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1. Rise of the Planet of the Apes. 2011 1h 45m PG-13. 7.6 (583K) Rate. 68 Metascore. A substance designed to help the brain repair itself gives advanced intelligence to a chimpanzee who leads an ape uprising. Director Rupert Wyatt Stars James Franco Andy Serkis Freida Pinto.
- Jonah Rice
- Reporter
- Blade Runner. The original was made by Ridley Scott, while Blade Runner 2049 (2017) saw direction under Denis Villeneuve. The former is considered among the most influential science fiction movies of all time, while the latter is looked at as a modern cult classic due to its being a box office bomb.
- Star Wars. With nine live-action feature films in total, Star Wars is the single highest-grossing film franchise on the list, and that's over the likes of Jurassic Park, Transformers, and even Avatar.
- Alien. Sigourney Weaver is a bona fide action star thanks to her role as Ellen Ripley. She filled those famous shoes on three occasions following Alien (1979), with the immediate follow-up Aliens (1986) rivaling the quality of the original.
- Mad Max. Nearly every franchise on this list has experienced some sort of reboot throughout the years, and most instances are rather recent. With the Mad Max franchise, the reboot in question is of course Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).
- Predator
- The Matrix
- Mad Max
- Babylon 5
- Jurassic Park
- The Terminator
- Godzilla
- Firefly/Serenity
- The X-Files
- Alien
The original Predatormovie is a classic of both sci-fi and action cinema and looks as good today as ever. The alien hunter is merely glimpsed throughout most of the movie, with only his point of view giving any clue as to his motivations. By keeping him out of sight, the tension is ratcheted up until he is finally fully revealed in his showdown wit...
The Matrix changed everything. Expectations weren’t exactly high, Keanu Reeves had starred in a few weak and forgettable movies post-Speed, the directors were almost unheard of, and virtual-reality (which most media outlets at the time thought the movie was about) was as dead as a dodo. And yet it became the sleeper-hit of the summer back in 1999. ...
A while ago, it would have been easy to dismiss Mad Max as cult favorites from the time when Mel Gibson was box-office gold. However, the reboot/sequel Mad Max: Fury Road has shown that it’s still a highly viable franchise. Fury Roadwisely stuck to the original formula for success, but also added elements that were uniquely its own. Tom Hardy didn’...
Few franchises garner such vocal commentary from the fans and the haters. Depending on who you ask, Babylon 5 is either a masterpiece of the genre or the worst piece of television ever made. But in many ways, that is what makes it great. Unlike the more universally-beloved franchises that either you love or you’re wrong, Babylon 5demands that you m...
Jurassic Park did for dinosaurs and palaeontology what Star Warsdid for space and NASA. It made them undeniably cool for a whole generation. When Jurassic Parkwas released back in 1993, the seamless blend of CGI and practical effects were highly praised, and they still look great today. What truly made the movie stand out from standard creature fea...
If The Terminatorfranchise had ended after two movies, it would be far higher on this list. While the first two movies were groundbreaking, smart, and most of all enjoyable, the three movies that came after were... not. Despite allegations of plagiarism by Harlan Ellison, The Terminatorfelt fresh and exciting. It captured fears of foreign supermen ...
Godzillais, believe it or not, the longest running film franchise in the world, having been in continuous production since 1954. When the first movie was released, it was more than a mere monster movie. It tapped into the fears of nuclear radiation, which were very much still part of the collective consciousness in 1950s Japan. While the tone of Go...
Firefly has one of the most loyal fanbases in modern fandom. So-called “Browncoats” (named after the rebels seen in flashbacks) consider the franchise to be one of the best shows of all time, despite being cancelled by Fox before the first season had even finished production. The fandom was so strong that the sales of Firefly on DVD prompted a movi...
Few sci-fi shows have ever achieved the kind of mainstream success of The X-Files. The tagline “The truth is out there” became synonymous with the pop culture of the 1990s and was responsible for much of the rise in popularity of conspiracy theories to this day. Borrowing from "monster of the week" anthology shows as well as from both The Twilight ...
And speaking of Ripley, no sci-fi article could be complete without discussing Alien. The seminal movie blended horror, smart storytelling, and incredible performances like never before. While the first movie was an instant classic of both horror and sci-fi, the second did something altogether different. Alienssees the planet from the first movie g...
- Jeremy Urquhart
- Senior Author
- 'Toy Story' Trilogy (1995 - 2010) Metacritic Score: 276/300 or 92% 2019 may have seen the release of a fourth Toy Story movie, but the first three still feel like they form a complete trilogy.
- 'Three Colors' Trilogy (1993 - 1994) Metacritic Score: 274/300 or 91.3% Not only are the Three Colors movies all incredibly highly rated, but they were all released very close together, too.
- 'The Lord of the Rings' Trilogy (2001 - 2003) Metacritic Score: 273/300 or 91% Few trilogies released in the 21st century so far come close to rivaling The Lord of the Rings, and there's a good chance many years will pass before a trilogy of its size and consistency comes around again...
- The 'Before...' Trilogy (1995 - 2013) Metacritic Score: 261/300 or 87% A unique trilogy that uses three movies to explore two characters over almost 20 years, the Before Trilogy makes for a remarkable set of films.
1. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. 2. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. 3. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. 4. The Godfather. 5. The Godfather Part II. 6. The Godfather Part III. 7. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope. 8. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back. 9.
Sci-fi spreads across subgenres, all represented here: the monster movie (Cloverfield), space opera (Serenity), cyberpunk (Ghost in the Shell), and post-apocalyptic (Mad Max: Fury Road) and more....
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1. 2001: A Space Odyssey. 1968 2h 29m G. 8.3 (731K) Rate. 84 Metascore. When a mysterious artifact is uncovered on the Moon, a spacecraft manned by two humans and one supercomputer is sent to Jupiter to find its origins. Director Stanley Kubrick Stars Keir Dullea Gary Lockwood William Sylvester. 2. The Terminator. 1984 1h 47m R. 8.1 (940K) Rate.
