Science fiction, known as “the literature of ideas,” typically centers around fantasy and futuristic concepts such as time travel, advanced technology, and space exploration. Through the years, the science-fiction genre has had a major influence on society as well as filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick, George Lucas, and Christopher Nolan. With iconic classics such as Invasion of the Body Snatchers and 2001: A Space Odyssey, it’s easy to see why science fiction continues to be one of the most popular genres today.
Like other film genres, some sci-fi films reign superior compared to others, but titles like Total Recall, Robocop and Arrival starring Amy Adams are worth seeing at least one run time through. According to the fans on Reddit, these are science-fiction movies everyone should see once in their lifetime.
10 ‘Blade Runner’ (1982)
Retired police officer, Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) is forced by his former boss to eliminate four Replicants who escaped from the colonies and returned to Earth. Before he begins his mission, he visits the company where the Replicants are created and when he meets Rachel (Sean Young) who is a Replicant, his job becomes more complex as he starts to fall in love with her.
Ridley Scott’s dystopian film, Blade Runner is an essential science-fiction movie based on Philip K. Dick’s 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Initially, the movie received mixed reviews from critics and audiences but through the years, it has become an iconic cult classic that ranks high among science-fiction fans.
9 ‘Primer’ (2004)
Innovative engineers, Aaron (Shane Carruth) and Abe (David Sullivan) create and sell error-detecting technology and when they build what they believe to be a time machine, they put their device to the test. As they obsess over their latest creation and the endless possibilities it could create for them, they begin to see the dark and hefty consequences of their actions.
Reddit user MonsieurRacinesBeast says the independent movie, Primer is one of the best sci-fi flicks and every movie fan should see especially if they enjoy puzzles. The concept of time travel always has the potential to make things more complicated and when it comes to Primer, some audiences may have to watch it a few times through to fully understand the plot.
8 ‘Total Recall’ (1990)
In 2084, construction worker, Douglas Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is bored with his everyday life and dreams about visiting the planet, Mars which has been colonized by humans. Since he’s unable to make the trip, he visits a company that implants false memories into the brain and hopes that he will experience the excitement of actually being on Mars but when something goes wrong during the procedure, Quaid realizes his entire life is made up of false memories.
Total Recall is a signature science-fiction film based on a short story by Phillip K. Dick, We Can Remember It for You Wholesale. Reddit user Demosthenes3 thinks, out of all the movies based on Dick’s stories, Total Recall is by far one of the best screen adaptations of the author’s work.
7 ‘A Scanner Darkly’ (2006)
Robert Arctor (Keanu Reeves) is a narcotics officer in Orange County, California who, while working undercover, has become addicted to drugs. As he works on winning over a local dealer, Donna (Winona Ryder), and tries to learn the name of her supplier, he’s ordered by his superiors to spy on his roommates who they suspect to be one of Donna’s biggest buyers.
A Scanner Darkly is a visual and mind-blowing trip of a movie noted for its use of interpolated rotoscope animation and performances by an all-star cast which also includes Robert Downey Jr. and Woody Harrelson. Adapted from Dick’s 1977 novel by the same name, A Scanner Darkly stands out from the author’s other novels with a plausible plot that resonates with audiences on a deeper level than Blade Runner and Total Recall.
6 ‘Robocop’ (1987)
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In a near-apocalyptic Detroit, a corrupt corporation wins a government contract to take over the city’s police department and utilize their latest cyborgs which are designed to replace human officers. The company decides to use the body of a murdered street cop, Alex Murphy (Peter Weller) to try out their untested Robocop prototype, but their plan goes off the rails when Robocop learns of their nefarious intentions and turns on his creators.
Robocop is considered to be one of the best science-fiction movies to ever be made as well as one of director, Paul Verhoeven’s cinema masterpieces. According to Redditor Nymaz, the film’s parody of the current times and corporate culture built around the framework of Murphy being just a cog in a machine is what makes Robocop such a timeless sci-fi film.
5 ‘Coherence’ (2013)
On the night of a comet’s passing, a couple, Mike (Nicholas Brendon) and Lee (Lorene Scafaria) have some of their friends over for a dinner party including Em (Emily Foxler) who is struggling to decide to accompany her boyfriend on an extensive business trip. Everyone appears to be enjoying themselves but when there’s a random power outage, Em and her friends must overcome a series of strange occurrences that somehow align with the comet’s passing.
Reddit user BuzzSkywalker says James Ward Byrkit’s directorial debut film, Coherence is their go-to recommendation because almost no one has ever seen it. Critics praised Coherence noting it as a prime example of less is more filmmaking and while it may not have a futurist backdrop or advanced technology, it’s still regarded as a must-see science-fiction flick.
4 ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ (2014)
When Earth is attacked by aliens, there are no military units or weaponry that’s strong enough to defeat the intergalactic enemies. Major William Cage (Tom Cruise) is sent on a suicide mission and when he’s killed in combat, he’s thrown into a time loop that causes him to relive the battle as well as his death over and over again. As Cage’s fighting skills continue to improve each time, he and his comrade, Rita (Emily Blunt) become closer to defeating the aliens.
Reddit user veryloudnoises agrees that everyone should see Edge of Tomorrow at least once, but they also think it’s a fairly re-watchable film as well. The modern sci-fi action film is directed by Doug Linman who is best known for The Bourne Identity starring Matt Damon and was praised as Linman’s best work since the 2002 film commenting on the excellent performances and fresh concept of a time loop.
3 ‘Timecop’ (1994)
At a time when humans have perfected time traveling, the government has established the Time Enforcement Commission to stop criminals from altering the timeline. Police officer, Max Walker (Jean-Claude Van Damme) is recruited by the commission and assigned to investigate a prominent Senator but when Walker realizes the government is meddling with the investigation, he must travel across time in order to save the future of the world.
The action-packed science-fiction film, Timecop, is similar to the 2012 movie, Looper starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon Levitt, except it’s set on a much larger scale. Timecop initially earned mixed reviews but despite the critics, the movie grossed over 100 million dollars worldwide making it Van-Damme’s highest-grossing film. Today, Timecop has since earned a cult following and is considered to be one of Van-Damme’s greatest movies.
2 ‘Gattaca’ (1997)
Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke) dreams of traveling through outer space but his status as an inferior “in-valid” prevents him from pursuing his dream. In an attempt to change his fate, he purchases the genes of a lab-created “valid,” Jerome (Jude Law) and assumes his identity. He joins the Gattaca space program where he meets and falls in love with a woman, Irene (Uma Thurman) but his plan is jeopardized when the program launches an investigation into the death of a Gattaca officer.
Gattaca is a thought-provoking sci-fi film that explores the potential consequences of reproductive technologies specifically eugenics, which is the belief and practice of improving a human’s genetic makeup. Even though Gattaca wasn’t a major box office success, it did earn an Academy Award nomination for Best Art Direction and is credited for creating a dialogue around nature and the ethics of science.
1 ‘Arrival’ (2016)
When several large spaceships land in different locations on Earth, linguistics professor, Louise Banks (Amy Adams) leads a team of elite scientists and investigators to try and make contact with the extraterrestrial visitors. As nations toe the line of a possible global war, Banks races to find a way to unravel the mystery, but it involves a risk that could threaten her life as well as the future of the human race.
The science-fiction drama, Arrival, is based on the 1998 short story, Story of Your Life by Ted Chiang and earned eight Academy Award nominations including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Even years later, the unsuspecting ending still amazes Redditor WaffleQueen10 who describes the movie as simply incredible.
