The 69 worst science fiction movies of all time, according to critics

August 28, 2024

Here are the 69 worst science fiction movies of all time, according to critics:

69. "Hot Tub Time Machine 2" (2015)

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What critics said: "A comedy that's so witless and unfunny and shoddily made it makes 'The Hangover 2' look like 'The Godfather 2.'" — Entertainment Weekly

68. "Aliens vs Predator - Requiem" (2007)

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What critics said: "A tasteless, witless, mindlessly perfunctory bloodbath that has the discourtesy to take itself seriously. Pitting aliens against predators may be the height of frivolity, but God forbid anyone have fun with it." — The AV Club

67. "Alien vs. Predator" (2004)

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What critics said: "Take a wretched premise. Imagine the worst picture that could be made from it. Then imagine something even worse. That's 'Alien vs. Predator.'" — San Francisco Chronicle

66. "Bright" (2017)

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What critics said: "A gaudy, overstuffed piece of blockbuster trash." — RogerEbert.com

65. "The Postman" (1997)

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What critics said: "What willful streak of perversity inspired Kevin Costner to take on this wacky tale of a letter carrier-turned-postapocalyptic hero?" — Entertainment Weekly

64. "Howard the Duck" (1986)

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What critics said: "The story has no center; the duck is not likable, and the costly, overwrought, laser-filled special effects that conclude the movie are less impressive than a sparkler on a birthday cake." — Chicago Tribune

63. "The Colony" (2013)

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What critics said: "Greedily tries to cram every dystopian curse into one misbegotten plot, resulting in something wildly disjointed, even if its pieces arguably connect." — Slant Magazine

62. "Timeline" (2003)

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What critics said: "'Timeline' gives 'Gigli' serious competition for worst film of the year honors." — Miami Herald

61. "Batman & Robin" (1997)

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What critics said: "Like a wounded yeti, 'Batman & Robin' drags itself through icicle-heavy sets, dry-ice fog and choking jungle vines, before dying in a frozen heap." — The Washington Post

60. "Highlander: The Final Dimension" (1995)

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What critics said: "'Highlander 3' has an edge over its prequels in that it's so shoddily directed that it's probably a great deal of fun to watch after a couple of six-packs." — Austin Chronicle

59. "The Divide" (2012)

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What critics said: "We wait, from one cringe-inducing, hide-your-face-from-the-screen act after another, to see how much worse the behavior will become." — The New York Times

58. "Pandorum" (2009)

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What critics said: "This is hackwork of the highest order, lacking in all poetry and barely comprehensible aurally or visually." — Time Out

57. "Atlas Shrugged: Part I" (2011)

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What critics said: "Who's the idiot responsible for this fiasco? You can't blame the Tea Party, an organization of 9 million that the film's producers are exploiting to get butts into seats. There's an object lesson in objectivism for you." — Rolling Stone

56. "Hangar 10" (2014)

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What critics said: "Misses nary a single cliché in its visually disorienting and narratively confusing proceedings." — The Hollywood Reporter

55. "Pixels" (2015)

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What critics said: — Salon

54. "Stranded" (2013)

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53. "Transformers: The Last Knight" (2017)

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52. "Flatliners" (2017)

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51. "Gamer" (2009)

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50. "Pulse" (2006)

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49. "The Anomaly" (2015)

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48. "Fantastic Four" (2015)

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47. "Babylon A.D." (2008)

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46. "Time Changer" (2002)

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45. "Zoom" (2006)

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44. "The Mating Habits of the Earthbound Human" (1999)

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43. "The Objective" (2009)

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42. "Atlas Shrugged II: The Strike" (2012)

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41. "Alien Outpost" (2015)

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41. "Officer Downe" (2016)

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40. "Skyline" (2010)

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What critics said:"A spasmodic and incoherent shambles hampered by an astoundingly stupid screenplay." — The Hollywood Reporter

38. "The Diabolical" (2015)

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What critics said:"The sheer unadulterated inanity of these proceedings suggests that it'll soon be teleported to the far corners of the B-movie streaming-video abyss." — Village Voice

37. "The One" (2001)

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What critics said:"The combo of cheesy effects and martial arts choreographer Cory Yuen's unimaginative staging results in something that's martial artless." — Variety

36. "Jason X" (2002)

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What critics said:"Despite the futuristic setting, which relies so heavily on GGI effects that it looks like a feature-length production concept painting, this film is painfully predictable." — TV Guide Magazine

35. "Apollo 18" (2011)

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What critics said:"Has no thrills, no chills, no scares and contains a villain, or several of them, actually, that will turn you to stone -- from boredom." — New York Daily News

34. "A Sound of Thunder" (2005)

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What critics said:"This picture achieves a level of badness that is its own form of sublimity. You almost - please note that I said almost - have to see it to believe it." — The New York Times

33. "Maximum Overdrive" (1986)

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What critics said:"A loud, obnoxious, single-idea schlocker ... There's carnage galore, but minimal interest. King himself described it as a 'wonderful moron picture', and he was half-right." — Time Out London

32. "Universal Soldier: The Return" (1999)

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What critics said:"Devoid of personality and has an annoying gratuitous sentimental streak." — Boston Globe

31. "Superman IV: The Quest for Peace" (1987)

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What critics said:"More sluggish than a funeral barge, cheaper than a sale at K mart, it's a nerd, it's a shame, it's 'Superman IV.'" — The Washington Post

30. "Hollow Man" (2000)

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29. "Spark: A Space Tail" (2017)

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What critics said:"It’s hard to imagine that even the least demanding of tykes will ask for a second sampling of this thoroughly second-rate animated feature, which has all the charm, and twice the volume, of a barking dog." — Variety

28. "Max Steel" (2016)

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What critics said:"As the stuntmen duke it out and we see close-ups of the two actors making silly faces, it's hard not imagine a 'Mystery Science Theater 3000' feature in the making." — The Hollywood Reporter

27. "Congo" (1995)

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What critics said:"Jawdroppingly bad, this adaptation of Michael Crichton's 1980 novel about a talking ape named Amy and a fabled lost city deep in the jungles of central Africa is as sophisticated in execution as a Jungle Jim movie." — Austin Chronicle

26. "Left Behind" (2001)

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What critics said:"A slow-moving, dirt-dull narrative crammed with clunky expository dialogue and obscure Biblical references." — New York Post

25. "Geostorm" (2017)

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What critics said:"A disastrous disaster movie that is actually quite low on the disasters to its own detriment." — Entertainment Weekly

24. "Highlander: Endgame" (2000)

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23. "Wing Commander: Space Will Never Be the Same" (1999)

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What critics said:"The effects are laughably primitive, the dialogue hilariously atrocious -- and those are the good parts." — Entertainment Weekly

22. "Branded" (2012)

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What critics said:"'Branded' has ideas, but unfortunately, the ideas are reeking batsh-t nuts, especially once the cheaply animated 'brand' monsters, which might not actually exist, start flying around like Ghostbusters mistakes biting one another. You've been warned." — Village Voice

21. "Virus" (1999)

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What critics said:"95 minutes of unrelieved tedium." — ReelViews

20. "The Lovers" (2015)

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What critics said:"A shamelessly derivative and preposterous would-be blockbuster that goofily fashions itself as a sweeping romance, time-travel sci-fi tale, and gallant period piece all at once." — Slant Magazine

19. "Species II" (1998)

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What critics said:"Shoddily plotted and unimaginative, 'Species II' is a slapdash effort at best, creepily unaffecting and minus the T&A this sort of film so desperately hinges on." — Austin Chronicle

18. "Supernova" (2000)

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What critics said:"Apparently fallen victim to the transparent damage-control tactics of studios in possession of perceived stinkers." — Village Voice

17. "Ultraviolet" (2006)

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What critics said:"Jovovich, who's shown sensitivity in her dramatic work, looks spectacularly bored as she power-kicks her way through one bloody pile-up after another. That boredom, like the mystery virus at the center of the film, is contagious." —

16. "The Darkest Hour" (2011)

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What critics said:"Really, how slovenly is it to use invisible aliens? If you're going to tease us with nothing but pinwheels of light for three-quarters of the film, you'd better have one heck of a reveal up your sleeve." —

15. "Vice" (2015)

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What critics said:"Perversely low-budget and oddly devoid of imagination, 'Vice' seems less like a proper film than a bargain-basement SyFy pilot." —

14. "Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li" (2009)

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What critics said:"Don't be fooled by the low grade: This sequel-in-spirit to Jean-Claude Van Damme's 1994 dud doesn't even succeed in being memorably bad." —

13. "Andron" (2016)

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What critics said:"Directed and scripted in boring, incoherent fashion by Francesco Cinquemani, Andron brings new meaning to the word 'derivative.'" —

12. "Piranha Part Two: The Spawning" (1982)

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What critics said:"The special effects are awful (the piranhas are obviously hand puppets) and the script worse." —

11. "Left Behind" (2014)

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What critics said:"This failed epic — really, an epic failure — would barely be noticed, were it not for former Oscar-winner Nicolas Cage taking on a 'Sharknado'-quality remake of a Kirk Cameron movie." —

10. "The Emoji Movie" (2017)

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What critics said:"A work so completely devoid of wit, style, intelligence or basic entertainment value that it makes that movie based on the Angry Birds app seem like a pure artistic statement by comparison." —RogerEbert.com

9. "The Adventures of Pluto Nash" (2002)

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8. "Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" (1997)

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What critics said:"It's cynical and it's depressing, and I would lock a child in a room before I'd show him Mortal Kombat: Annihilation" —LA Weekly

7. "Zapped!" (1982)

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6. "Future World" (2018)

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What critics said:"A miserable, idiotic sci-fi trifle, threadbare in both the imaginative and production value categories." —The New York Times

5. "Saturn 3" (1980)

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4. "Battlefield Earth: A Saga of the Year 3000" (2000)

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What critics said:"A picture that will be hailed without controversy as the worst of its kind ever made." —Slate

3. "Atlas Shrugged III: Who Is John Galt?" (2014)

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What critics said:"We get it, we get it: Capitalism is good, government is bad. But Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt? is worse." —Arizona Republic

2. "Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!" (1978)

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What critics said:"Self-conscious camp, the lowest artistic category known to man." —Chicago Reader

1. "Baby Geniuses" (1999)

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What critics said:"Bad films are easy to make, but a film as unpleasant as 'Baby Geniuses' achieves a kind of grandeur." —Chicago Sun-Times

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