The best sci-fi movies you must watch on Netflix

Looper is the movie that helped get Rian Johnson a Star Wars gig, leading to my favorite Star Wars movie, The Last Jedi.

But other than that, Looper is just fantastic sci-fi. It’s a bold take on time travel and just an incredibly stylish movie. Keep an eye on it.

Netflix

Spider-Head is the latest film from Top Gun: Maverick director Joseph Kasinski, which also stars Miles Teller, who stars in the same film.

Spiderhead isn’t quite on the same level as the excellent Top Gun: Maverick, but it’s still worth watching. Spiderhead is based on a dystopian novel published in The New Yorker, set in a modern-day prison where inmates are experimented with drugs.

Columbia Pictures

Men in Black is now on Netflix. You know this movie, everyone has seen it. That’s good. You have to watch it.

Warner Bros.

Blade Runner 2049 really has no right to be good. Sequel to perhaps the most beloved and critically acclaimed sci-fi film of all time. It’s amazing how Denis Villeneuve somehow manages to live up to that legacy while creating his own. Spectacular film.

Netflix

Filmed in Australia and starring Hilary Swank and Rose Byrne, I Am Mother tells a post-apocalyptic story about Daughter, a character raised by Mother, a robot tasked with helping to repopulate Earth. Very intense, very strange, very good.

Netflix

I recently watched The Colony. It’s amazingly good!

It follows a very familiar trope: rich people return to Earth years after leaving it, only to find it overrun by new, unknown threats. However, The Colony subverts some of these clichés and has some surprisingly important things to say about the ways in which we dehumanize each other. It is worth giving a chance.

Photo by Warner Bros

Look, I’ll be on the same level with you: I hate Inception. I think it’s a cold, pretentious movie for people who are trying really hard to pretend to be smart.

But most people like it, so I included it in the list. To each his own. Enjoy this movie!

Netflix

The Mitchells vs. the Machines is one of the smartest and most accessible children’s movies of the last few years. This is the kind of movie that kids and parents can watch together and both enjoy.

I should know my kids made me watch this… eight times? Sweet.

MGM

The fog is wonderful. A sci-fi horror film based on a Stephen King story that has some brilliantly executed horror elements. Just be aware, it has a tailpipe that will suck the oxygen out of your lungs. Don’t say you weren’t warned.

Tristar

I love this movie. This is great science fiction.

An often misunderstood parody of chauvinism, Starship Troopers has aged tremendously. On a surface level, it’s also a very fun and light watch. To linger.

Netflix

The Adam Project isn’t a perfect movie, but it is there is perfect for those looking for a light family movie watch. Ryan Reynolds does his Ryan Reynolds thing as a time-traveling pilot with his 12-year-old on a mission to save the future.

See, it’s a crowd pleaser!

Video screenshot by Amanda Kooser/CNET

Is it science fiction? I think it’s science fiction.

This is science fiction. End of discussion.

“Don’t Look Up” is far from a perfect film. It smacks of Hollywood fake activism and it’s too long and too on the nose. But it still seems important and also… pretty funny?

I think that despite its flaws, Don’t Look Up is a film that has had a positive impact on the world and is worth seeing.

Sony Pictures

Gattaca is a true science fiction film that grapples with real scientific ideas and their potential impact on humanity. At its core, this is a eugenics film, but it also asks big questions about predestination and how we can abandon determinism. Very cool, very interesting. Must watch.

Netflix

Apollo 11 1/2 is based on director Richard Linklater’s childhood. Set around the time of the Apollo moon landings, the animated story features Glenn Powell, Jack Black, Zachary Levy and Josh Wiggins and has a beautiful animated aesthetic.

This is a beautifully made film that you cannot miss.

New line

The blade is iconic. When it first came out in 1998, it was hardly met with good reviews, but this vampire superhero movie is almost a prototype for where we are now, with Marvel movies dominating the spotlight.

This one is smooth. It is worth considering.

Paramount Pictures

This War of the Worlds remake/reimagining is directed by Steven Spielberg and stars Tom Cruise. In my humble opinion, this is underrated! It has some really advanced, well-integrated CGI and is just insanely paced. I loved it.

Netflix

Platform is a Spanish sci-fi horror film with a terrifying high concept. Prisoners in the penitentiary are fed in a very peculiar way: the people on the top floor get a ridiculous amount of food, the people below get leftovers. Chaos ensues.

It’s not perfect, but it’s still worth a look.

Is there a more critically acclaimed sci-fi film than Blade Runner? If there is, I can’t think about it. Maybe the original Alien or The Thing?

Either way, none of them are currently on Netflix, so Blade Runner probably is in need to watch a sci-fi movie on the service.