Top 10 Sci-Fi Movies That Look Hilariously Dated Today

Watch Denis Villeneuve’s epic two-parter and then go watch David Lynch’s misguided attempt and see how far filmmaking has come in forty years. The first “Dune” was not received well, with Roger Ebert even calling it the worst movie of 1984. But some critics took note of its unique production design and impressive special effects, admitting that, if nothing else, the movie certainly looked good. Well, we can’t say the same today, especially coming off Villeneuve’s Oscar-winning masterwork. The costumes are bizarre, the body shields look ridiculous, rooms are obvious sets, and of course, the big set pieces like the sandworms just do not work anymore. Lynch is a masterful director, but even his filmmaking is subject to the whims of passing time.

Steven Spielberg is one of the best technical filmmakers of all time, and he put his talent to good use in “Minority Report.” Often heralded as a sci-fi classic, the film is praised for its ambitious storytelling and dense themes, and yes, it once looked absolutely fantastic. Well, let’s just say that CGI has come a long way since 2002. Some scenes still look great, whereas others are clearly a product of the early 21st century, like video game-y cityscapes and ugly CG cars. Furthermore, the entire movie is imbued with this type of glowy, blown-out look that Spielberg favored in the early 2000s, making it a strong product of its time. Still a great movie, though!

We return to 1984 for this sci-fi movie written and directed by famous author Michael Crichton. Let’s just say, “Runaway” is no “Jurassic Park.” The film takes place in the then-future of 1991, with Tom Selleck’s Jack Ramsay tracking down malfunctioning robots called “runaways.” This is one of those movies where the future looks exactly like the present, only with slight modifications. That is to say, this movie’s version of the future looks an awful lot like 1984, only with cheap “futuristic” props, weird costumes, and slightly modified pieces of ‘80s tech. They certainly tried, but this isn’t one of the better sci-fi futures we’ve seen.

When it comes to Keanu Reeves movies, this has to be one of the most forgettable. Taking place in a dystopian 2021, the movie is based on William Gibson’s short story of the same name. The problem with predicting 2021 in 1995 is that when 2021 eventually rolled around, the movie was going to look really, really goofy. And, unfortunately, it does. The technology throughout the film looks ridiculous. The things that were cutting edge in the early ‘90s are still depicted as being cutting edge in 2021, including the use of bulletin board-style messaging systems. That was outdated even when the movie came out in 1995! And that’s to say nothing of the shoddy CGI that reeks of the early ‘90s.

Despite being a masterpiece of science fiction, there’s no denying that “Total Recall” is starting to show its age. The sets and props look a little artificial by today’s standards, and as iconic as it is, Cohaagen’s death looks really silly, with his bulging prop head appearing especially dated. And speaking of that, the fake Schwarzenegger head during the famous Two Weeks sequence is all too obvious. Like many movies on this list, “Total Recall” uses ‘80s tech to depict the distant future, making this version of 2084 look awfully old-fashioned. Sooner or later, all the classics begin to age.

This film is a perfect example of the differences in the aging process between practical and digital effects. The freeway chase, which was largely done with practical work, still looks magnificent. Meanwhile, the Burly Brawl, a CG extravaganza featuring Neo and hundreds of Smiths, is a total mess. The fight took one month to film and cost $40 million, and we wish the results were better than they were. The Burly Brawl is notorious for having outdated visual effects, with Neo appearing especially video game-y. The way he looks, the way he moves, the way the Smiths have no weight to them – it’s all way too artificial, and not in a cool “we’re living in the Matrix” kind of way.

CGI was relatively new in 1992, and it was put to groundbreaking use in Brett Leonard’s “The Lawnmower Man.” The climax of this film takes place in a computer mainframe, with pixelated avatars fighting in a digital space. This space is done entirely through CGI, and, well, it looks genuinely awful today. This would have been quite the visual back in 1992, but nothing about it works in the 21st century. Yes, it still looks quite interesting, but only in a museum period piece sort of way. We have long moved on from this type of blocky, pixelated animation, ensuring that “The Lawnmower Man” is nothing but a product of its time.

Did you know there was a sequel to “2001: A Space Odyssey?” Yep, it’s called “2010: The Year We Make Contact,” and it came out in 1984. Unfortunately, it does not have the same lasting impact as its predecessor, and it doesn’t look nearly as good. Whereas “2001” is seemingly timeless, “2010” falls into the same trap that plagues many movies on this list – that of the 1980s future. Atari-like graphics and ancient CRT monitors instantly date the film, and certain visual effects look more than a little shoddy today. The idea of these futuristic spaceships running on ‘80s tech is just hilarious, and it doesn’t work for many films – “2010” included.

John Badham’s techno thriller was utterly groundbreaking in 1983. It helped popularize concepts like computer hacking and cybersecurity, but above all, it depicted the power of computers at the dawn of the information age. Most viewers didn’t have a computer at home, and seeing what they could do on screen was mind boggling. Unfortunately, “WarGames” had become enormously dated by the 21st century. The Cold War storyline is a relic of the 1980s, and the once state-of-the-art technology is obviously outdated. That said, you can still enjoy “WarGames” as an early ‘80s period piece, so we’ll just continue to do that!

Arguably one of the best sequels of all time, “Back to the Future Part II” nailed many aspects of the future, even though director Robert Zemeckis wasn’t intentionally trying to predict 2015. Unfortunately, a lot of it looks really silly these days. The giant TV screens have a grainy VHS quality to them, and Marty’s entire house is wired for fax – both obvious products of the 1980s. And then there’s the visual effects which have aged considerably, like the flying freeway sequence and the poor compositing used when actors are sharing the screen with themselves. Past Biff tossing the almanac at Future Biff looks especially bad – a fact that even Zemeckis agrees with.