Top 50 best Sci-fi movies of all time
In this top list we uncover the best Science Fiction movies of all time. Already seen Blade Runner, The Matrix and Alien? Find out which of the other movies in this genre you absolutely must watch!
Enjoy and don’t forget to instantly influence this Sc-Fi top 50 by voting for your favorites at the top right of your screen. New movies meeting our high standards will be added to the voting database regularly. Suggestions? Let us know in the comment section below!
Top 50
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Blade Runner (1982)
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to kill a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Directed by Ridley Scott -
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.
Directed by Stanley Kubrick -
Alien (1979)
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 the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.
Directed by Ridley Scott -
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Taylor and two other astronauts come out of deep hibernation to find that their ship has crashed. Escaping with little more than clothes they find that they have landed on a planet where men are pre-lingual and uncivilized while apes have learned speech and technology. Taylor is captured and taken to the city of the apes after damaging his throat so that he is silent and cannot communicate with the apes.
Directed by Franklin J. Schaffner -
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order. There's Max, a man of action and a man of few words, who seeks peace of mind following the loss of his wife and child in the aftermath of the chaos. And Furiosa, a woman of action and a woman who believes her path to survival may be achieved if she can make it across the desert back to her childhood homeland.
Directed by George Miller -
The Matrix (1999)
Thomas A. Anderson is a man living two lives. By day he is an average computer programmer and by night a malevolent hacker known as Neo, who finds himself targeted by the police when he is contacted by Morpheus, a legendary computer hacker, who reveals the shocking truth about our reality.
Directed by Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski -
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
A science fiction fairytale about an extra-terrestrial who is left behind on Earth and is found by a young boy who befriends him. This heart-warming fantasy from Director Steven Spielberg became one of the most commercially successful films of all time.
Directed by Steven Spielberg -
Inception (2010)
Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.
Directed by Christopher Nolan -
Metropolis (1927)
In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
Directed by Fritz Lang -
Back to the Future (1985)
Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis -
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
A man, Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend Clementine underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realizes that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.
Directed by Michel Gondry -
Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
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 Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.
Directed by Irvin Kershner -
Aliens (1986)
When Ripley's lifepod is found by a salvage crew over 50 years later, she finds that terra-formers are on the very planet they found the alien species. When the company sends a family of colonists out to investigate her story... all contact is lost with the planet and colonists. They enlist Ripley and the colonial marines to return and search for answers.
Directed by James Cameron -
Gattaca (1997)
Science fiction drama about a future society in the era of indefinite eugenics where humans are set on a life course depending on their DNA. The young Vincent Freeman is born with a condition that would prevent him from space travel, yet he is determined to infiltrate the GATTACA space program.
Directed by Andrew Niccol -
Moon (2009)
With only three weeks left in his three year contract, Sam Bell is getting anxious to finally return to Earth. He is the only occupant of a Moon-based manufacturing facility along with his computer and assistant, GERTY. The long period of time alone however has resulted in him talking to himself for the most part, or to his plants. Direct communication with Earth is not possible due to a long-standing communication malfunction but he does get an occasional message from his wife Tess. When he has an accident however, he wakens to find that he is not alone. He also comes to realize that his world is not what he thought it was.
Directed by Duncan Jones -
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.
Directed by James Gunn -
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again... and again - as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.
Directed by Doug Liman -
Twelve Monkeys (1995)
In the year 2035, convict James Cole (Bruce Willis) 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 when Cole is mistakenly sent to 1990 instead of 1996, he's arrested and locked up in a mental hospital. There he meets psychiatrist Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe), and patient Jeffrey Goines (Brad Pitt), the son of a famous virus expert, who may hold the key to the mysterious rogue group, the Army of the 12 Monkeys, thought to be responsible for unleashing the killer disease.
Directed by Terry Gilliam -
Looper (2012)
In the futuristic action thriller Looper, time travel will be invented but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.
Directed by Rian Johnson -
Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)
Thirty years after defeating the Galactic Empire, Han Solo and his allies face a new threat from the evil Kylo Ren and his army of Stormtroopers.
Directed by J.J. Abrams -
Avatar (2009)
In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.
Directed by James Cameron -
Star Trek (2009)
The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk, is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock, a Vulcan, was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before. The human adventure has begun again.
Directed by J.J. Abrams -
Her (2013)
In the not so distant future, Theodore, a lonely writer purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user's every needs. To Theordore's surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system. This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance in a sweet tale that explores the nature of love and the ways that technology isolates and connects us all.
Directed by Spike Jonze -
Interstellar (2014)
Interstellar chronicles the adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.
Directed by Christopher Nolan -
Brazil (1985)
Brazil is a Terry Gilliam dystopic black comedy film that reflects the melancholy, dreamlike quality of a famous Brazilian song that’s been translated into English. The film parodies the mostly dysfunctional bureaucratic world we live in and takes us to a post-apocalyptic world in the future yet with our present day attitudes in mind.
Directed by Terry Gilliam -
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Admiral James T. Kirk is feeling old; the prospect of accompanying his old ship the Enterprise on a two week cadet cruise is not making him feel any younger. But the training cruise becomes a a life or death struggle when Khan escapes from years of exile and captures the power of creation itself.
Directed by Nicholas Meyer -
Dredd (2012)
In the future, America is a dystopian wasteland. The latest scourge is Ma-Ma, a prostitute-turned-drug pusher with a dangerous new drug and aims to take over the city. The only possibility of stopping her is an elite group of urban police called Judges, who combine the duties of judge, jury and executioner to deliver a brutal brand of swift justice. But even the top-ranking Judge, Dredd, discovers that taking down Ma-Ma isn’t as easy as it seems in this explosive adaptation of the hugely popular comic series.
Directed by Pete Travis -
Back to the Future Part II (1989)
Marty and Doc are at it again in this wacky sequel to the 1985 blockbuster 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 finds himself bound for 1955 and face to face with his teenage parents -- again.
Directed by Robert Zemeckis -
Minority Report (2002)
John Anderton is a top "Precrime" cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge. Can Anderton find a glitch in the system and prove his innocence before it's too late?
Directed by Steven Spielberg -
Ex Machina (2015)
Caleb, a 26 year old coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.
Directed by Alex Garland -
Watchmen (2009)
In a gritty and alternate 1985 the glory days of costumed vigilantes have been brought to a close by a government crackdown, but after one of the masked veterans is brutally murdered an investigation into the killer is initiated. The reunited heroes set out to prevent their own destruction, but in doing so uncover a sinister plot that puts all of humanity in grave danger.
Directed by Zack Snyder -
Star Trek: First Contact (1996)
The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.
Directed by Jonathan Frakes -
Source Code (2011)
Decorated soldier Captain Colter Stevens wakes up in the body of an unknown man, discovering he's involved in a mission to find the bomber of a Chicago commuter train. He learns he's part of a top-secret experimental program that enables him to experience the final 8 minutes of another person's life. Colter re-lives the train incident over and over again, gathering more clues each time. But can he discover who is responsible for the attack before the next one happens?
Directed by Duncan Jones -
Cloud Atlas (2012)
A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Based on the award winning novel by David Mitchell. Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.
Directed by Lilly Wachowski, Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer -
The Hunger Games (2012)
Every year in the ruins of what was once North America, the nation of Panem forces each of its twelve districts to send a teenage boy and girl to compete in the Hunger Games. Part twisted entertainment, part government intimidation tactic, the Hunger Games are a nationally televised event in which “Tributes” must fight with one another until one survivor remains. Pitted against highly-trained Tributes who have prepared for these Games their entire lives, Katniss is forced to rely upon her sharp instincts as well as the mentorship of drunken former victor Haymitch Abernathy. If she’s ever to return home to District 12, Katniss must make impossible choices in the arena that weigh survival against humanity and life against love. The world will be watching.
Directed by Gary Ross -
Jurassic World (2015)
Twenty-two years after the events of Jurassic Park, Isla Nublar now features a fully functioning dinosaur theme park, Jurassic World, as originally envisioned by John Hammond.
Directed by Colin Trevorrow -
Super 8 (2011)
In 1979 Ohio, several youngsters are making a zombie movie with a Super-8 camera. In the midst of filming, the friends witness a horrifying train derailment and are lucky to escape with their lives. They soon discover that the catastrophe was no accident, as a series of unexplained events and disappearances soon follows. Deputy Jackson Lamb, the father of one of the kids, searches for the terrifying truth behind the crash.
Directed by J.J. Abrams -
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Eleven-year-old David is the first android with human feelings. He is adopted by the Swinton family to test his ability to function. Before they are done testing him though David goes off on his own following his wish to be a human. He is on an odyssey to understand the secret to his existence. A science fiction film from Steven Spielberg taken over from Stanley Kubrick.
Directed by Steven Spielberg -
Prometheus (2012)
A team of explorers discover a clue to the origins of mankind on Earth, leading them on a journey to the darkest corners of the universe. There, they must fight a terrifying battle to save the future of the human race.
Directed by Ridley Scott -
TRON (1982)
As Kevin Flynn searches for proof that he invented a hit video game, he is "digitalized" by a laser and finds himself inside The Grid, where programs suffer under the tyrannical rule of the Master Control Program. With the help of TRON, a security program, Flynn seeks to free The Grid from the MCP.
Directed by Steven Lisberger -
THX 1138 (1971)
People in the future live in a totalitarian society. A technician named THX 1138 lives a mundane life between work and taking a controlled consumption of drugs that the government uses to make puppets out of people. As THX is without drugs for the first time he has feelings for a woman and they start a secret relationship. The first film from George Lucas.
Directed by George Lucas -
Waterworld (1995)
In a futuristic world where the polar ice caps have melted and made Earth a liquid planet, a beautiful barmaid rescues a mutant seafarer from a floating island prison. They escape, along with her young charge, Enola, and sail off aboard his ship. But the trio soon becomes the target of a menacing pirate who covets the map to "Dryland" -- which is tattooed on Enola's back.
Directed by Kevin Reynolds, Kevin Costner -
Solaris (1972)
Ground control has been receiving strange transmissions from the three remaining residents of the Solaris space station. When cosmonaut and psychologist Kris Kelvin is sent to investigate, he experiences the strange phenomena that afflict the Solaris crew, sending him on a voyage into the darkest recesses of his own consciousness. Based on the novel by the same name from Polish author Stanislaw Lem.
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky -
The Fifth Element (1997)
It’s the year 2257 and a taxi driver has been unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity. The Fifth Element takes place in a futuristic metropolitan city and is filmed in a French comic book aesthetic by a British, French and American lineup.
Directed by Luc Besson -
Delicatessen (1991)
This bizarre surrealistic black comedy takes place in a small fictitious post-apocalyptic town where food is scarce and butcher Clapet has the macabre business of using human flesh to feed his customers. Yet when his daughter falls in love with his next slaughter victim things turn into chaos.
Directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Caro -
Stargate: Continuum (2008)
Ba'al travels back in time and prevents the Stargate program from being started. SG-1 must somehow restore history.
Directed by Martin Wood -
Cloverfield (2008)
Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.
Directed by Matt Reeves -
The Terminator (1984)
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 hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
Directed by James Cameron -
Children of Men (2006)
In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.
Directed by Alfonso Cuarón -
Star Wars (1977)
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 rescue the beautiful princess and restore peace and justice in the Empire.
Directed by George Lucas