5 Undeniably Awful Sci-Fi Movies That Are An Absolute Blast To Watch

Sometimes science fiction movies can deliver a flawless tale that you always want to go back to. Stories that send you to far-off worlds or keep you earthbound, just decades into the future. In doing so, these films can become classics you love to return to and aren't the sort you're embarrassed to like. Alternatively, there are also movies that are an absolute mess. Ones that fumble their way through and end up becoming absolute dumpster fires that unsurprisingly didn't make much of a dent at the box office. 

But isn't it worth occasionally getting a bit of heat from that dumpster fire? Basking in the stupidly entertaining glow of a movie that, if you admit to adoring it, will probably draw a few eye rolls, a ranty reply about why you're wrong, or, in the most serious cases, lose whatever filmic street cred you might have? 

Honestly? Don't panic. You're not the only ones. We've put together a brilliant band of films that might not have earned many stars from critics upon release, but they got a big, shiny one from us for being downright entertaining. The kind of films that are so hilariously bad in parts that you question who signed off on them, yet they're a stone-cold hoot even years later. Would you like to know more? Well, of course you would.

The first entry here is a tricky little beastie, given that Oreo-corrupted classic "Robocop" and "Total Recall" director Paul Verhoeven delivered an important message about fascism. He just used stupidly attractive cast members with very little acting talent, getting ripped apart by bugs to get the job done. Casper Van Dien, Denise Richards, and Dina Meyer are the high-schoolers turned "Starship Troopers" that head off to war to thwart an alien invasion of giant insects that deliver absolutely brutal deaths, tearing through soldiers like pitbulls with pincers.

On the surface, it's a brain-not-necessary sci-fi action flick that barely runs out of bullets or hokey one-liners ("Come on, you apes! Do you want to live forever?!"). Underneath, it's a statement against militarism and narrow-minded national pride, where even the glaring images of Neil Patrick Harris dressed like an SS space Nazi were drowned out by screaming bugs and big explosions.

"Starship Troopers" was a special-effects monster, with a budget that its box office barely matched, and it only became a cult classic in the years that followed. Rightfully so, too. This epic bug hunt across the stars is a stupidly fun sci-fi action movie that unapologetically takes from "Aliens," with the dial turned up to eleven, and is led by a cast that belongs in "Baywatch." It wears its stupidity on its chest like a proud Citizen of the Federation, and we wouldn't have it any other way. 

If you're going to watch one shark movie, make sure it's "Jaws." If you're going to watch two, make sure it's "Jaws" followed by the bloody and bonkers sci-fi horror "Deep Blue Sea." Once again, for the good of mankind (in this case, Alzheimer's), scientists tamper with the brain tissue of sharks, of all things, only to give these toothy nuisances a higher IQ. Pretty soon, they're waging war on their captors, forcing Thomas Jane's grizzled shark wrangler and a small group of survivors composed of Stellan Skarsgard and Samuel L. Jackson to fight for survival.

Meanwhile, the facility's cook, played by LL Cool J, squares off with the sharks that ate his pet parrot, which is still as incredible as it sounds. As ridiculous as it might be, there's still a chum bucket load of fun to be had from "Deep Blue Sea," which is undeniably a product of its time. In an era of movies like "Lake Placid" and "Anaconda," a shark film from Renny Harlin (who already had "Die Hard 2" and "The Long Kiss Goodnight" under his belt) comes out on top of the creature-feature food chain. Not only does it have its own LL Cool J song ("Deepest Bluest (Shark's Fin)" is a banger), but it also features a top-tier monologue from Samuel L. Jackson right before he's chomped to bits. True cinema.

It's an impressive accolade for Keanu Reeves to be the lead in one of the best and worst cyberpunk movies ever made. Four years before he became The One in the undeniably groundbreaking sci-fi movie "The Matrix," he appeared in "Johnny Mnemonic," which was rife with bugs and on screen for all the world to see. Joined by Dolph Lundgren, Ice-T, and Dina Meyer (her second appearance on this list), the movie was directed by Robert Longo and was adapted from the brilliant William Gibson novella of the same name.

Reeves plays the titular hero, who is a deliveryman who transports information downloaded in his brain and has everyone after what's in his head. While nowhere near as sleek as his kung fu-crammed entry that would arrive years later, "Johnny Mnemonic" is a shoddy-looking CGI-fest that still deserves some recognition. The concept of virtual reality and cumbersome headgear that looks like a basic Meta Quest is all there, as is the action. It's a fun watch, if only for how wild things get, not just in Reeves' performance but in the supporting talent around him.

Lundgren seems to be let loose as an assassin after the hero, and everyone plays it incredibly seriously when it's discovered that the voice of the revolution is a highly advanced dolphin. Make no mistake, though: as bad as "Johnny Mnemonic" is, enough of the message from the computer-chip-infused courier got through to eventually lead us to enter "The Matrix," and for that we will be forever grateful. 

Andy Serkis, Matt Reeves, and Rupert Wyatt (yeah, bet you forgot about him, didn't you?) might've raised the franchise to higher standards, but it was a hell of a job to do so after Tim Burton accidentally went scorched earth on his version of "Planet of the Apes." The woefully miscast Mark Wahlberg is an astronaut this time on a search and rescue mission for his pet chimp, only to end up on a planet that is inhabited by super-smart apes that want his stinking paws off them.

From here, a war between humans and apes ensues, resulting in what is still one of the most poorly handled endings (albeit closer to the original ending of the French novel the franchise is based on) and almost killing any chance of the franchise returning to its former glory. Be that as it may, there's some undeniable fun to be had from Burton's time with the apes, which, while woefully trying to replicate the original, does a good job of updating the chest-thumping terrors.

The makeup hiding the likes of Helena Bonham Carter, Michael Clarke Duncan, and Paul Giamatti is a massive leap forward from the 1968 movie. Full-body hair and curled knuckles help turn Tim Roth into a truly intimidating villain as General Thade, and an impressively hidden cameo from Charlton Heston as his father. Seeing these armored, more advanced apes go into battle for the planet also has its moments, even if they were eventually outshone by Andy Serkis in a tech-tailored onesie. 

Before Karl Urban took a run at the cult classic comic book character that the world is desperate for him to return to, Sylvester Stallone stepped into the steel-capped boots of Mega City One's most no-nonsense law enforcer in 1995. Directed by Danny Cannon, "Judge Dredd" followed the titular lawman after he was framed for a crime he didn't commit. With the help of Judge Hershey (Diane Lane) and humorous hacker Fergie (Rob Schneider), Dredd seeks revenge against the one responsible for putting him behind bars, who is none other than his clone twin brother, Rico, played by Armand Assante.

Another box-office blunder of epic proportions, Sly's stint as Dredd earned $78.8 million against a budget nearing $90 million and was deemed by Gene Siskel as one of the worst films of the year. At the time, fans might've been of a similar mind. The movie commits the cardinal sin of actually removing Dredd's helmet for most of the film and cherry-picking names and characters from other "2000 A.D." comic book runs.

With that said, the second you forget you're watching a Judge Dredd movie, and appreciate it as a sub-par version of one of Stallone's other classics, "Demolition Man." It's also one of the only occasions you'd see Max Von Sydow and Rob Schneider in the same film together, stitched together with some entertaining set pieces and Stallone spouting about being the law on a number of occasions.