With their captivating narratives, stunning visual effects, and mind-bending concepts, these movies will transport you to unimaginable realms.
From thrilling adventures to thought-provoking storytelling, these sci-fi masterpieces have secured their place at the top of the genre. Brace yourself for unforgettable sci-di movies.
ALITA: BATTLE ANGEL
Year: 2019
Run time: 2h 2m
Director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast: Rosa Salazar, Christoph Waltz, Jennifer Connelly
The movie follows a cyborg named Alita (Rosa Salazar) who wakes up in a new body with no memory of her past. She sets out to uncover her past and find out who she is while navigating through the dangerous streets of Iron City. The movie was directed by Robert Rodriguez and produced by James Cameron. It received mixed reviews from critics but was praised for its visual effects and action sequences
BLADE RUNNER 2049
Year: 2017
Run time: 2h 44m
Director: Denis Villeneuve
Cast: Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, Ana de Armas
Blade Runner 2049 is a sequel to Ridley Scott’s “future noir” film and is considered one of the best sci-fi films of the 2010s. The story follows KD6-3.7 (Ryan Gosling), a next-generation replicant working as an LAPD officer tasked with “retiring” other replicants who attempt to elude the control of their human creators.
When Officer K inadvertently unearths a secret that threatens to tip what remains of civilization into chaos, he’s tasked with solving a mystery whose answers lie in the whereabouts of one of his predecessors: former LAPD blade runner Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford).
The film challenges its audience to question what it means to be human at all, and whether there’s any hope for humanity to build a better future for both itself and its artificial descendants
RIDDICK: PITCH BLACK
Year: 2000
Run time: 1h 49m
Director: David Twohy
Cast: Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser
A sci-fi horror adventure directed by David Twohy and starring Vin Diesel as Richard B. Riddick, a dangerous criminal being transported to prison.
When the transport ship crashes, Riddick and his fellow survivors must team up to survive the planet’s hostile environment and escape. The movie is part of a passion-project sci-fi trilogy that the author of the article recommends watching.
EX MACHINA
Year: 2014
Run time: 1h 48m
Director: Alex Garland
Cast: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander
The movie follows Caleb Smith, a programmer working for the world’s largest internet search engine who wins the opportunity to spend the week with his boss, Nathan Bateman, a reclusive tech mogul genius. Upon learning that Nathan is working on creating an artificially intelligent android, Caleb agrees to become the human component of a Turing test to discern whether or not Nathan’s creation Ava is truly sentient. Things quickly spiral from there, as Caleb finds himself torn by his brewing feelings for Ava and his growing distrust of Nathan’s erratic behavior. The movie is known for its sleek visuals and a memorable plot that rewards upon rewatching again and again
STARSHIP TROOPERS
It is a 1997 satirical military science fiction film directed by Paul Verhoeven. The movie is based on Robert A. Heinlein’s 1959 novel of the same name. The movie follows a group of high school classmates raised in a fascistic military government who are thrust to the front lines in an existential war against a race of highly evolved arachnid creatures. The movie plays out like an in-universe recruitment film set in a world where democracy is dead and “service guarantees citizenship.” It’s a subversively ingenious movie more than worthy of reappraisal and one of the best (and most eerily prescient) sci-fi films of its era
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