Here’s the perfect example why popularity ratings cannot be used to make Top 10 Lists… or in this case, Top 30 Lists. Yahoo! has released a list of its Top 30 Sci-Fi Movies, according to its user ratings. I can’t be too harsh, though, as there are some surprisingly good entries – but as you’ll see, there are some surprisingly bad ones, too.
Number 30 is a pleasant surprise, as Yahoo! users rated Serenity as such. I didn’t know there were enough people who had seen this awesome flick to get it on such a list, but I guess there are. Serenity is one of the best action sci-fi flicks in recent memory. The list includes the ones you’d expect to be on there, such as E.T., The Empire Strikes Back, Back to the Future, etc., but there are some that clearly benefited from their recency, such as:
- X-Men: The Last Stand – this was really not that good of a movie, and certainly not good enough to rank in the top 30
- Deja Vu – a pretty good movie, but top 30 sci-fi films of all time? I don’t think so/
- V for Vendetta – it’s set in the future, but I’d question how “sci-fi” this movie really is. Plus, it’s a bit overrated, and ranks above X-Men 2???
- Star Wars: Episode III: Revenge of the Sith – seriously?
- Transformers – awesome action movie, but it ranks #3 on the list ahead of The Matrix, Aliens and countless other classics. No way, Jose.
- Iron Man – guess what was #1 on the list? Yes, this year’s comic book action movie. As good as it was, there is no way I would list it on the top 30 sci-fi movies of all time. What a way to damage the integrity of your list, Yahoo!
Again, in all fairness, two-thirds of their list probably deserve to be on there, but there are some notable films missing, such as:
- 2001: A Space Oddysey
- A Clockwork Orange
- Children of Men
- Dark City
- Independence Day (if you’re going the popular route)
- Minority Report
- Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country
- Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan
- Unbreakable
- Wall-E
- Blade Runner
- The Thing
- Invasion of the Body Snatchers (how many remakes has this inspired?)
- The Iron Giant
- Planet of the Apes
- Galaxy Quest
- Total Recall
- Mad Max
And the list goes on… This has inspired me to do my own list, which I will release sometime soon.
Tags: best sci-fi movies, sci-fi movie list, top sci-fi movies
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August 30th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
dude i completely agree bout this popularity thing, it really kills it seeing as how a lot of people nowadays have not seen the older films that deserve high spots on these lists. my top 10 would have been(in descending order):
Bladerunner( how the f did this not make it? i mean even if the plot was garbage, which it wasnt, the scenary alone should have earned it a spot)
2001
Starwars 4-6
Metropolis
A Clockwork Orange
Brazil
Matrix
Serenity(just cuz im a fan)
Dark City
Minority report
bleargh yahoo u suk
August 30th, 2008 at 6:17 pm
Hi ParanoidAndroid – that is an awesome sci-fi list. I would include Children of Men, and I must say I also like Star Trek II and Star Trek VI as well.
September 10th, 2008 at 9:39 pm
I don’t know about A Clockwork Orange being sci-fi. I mean by definition of the term science fiction yes but it was different somehow. I bought blade runner because of all the hype and comments on IMDB.com and I watched and was bored out of my mind. I am a huge fan of sci-fi but I just couldn’t see what the fuss was about. Maybe I should watch it again.