governmental (or corporate) conspiracy to control population growth or if it was some strange disease or what. It tells you just enough to satisfy, and not enough to ruin. It strikes every balance right, and to change anything at all would diminish the brilliance of the whole.
A few interesting observations. None of these were high-budget films; several were made for about $5 million, and most (perhaps even all, but I’m lazy and didn’t look up the ones I didn’t know offhand) for no more than $40 million. While some of them have recognizable actors, none of them have big stars who are a box office draw on the strength of their name alone. Yet, somehow, all of them are all quality films from a movie production standpoint–they are well-directed, well-acted, well-written, well-designed, well-constructed movies. They blow their big-budget counterparts out of the water in pretty much all of those ways, and to me that just sort of implies that SF is best left to those who truly love it, not those who are just trying to capitalize on a current trend.
Most of these movies also have incredible soundscapes to accompany them. A lot of it is moody, dreamy, hypnotically beautiful instrumentals–specifically Sunshine, The Fountain, Moon, Solaris, and Code 46. Code 46 introduced me among other things to Sigur Ros, who are one of my favorite foreign bands now. The Fountain soundtrack is probably my favorite soundtrack of all time. From the Sunshine score, which overall is a mixed bag, “Kanada’s Death, Part II” and “Sunshine, Adagio in D-minor” are absolutely transcendent. Children of Men and Donnie Darko also use very recognizable and iconic individual songs. I love that music wasn’t overlooked or undervalued by the directors; it can make or break a film.
Finally, a short list of other movies I want to mention and why. These are not necessarily runners up; a couple of them would be, others weren’t quite SF enough to make my list, others are simply movies I thought were interesting and deserved a bit of attention just for doing something different.
Alternate number 10, if you don’t count Cloverfield as science fiction: 28 Days Later. Danny Boyle gets major props for being the only director to show up twice on this list. With this film he created a (biological warfare-based, therefore SF) reinvention of zombie movies, and showed the world that the grotesqueries of horror aren’t necessarily incompatible with good direction, good acting, good editing, and being just a damn good movie.
The Cowboy Bebop movie deserves consideration just for being part of one of the best SF series ever. Like Serenity, this could be considered a two-hour episode of the show played on the big screen, but the story was self-contained enough that you can love this film without ever having seen the series. Moreover, if you’re into animation, they went above and beyond the normal fabulousness of the 15-minute episodes in this swan song opus.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind was a movie that I just wasn’t sure counted as unequivocally SF as it would need to to make this kind of list. It does use technology, but is it quite enough technology? I couldn’t be sure. So I left it off, but it must be mentioned as a near-miss or a just-barely-disqualified because it really is such an interesting premise, such a good story, such a good love story, and such a performance from Jim Carrey–his best, in my opinion. One of my favorite movies and love stories of all time, regardless of what other lists it makes.
Mike Judge’s Idiocracy deserves a nod for its truly frightening dystopian future–frightening because it seems so very, very possible at times. Unfortunately the movie as a whole wasn’t really good enough to earn it a spot, but its first 15 minutes should be required viewing in every classroom in America. Wake the fuck up, people–that can’t be our future. As in, we must not let it be.
District B-13 was a minor French SF release that probably didn’t come to your neck of the woods unless you live in NY, LA, or Austin. I have no idea if it’s a serious movie to native speakers; I had subtitles, and so for all I know it’s the equivalent of a Jean-Claude van Damme movie if you speak the language. But its premise was a near-future worst-case-scenario sort of projection that seems frighteningly possible, and it stars two stuntmen instead of “actors,” so the action is first-rate and nearly non-stop, and for those two reasons it warrants a mention here for those of you always on the hunt for a new dystopian movie to depress yourself with or an adrenaline rush to pump yourself up with.
The Prestige is almost more properly Steampunk than science fiction, since it’s science fiction set in the past and thus not still possible. But Chris Nolan did such a fine job with the film, and it’s just a toe over that disqualification line, that I felt it deserved a mention as an also-ran.
Watchmen is another in the mode of The Prestige that I’m not sure can count as SF since it involves an alternate version of our past. Also, I don’t know if I would have put it in my top 10 even if I did decide it counted, because I am not sure how I’ll view it in ten years. With the movies on my list, any CG is either small enough or used for blending modeling instead of as the base for action or the world, and I’m afraid that this movie might have relied too much technology that can (and will) be surpassed to still stand strong as a great movie–not a great story or great acting, but a great movie, on the technical side of things–to look as good at the end of next decade as it does now. However, it is a fabulous story and an interesting exploration of human psychology and morals, and certainly it’s worth watching to give us all pause in allotting too much power to people who “know what’s best for us” better than we know for ourselves.
2046 is another that isn’t quite SF, isn’t quite anything else. It’s also got strong elements of noir film and the reality-bending psychology that has been so popular this decade. It’s foreign, it’s subtitled, it’s haunting, it’s lonely, it’s awesome.
So there you have it. My top 10 science fiction movies of the last ten years, and a few others that people need to see. But what do you think?
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You mean best of A decade, right? THE decade still has a year left in it and there are a few more movies coming out that look like good list contenders.
Nice list though.
Great list, although Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner Primer should have probably earned a spot.
Well, everyone seems to be considering 2010 to start a new decade, so even if it is simply a media construction, that is how it’s being called… There are certainly movies I’m hoping will be good coming out this year that could be contenders for the 2010s decade best of list.
Glad you liked this one though!
Kris, that is one I haven’t seen. Will make a point to check it out. Thanks!
Sadly I haven’t seen any of these! I rarely get to the movies and when I do rent, I lean toward stories that will make me laugh and lift my mood. However, I will definitely be checking some of these out. Thanks for the list Elena.
I agree 2009 is the end of the decade. Its the equivalent of 1999 kinda a no brainier then.
Great list Elena, I enjoyed reading your reviews very much. I stumbled across your page and I’m glad i did.
I have seen most of these films some more than others. Some i loved and some not so much , And some your reviews have me wanting to see again like the fountain and code 46.
Only Disagreement i have with you really is Watchmen. It wasn’t awful, but not great either IMO sorry. I love the comic but just felt that this was a film that shouldn’t have been made.
As far as eternal sunshine goes I couldn’t agree more. Just a fantastic film. I remember originally watching it and thinking wow how many people would do this if they could? and I wonder if it would be covered by insurance? probably not on the latter ..lol But at the end of the day love story or not i think you can make a case for it as a sci-fi movie .
John
I’m think the top 2 are pretty hard to to dispute, and I find that Children of Men is becoming one of the movies that I have to put people on to, and never disappointing.
I think I would have put Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind at #3–just an amazing film that should have got Winslet the Academy award IMHO.
This may sound silly, and it is the only movie I’d put in that is “of that ilk”, but man, I LOVE Pitch Black. Just hardcore asskicking SF. I watch it anytime it comes on.
Also would give props to the latest Trek film for making the original series interesting.
amberdrake, most of these movies do have a bittersweet ending but only one or two are kind of full-on sad. i don’t think you could go wrong with any of them.
john, i’ve seen several people pan the film, and i think all of them knew the comic first. i do wonder if that has anything to do with it? for me it was great, but i don’t know the comic so maybe as a point of comparison it was terrible. glad i’ve inspired you to revisit some of the others!
jay, children of men is a seriously underrated movie, and i’m not sure why. but when i’ve explained to friends why i think it’s so great and they watch it again, they always come back in agreement…yet it’s not one i’ve seen anyone else put up like this. pitch black/chronicles of riddick would have been a top 20, as would the new star trek.
i’m really not sure where eternal sunshine would have ended up in the numbering if i’d put it in the list, but probably in the top 5.
Excellent choice for your top three. I think my list would go:
1. Donnie Darko
2. The Fountain
3. A Scanner Darkly
4. Children of Men
5. Eternal Sunshine
6. Revenge of the Sith
7. Vanilla Sky
8. Matrix Revolutions
9. Moon
10. Jay reminded me of Pitch Black. Haven’t seen it a while, but I remember enjoying it more than many other big name SF films of the 00s.
People might rag on me for including new school Lucas and a Matrix film, but oh well. The best stretches of Sith show me more artistry than any number of more vogue picks for good movies. The last 45 minutes of District 9 were some of the most excruciating time I’ve ever spent in a theater (we’re talking close to Terminator Salvation bad). Avatar was a fun adventure, but it’s kid’s play from the man who brought us Hicks and Hudson. I don’t consider The Dark Knight to be SF, but even if I did I find that the initial shimmer of that one is wearing off to the point that I prefer Batman Begins. Being the type of viewer who thought Star Trek V was one of the more imaginative efforts, I thought the Abrams reboot was clinical drivel.
- Zach
I would have included “A Scanner Darkly”, but agree that “Children of Men” is one of the greatest sci-fi films ever made.
Loved your ten best list, even if I disagreed with it.
I would have added renaissance and ghost in the shell: Innocence to the list (the Japanese, along with Britain and the US have seemingly inhaled the genre, over the last 20years). Honourable mentions should include Minority Report, a; marker of Spielberg’s maturation of a great, adult S-F director and V for Vendetta, every bit the great S-F cinematic work we’ve seen in the literature’s canon of the last third of the 20th century.
I would add that Watchmen, undoubtedly a work of S-F in its subgenre of Alt-History, will probably be regarded the way Citizen Kane and Bladerunner came to be regarded despite decidedly mixed reviews and lukewarm ticket sales.
I wouldn’t overlook another example of the above sub-genre, C.S.A, a sly, witty look at a topic–and evoking it– the great literary SF master, Ward Moore, first covered over half a century ago, in his classic, Bring the Jubilee(and why hasn’t anyone tried filming one of the finest examples of steampunk and Alt-history, Keith Roberts’s Pavane?)
One more thing: I appreciate the way Elena uses the short-hand “S-F” rather than the obscenity mainstream and even fanboygirl reviewers use with no respect for the legacy of the great Golden Age literary giants (Alfred Bester once conjured up a scathing commentary on the term, “Sci-fi” in a memorable review in F&SF….in an issue from the early sixties!)
Watchmen lost me with its over the top fight scenes. Maybe its length as well. I’m still not convinced that was a story that needed to be adapted for the screen.
Opening credits were amazing, though.
- Zach
What about “The Core” ? That was classic science fiction in an updated mode of Jules Verne. The casting of the characters was fantastic – Stanley Tucci and Hillary Swank. My personal favorite of the last 20 years.
No love for WALL-E then? I would have thought it deserved at least an honorable mention.
Since Elena already brought up an anime movie, I will go ahead and say that I think 5 Centimeters Per Second, Paprika, Origin: Spirits of the Past, and Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex – Solid State Society were all superior sci-fi anime films from the last decade.
sunshine should have scored higher in my opinion i found the story quit compelling
Dang, Greyweather, as soon as I’d written the post, I smacked my forehead over omitting “Wall-E”, a film that, just on the opening visuals, alone, reminded me of Mel Hunter’s iconic “Christmas Robot” that he did for the covers of Boucher’s, Davidson’s and Mill’s F&SF, in the fifties and early sixties. Doesn’t it seem as if the best work in cinematic SF is being done by animators?
I didn’t like the 3rd GitSac movie as much as the original and the very underrated Innocence. I thought it was a rehash of the 2 great seasons of the TV series. Masamune and Oshii rock!!!
Please…Solaris? Cutting the brilliant ending of Stanislaw Lem’s novel, with Kris contemplating the total alienness of the universe, and turning it into A SECOND CHANCE AT LOVE? That final scene turned the movie into a cliche. Lem never did cliches.
Soooooo.. you figure Cloverfield, Serenity and the Solaris remake as all superior films to …Avatar?!?
Has it occurred to you that the majority, popular opinion must occasionally be correct, just because this will occur statistically some percentage of the time? I can’t help feeling it’s a juve, kneejerk reaction that you would put those B or C efforts above Avatar just because it’s popular..
My Olympian Gods, Serenity? REALLY??? Personally, I wouldn’t have put that shite in my top billion-gazillion to the 250th power list of sf films…
@Kris – yah, Primer serious contender for #1 – I know lotsa engineers, that’s just the kinda blokes they are, how they talk/think/conspire. I figure some engineers musta wrote it.
Cloverfield was the worst movie ever. I am a strong movie watcher, what I mean by that is that I watch a movie every day to keep my mind sharp. I have 256 movies on my 500GB hard drive, and I like all of them and all the movies I have seen so far, but Cloverfield,NO.
1.5 out of 1000000 stars.
Cloverfield was the worst movie ever. I am a strong movie watcher, what I mean by that is that I watch a movie every day to keep my mind sharp. I have 256 movies on my 500GB hard drive, and I like all of them and all the movies I have seen so far, but Cloverfield,NO. 1.5 out of 1000000 stars. Now The Prestige, that a good movie with a great twist that even I never would of guest. 4 out of 5 stars
I thought Cloverfield was a great example of an apocalyptic horror movie [what I consider a sub-genre of cinematic SF engendered by Romero's "Dawn of the Dead" and, arguably, a legitimate sub-genre of even even literary SF e.g. Wyndham's "Out of the Deeps" and "Day of the Triffids"]. It played like a fever dream. I thought it had more bang for its buck than almost aniy other movie.made in the last three or four years.
Thought it was great the way it built the sense of the unknown and the ensuing, slowly developing menace. A great touch–somerthing Romero can be said to have also pioneered–was in the non-explanation. Made it even scarier and more credible. The last by placing you in the stead of an individual smack dab in the middle of what appears to be one weird clusterf—k.
Don’t know f I’d rate it over an Avatar, though.
I think you need to include “Knowing” which Roger Ebert called “the best science fiction movie (he’s) ever seen.” At the very least, it’s a good alternate. I think a lot of people just didn’t get it, but they didn’t get 2001: A Space Odyssey either.
no star trek
Spencer:” think you need to include “Knowing” which Roger Ebert called “the best science fiction movie (he’s) ever seen….”
That recommendation would carry alot of weight with me as Ebert is the most open, S-F friendly [but with discriminating taste--you can almost tell he was immersed in the genre in his adolescence]. The polar opposite of a Mahnola Dargis [NY Times], Janet Maislin [ditto] or an R Eder [who, in the pages of the Gray Lady, in the Seventies, while reviewing A Boy and his Dog, once referred to Harlan Ellison’s, L.Q. Jones’s and Don Johnson’s telepathic pooch, as a “talking dog “.
I was dismissive of the movie after seeing the trailers–I’ll have to check it out.
Great list, however, I would cross Serenity and Sunshine off of that list. I thought Firefly was crap and deserved to die; Josh Whedon simply can’t do TV and movies right. Serenity is simply more Firefly.
And Sunshine? Boy, oh boy, I don’t even know where to start. That flick is wrong on so many levels. Bombing the Sun? I mean come ON! Suspension of disbelief ruined, right from the start. Definitely a B movie.
I believe Children of Men deserves the first place. And Moon was a decent one, but probably not worthy of a top 10 place.
Sunshine is surely a worthy inclusion…and probably the best contrast to Avatar. I wonder what will happen when Pandora’s star begins its death cycle…or a very large asteroid crosses its path? Well, unless that magic tree can manipulate astral physics or solar fusion, it’s probably curtains for the noble Navi’i. Contrast this to the hope and potential illustrated in Sunshine. Yes they bombed the sun (although why this is any more unrealistic than floating mountains, dragons, and humans actually attacking an intelligent humanoid species found on another planet is beyond me) and in doing so created the potential for an unlimited future for humanity. Presumably, the technology involved in Sunshine would someday progress to a human race that could in effect create their own sun, and thus their own planets…eventually leading to manipulation of greater galactic physics and…well, true immortality. And Avatar?
The statements on the value of the human animal made by these two films is distinct. Sunshine certainly belongs in any top 10, and absolutely posits a better vision for the future than any smurf utopia.
Children of Men. All time top ten, absolutely. Perhaps in more than just sci-fi. I might include it in my all time top-10 films ever made.
No mention of Timecrimes (2007) aka Los Cronoscrimenes, or Triangle (2009)? That’s a shame.
A decent enough list (really happy you put The Fountain on there which while flawed, I think is very underrated). Ultimately, personal tastes are not something that can be argued.
However, there is one glaring, unforgivable omission from your list:
The Man From Earth
Came out in 2007 and blew my doors off and every sci fi lover I know. If you somehow don’t think it is science fiction, okay, I’ll buy that (but it is : ). If you haven’t seen it, now that’s unforgivable when you’re tasked with creating a list such as this. GO SEE IT!!! You’ll be happy you did.
I always prefer cerebral sci fi that bends one’s mind and makes one think over special effects and pyrotechnics. And if the former is what juices you up, look no further than The Man from Earth!
Wow, thanks for this comprehensive, well-researched, well-thought out, extremely well-written article. I have not seen all on this list, but am now motivated to do so.
got to disagree with clover field though, ok so they wanted to shoot it blair witch style …. then for gods sake dont make it worse than the blair witch. just like that old number you follow a lot of screaming people from the same pov for about 2 hours and absolutely nothing happens, despite the fact theres a monster running riot. then it ends, leaving you non the wiser to what the hell just happened.
hey man, thanks for this list. I was looking for some good movies to watch that I haven’t seen.
On the other hand, Cloverfield was one of the worst movies I had ever seen! Please remove it from this list.
Also, two of my favorite scifi movies of all time which you didn’t list (and really, favorite of all movies of all time, that are scifi movies) are:
Minority Report (2002)
Vanilla Sky (2001)
I guess everyone has an opinion which movies they like to be on the top ten lists. Most of these movies would be way down on the bottom of my list if I was doing the article. Solaris was garbage in my book, a sad movie on any scale. Out of the ten movies picked on your list I would have to say district 9 and Moon was a good choice. I agree with you 100% Models beat out CG by a long shot. I hate CG it looks like I am watching a cartoon mixed with real live actors and that’s not acceptable to watch; CG just doesn’t look real to me.
I agree with every pick except for The Fountain. That movie was honestly really boring and pointless. Good pick on Donnie Darko though.
Two movies should have certainly been on this list:
1 – I, Robot
2 – Avatar
I am surprised I, Robot is not there, it is such a brilliant movie
Nice list Elena.
I’m in the process of writing the second half of my own list. We agree on much especially in regards to the more popular blockbusters.
1. Eternal Sunshine
2. Donnie Darko
3. Wall E
4. Avatar (it is good, sadly)
5. 28 Days Later/Sunshine
6. The Fountain
7. Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (might remove this one)
8. Artificial Intelligence
9. Moon
10. K-Pax or Children of Men, I’m still undecided
I don’t agree with you about Solaris, finding the original version far superior.
I can’t stomach Cloverfield and District 9’s documentary style, and Children of Men just left me cold for some reason.
Overall its been a crappy decade, I’m not seeing any of these films apart from the top 1-4 having much staying power.
Well.. this list has two of my top movies for a long while, Children of men and Moon. So I think it’s pretty good. I think I need to check Donnie Darko since it’s pretty much the only movie on the list I haven’t seen. (although I’ve heard talking of it)
Now I wouldn’t like to take this conversation out from the real movies department but in addition to cowboy bebop I might add one other animation series that every scifi fan should watch: Planetes.
It tells about a not too distant future in which Astronauts have already somewhat become main stream in the working class department. The earth has become engulfed by a huge cloud of space debris and the story tells of a company who is working on removing the space debris.
The story is still scifi (obviously because it’s based on space), but it a scifi that could already be affecting us. In a sense that there’s just too much of space junk already orbiting our space. Of course there’s all the needed human society and romantic conundrum needed for a classic series.
The movie I loved that was missed was Pandorum (2009). It was advertised as a horror film, but like Alien it was really just science fiction with something trying to eat you. The story was classic SF, colony ship gone awry. The ending is a bit rushed with repeated reveals, so I had to watch it again to really grasp what had happened, but it was very interesting and exciting. Highly recommended.
I love lists. All lists are flawed and there are many on any number of topics. Thus I have to judge on overlap with my own thoughts, and in that sense this may be the best list I have come across. There are omissions. I agree the original Solaris was better than the remake, BUT the remake is very good even if quite different in style and story. I tend to agree with some that Cloverfield was a bit…gimmicky? Like an earlier poster, I might have put Pitch Black in this list. A lot with little in that one. Anime-I am simply thrilled that sci fi anime (Cowboy Bebob) is included at all so I am forgiving of the fact that there are several better series that are not mentioned. C of Men, Fountain, Moon, D9 and D Darko…bravo! Eternal Sunshine is sci-fi and a top 5 IMO. Someone mentioned Primer…no! Interesting but a basement film that felt that way. Code 46. All I can say is that that is a gutsy call. Whether I agree or not as to a top 10 is overshadowed by the uniqueness of the pick. I have yet to meet anyone who has ever seen it. And it did leave me haunted. Nice variety here.
And Avatar was a good omission. I, Robot as well. Vanilla Sky, well, I’d have put it in. But good job!
honestly brilliant film taste here … you took into consideration things like writing and cinematography, instead of simply prioritizing special effects and action, etc. my list would be quite similar.
The only one i think should have been on here would be the dark knight. The joker’s insanity was amazing
Great list glad you ignored Avatar as it’s predictable boring shit of a film.
3/4 way through you know how it’s going to end and you basically are just waiting for it to finish. If you think Avatar is some sort of masterpiece and your over 16 years old you need to educated yourself.
Primer needs to be on that list
I can only assume you haven’t watched “Primer”.
Go get a copy and watch it. Now. You’ll thank me later.
Nifty list, surprised to see that you leave out Pandorum and Cargo as they were probably my favorites. Well not too surprised about Cargo it being in German and all, still the best sci-fi movie in a long time and worth a watch even if you don’t speak German.
I agree with avatar though. It’s a great watch one time and forget blockbuster that’ll likely send you out cozy of the movies but really? If you know of pochahontas and dancing with wolves you were able to tell the entire story of avatar from it’s trailer and while I won’t argue with it’s popularity or beautiful animation it sure was a terrible, dull and predictable script.
Cannot believe Battle Royale doesn’t seem to make anyone’s list.
Sunshine would be my number 1 hands down. Gripping film, well shot, simple story but expertly spun.
A really good list , i agree children of men is a superb film and foretells the future much the way Bladerunner did years before.I applaud you for putting it at the number 1 spot.Thought ‘Timecrimes’ might have got a mention, a great low budget spanish time travel flick that has you thinking and working out the ending all the way through the film and for the weeks and months after.
Cheers
Great list, stumbled on it looking for good recent science fiction movies. I’ve seen almost all of them except for one or two but one movie that wasn’t mentioned that I found amazing was “the man from earth” super low budget but amazing script, great movie if you’re into intellectual scify movies.
Compelling list…don’t know about great, but what list is?…as arbitrary as a thing like taste is. So, to my arbitrary taste: One thing that irks me is the comments…particularly Primer. Primer belongs on the B film good effort list. Also Time Crimes and The Man From Earth, but since Primer is mentioned with such elite appreciation I would like to urge all “Primer as a Top 10 of the decade” nerds to watch it back to back with any film on the list above. It stinks. It is amateur, streaming, syfy webcam porn at best; but without the sound quality. Art, aesthetics, vision! It has to add up! As the above list illustrates very well, it’s not about budget, but it is about whether you can make a good story easy to watch? Primer is a good story, but there is much more than story in a FILM! As one commentator already stated, Primer is a basement film, with basement sound, basement editing…acting, lighting (ha!…brought to you by the sun! or a light bulb somewhere in a room we’re trying to film this film in!…also brought to you by this cup and that cup with a string between the two, since that’s about the best sound you’re gonna get out of this squirt!). It has no aesthetic quality, which every other film in this list does have. So piss of Primer nerds! It’s a good script, but horrid execution. Art matters as much as content.
“Baby Diego! What a Wanker!”
Great list, thank you. I used it to find a couple of films I haven’t watched=)
Soderbergh’s “Solaris” isn’t even in the same league as Tarkovsky’s original. And “District 9″ is painfully overrated.
My top three for the decade are
1. District 9
2. Moon
3. Donnie Darko
Nice to find this list. You guys definitely have my taste in movies. It’s just sad that to satisfy my scifi craving, I am forced to turn to the written word so much. There are so many fantastic short stories and novels that should be made into movies that it’s tragic. Hopefully the success of Inception will change things.
I agree with most of the movies listed here, so let me make my own list of movies not mentioned that I enjoyed:
Inception (2010)
Splice (2010)
Crazies (2010)
The Cell
Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within (3d anim)
Reign of Fire
War of the Worlds (Spielberg)
The Host (loved this one, subtitles)
Slither (one of my favorite horrors, with a scifi slant)
Eden Log (just to be eclectic, subtitles)
good list, but if you missed “Happy Accidents” (2000), you missed a very interesting sci-fi-ish movie. Basically a man alleges he travels back from a dystopian type of future, in order to save a woman he saw in a accidental death file in the future. The plot twisted and went very deep into time travel theory. It was billed more of a romance, but defiantly had it’s sci-fi twist. The movie is absolutely worth a watch.
And no love for Shaun of the Dead, perhaps the best sci-fi/horror spoof ever.
For me, the best SF in the last years was District 9, quickly followed by Moon. And there are more good movies that didn’t make the list: Serenity, Hunter Prey, Eden Log, Renaissance, A Scanner Darkly, Texhnolyze, Ergo Proxy.
Primer is a total waste of time. Pandorum, Cargo, City Of Men are flawed in a bad way. Meaning that despite the fact that they are very good movies, they have flaws that overshadow the good parts.