Part of the problem I have with picking “good” SF movies or TV shows is that there are some where the SF premise is good but the execution is flawed, and there are some with great execution where the premise is flawed. Trying to get both right for a two-hour movie (let alone for every episode of a TV series) is very hard.
For example: time-travel movies. “Back to the Future” was executed very well, but the SF elements were flawed. (And I don’t mean making a time machine out of a DeLorean. I mean things like people gradually being erased from a photograph as the possibility of their being born changes. And what happened to the Marty McFly who grew up with a non-wimpy dad?)
On the other hand, there’s “The Final Countdown.” If you grant the premise that a freak storm could transport a nuclear aircraft carrier to December 1941, there are no loose ends. But the quality of the movie itself is about average.
So with that in mind, here are my SF movie recommendations:
Gattaca: Perhaps a little slow, but well-made with thought-provoking SF premise.
Contact: Missing my favorite parts of the novel, but still an all-around great movie.
Terminator & Terminator 2: Second one’s better movie even though the time travel aspect is better in the first one.
The Abyss: The ending’s a little disappointing (and that was before the director’s extended version) but a great movie nonetheless.
Robocop: I’m serious. Good SF premise, good action, and the satirical future newscasts and commercials are a hoot.
Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure: OK, it’s really more of a comedy, but it handles the intricacies of time travel better than most SF movies about time travel.
Jurassic Park: The science was pretty good, and it was well-made.
Sword & Sorcery Fantasy Movies:
Lord of the Rings: Need I say more?
Willow: Has some problems here and there, but overall a lot of fun.
Comic Book Movies (sort of a separate genre):
Unbreakable: Great examination of the idea of comic-book archetypes.
Superman & Superman II, Spiderman, Batman, X-Men, X2: X-men United: With varying degrees of faithfulness to the comic-book canon, they succeed in bringing the spirit of their respective comic books to the screen. (Deleted to make this post focus on science fiction. I may split these out into separate posts later.)
(Originally posted as a message here: Good SciFi/Fantasty movies/TV? – Hatrack River Writers Workshop)