For those who are fans of sci-fi films, we have put together a list of the best sci-fi movies of all time to help you find what to watch tonight.
There are aliens, astronauts, time travel, everything one can imagine. Sci-fi movies have been one of the most popular genres over the years, attracting millions of audiences. These movies can take us to a world beyond our imagination and they offer mind-bending visuals, packed with lots of mind-blowing ideas. This genre has many multitudes, fast, funny, colorful space adventures and dark tragedies happening at any time. Here are the best sci-fi movies of all time.
Best Sci-fi Movies of All Time
Sci-fi movies are about many different topics, outer space, inner space, new worlds, artificial intelligence, and tech frontiers. Without further ado, let’s get to the list of the best science-fiction movies of all time.
12. Interstellar 2014
- Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Jessica Chastain, Timothee Chalamet, Anne Hathaway, Mackenzie Foy, Michael Caine, Matt Damon
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 72%, IMDb 8.6
Interstellar is a space epic that Christopher Nolan directed. In addition, the imagery is breathtaking to look at. The scientific theories are brought to life in the movie. Matthew McConaughey is the leading character of the film, and he is an astronaut. He is sent into space to find a new planet that can be suitable for sustaining human life. Jessica Chastain plays her daughter’s role as an adult. She is able to accomplish a lot, despite the fact that her father left them when she was a child to go on a mission through a wormhole in space. Her character is Murphy Cooper, who works for the NASA project, but she is dealing with unspeakable grief of his father’s departure. This sci-fi film has earned a lot of critical acclaim and became one of the best sci-fi movies of all time.
Read more: Best Timothee Chalamet Movies of All Time
11. Dune 2021
- Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
- Director: Denis Villeneuve
- Stars: Timothee Chalamet, Zendaya, Oscar Isaac, Jason Momoa, Rebecca Ferguson, Javier Bardem
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 83%, IMDb 8
One of the best sci-fi movies of all time and the most recent one Timothee Chalamet starred in as the lead actor is the movie Dune. Aside from the eye-catching cinematography, this movie has been named the best sci-fi film in years. One of the reasons behind it is how intense and layered Chalamet’s performance was. In the movie, which is based on Frank Herbert’s fiction novel, he plays the role of Paul Atreides, who is the heir to a powerful house in space that becomes the victim of a series of unfortunate political challenges and betrayal. Paul is a gifted and brilliant man, whose destiny is beyond his understanding.
He then realizes that he has to travel to one of the most dangerous planets for his people and family. It is a masterpiece visually with amazing shots of the landscapes and breathtaking visual effects. Don’t miss this as it is one of the best must see Timothee Chalamet performances.
10. Inception 2010
- Genre: Thriller/Action/Sci-fi
- Director: Christopher Nolan
- Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Elliot Page
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 87%, IMDb 8.8
The star of Christopher Nolan’s movies is indeed Nolan himself. With an actor like DiCaprio who has a specialty in intricate character work, it is a challenge to perform that in a high-concept sci-fi epic. DiCaprio, however, is able to do his magic as Dom Cobb, who is a thief able to steal secrets by going through their subconscious thoughts. He is then given a chance to redeem himself by accepting the job of implanting an idea into someone’s mind. It is not the deepest performance of DiCaprio but it is still one of the best sci-fi movies of all time.
Read more: Best Thriller Movies of All Time
9. The Matrix 1999
- Genre: Sci-fi/Action
- Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
- Stars: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne, Hugo Weaving
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 88%, IMDb 8.7
Another one of the very popular and best sci-fi movies of all time is The Matrix, which was a game-changing movie. When the movie came out, many people started to talk about it. It earned a lot of money and there came a franchise after it, the Matrix Reloaded, The Matrix Revolution, and The Matrix Resurrections. Keanu Reeves took the chance to play in an action movie just like in John Wick. Reeves made the movie iconic and made it one of the best sci-fi films of all time. Reeves will most likely be remembered by this movie among some other remarkable films. He performed as hacker named Neo, who finds out the truth about artificially intelligent robots taking over humanity.
Read more: Best Keanu Reeves Movies of All Time
8. Minority Report 2002
- Genre: Sci-fi/Action
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Stars: Tom Cruise, Samantha Morton, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 90%, IMDb 7.6
Another one of the most impressive and best sci-fi movies of all time is Minority Report. The tagline this film had was “Everybody runs”. However, no one is able to run like Cruise. Critics also go on to praise why the actor in motion is very satisfying to watch for the audience. They think that the way his arms move, the sense of panic in his eyes, and his body’s physical structure are the reasons behind this perspective. The talented actor plays the role of John Anderton, who is a pre-crime detective. He figures out the technology behind it all before his names come up as the next criminal. Trying hard to prove his innocence, which would be in contrast with the ethics of the system he dedicated his whole life to up to that moment.
Read more: Best Tom Cruise Movies of All Time
7. Edge of Tomorrow 2014
- Genre: Action/Sci-fi
- Director: Doug Liman
- Stars: Tom Cruise, Emily Blunt, Bill Paxton, Tony Way
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 91%, IMDb 7.9
Some of the best reviews in over a decade came after Cruise played in a sci-fi action movie named Edge of Tomorrow that filmmaker Doug Liman directed. The film is set in the future when aliens had invaded the Earth. Cruise (Bill Cage) is a PR guy sent into battle. He is killed not soon after the start of the film but it appears as if Cage is in a time loop, where he goes back to the day before his death and is tortured by Sgt. Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), through whom he is taught new things. He then will go to the battle again and gets killed. After that, he comes back and learns another new thing. The movie’s tag line says “Live, Die, Repeat”, which is a very smart premise, masterfully performed by Cruise and Blunt.
Read more: Best Emily Blunt Movies of All Time
6. The Martian 2015
- Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Star: Matt Damon, Mackenzie Davis, Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Naomi Scott, Donald Glover
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 91%, IMDb 8
The Martian is another one of the best sci-fi movies of all time. Matt Damon plays the role of astronaut Mark Watney in this distant future. Watney and his team are on Mars in order to do an expedition. Following the dust storm, the crew had to evacuate. Next, Watney is left behind due to the situation under the crew’s control. With nothing to be done, Watney is presumed dead. However, he actually survived and is alive. Therefore, he has to depend on his knowledge to keep going on Mars. It all happens as a group of extraordinary scientists work together to find a mission to bring him back before he runs out of time.
Although the blue-eyed actor has had many starring roles, in the movie The Martian, he gets a lot of screen time, which is not a surprise as he is alone on Mars. Moreover, his performance was charismatic as always.
Read more: Best Matt Damon Movies of All Time
5. Jurassic Park 1993
- Genre: Sci-fi/Adventure
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- Stars: Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum, Sam Neill, Ariana Richards, Richard Attenborough
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 91%, IMDb 8.2
The fifth one of the best sci-fi movies of all time is Jurassic Park. This massive Steven Spielberg blockbuster follows the story of paleontologists Alan Grant, Ellie Sattler and Mathematician Ian Malcolm, portrayed by Sam Neill, Laura Dern, and Jeff Goldblum, respectively. They tour the island theme park that has dinosaurs made from prehistoric DNA. John Hammond, the mastermind of the park, makes sure that the whole thing is safe. However, they find out that it is anything buy safe as the predators break free and start to hunt. Don’t miss this wonderful sci-fi film
Read more: Best Sci-fi Movies of 2022
4. Ex Machina 2014
- Genre: Sci-fi/Thriller
- Director: Alex Garland
- Stars: Alicia Vikander, Oscar Isaac, Domhnall Gleeson, Sonoya Mizuno, Claire Selby
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 92%, IMDb 7.7
Another one of the best sci-fi movies of all time is Ex-Machina, which revolves around a programmer named Caleb Smith, played by Domhnall Gleeson, working at a big internet company. He wins a contest that allows him to be with a private estate of Nathan Bateman for a week. When he gets there, he understands that he is actually picked to be the human component in an experiment to check the abilities of Ava, who is a gorgeous robot. However, it turns out that Ava is a lot more self-aware and deceptive than one might imagine. Don’t miss this as it is one of the best sci-fi films ever.
3. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004
- Genre: Romance/Sci-fi
- Director: Michel Gondry
- Stars: Kate Winslet, Jim Carrey, Kirsten Dunst, Elijah Wood, Mark Ruffalo
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 92%, IMDb 8.3
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind has a very heart-wrenching story revolving around a couple’s fallout, facing dire consequences for their choices. Kate Winslet plays the role of Clementine, who is a beautiful woman, but she gets her memories erased following a tragic breakup. Then, she finds out that Joel, featured by Jim Carrey, her partner, also does that. It is only then that he realizes his love for her. However, it is too late to go back now. Winslet’s portrayal of the character was spectacular, with the movie also receiving a lot of critical acclaims. Many argue that this is actually the best sci-fi movies ever.
2. Arrival 2016
- Genre: Sci-fi/Thriller
- Director: Denis Villeneuve
- Stars: Jeremy Renner, Forest Whitaker, Michael Stuhlbarg, Tzi Ma, Amy Adams
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 95%, IMDb 7.9
Another one of the best sci-fi movies of all time where Jeremy Renner has a reading role is Arrival. The movie received eight Oscar nominations in major categories such as Best Picture, Best Director, Best Cinematography, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Renner starred alongside Amy Adams, and the two performed astonishingly well. They also share great chemistry from the start to the end. He portrayed Ian Donnelly, who is a physicist on a mission to study a spacecraft that was found on Earth. He is in awe of the alien lifeforms and gives a convincing performance. We highly recommend his wonderful film.
Read more: Best Jeremy Renner Movies of All Time
1. Alien 1979
- Genre: Horror/Sci-fi
- Director: Ridley Scott
- Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, John Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton
- Rating: Rotten Tomatoes 98%, IMDb 8.5
The top one on the list of the best sci-fi movies of all time is Alien, which came out in 1979. The crew of the commercial starship Nostromo get awake from their cryo-sleep capsules when they are on their way to their destination. They wake up in order to investigate a distress call that came through an alien vessel. The horror starts when they come across a nest of eggs in the alien ship. One organism comes out of the egg leaps and attaches to one of the members of the crew. Following that, he falls into a coma. Don’t miss this great sci-fi movie.