1997 Movie Tops Ranking of Perfectly Written, But Forgotten Sci-Fi Films

While science fiction is one of the most popular movie genres, not every sci-fi film remains relevant. This is even true for science fiction films that can be considered masterpieces. Collider recently highlighted some well-written sci-fi films that faded in popularity by releasing a ranking of the “8 forgotten sci-fi movies that are perfectly written.”

The publication’s list, published in May 2026, featured movies like 2006’s A Scanner Darkly, Primer from 2004, and 1998’s Dark City. The 1997 Andrew Niccol-directed and written film Gattaca, which explores themes of eugenics, took home the ranking’s top spot.

Gattaca, which stars Ethan Hawke as Vincent Freeman and Jude Lawas Jerome Morrow, has a score of 82 percent on Rotten Tomatoes and 64 on Metacritic.

Ethan Hawke Shared He Believed ‘Gattaca’ Was One of His Most Overlooked Films

While filming the 2007 documentary, Ethan Hawke: Jealousy Is A Simple Waste Of Time, wherein he discussed his filmography, Hawke shared that he believed Gattaca was underappreciated upon its release.

“Gattaca is a film I’m very proud of that was very much ignored when it came out. I mean, it just came and went and barely got a good review,” said the actor.

He theorized that audiences didn’t flock to theaters to see the science fiction film because it’s contemplative, rather than action-oriented.

“I think that first off, it was marketed like a sci-fi movie and people were disappointed that there was no action in the movie,” said Hawke.

In addition, Hawke said he believed the movie can be considered excellent due to its exploration of “individual rights” and “what makes up an individual” while focusing on the idea of genetic modification.

“So rarely do films use the device of metaphor, you know, or allegory and Gattaca really does it. And Gattaca was ahead of its time, all this stuff about genetic engineering and all the stuff that’s happening now, it was a little ahead of its time,” said Hawke.