My Top Ten Favorite Science Fiction Movies of All Time

I am a big fan of science fiction movies. Here’s a list of my top ten favorites (plus one extra) of all time. My main criterion is, if I were going to a remote Arctic research station and could take only 10 science fiction movies, which 10 would I bring? Every movie on this list has a great story, great special effects, and good-or-excellent acting. Listed by year released.

1. Godzilla (1954/1956) – I like both the original 1954 Japanese version and the 1956 American adaptation. Unlike later Godzilla movies, the original is deadly serious. The special effects are amazing. The scene where Godzilla first appears over a hill on Odo Island, terrified me as a young man and gave me nightmares for many years afterwards. My grade = A+.

2. Forbidden Planet (1956) – In the 23rd century, the crew of the C57-D travel to planet Altair IV to find out what happened to an expedition 20 years earlier. The only survivors are Dr. Morbius and his 20-years-old daughter Altaira. The crew is menaced by a seemingly unstoppable monster made of energy. Great story, great acting, great special effects, ground-breaking sound effects. I’m always baffled why this movie is usually left off most other top-ten sci-fi movie lists. My grade = A.

3. Star Wars (1977) – It’s almost impossible to overstate what a profound impact this movie had when it was released. It’s arguably the most famous and influential science fiction movie in history. I think there are better movies than “Star Wars on this list, but “Star Wars” is absolutely a top ten entry. My grade = A.

4. Alien (1979) – The crew of the tramp spacecraft Nostromo investigates a crashed alien spaceship on a creepy planet. Bad idea. The scene where the alien pops out of a crewman’s chest is one of the most famous in science fiction movie history. I don’t like most sci-fi horror films, but this movie is the one exception. I vividly remember watching this movie on the day it was released in 1979, along with some of my friends who worked at Disneyland in Anaheim with me. An absolutely terrifying film. My grade = A.

5. Jurassic Park (1993) – Everyone I know has reached a Jurassic movie fatigue with all the Jurassic sequels, but the first movie in the series is great and is the by far best. The special effects were absolutely astonishing in 1993 — an incredible advance over anything previously seen. My grade = A.

6. Starship Troopers (1997) – Many professional movie critics don’t like this movie, but it easily makes my top ten of all time. Sometime in the not-too-distant future, Earth wages war against a very nasty alien insectoid species. Things go bad for Earth early on, but humans prevail in the end. Brilliant special effects and exciting action. My grade = A+.

7. The Fifth Element (1997) – Another movie that many professional critics don’t like very much. But I love this movie. Wildly creative story (even if it doesn’t make a whole lot of sense) and wildly creative details. I can understand why some people don’t like “The Fifth Element”, but I’m a big fan. My grade = A+.

8. The Matrix (1999) – This movie makes almost all top-ten sci-fi movie lists and I agree. Thomas Anderson, aka Neo, discovers that robots and AI have enslaved all humans, putting people in pods and making them bio-batteries. This movie has so many nuances, I enjoyed watching it several times to pick up details I hadn’t noticed before. My grade = A+.

9. Inception (2010) – A team of high-tech agents steals industrial information by entering the dreams and subconsciousnesses of their targets. Dreams, within dreams, within dreams. A very imaginative movie with great special effects. My grade = A.

10. Dune: Part One (2021) – An epic story where the royal family House of Atreides is menaced by the House of Harkonnen, the evil Harkonnen Saraukar troops, and the backing of the Emperor. Based closely on one of my all-time favorite science fiction novels. I liked the 1984 version of “Dune” but the 2021 version is a rare example of a sci-fi movie remake that is significantly better than the original. My grade = A.

11. Project Hail Mary (2026) – In 2032, scientist-teacher Ryland Grace must travel to star Tau Ceti to find a way to stop mysterious astrophages from destroying Earth’s sun. He meets an alien who is on the same mission to save his planet Eridia. Together they succeed. Great story, great acting, great special effects. A new movie on this list. It is tentatively joining while I wait to see if it stands the test of time. My grade = A+.

12. Dark City (1998) – A man wakes up in a strange city and has no memory of who he is. There is only constant night, and mysterious, menacing strangers. It turns out the man is in an alien experiment in space. A clever-twist, happy, ending. This movie was on my top ten list for years, but was bumped off the list by “Inception”. My grade = A.

Honorable Mentions – Movies that Barely Miss My Top Ten

“The Thing from Another World “(1951) – An unfriendly alien crash lands near an Arctic research station. My grade = A-.

“Invaders from Mars” (1953) – A Martian advance party to prepare a full-scale invasion. Has top 10 sound effects. The path to the sandpit terrified every person I know who saw this movie as a child (including me). My grade = A-.

“War of the Worlds” (1953) – A full-scale Martian invasion. Academy Award for Special Effects. My grade = B+.

“Gog” (1954) – Strange deaths at a secret underground laboratory that has a robot named Gog — that has an attached flamethrower, because all research robots need a flamethrower. My grade = B+.

“Quatermass 2” aka “Enemy from Space” (1957) – Aliens use parasites to control UK villagers to force them to build a plant to make food and an artificial environment to prepare for an invasion. Has top 10 sound effects. My grade = B+.

“Bladerunner” (1982) – In a futuristic 2019, an agent (who may be an android himself) tracks down rogue androids. My grade = B+.

“Predator Badlands” (2025) – A young alien must prove his manhood (well, I suppose it’s “alien-hood”) by capturing the most dangerous creature known on the Death Planet. My grade = A-.

Dishonorable Mentions: Movies On Most Top-Ten Lists But Ones I Just Don’t Like At All

“The Planet of the Apes” (1968) – Ridiculous and annoying. My grade = D.

“Any of the Zillions of Other Ape Movies” – All of them terrible. Apes belong in zoos or politics, not in sci-fi movies. My grade = D.

“2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) – Mind-boggling nonsense that appeals only to pseudo-intellectuals who are too insecure to admit they don’t understand it, and so they won’t say they don’t like it. My grade = D+.

“Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977) – A close encounter with boredom. My grade = D.

“E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) – Annoying kids, annoying alien, annoying movie. My grade = D-.

“Avatar” (2009) – I should like it, but something about this movie just didn’t work for me. My grade = C-.