25 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time, Ranked for Filmmakers

Forbidden Planet surely has its flaws, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a great and influential Sci-Fi movie. In fact, few movies have been more influential on Sci-Fi cinema than Forbidden Planet.

Perhaps no work of science fiction is more influential than H.G. Wells’ The War of the Worlds. Wells’ story was first published in 1898 and in the 100+ years since, countless remakes have been made. Orson Welles’ first popularized War of the Worlds with his radio broadcast in 1938. Fifteen years later, the first motion picture version of the story was released to widespread acclaim. In 2005, a remake was made and that film was exceptional in its own right as well.

Ridley Scott is in peak form directing science fiction, evident by both Blade Runner and Alien. Few films are more iconic than Alien, having inspired countless spin-offs and spiritual successors in the forty-years since release. 

Sigourney Weaver plays the badass warrant officer Ripley in the film, and delivers one of the most notable performances in cinema history.

Sunshine is science-fiction for science lovers. Several scientists were contracted and consulted on the film, including renowned physicist Brian Cox.

The Thing is a staple of two cinema genres; monster horror and science fiction. Kurt Russell stars in the film as a helicopter pilot working at a usually calm research base in Antarctica, but everything changes when the researchers are ravaged by an other-worldy monster. The Thing marked the second collaboration between director John Carpenter and Russell in as many years, having worked together on Escape From New York the prior year.

Metropolis came out in 1927. Let that sink in for a second. That’s two years before the great stock market trash, twelve before the start of World War II, twenty-four before Isaac Asimov’s Foundation, and forty-one before 2001: A Space Odyssey. Oh and then fast forward another fifty years to get to today. 

Part science fiction, part kung-fu thriller, part Orwellian thinkpiece The Matrix is one of the best movies of the last twenty years. Keanu Reeves stars as the man who becomes an interdimensional prophet named Neo, while Carrie-Anne Moss and Laurence Fishburne assist in strong supporting roles.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day is a rare example of a sequel that exceeds the quality of its predecessor. That’s no easy task either, as the original Terminator is a great Sci-Fi film in its own right. 

What happens when you mix Groundhog Day, Saving Private Ryan and Starship Troopers? You get Edge of Tomorrow, or Live Die Repeat or Live Die Repeat: Edge of Tomorrow, probably the only movie in cinema history to change its title several times after release. For the sake of my sanity I’m going to refer to it solely henceforth as Edge of Tomorrow.

Not all Sci-Fi movies takes place in outer space, evident by Steven Spielberg’s genre masterpiece Jurassic Park. Rather than travelling across the cosmos, the characters of Jurassic Park venture “back in time” to a dinosaur theme park.

Is it Star Trek sacrilege to say that the 2009 reboot is the best in the series? I’d venture to guess that Trekkies would say so.

Blade Runner is one of the most iconic Sci-Fi movies ever made. In 1982, director Ridley Scott changed the landscape of Sci-Fi cinema forever with this picture. 

Terry Gilliam gives his signature “wacko other-worldy” touch to 12 Monkeys, elevating it to the mountain tops of science fiction. The film is chock-full of comedy, drama and thrilling action - making it an absolute joy to watch. 

Steven Spielberg famously said that Close Encounters wasn’t science fiction but rather science speculation. Spielberg, an avid UFO chaser himself, always wanted to make alien movies.

Ex Machina is the second Sci-Fi flick written by Alex Garland (Sunshine)  on this list, but this picture also marked his directorial debut. VFX and CGI have changed the scope of science fiction films in the past decade, allowing film-makers to expand their stories with unprecedented detail.

In Ex Machina, Alicia Vikander plays the role of Ava, a robot woman who attracts both her creator Nathan and her “Turing tester” Caleb. However, the ways in which she does so are entirely different. To Nathan, she is a hedonistic machine while to Caleb, she is a sentient love interest.

Duncan Jones’ directorial debut Moon is one of the best Sci-Fi movies of the 21st century. Sam Rockwell stars as Sam Bell, a lunar maintenance worker nearing the end of a three year contract. Once the contract ends, Sam plans to go back to Earth and be with his family.

In an era of enormous moral change, The Day the Earth Stood Still sought to stop global audiences in their tracks and ask them to consider what direction humanity should go in. The Day the Earth Stood Still is viewed by many to be a pacifist film, and a critical response to the proliferation of atomic weapons in World War II.

The original Planet of the Apes is a movie simply bursting with imagination. After crashing onto a foreign world, a group of astronauts are captured by intelligent primates. Planet of the Apes is a film about humanity reverting back to its primal roots and the terrifying realization that time is impermanent. To top it off, the ending of the picture is one of the all time best in science fiction.

Let’s commend writer, director, actor and editor Shane Carruth for creating the ever fascinating Primer. This mind-bending film is one of the most mentally stimulating movies I’ve ever seen. If you aren’t asking yourself, “what the hell did I just watch?” after the credits roll, then you’re probably Albert Einstein.

Her is a Sci-Fi suckerpunch straight to the heart. In the near future, Theodore (Joaquin Phoenix) goes through a messy divorce and struggles to integrate himself back into a changing world. After several romantic failures, he develops a relationship with his artificial intelligence system Samantha (Scarlett Johannson.) What follows is a mostly sweet but ultimately crushing tale of loneliness in a world designed to isolate individuals more than ever before.

Andrei Tarkovsky’s Sci-Fi epic Solaris is one of the most daunting films of the genre. Even the most ardent science fiction fans may find themselves lost in the abstract story of the picture - I know I did.

2001: A Space Odyssey is a film that’s been privy to endless praise, but few critics bring up just how weird the movie really is. This film is downright bonkers. Yes, I’m talking about the epilelptic nightmare that is the light sequence, the long shots of ships floating through the ether, and of course the terrifying intonation of HAL’s voice. But if you love Kubrick, science fiction or have incredible patience, I’m sure you’ll enjoy this mind-warping picture.

Before Interstellar hit theaters in 2014, it was being hailed as the Sci-Fi successor to the universally lauded 2001: A Space Odyssey. Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar is a near-future story of survival across galaxies. For me, it lived up to every cent of hype, but some critics didn’t share in my glowing praise.

Roger Deakins’ beautiful cinematography is worth the price of purchase alone, but there’s so much more to Blade Runner: 2049 that makes it even better than the original.

First of all, let’s start with the incredible talent that worked on the film. Ridley Scott returned to EP, Denis Villeneuve inherited the directing duties, Hampton Fancher (Blade Runner) and Michael Green (Logan) co-wrote the screenplay and Ryan Gosling and Harrison Ford star together. Whew, that’s a lot of talent.

Up until Star Wars, Sci-Fi was a relatively niche genre. Although shows like The Twilight Zone and The Outer Limits had considerable viewership, they never quite broke through to worldwide audiences. Films like 2001: A Space Odyssey and The War of the Worlds were groundbreaking, but didn’t attract casual consumers of film. But in 1977, a little passion project from the mind of George Lucas changed the landscape of science fiction forever. 

These are our top 25 Sci-Fi movies of all time! What do you think? Did your favorite make the cut? 

There are hundreds of visually striking and mentally stimulating Sci-Fi films from all around the world that deserve our attention, and judging by the amount of great science fiction released in the past few years years, I’m sure there will be hundreds more yet to come!

Up Next

10 Best Cyberpunk Movies 

Cyberpunk is just one sub-genre of science fiction, yet chock-full of daring stories. In this article, we define the characteristics of a cyberpunk movie, then rank the best ever made. Up next is the “10 Best Cyberpunk Movies, Ranked for Filmmakers.”

Up Next: 10 Best Cyberpunk Movies →