The thing about sci-fi is that critics largely believe it's juvinile. So the gritty ones that are less fantastical like Children Of... are easy to get behind for them. Critics love "high brow" and seem to frown on others.
If; not to pick on it, Children of Men, is so great, why is it not on the American Film Institute's top 100 films above Star Wars, which is.
I'm actually surprised not to see Blade Runner in the top 5 for this reason. (An example of a film that's great and departs from the book

)