Hooray, it's one of the inevitable 'End of year' lists.

The 50 best sci-fi films ever

They are spread out over five pages, so just for the lazy sods here who won't be arsed clicking, the list is reproduced below :

50. Looper (2012)
49. Interstellar (2014)
48. Star Trek (2009)
47. Independence Day (1996)
46. Gravity (2013)
45. Godzilla (1954)
44. Serenity (2005)
43. Mad Max:Fury Road (2015)
42. THX 1138 (1971)
41. Tron (1982)
40. The Martian (2015)
39. Moon (2009)
38. Total Recall (1990)
37. Predestination (2014)
36. The Fly (1986)
35. Akira (1988)
34. Starship Troopers (1997)
33. District 9 (2009)
32. Solaris (1972)
31. The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
30. Brazil (1985)
29. Predator (1987)
28. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
27. Mad Max 2 (1981)
26. Metropolis (1927)
25. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
24. Minority Report (2002)
23. RoboCop (1987)
22. Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind (2004)
21. Invasion Of The Body Snatchers (1978)
20. WALL-E (2008)
19. Jurassic Park (1993)
18. Planet Of The Apes (1968)
17. The Thing (1982)
16. Ex Machina (2015)
15. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
14. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)
13. Donnie Darko (2001)
12. Back To The Future (1985)
11. Avatar (2009)
10. The Terminator (1984)
9. The Matrix (1999)
8. Inception (2010)
7. Aliens (1986)
6. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
4. Alien (1979)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
1. Blade Runner (1982)

I'd personally jettison Starship Troopers from the list, maybe replaced with Dark City.
Anyway, of the 50 listed above I've not seen three of them, which I'll get to before too long.

Mark

THX 1138 is famous in it's own way, but it's a genuinely awful film to actually sit down and watch. You'd be chewing through the straps after about 15 minutes. And Bollocks to them for not including Flash Gordon at all.

I suspect if people who haven't seen either Metropolis or Solaris sat down to those films now, much the same response could be said.
Solaris is a wonderful film.

So what wasn't on the list but should've been according to us (updating as suggestions come in) :
Dark City (timark_uk)
Flash Gordon (jonbwfc)
Melancholia (timark_uk)
Forbidden Planet (Paul1965)
This Island Earth (Paul1965)
Deep Impact (Paul1965)
Wing Commander (MrStevenRogers)
Ghostbusters (pcernie)

Any other suggestions?

Mark

Well Forbidden Planet (1956) for a start along with This Island Earth (1955).

And I'm surprised that Silent Running isn't there, though I don't rate it that highly myself.

I have updated the list with your suggestion.

Mark

One last one: Deep Impact (1998). Underrated IMO.

2009 Star Trek over the Wrath of Kahn? Nah, don't think so.
I'd also suggest Titan AE although it's maybe not top 50 material but I haven't seen a fair number of the films on the list.

So it's 2016 and none of this year's films had made it on to the list? What was the point? Is this a list that gets continuously updated every year and only worthy contenders are added?

wing commander (1999) ...

Ghostbusters

I think to make a greatest ever list (it's not a greatest of 2016 list) you have to have lived with the films for a while.
I suspect some of the films from this year will start to make lists like this one next year - The Martian was a 2015 film, and it made this list - so I expect more of that next year.

Mark