When asked to name the best sci-fi movie franchises of all time, most people's minds will usually jump to the likes of Alien, Star Wars, and The Matrix. However, while these are undoubtedly some of the genre's heaviest hitters and collectively boast some of the greatest sci-fi movies ever made, they each have their fair share of duds.
In reality, it's incredibly rare to find a sci-fi movie franchise that consistently hits the mark, especially when so many of the biggest names in sci-fi have installments spanning multiple decades. However, there are a select few sci-fi franchises that have never dipped below 60% on Rotten Tomatoes, with each of their installments impressing critics.
The Hunger Games (78% Average)
To some, The Hunger Games is just a cheap rip-off of Kinji Fukasaku's 2000 action thriller Battle Royale. There are certainly plenty of similarities, though that doesn't mean that Suzanne Collins' novels and their movie adaptations aren't still worth a look. In fact, their Rotten Tomatoes ratings would suggest that the movies are bordering on must-watch territory.
The first two Hunger Games flicks scored 84% and 90% respectively, placing them alongside some of the best sci-fi movies ever made. Sadly, the two Mockingjay movies let the side down a little, though neither dipped below 69% and are still worth checking out. However, they do bring the average down quite a bit, preventing the franchise from achieving true greatness.
2001: A Space Odyssey (79% Average)
2001: A Space Odyssey is one of the best and most important sci-fi movies ever made. Directed by Stanley Kubrick and written by Arthur C. Clarke, this 1968 classic helped to popularize the genre and set a benchmark for future sci-fi flicks. What a lot of people might not realize, though, is that the movie actually received a sequel some 16 years later.
Released in 1984, 2010: The Year We Make Contact (or just 2010, for short) was based on Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two novel and starred a number of big names including Roy Scheider and Helen Mirren. Its 66% rating on Rotten Tomatoes is a far cry from the original's 92%, yet it's still a solid sci-fi movie and helps to keep the franchise's overall rating at a respectable 79%
Back to the Future (80% Average)
As a genre, sci-fi tends to be quite moody when it comes to tone and atmosphere. That's far from the case with Back to the Future though, with Marty and Doc Brown's adventures being incredibly light-hearted and an awful lot of fun. This successful formula is why the first of the trilogy holds a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, making it one of the best sci-fi movies ever made; at least on paper.
In practice, too, though, the Back to the Future movies really are quite excellent, both in terms of the cinematography and the quality of the writing. Granted, neither of the two sequels was quite able to recapture the magic of the original, with the second falling to a low of 63% on Rotten Tomatoes. Despite this, with an 80% average, the franchise and those who worked on it can still hold their heads high.
Star Trek: Kelvin Timeline (88% Average)
For most people, Star Trek and Star Wars are the two biggest names in the sci-fi realm. However, whereas the latter has attempted to continuously bolt new additions onto the success of its original run with varying degrees of success, Star Trek has been rebooted on several occasions, the most recent of which came in 2009.
The Kelvin Timeline trilogy of movies has more than met fans' expectations, thanks in large to some excellent casting work. It can sometimes feel as though Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, and Karl Urban were born to play their respective roles, and it's this, together with some great writing and a healthy dose of fan service, that has led to the trilogy's incredible 88% average on Rotten Tomatoes.
Blade Runner (90% Average)
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A lot of people were cautiously optimistic when it was announced that a sequel to Blade Runner was in the works. After all, the original movie and its final cut held 89% and 94% ratings on Rotten Tomatoes respectively, reflecting Blade Runner's status as one of the best sci-fi movies ever made. As it turned out, those people were right to be excited.
Blade Runner 2049 is a fantastic movie and lives up to its predecessor in almost every way. In fact, it has an 88% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, showing just how close the movie's creators came to matching the excellence of the original. Including the final cut version in the calculation gives Blade Runner a 90% average on Rotten Tomatoes. Even without it, though, it still manages a mighty 88.5%, which very few sci-fi movie franchises are able to match.
Mad Max (91% Average)
Traditionally, sci-fi movies tend to transport their viewers to worlds that are full of wonder and futuristic technology. The Mad Max series defies this trend though, instead taking place in a post-apocalyptic future in which law and order have been supplanted by all-out anarchy. That, and a whole bunch of awesome-looking vehicles.
All four Mad Max movies have performed incredibly well with critics, with three of them currently sitting above 90% on Rotten Tomatoes. Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome is a tad lower at 81% and brings the average down from 94% to 91%. Even so, Mad Max remains one of the best and most highly-rated sci-fi movie franchises of all time.