Best Sci-Fi Movies: Visionary, Complex, Genuinely Thought-Provoking

The best science fiction movies ask big questions about technology, humanity and the future – and answer them in unexpected ways. This page shows picks that impress through ideas, not just effects: from classic sci-fi to modern genre masterpieces that deserve far more attention.





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Galaxy Quest

1999
102 Min
MOVIE
ComedyScience FictionAdventure
For four years, the courageous crew of the NSEA Protector — Commander Peter Quincy Taggart, Lieutenant Tawny Madison, and Doctor Lazarus — set off on a thrilling and often dangerous mission in space ... until their series was cancelled! No…
Available on: Sky

The Thirteenth Floor

1999
101 Min
MOVIE
ThrillerScience FictionMystery
In Los Angeles, a wealthy man, known as Mr. Fuller, discovers a shocking secret about the world he lives in. Fearing for his life, he leaves a desperate message for a friend of his in the most unexpected place.

The Matrix

1999
136 Min
MOVIE
ActionScience Fiction
Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.

Lost in Space

1998
130 Min
MOVIE
Science FictionAdventure
The prospects for continuing life on Earth in the year 2058 are grim. So the Robinsons are launched into space to colonize Alpha Prime, the only other inhabitable planet in the galaxy. But when a stowaway sabotages the mission, the Robinso…

Dark City

1998
101 Min
MOVIE
MysteryScience Fiction
A man struggles with memories of his past, including a wife he cannot remember, in a nightmarish world with no sun and run by beings with telekinetic powers who seek the souls of humans.

The Postman

1997
177 Min
MOVIE
Science FictionAdventureAction
In 2013, there are no highways, no I-ways, no dreams of a better tomorrow, only scattered survivors across what was once the United States. Into this apocalyptic wasteland comes an enigmatic drifter with a mule, a knack for Shakespeare, an…

Starship Troopers

1997
129 Min
MOVIE
AdventureActionThrillerScience Fiction
Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an in…
Available on: Disney+

Gattaca

1997
107 Min
MOVIE
ThrillerScience FictionMysteryRomance
Vincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an "In-Valid" who assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue his goal of traveling into space with the Gattaca Aerospac…

Men in Black

1997
98 Min
MOVIE
ActionAdventureComedyScience Fiction
After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent K and new recruit Agent J find th…
Available on: Netflix

Independence Day

1996
145 Min
MOVIE
ActionAdventureScience Fiction
Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission:…
Available on: Disney+

Twelve Monkeys

1995
129 Min
MOVIE
Science FictionThrillerMystery
In the year 2035, convict James Cole reluctantly volunteers to be sent back in time to discover the origin of a deadly virus that wiped out nearly all of the earth's population and forced the survivors into underground communities. But whe…

Demolition Man

1993
115 Min
MOVIE
CrimeActionScience Fiction
In 1996, brash L.A. detective John Spartan and maniac killer Simon Phoenix are both sentenced to decades in a cryogenic prison as punishment for a rescue mission gone wrong. When Phoenix escapes 36 years later to wreak havoc on the future,…

Jurassic Park

1993
127 Min
MOVIE
AdventureScience Fiction
A wealthy entrepreneur secretly creates a theme park featuring living dinosaurs drawn from prehistoric DNA. Before opening day, he invites a team of experts and his two eager grandchildren to experience the park and help calm anxious inves…
Available on: Netflix Sky

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

1991
137 Min
MOVIE
ActionThrillerScience Fiction
Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalyps…

Back to the Future Part II

1989
108 Min
MOVIE
AdventureComedyScience Fiction
Marty and Doc are at it again as the time-traveling duo head to 2015 to nip some McFly family woes in the bud. But things go awry thanks to bully Biff Tannen and a pesky sports almanac. In a last-ditch attempt to set things straight, Marty…
Available on: Disney+ Prime Video

Spaceballs

1987
96 Min
MOVIE
ComedyScience Fiction
When the nefarious Dark Helmet hatches a plan to snatch Princess Vespa and steal her planet's air, space-bum-for-hire Lone Starr and his clueless sidekick fly to the rescue. Along the way, they meet Yogurt, who puts Lone Starr wise to the …
Available on: Netflix

The Terminator

1984
108 Min
MOVIE
ActionThrillerScience Fiction
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hege…
Available on: Netflix

Return of the Jedi

1983
132 Min
MOVIE
AdventureActionScience Fiction
Luke Skywalker leads a mission to rescue his friend Han Solo from the clutches of Jabba the Hutt, the Emperor prepares to crush the Rebellion with a more powerful Death Star, and the Rebel fleet mounts a massive attack on the space station…

Blade Runner

1982
118 Min
MOVIE
Science FictionDramaThriller
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Available on: HBO Max

The Empire Strikes Back

1980
124 Min
MOVIE
AdventureActionScience Fiction
The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess L…
Available on: Disney+

Alien

1979
117 Min
MOVIE
HorrorScience Fiction
During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of…

Star Wars

1977
121 Min
MOVIE
AdventureActionScience Fiction
Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing captain Han Solo team together with the loveable robot duo R2-D2 and C-3PO to r…
Available on: Disney+

A Clockwork Orange

1971
137 Min
MOVIE
Science FictionCrime
In a near-future Britain, young Alexander DeLarge and his pals get their kicks beating and raping anyone they please. When not destroying the lives of others, Alex swoons to the music of Beethoven. The state, eager to crack down on juvenil…
Available on: HBO Max

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