The 25 Best Sci Fi Movies of All Time

Before he can get home, he has to deflect his mother’s romantic advances, ensure his parents fall in love, and do something about that bully Biff. In the back half of the ’80s, director Paul Verhoeven not only uncorked an action classic, complete with over the top gore and an unforgettable score, but also a wry sci-fi satire of corperate grime and greed. RoboCop also features one of the best ’80s villains, and non-Joker Jokers, in Kurtwood Smith’s Clarence Boddicker.

Juggling multiple classic fantasy themes (not taking what you have for granted, being responsible for your decisions, etc.), “Labyrinth” is built on the bones of many a hero’s journey. It’s the kind of film you feel nostalgic for even if you’re watching it for the first time. While most moviegoers and reviewers take a “you know it when you see it approach,” fantasy is a tricky genre to define. While sci-fi and fantasy are speculative fiction and share similarities, sometimes you really just want a great fantasy film.

‘Independence Day’ (

It’s set in a dystopian Neo-Tokyo, several decades after a massive event destroyed the old city, with gangs, terrorists, and religious fanatics vying for control of a corrupt and decaying society. When Tetsuo, a member of a biker gang, comes into contact with an escaped child from a government lab, he begins to develop incredible psychic powers, which he abuses and struggles to control. His best friend, Kaneda, seeks to rescue him but quickly realizes that more drastic action is necessary, as fantasy films they’re both engulfed in events beyond their comprehension.

• It’s plenty of fun, with a lighthearted tone and wonderful humor—The Cat Kingdom in particular is a delight.
• He upgrades an operating system, which leads to the introduction of a virtual assistant with AI capabilities who calls herself Samantha (Scarlett Johansson).
• It functions as a surprisingly good (and wonderfully cheesy) musical, a comedy that feels like a throwback to teen movies of the 1950s and ‘60s, and a sci-fi movie about aliens coming to Earth and trying/failing to fit into life on the planet.
• As a stylish and savage slow-burn thriller, Ex Machina is the perfect example of the genre taking a huge leap forward with a small-scale film.
• The Seventh Seal won the Special Jury Prize at the 1957 Cannes Film Festival and has become a classic.

Right on the cusp of the Franco dictatorship, a roadshow presenting James Whale’s 1931 masterpiece “Frankenstein” rolls into an austere Castillian village. When two young sisters see the film for the first time, the eldest, Isabelle, informs her sister, Ana, that the monster is real and that she’s seen him before in an abandoned barn. Disturbed but curious, Ana believes her sister and becomes obsessed with catching a glimpse of the creature. While the barn is usually abandoned, one day Ana finds a solemn figure — a Loyalist fugitive. As Ana’s active imagination and her grim reality begin to blend, she forms an unlikely bond with the “monster” in the barn.

#32. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (

Space isn’t all about glamorously cavorting across the galaxy, swashbuckling your way around undiscovered planets and canoodling with saucy green-skinned, many-breasted alien females. And so it is in Ridley Scott’s gruesome horror epic, which pits a team of disgruntled space jockeys against a single, drooling, utterly vicious and single-minded critter. ‘I have recently seen the silliest film,’ wrote HG Wells in the New York Times in 1927. He wasn’t alone – critics hated Fritz Lang’s ambitious epic when it was first released. In a densely packed and towering city of the future, Freder, the son of a wealthy industrialist, falls in love with a girl from the hellish underground slum where workers toil to fuel the lives of those above.

Determined to reunite with his beloved pet Spots, a young boy, voiced by Koyu Rankin, heads into dangerous territory. Romance blossoms between a janitor, played by Sally Hawkins, and sea creature in this genre-twisting Academy Award best picture winner. Set at the height of the Cold War, it blends classic horror tropes with endearing drama and a spylike sensibility. The lush visual palette also calls upon the work of European directors such as Jean-Pierre Jeunet.

“A Little Princess” (Alfonso Cuarón,

Its unflinching depiction of grief and the healing effect that stories can have is unmatched, and will likely capture fans’ hearts for years to come. One of the best Disney classics of the ’50s, Peter Pan is a loving adaptation of Scottish writer J.M. It’s the magical story of a girl and her brothers who are whisked away to the magical world of Neverland by its hero, Peter Pan, a dashing young boy who can never grow up. Though the story has been adapted for the screen on numerous occasions, this remains one of the best.