Sci-fi movies have a cult following but are also very popular among a vast audience and make up for a large proportion of the best movies ever made. From alien invasions to Guardians of the Galaxy, the genre has plenty to offer. Here, the Express looks at the best sci-fi movies of all time as ranked by Rolling Stone.
Star Wars only comes in at number 9 on the ranking, while the rest of the list is filled with dystopian nightmares, space epics and femme fatale.
10. The Matrix
1999’s sci-fi epic, The Matrix is a psychological mind-bender that set the tone for the 2000s. It’s full of action sequences, political messaging and the premise follows Keanu Reevs as he plats anonymous hacker Thomas Anderson, who learns that he’s living in a high-functioning simulation that has been created by robots. It’s a classic hero story with a fantasy element mixed in for good measure.
9. Star Wars
George Lucas’ inaugural chapter of a story that would go on multiple journeys made a huge impact on pop culture. The story follows Luke Skywalker as he teams up with a Jedi Knight, a pilot and two droids to free Princess Leia from the shackles of Darth Vaderand save the galaxy from the violent Galactic Empire simultaneously. Star Wars in the perfect example of sci-fi being used successfully for mass entertainment.
8. Metropolis
This romantic sci-fi film from 1927 would go on to inspire many of its genre in the years to follow. From director Fritz Lang, we see a maximalist set design meets hundrerd of extras that help to tell the story of a relationship between a privileged young man and a working-class activist who are both being held back by a stratified technocratic society, in their own ways. The film is still said to inspire sci-fi movies today.
7. Children of Men
From the director of the third Harry Potter installment, this zci-fi epic is somewhat of a dystopian nightmare. Alfonso Cuarón’s direction combined with technical accomplishments such as the one-take shot by Emmanuel Lubezki make Children of Men one of the most celebrated pieces of speculated fiction from the 21st century. The grim tale is only growing in stature as time goes on.
6. Under the Skin
2016’s Under the Skin is a cryptic tale of extraterrestrial femme fatale. With direction from Jonathan Glaze and a career peaking performance from Scarlett Johansson, the fim chnnels that 1970s era of sci-fi. The story follows a seductive women who preys on lonley men but they are unaware of her true identity.
5. Alien
Ridley Scott’s Alien is an exploration of interstellar travel. It follows a crew as they experience an intruder in the form of a parasitic creature, with a plan to defeat them one by one. The sci-fi/horror was released in 1979 and stars Sigourney Weaver as one of the cre members fighting for survival.
4. Blade Runner
Another one from Ridley Scott, Blade Runner, which was released three years post Alien in 1982, went from cult film to modern classic. We see Harrison Ford play man named Deckard as he attempts to hunt down rogue “replicants” in the year 2019. It is set in a world where tech experts have all the power and it ends on a haunting note.
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
This was the first great sci-fi film for Steven Spielberg and it uses music as its universal language. Earthlings and aliens alike try to discover the five-note frequency that the two can both groove too but their struggles are prevalent. Spielberg was said to have interviewed “airline pilots, air traffic controllers and housewives” when writing the script for this film.
2. Stalker
Another from 1979, Hollywood’s prime sci-fi era, Stalker, from director Andrei Tarkovsky is essentially an anti-space opera that was loosely based on the novel Roadside Picnic. The film is set across rural stretches and decaying urban corners of Eastern Europe where the wonder of an alien landscape could exist. Stalker is very unique and holds a strong emotional narrative.
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick’s 1968 classic tells the story of a voyage undertaken by astronauts, scientists and the sentient supercomputer HAL 9000 to Jupiter as they attempt to investigate an alien monolith. It is sci-fi cinema at its best and allows the watcher to engage their mind, body and soul while watching it.