5 2000s Sci-Fi Movies That All of Us Went to See, But Are Virtually Unwatchable Now

Every year, there are films released that so many of us are excited for, only to be let down. There are also plenty of cases where we all flock to one film and enjoy it, yet look back on it and realize it isn’t quite as good as we remember. They age poorly, feature special effects that end up looking dated, and don’t hold up when compared to other releases in the genre or even within the same franchise. This is often especially true when it comes to the sci-fi genre, which can feature wild concepts that don’t always hit the way we want them to.

The 2000s saw some great sci-fi movies, ranging from Avatar and District 9 to Minority Report and Children of Men. However, it saw just as many releases that had high expectations, only to miss the mark or turn into a movie that doesn’t age well for a variety of reasons. It has reached the point where these films are pretty much unwatchable these days and it makes us wonder why we wanted to see these movies in the first place. They really are likely only still watchable if you have a special place in your heart for them.

5) Planet of the Apes

The original Planet of the Apes movie from 1968 is a legitimate classic that holds up well all these decades later. While not every sequel was a hit, a new installment in 2001 sounded exciting. It was the first attempt in a long time and featured Tim Burton, a proven filmmaker, in the director’s chair. Planet of the Apes was something we all went to see, grossing more than $360 million at the worldwide box office.

This version was met with mixed reviews and felt like a remake that couldn’t live up to what came before it. The visuals were solid for the time, yet none of the performances really stood out, making it difficult to really grab onto something upon rewatches. This Planet of the Apes iteration is also tough to go back to because Matt Reeves’ trilogy from the 2010s is far superior, and if you want more of the franchise, that’s the best route to take.

4) Terminator Salvation

During the 2000s, there was still a lot of excitement surrounding the Terminator franchise. The first two installments are among the best movies of their era, and although the third entry was disappointing, it wasn’t bad enough to kill interest in the series. So when Terminator Salvation arrived, and with Christian Bale in the lead role coming off The Dark Knight and its success, people flocked to see this movie on the big screen.

With a box office intake of nearly $400 million, Terminator Salvation performed well, yet not many people left the theater satisfied. The plot was the most robotic thing about the movie and it doesn’t feature the heart that made the originals so timeless. To be fair, the follow-up films in the franchise are also not exactly ones that people are dying to revisit. It’s just that Terminator Salvation had so much potential and missed the mark, which makes it especially tough to watch over and over these days.

3) The Matrix Revolutions

The Matrix changed the world of cinema when it was released in 1999 thanks to its groundbreaking action and special effects. We were stoked to learn that sequels were on the way and while The Matrix Reloaded wasn’t up to the level of the original, it remains a solid flick. The Matrix Revolutions, the third installment, feels like the biggest swing and a miss in the franchise during the 2000s.

Reviews for the third film dropped all the way down to a 33% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, which is around 40% lower than the second entry and 50% below the original. It feels like the characters get lost in a sea of special effects and the attempts to expand the lore end up weighing things down. It doesn’t help that a lot of the CGI has that early 2000s problem where it has aged especially poorly. The Matrix Resurrections, an attempted revival in 2021, was also considered a miss, not helping the franchise.

2) Alien vs. Predator

Sci-fi film lovers everywhere got something special in 2004. Alien vs. Predator pitted two of the most impressive and imposing creatures in the genre against each other for an epic showdown. This came a year after Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees did battle in a horror flick. Unfortunately, Alien vs. Predator never came close to living up to its potential, even if a bunch of us went to theaters to get it to a box office intake of nearly $200 million.

The human characters felt wooden and like they didn’t add anything of interest to the project, while the actual fights between the Yautja and the Xenomorph were disappointing. It lacked intrigue, scares, and thrills, and opted for poor attempts at violence and gore. The end result never came together. However, the commercial success led to a sequel, Alien vs. Predator: Requiem, which was even worse than the first film.

1) Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen

Michael Bay’s Transformers was a monster hit in 2007 that grossed over $700 million. The Hasbro franchise was in the spotlight and had everyone hooked, so the 2009 sequel, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, performed even better. It took in over $830 million worldwide, making it one of the biggest hits of the decade, regardless of genre. Alas, this sequel took the worst parts of the 2007 installment and doubled down on them.

Characters like Sam and Mikaela turned into an annoying, bickering couple rather than an endearing, blossoming romance. Autobots Mudflap and Skids were poorly received as offensive racial caricatures. The screenplay was wildly bloated, the runtime was way too long, and even moments like Optimus Prime’s big return felt hollow. The 19% Rotten Tomatoes rating for Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is appallingly low, yet people still turned up in droves for the 2011 sequel, which surpassed $1 billion.

Are these movies still easy for you to rewatch? Are there other sci-fi blockbusters from the 2000s that you feel have aged worse? Let us know in the comments.