That’s a great list, but I’d also add Darren’s list to it. Especially Dark City, which is a bit obscure but was just fantastic. I’d also quibble with what you wrote about 2001. The novel and the movie screenplay were written at the same time, so I don’t think it counts as an adaptation (if that’s what you meant).
In the realm of “not yet mentioned” I’ll give a vote to:
Gravity
Dark City could have been a good movie, but it needed a much larger dose of making sense.
Dropo, “great” does not mean “very good”. Consider that the economic state of the 1930s wasn’t good at all, but it was still great. Similarly, arguing about how good Star Wars was says nothing about how great it was.
Uniqueorn, The Fifth Element was not a good movie, but what it was was an extremely fun movie. It hit that very fine target, impossible to aim for if you try, where everyone involved knew that it was bad, but didn’t care, and camped it up.
That looks like a great movie - great for an MST3K version that is, if there is a dubbed version. I swear I could hear Crow somewhere in the background as I watched the trailer.
Tossing in a plug for Galaxy Quest. Sure it’s not the very best SF film ever but it’s a quality movie that has a place high on the list.
Ghost in the Shell (the first anime movie - I like the live-action remake, personally, but not as much)
Akira
The City of Lost Children
Village of the Damned(1960 version)
and co-signing
The Martian & Blade Runner
There are some time travel films I especially like.
Déjà vu
Source Code
another one which escapes me at the moment?
I even liked The Time Traveler’s Wife, but I’m a sucker for sentimental love stories (which, come to think of it, Déjà vu and Source Code are also).
Galaxy Quest is the best Star Trek movie of all, just like The Incredibles is the best Fantastic Four movie of all.
My fav sci-fi movies:
Rocketeer
Cosmic Voyage
Forbidden Planet
Rocketship X-M
Gamera, Guardian of the Universe
I was up off the floor and into my Father’s lap when we saw it on TV. I believe that Australian censors wouldn’t let them show the Id monster.
Not a space opera, but still sci-fi: Inception. Ingenious concept (a machine that allows a group of people to share dreams), strongly developed characters, beautifully creative special effects, intricate plot, and a wonderfully ambiguous ending.
My choices for the Best:
2001: A Space Odyssey
Blade Runner
12 Monkeys
but my favorite is Buckaroo Banzai.
Not a movie, but my favorite part of Rick and Morty is the 70’s theme song (think late 70’s early 80’s show that lasted 10 episodes) and the Sci-Fi.
Also not a movie, but the Kids in The Hall “Aliens Probing” sketch was pretty good.
Moon
12 Monkeys - the movie, not the TV show
Looper
For the “not yet listed” crowd, I must confess that I really enjoyed The Island. For whatever reason, people like to bash it. I thought it was loads of fun - much more than Mad Max or any of those other post-apocalyptic films.
I was in my 30s before I saw Forbidden Planet for the first time, and it was still great.
The movie it could have been would have been great. But there was so much potential there that they just left on the table.
I like the “Double agent???” “So you know. Blow up planet repeat blow up planet” one.
57 posts in and not a single vote for Interstellar.
I agree with that consensus… it, frankly, sucked.
-Forbidden planet
-The Day the Earth Stood Still
-Terminator 2
-2001
-Star Wars (for bringing big budget back to Sci Fi)
-Babylon 5 (ok it was a space soap opera)
K-Pax (makes me feel good)
Probably Christoper Nolan’s most original and best movie. It was, literally, mind bending.
ALl of Rick and Morty is good.
Why, in your opinion, suck? I thought it was outstanding.