The Top Ten Sci-Fi Films We Enjoy But Are Universally Hated

There are some sci-fi films that seem to be universally hated across the cinema kingdom, yet there are a select few we consider guilty pleasures. Disregarding viewers and critics seething contempt, we can't help but enjoy taking in our favorite sci-fi turkeys, as some might label them. We let our site visitors choose the top ten most enjoyed-but-universally hated sci-fi films. The poll is now closed.


Sci-Fi Guilty Pleasure Final Results:

Planet of the Apes (2001): Much criticism was leveled against the ambiguous ending. Tim Roth, who portrayed General Thade, said "I cannot explain that ending. I have seen it twice and I don't understand anything." Burton claimed the ending was not supposed to make any sense, but it was more of a cliffhanger to be explained in a possible sequel.
IMDB 5.6 | RTC 5.5 | RTV 5.4

The Core (2003): The New York Times, said, "The brazen silliness of The Core is becalming and inauthentic, like taking a bath in nondairy coffee creamer. The Earth core's inability to turn is mirrored in the cast's inability to give the picture any spin." The LA Times, was a little more forgiving, saying, "If The Core finally has to be classified as a mess, it is an enjoyable one if you're in a throwback mood."
IMDB 5.3 | RTC 5.3 | RTV 5.4

Species (1995): Species received mainly negative reviews. Roger Ebert criticized the film's plot and overall lack of intelligence. Boxoffice magazine gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, describing it as "... 'Alien' meets 'V' meets 'Splash,' diluted into a diffuse, misdirected bore."
IMDB 5.7 | RTC 4.8 | RTV 5.4

Waterworld (1995): Contemporary reviews for the film were mostly mixed. Roger Ebert said: ". . . It's one of those marginal pictures you're not unhappy to have seen, but can't quite recommend." Rotten Tomatoes, "Though it suffered from toxic buzz at the time of its release, Waterworld is ultimately an ambitious misfire: an extravagant sci-fi flick with some decent moments and a lot of silly ones."
IMDB 6.0 | RTC 5.1 | RTV 5.2

AVP Alien vs. Predator (2004): The film was released on August 13, 2004, in North America and received mostly negative reviews from film critics. Some praised the special effects and set designs, while others dismissed the film for its "wooden dialogue" and "cardboard characters". Nevertheless, Alien vs. Predator grossed over $172 million at the worldwide box office.
IMDB 5.5 | RTC 4.1 | RTV 6.0

No Escape (1994): is directed by Martin Campbell and starring Ray Liotta, Lance Henriksen, Stuart Wilson, Kevin Dillon and Ernie Hudson. It was based on the 1987 novel The Penal Colony, by Richard Herley. The story, set in a dystopian future, concerns a former Marine who is serving life imprisonment on an island inhabited by savage and cannibalistic prisoners.
IMDB 5.9 | RTC 5.1 | RTV 6.0

Escape from L.A. (1996): was a box office bomb, only earning $25,477,365 from its $50 million budget, about as much as its predecessor, but little more than half its significantly higher budget. Critics panned the film's gratuitous action sequences, which were significantly scaled up from the previous film, and which many critics felt added little to the film.
IMDB 5.5 | RTC 5.6 | RTV 5.6

The Illustrated Man (1969): was considered a critical and financial failure. Time wrote, "Responsibility for the failure of The Illustrated Man must rest with Director Jack Smight. He has committed every possible error of style and taste." The counterculture of the 1960s was evident in the film and its depiction of the future did not age well.
IMDB 5.9 | RTC 5.2 | RTV 6.0

Deep Blue Sea (1999): The film received mixed reviews from critics. Rotten Tomatoes, "Aside from a few thrills, Deep Blue Sea is unoriginal and unintelligent." Roger Ebert went further, saying of the film "In a genre where a lot of movies are retreads of the predictable, 'Deep Blue Sea' keeps you guessing." The film grossed $164,648,142 worldwide.
IMDB 5.7 | RTC 5.6 | RTV 5.6

Jurassic Park III (2001): Variety Reviews, calling the film "an all-action, helter-skelter, don't-forget-to-buy-the-computer-game ride." Much of the criticism was leveled at the plot as simply a chase movie with no character development; Apollo Movie Guide panned the film as being "almost the same as the first movie" with "no need for new ideas or even a script".
IMDB 5.8 | RTC 5.2 | RTV 6.0

Criteria

The main obstacle with creating a list of universally hated films is coming up with standardized criteria for a given film to qualify for this list. There is a diverse perception of viewer's take on what is considered a hated film. But I decided to take crack at this and came up with the following criteria . . . . .

For a film to qualify on the candidate list of downtrodden films, it must not exceed the following parameters:

1 - Internet Movie Data Base (IMDB) Ratings no higher than 6.0

2 - Rotten Tomatoes Critic's (RTC) Ratings no higher than 6.0.

3 - Rotten Tomatoes Viewer's (RTV) Ratings no higher than 6.0. (adjusted to scale of ten)

4 - A film must have all all three values above to qualify.

I did not include box office because ticket purchase does not equate to praise/dissatisfaction, it only means they saw the movie.

Resources: Wikipedia.org, imdb.com, RottenTomatoes.com