Great sci-fi movies deal with the future, big ideas and (quite frequently) how something in space will try and kill you. If Blade Runner 2049 has reignited a passion for brilliant sci-fi, our list has something to keep it burning.
We'll leave the arguments about what the best sci-fi movies of all time are to someone else, so here are the best ones currently available on UK streaming services Netflix, Amazon Prime and on Now TV / Sky. Also have a look our guide to new films at the cinema for what's coming to a big screen near this month.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Fury Road is a manic, eye-popping blockbuster that stands out against the tedious, CGI-filled brethren that dominate the genre. The inventiveness and scale of the costume and set design combine with an unrelenting pace to create an achingly epic spectacle. Turn up the sound and let the madness wash over you. Watch it on Netflix.
Inception
Netflix
This 2010 blockbuster thriller tells the story of a group of thieves who enter into people’s subconscious whilst they dream and steal their secrets. The group is led by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is offered a way out of his job and sends the group on one last assignment. Featuring other well-known names such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Tom Hardy, and Ellen Page, this is a very engrossing watch. The ideas presented are sometimes puzzling, but the highly original concept will impress and leave a lasting impression - even if you have to watch it a couple of times to wrap your head around the unraveling plot. Watch it on Amazon Prime.
Primer
If you're not looking for a blockbuster, try this low-budget indie hit about time travel. Made with only $7,000, this film was shot mostly in the director's parent's house, but it still amassed a huge cult following and won the Sundance Grand Jury prize. It follows two engineers who accidentally build a box that can take them back in time, which they do – over and over again. This one is for fans of scientifically complex dialogue and plots which fry your brain. Watch it with Amazon Prime.
Source Code
Source Code is a head scratcher in the best possible way. Jake Gyllenhaul plays Captain Colter Stevens, who repeatedly relives the last eight minutes of another man's life in an attempt to prevent a terrorist attack. Quite how this happens and the implications are all part of a mystery we won't spoil here, but this is top-class sci-fi with an exhilarating, edge-of-your-seat premise. It's directed by Duncan Jones, whose brilliant Moon is also in this list. It's essential viewing for any hardened sci-fi geek and it's currently available to stream through Amazon.
Interstellar
Christopher Nolan's epic takes place in a worryingly close dystopian future where crops are dwindling and humankind must look to distant planets for any chance of survival. Matthew McConaughey acts his space boots off as an astronaut tasked with tracking down a potential new home for the inhabitants of Earth. Backed up by some sound science, with a more than a little artistic flair, this is worth an afternoon in front of the TV. Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
Arrival
Denis Villeneuve is science-fiction’s new hope and Arrival was the film that earned him that tag. The Blade Runner 2049 director’s hit 2016 film stars Amy Adams as a linguist enlisted to translate communications from aliens who have arrived on earth in massive floating crafts.
A 94% Rotten Tomato rating says everything you need to know about this thinking person’s sci-fi, which makes its solitary Academy Award (for sound editing) all the more galling. Catch it on Amazon Prime Video now for first and repeat viewings: it’s worth both.
Citizen in the Temple
Citizen in the Temple is a pretty unknown short sci-fi / horror film available to watch with Amazon Prime Video. Directed and written by Jason Huls, it centres around one man on a desert wasteland planet, a scientist who is both working to preserve life and conspiring to bring down the big-brother like tyranny of The Consortium. Yet another dystopian view of the world which makes you shudder. Watch it on Amazon Prime Video.
The best sci-fi movies on Netflix
These are the best sci-fi flicks currently on Netflix. Also check out our best films on Netflix guide for more choices. And then there's our rundown of the best documentaries on Netflix and best Netflix series to choose from.
The Martian
After being separated from the rest of the crew on a mission to Mars, astronaut Mark Watney fights for his life on the hostile surface of the red planet, while his fellow astronauts and experts back on Earth try to find a way to rescue him. Based on Andy Weir's 2011 novel, this Ridley Scott adaptation was celebrated upon release for Matt Damon's performance and for being (mostly) scientifically accurate. The drama of this space castaway story is ironically well grounded, thanks to some comic moments and the inspirational message of being able to 'science' your way out of any bad situation. It makes Watney's fantastical journey feel genuinely meaningful, and the film a satisfying watch. Watch it on Netflix here.
Oblivion
Universal Pictures
Tom Cruise plays an engineer left behind on post-apocalypse Earth, maintaining the tech that powers the humans' colonies on Titan. But his curiosity for relics, and some confusing memories lead him to discover what really happened to humanity. The mystery that the plot rides on is not the most difficult to work out, but the visual style, combined with good performances from Cruise and his co-stars, even out the film into an entertaining piece of sci-fi drama.
Bright
This Netflix original is fantasy meets action packed turf wars. Set in an alternative LA, humans, orcs, elves and fairies have been coexisting since the beginning of time. Two police officers - one a human (specifically, Will Smith), and the other an orc, uncover a powerful relic that could really shake things up. Stream it now on Netflix.
Looper
Rian Johnson is directing the upcoming Star Wars film and his 2012 film Looper was what brought him mainstream recognition. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays a Looper, a hitman who kills people sent back in time from the future by criminal gangs who can't dispose of bodies in their time. Also starring Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt, it's a fun and smart sci-fi film with a few mind-bending plot points that stand up to repeat viewings. Watch it on Netflix
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Lucasfilm
Star Wars: The Last Jedi has nearly arrived. It's released in the UK on December 15 and ahead of this Netflix has added the last installment to its streaming service. The Force Awakens, released in 2015, is set 30-years after the defeat of the Galactic Empire and features Adam Driver as Kylo Ren. There's also the reappearance of Harrison Ford as Han Solo and Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker.
District 9
This sci-fi thriller will blow you away with its originality and stunning visuals, and is further evidence that you don't need a big budget to be a hit. District 9, director Neill Blomkamp's debut, racked up four Oscar nominations, including Best Picture, and has high ratings on IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes.
In the film, which is a clever metaphor for the horrors of the South African apartheid, Alien refugees land on Earth - only to be isolated from humans in a slum in Johannesburg, a place called District 9. After 30 years of exile and forced labour, a government worker is exposed to their biotechnology; and so the resistance begins. Watch it on Netflix
Advantageous
This 2015 indie sc-fi fantasy film is another Sundance prize winner. It presents an intimate dystopian vision of the near future and big-city life. It's not a special-effects fuelled film with massive explosions, it's much more focused on the characters and Gwen, a middle-aged woman who is fired from her job and, desperate for money, undergoes an experimental medical procedure. Expect undertones of gender roles. Watch it on Netflix.
Best on Sky Cinema and Now TV
All these films are available with a Sky Cinema pass on Now TV and on-demand for Sky subscribers with the Cinema pack.
Children of Men
Given the recent success of The Handmaid’s Tale, now’s a good time to revisit this classic dystopian sci-fi movie with a similar theme. After 18 years of global infertility, Children of Men sees a young, black immigrant with a miracle pregnancy caught between the opposing forces of an oppressive anti-immigrant UK government and a fanatical pro-immigrant group, both bent on claiming her child to advance their agendas.
Alfonso Cuarón directs masterfully, perfectly balancing social commentary and drama with incredible single-shot action sequences. It’s available to stream on Now TV and Sky Cinema until April 2019.
Gattaca
Written and directed by Andrew Niccol, who would go on to write the Trueman Show, Gattaca is set in a future where eugenics is not just accepted, but encouraged. A database files the genetically modified as “valids” and the naturally conceived as “in-valids”, the latter given no chance in anything outside blue collar work.
Ethan Hawke plays Vincent, an in-valid with designs of travelling to space and focuses on his relationship with his “valid” brother and his attempts to make it to the space by impersonating a wheel chair bound valid played by Jude Law. Gattaca is a thoughtful provocation on the implications of genetic selection, a commercial flop and a cult classic. You can watch it on Now TV and Sky Cinema.
Moon
Directed by David Bowie's son Duncan Jones, this low-key treat has a lot in common with 1972's Silent Running. Sam Rockwell stars as the solitary staff member on a lunar mining facility on the far side of the moon. With only his robot GERTY, voiced by Kevin Spacey, for company, he struggles with the solitude as his three-year stint draws to a close. Watch it on Now TV.
Cloverfield
One of the very few films that actually makes a success of the 'found footage' format, Cloverfield follows a group of young New Yorkers and their attempt to flee the city following a devastating attack from a gigantic monster. Produced by J.J. Abrams and available to watch on Now TV, it's a little cliched in places, but shots of the alien creatures are kept to a minimum, making it genuinely scary. Watch it on Now TV.
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Very cool post and ive seen almost everything you've recommended but there are a few ive taken from this list to make sure i check out. I also put together a list of space movies ive enjoyed - https://steemit.com/movie/@chekohler/7-space-travel-movies-you-should-see