35 Best Sci-Fi Movies Streaming [September 2024]

The beauty of science fiction is its versatility. Sci-fi movies can take the form of exciting action adventures, bizarre comedies, and haunting horror shows. From deep space to the far future, sci-fi has the power to create new worlds and explore the moral dilemmas of developing technology. There's really no other genre that can wear so many hats so successfully, and today, there's a wealth of sci-fi films available at the touch of a button. Streaming platforms have beloved classics, overlooked sleeper hits, and unique genre experimentations all ready to go for sci-fi fanatics needing a fix. Here are the best sci-fi movies available to stream today.

Updated on August 28, 2024: Much like the aliens who occasionally visit Earth — be it to befriend small children or invade the world — sci-fi movies come and go from streaming services all the time. So be sure to check back here each month, as we'll let you know where you can the very best that science fiction has to offer.

When humanity discovers a mysterious black monolith on the moon that may be linked to the evolution of the species, they send out a deep space expedition to find the origin of the artifact. What gets discovered is beyond anyone's imagination. Based on the Arthur C. Clarke novel, "2001: A Space Odyssey" is a timeless sci-fi classic and one of the crowning achievements of director Stanley Kubrick's career. With its incredible practical effects, the film is a feast for the eyes that stands up to, and often exceeds, modern CGI. The story is a slow burn — spanning millions of years — but it's guaranteed to keep you thinking days after credits roll.

• Starring: Keir Dullea, Douglas Rain, Gary Lockwood
• Director: Stanley Kubrick
• Year: 1968
• Runtime: 145 minutes
• Rating: G
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Adam Reed is a pilot from the year 2050, a dystopian future where time travel is more or less commonplace. Adam's wife disappears in the past, and he attempts to travel to the year 2018 to find her but inadvertently ends up in the year 2022, in his own childhood backyard. Now Adam will need to rely on the help of his younger self to find his wife and save the future. "The Adam Project" is a funny, lighthearted adventure through time that just about anyone will have fun watching.

• Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Walker Scobell, Zoë Saldaña
• Director: Shawn Levy
• Year: 2022
• Runtime: 106 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%

When it comes to horror stories set in deep space, there's a real argument to be made that 1979's "Alien" still hasn't been topped. The crew members of the Nostromo are in cryosleep on a long journey back to Earth when they receive a distress signal from an alien ship. Once awake, the crew decides to investigate, leading to one of them winding up with a nasty little monster attached to his face. And when they bring him back on board with the parasite still attached, that's when their battle for survival really begins. "Alien" is one of the most iconic sci-fi films of all time, and with its incredible creature design and terrifying atmosphere, it's a must-watch for any fan of the genre.

• Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
• Director: Ridley Scott
• Year: 1979
• Runtime: 117 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Leave it to James Cameron to pull off the impossible. "Aliens" is one of those rare sequels that not only lives up to the original but also, in some opinions, surpasses it. After surviving her ordeal on the Nostromo, Ellen Ripley has been in cryo-sleep for 57 years. She's woken by members of the Weyland-Yutani Corporation, who inform Ripley that a human colony now exists near the alien-infested ship Ripley visited in the first movie. She agrees to go investigate the colony, intending to wipe out the creatures once and for all. "Aliens" isn't as terrifying as its predecessor, but it's every bit as good, leaning way harder into the action genre than horror this time.

• Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn
• Director: James Cameron
• Year: 1986
• Runtime: 137 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

We waited more than a decade for an "Avatar" sequel, and when James Cameron finally delivered, he didn't disappoint. "Avatar: The Way of Water" is a powerful return trip to Pandora. The movie catches up with Jake Sully and his family 16 years after the events of "Avatar." The Sullys got to enjoy a time of peace, but now the humans have returned, and they've brought along new threats and old enemies. To survive, the Sullys must make new friends — but no matter what they do, their story is really just beginning.

• Starring: Sam Worthington, Zoe Saldaña, Sigourney Weaver
• Director: James Cameron
• Year: 2022
• Runtime: 192 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 76%
  

It's hard to think of an '80s classic that's more iconic than Robert Zemeckis' "Back to the Future." The film follows Marty McFly, a typical teenager whose best friend is eccentric physicist Doc Brown. The doctor's latest invention is a time-traveling DeLorean that inadvertently takes Marty back to the 1950s. Marty's presence could change the timeline drastically enough that he'll never have existed in the first place unless he can enlist a younger Doc Brown's help in getting him home. This is a high point for a legendary director, and if you haven't already seen it a hundred times, put it at the top of your watch list today.

• Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson
• Director: Robert Zemeckis
• Year: 1985
• Runtime: 116 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

Some of the best sci-fi movies take a silly concept and run wild with it. For example, take "Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure." If Bill S. Preston and Theodore Logan can't pass history class, they'll be forced to go to different schools, and their rock band will never get off the ground. That's a big deal to the people of Earth circa 2688, who've been led into a global utopia thanks to the band's music and philosophy. They send an emissary with a time machine back to the late '80s to help Bill and Ted travel through history, so they can piece together their final class presentation with firsthand knowledge. The result is a wild trip through time, with Bill and Ted meeting up with historical luminaries like Socrates, Beethoven, and Billy the Kid. And if you only know Keanu Reeves from "John Wick" and "The Matrix," watching him goof it up as Ted is an absolute blast.

• Starring: Alex Winter, Keanu Reeves, George Carlin
• Director: Stephen Herek
• Year: 1989
• Runtime: 90 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%

"Donnie Darko" is mind-bending sci-fi at its best. The film's bizarre story and the looming sense of unease behind every scene might be why it bombed at the box office. Despite the flop, "Donnie Darko" has become a cult classic in the years since its release. The story centers on teenage outcast Donnie, who begins having visions of a demonic looking rabbit suit named Frank warning him about the coming end of the world. The film is perfect for anyone who likes their stories layered and open-ended.

• Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal
• Director: Richard Kelly
• Year: 2001
• Runtime: 113 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

David Lynch's "Dune" doesn't manage to accurately adapt its source material, and it's not nearly as entertaining as it might have been, but for any fan of the genre, it's 100% worth watching. "Dune" features some truly imaginative imagery, from its spaceships to its alien races to its exotic locales. The story is unwieldy and deeply goofy at times, but whether you're a major "Dune" fan interested in the franchise's history or simply looking to kick back and go for a wild ride through the universe, there's something for you to enjoy about this not-quite cult classic.

• Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Virginia Madsen, Patrick Stewart
• Director: David Lynch
• Year: 1984
• Runtime: 136 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 44%

It's rare that a sequel to a great movie comes along and blows the first one out of the water ... but that's what happened with "Dune: Part Two." The first Denis Villeneuve movie features brilliant performances, staggering visuals, and a killer score — it's just that the second Villeneuve movie raises the bar even higher.

The movie immediately lets you know that you're in for something special with the sight of Harkonnens gracefully flying through the desert sky. It only gets better from there, with Paul Atreides racing on a massive worm and Feyd-Rautha slaughtering opponents in a black-and-white amphitheater. The veteran cast featuring names like Javier Bardem and Rebecca Ferguson give all-time performances alongside incredible young stars like Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, and Austin Butler, who let us know why they're Hollywood's new A-listers. Villeneuve's direction is perhaps the best he's ever served up on screen, and the movie smartly plays with concepts like the "chosen one" and "white saviorism," resulting in a sci-fi movie that immediately enters the pantheon of classic films.

• Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Austin Butler
• Director: Denis Villeneuve
• Year: 2024
• Rating: PG-13
• Runtime: 166 minutes
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Cult-classic "Galaxy Quest" is one of the best sci-fi comedies ever made. The film follows a group of down-and-out actors who were once part of the biggest sci-fi series on television. The cast then gets abducted by real aliens who believe the actors are actually the heroes they once portrayed. The aliens desperately need help saving their home world, and the actors find themselves living out an episode of their old show. The astounding performances and pitch-perfect comedy in "Galaxy Quest" made it an instant classic, and fans have wondered for years why it never got a sequel.

• Starring: Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver, Alan Rickman
• Director: Dean Parisot
• Year: 1999
• Runtime: 102 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 90%

Writer/director Andrew Niccol burst onto the scene with 1997's "Gattaca," which received overwhelmingly positive reviews upon its debut. The story takes place in a version of the future where people are able to exercise incredible control over the genetic makeup of their children. "Valids" are people who have been perfected by eugenics, while "in-valids" are people who were conceived and born naturally. Vincent Freeman is an in-valid who poses as the valid Jerome Morrow, so he can join a space travel program. Maintaining his deception becomes even more difficult when Vincent falls in love with valid Irene Cassini, but he'll have to pull it off to pursue his dream.

• Starring: Ethan Hawke, Jude Law, Uma Thurman
• Director: Andrew Niccol
• Year: 1997
• Runtime: 106 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 82%

Almost 70 years after he first terrorized Tokyo, Godzilla returned in 2023 with one of his greatest films — "Godzilla Minus One." An instant classic that nabbed the fire-breathing dino an Oscar win for visual effects, "Minus One" largely takes place in the aftermath of World War II, in a Japan that's been ravaged physically, psychologically, and economically. Main character Kōichi Shikishima is haunted by guilt and PTSD from serving as a failed kamikaze pilot. And now that he's got a chance to start life over with a new family, Godzilla has emerged from the sea, hellbent on destroying everything in his path. Struggling with concepts like honor, cowardice, and community, Kōichi joins a band of fellow citizens to try and stop Godzilla before he unleashes any more atomic horror. Perhaps the first Godzilla movie to so expertly blend the monster action with a compelling human story, "Godzilla Minus One" is second only to the 1954 original when it comes to cinematic greatness. (Both the original and black-and-white versions of "Minus One" are available on Netflix.)

• Starring: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Hidetaka Yoshioka
• Director: Takashi Yamazaki
• Year: 2023
• Runtime: 126 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 98%

After battling Mechagodzilla in their last adventure, King Kong and Godzilla have gone their separate ways. The big lizard spends his time battling rogue Titans and sleeping in the Colosseum while the big ape roams through Hollow Earth, searching for his own kind. Unfortunately, he finds another massive monkey in the Skar King, a homicidal primate who's enslaved the rest of the apes and plans to unleash hell on the surface world.

Needless to say, Kong and Godzilla will have to join forces to defeat this new foe, and the movie features a ton of delightfully silly monster moments. Kong gets a cool, new metal glove, the titular kaiju wrestle among the Pyramids of Giza, and Skar King carries a massive whip made from a Titan's spinal cord. The movie dedicates a large chunk of time to wordless moments between the monsters, which is awesome, but on the human side of things, Dan Stevens steals the show as a laidback Titan veterinarian.

• Starring: Rebecca Hall, Dan Stevens, Brian Tyree Henry
• Director: Adam Wingard
• Year: 2024
• Runtime: 115 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 53%

James Gunn returns to close out the "Guardians of the Galaxy" trilogy with a final installment that's just as hilarious as fans have come to expect, but also more heartfelt than anything they've gotten before. The Guardians are in a rocky place after the events of "Avengers: Endgame," but their situation becomes dire when Rocket receives a near-fatal injury. Saving their friend means digging into Rocket's past and encountering some dark secrets, alongside the most dangerous enemy the Guardians have come up against.

• Starring: Chris Pratt, Zoe Saldaña, Bradley Cooper
• Director: James Gunn
• Year: 2023
• Runtime: 149 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 81%

Written and directed by Roland Emmerich, "Independence Day" is a disaster movie with a sci-fi spin. Aliens have come to Earth, and they aren't here on a diplomatic mission. After major landmarks all around the world are destroyed by extraterrestrial ships, humanity falls into disarray. Scientist David Levinson and fighter jet pilot Captain Steven Hiller, with a little help from the president of the United States, lead an assault on the alien mothership to take back the planet. According to Rotten Tomatoes, "Independence Day" is Emmerich's best reviewed film, and its campy action still holds up more than 25 years later.

• Starring: Will Smith, Jeff Goldblum, Bill Pullman
• Director: Roland Emmerich
• Year: 1996
• Runtime: 145 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 68%

Humans in the "Jurassic Park" franchise never seem to learn from their mistakes. Years after the original parks closed, Jurassic World has become the premiere, island-sized resort for dino enthusiasts. To attract more visitors, scientists working at the park have created a genetically modified dinosaur with incredibly dangerous predator traits. Naturally, it escapes, and dinosaur trainer Owen Grady has to help park manager Claire Dearing wrangle the hybrid and save the lives of the park's guests. A massive blockbuster hit, "Jurassic World" features all kinds of crazy images, from an aquatic monster devouring a shark to Chris Pratt fending off a whole bunch of raptors, all leading to a wild showdown between some of the baddest dinos in movie history.

• Starring: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Vincent D'Onofrio
• Director: Colin Trevorrow
• Year: 2015
• Runtime: 124 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 71%

Before Rian Johnson created the most divisive "Star Wars" movie of all time, he wrote and directed one of the best sci-fi films of the 2010s. "Looper" takes place in a world where time-travel technology is readily available to black market buyers with deep pockets. The mob now handles its executions by sending targets into the past to be killed where the evidence will never be discovered. Joe makes his living as mob hitman, but when his target turns out to be a future version of himself, his entire livelihood is upended. "Looper" executes its exciting premise masterfully and is a must-watch for sci-fi fans.

• Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt
• Director: Rian Johnson
• Year: 2012
• Runtime: 118 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

"Mad Max: Fury Road" is technically a legacy sequel, and it's one of the best we've ever seen. Set in the same desert-covered post-apocalyptic world as the original "Mad Max" trilogy, "Fury Road" catches up with Max as he encounters a strange new society led by the murderously evil tyrant Immortan Joe. The movie takes you on a two hour-long, high-octane chase filled with some of the most outrageous practical stunts you'll ever see. "Fury Road" is arguably the best "Mad Max" movie, and it's definitely one of the very best action movies of the 2010s.

• Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult
• Director: George Miller
• Year: 2015
• Runtime: 120 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 97%

For fans of post-apocalyptic action, "The Road Warrior" is about as close to a perfect movie as possible. Set in the Australian outback, the film follows anti-hero Max as he drives the open roads, doing his best to survive in a world plagued by wandering marauders and bloodthirsty raiders. After making his way to a small encampment of survivors, Max becomes the group's de facto defender when the hulking raider boss Lord Humungus tries to claim their resources as his own. The movie is filled to the brim with pulse-pounding stunts, wry humor, and memorable characters with even more memorable weaponry.

• Starring: Mel Gibson, Mike Preston, Kjell Nilsson
• Director: George Miller
• Year: 1981
• Runtime: 95 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

Kirsten Dunst won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her stunning performance in "Melancholia." The film is undeniably a glorious sci-fi success, but as the name implies, viewers shouldn't go into it expecting a fun, happy tale. The story focuses on sisters, Dunst's Justine and Charlotte Gainsbourg's Claire, each at very different places in their lives. Justine is recently married and struggling with depression, and Claire is in a marriage that has seen better days. Complicating both their stories is the surprising news that a planet is moving through space on a direct collision course with Earth.

• Starring: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgård
• Director: Lars von Trier
• Year: 2011
• Runtime: 135 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

"Possessor" is just the second feature film directed by Brandon Cronenberg, son of the famed body horror director David Cronenberg, and it's every bit as horrifying as one might expect. The story is set in a near future where technology has been developed that allows people to take control of others' bodies. One company uses this tech to hire out assassinations, but when their best employee begins having trouble connecting with her host, the result is a hyper-violent disaster. "Possessor" is high-caliber sci-fi horror that's not for the faint of heart.

• Starring: Andrea Riseborough, Christopher Abbott, Jennifer Jason Leigh
• Director: Brandon Cronenberg
• Year: 2020
• Runtime: 104 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94%

Arnold Schwarzenegger was already a sci-fi action star by the time "Predator" released in 1987. But here, instead of being an indestructible machine hellbent on killing, he's on the run from a relentless pursuer that's dead set on taking his skull as a trophy. Schwarzenegger stars as a mercenary named Dutch who's hired by the US government to rescue a group of politicians from Guatemala. When Dutch and his team arrive on the ground, they realize this is a mission like no other. Instead of simply fighting their way through armed baddies, they find themselves mercilessly hunted by an alien armed with dangerous abilities. Brutal and action-packed, "Predator" spawned an entire franchise, but no entry yet holds a candle to the original.

• Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Carl Weathers, Kevin Peter Hall
• Director: John McTiernan
• Year: 1987
• Runtime: 107 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 80%

"Predator" has been a sci-fi staple since it debuted in 1987, but over the years, various installments in the franchise have failed to recreate the impact of the first film. Whether "Prey" surpasses the original is debatable, but director Dan Trachtenberg and screenwriter Patrick Aison have absolutely reinvigorated the franchise. Powered by a stunning lead performance from Amber Midthunder, "Prey" tells the action-packed story of a Predator facing off against Comanche warriors on the Great Plains in the early 18th century. Seeing the Predator in a brand new environment is exciting, and watching an outmatched young hero take on the universe's greatest killer is exhilarating.

• Starring: Amber Midthunder, Dane DiLiegro, Dakota Beavers
• Director: Dan Trachtenberg
• Year: 2022
• Runtime: 100 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%

The '80s have a crowded field of great sci-fi action movies, but "RoboCop" stands out as one of the best. Set in a dystopian Detroit, the film follows beat cop Alex Murphy who gets transformed into a law enforcement cyborg after suffering a near-fatal injury on the job. "RoboCop" mixes a healthy serving of biting satire into its over-the-top violence to create an experience that will keep you laughing even while you're on the edge of your seat through the intense action set pieces.

• Starring: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Kurtwood Smith
• Director: Paul Verhoeven
• Year: 1987
• Runtime: 102 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

Sure, there are some corners of the internet that like to pick apart seeming plot holes or criticize the film's ending, but you should ignore those people. "Signs" is not only one of M. Night Shyamalan's best movies, it's one of the best alien invasion films of all time. Accompanied by James Newton Howard's terrifying, Hitchcock-esque score, "Signs" focuses on the Hess family, who wake up one morning to find crop circles in their corn field. As they slowly come to realize that extraterrestrials might be descending upon their farm, the Hess family must come to grips with their shared trauma and crisis of faith while fighting for their own survival. Whether or not the ending works for you, you can't deny that "Signs" features some of the scariest scenes (the closet moment and the kitchen sequence) in sci-fi history. Plus, while it's pretty terrifying, it's also Shyamalan's funniest movie, so there are plenty of laughs between the scares.

• Starring: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Abigail Breslin
• Director: M. Night Shyamalan
• Year: 2002
• Runtime: 117 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 75%

Many of the best sci-fi stories ever told use advanced technology to highlight humanity's enduring traits. "Source Code" puts special emphasis on empathy, as its characters use reality-bending tech to investigate a terrorist attack. Colter Stevens is trying to find the man who bombed a passenger train by having his consciousness transferred into one of the terrorist's victims. This way, Colter can experience the last eight minutes of the deceased's life. But he'll need to loop the experience over and over again to crack the case. "Source Code" is everything you want out of a speculative sci-fi adventure.

• Starring: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga
• Director: Duncan Jones
• Year: 2011
• Runtime: 93 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 92%

The sequel to the critically acclaimed "Into the Spider-Verse," "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" raises the bar even higher in terms of animated storytelling. In this sprawling superhero epic, Miles Morales finds himself journeying across the multiverse in an attempt to stop The Spot — a villain who can portal across time and space and who might be the biggest threat the universe has ever seen. Along the way, Miles will have to set his own path, defeat the destiny that's been mapped out for him, and find himself in a world where everyone's trying to tell him who he should be.

His storyline is bolstered by Gwen Stacy's, who gets her time to shine as a conflicted hero torn between family, duty, and love. With plenty of fun new Spider-People, tons of Easter eggs, a killer soundtrack, and multiple animation styles — ranging from water colors to LEGOs — "Across the Spider-Verse" is peak superhero cinema and one of the finest sci-fi movies that's ever swung across the screen.

• Starring: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Oscar Isaac
• Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Justin K. Thompson, Kemp Powers
• Year: 2023
• Runtime: 140 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes: 96%

J.J. Abrams kicked off a rebooted "Star Trek" timeline with this thrilling 2009 adventure. The story follows James T. Kirk through the early days of his career aboard the USS Enterprise. The ship crosses paths with a Romulan named Neo, a ferocious military leader determined to take his rage out on humans and Vulcans alike. Kirk needs to work with his crew and grow into a proper leader to have any hope of defeating Neo before he rains destruction down on everyone Kirk cares about, resulting in one of the best "Star Trek" movies ever made.

• Starring: Chris Pine, Zoe Saldaña, Zachary Quinto
• Director: J.J. Abrams
• Year: 2009
• Runtime: 127 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 94% 

The original "Star Trek" cast had a successful run of films after the show ended, and "The Wrath of Khan" is by far the best of the bunch. James T. Kirk, Captain Spock, and the rest of the Enterprise crew are brought into conflict with an old enemy, Khan Noonien Singh, when he captures two of their own. Both a fun "Star Trek" film and a melancholy examination of growing old, "Wrath of Khan" is bolstered by Ricardo Montalban's unhinged performance as the vengeful, Herman Melville-spouting supervillain. Couple with the classic chemistry between Kirk and Spock, and it's no wonder "Wrath of Khan" is the best "Star Trek" film to date.

• Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, Ricardo Montalban
• Director: Nicholas Meyer
• Year: 1982
• Runtime: 113 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 87%

Based on the novel by Robert A. Heinlein, "Starship Troopers" underperformed at the box office and divided viewers when it debuted in 1997. The story is set in the 23rd century and follows a group of young recruits working for the United Citizen Federation. They're sent into battle against a race of aliens called Arachnids and attempt to conquer the galaxy on behalf of humanity. The film's biting criticism of fascism was missed by plenty of first time viewers, but today, it's considered a cult classic and a razor-sharp satire that every sci-fi fan should check out.

• Starring: Casper Van Dien, Dina Meyer, Denise Richards
• Director: Paul Verhoeven
• Year: 1997
• Runtime: 129 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%

Some of the best sci-fi films take a scientific concept that's just on the verge of being realized and explore its moral implications. In "Swan Song," Mahershala Ali stars as Cameron Turner, a husband and father who's been diagnosed with a terminal illness. Cameron is offered the opportunity to have himself cloned and replaced so his family won't have to experience the devastation of his loss. Ali's performance takes the drama of the film's moral dilemma to an entirely new level.

• Starring: Mahershala Ali, Naomie Harris, Awkwafina
• Director: Benjamin Cleary
• Year: 2011
• Runtime: 111 minutes
• Rating: R
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 79%

Kevin Flynn owns a video game arcade after leaving behind his job as a software engineer for the somewhat sketchy tech company ENCOM. Kevin tries to hack into ENCOM's mainframe, but when he gets caught by the company's Master Control Program, he gets transported into a virtual world where programs have all the power. Back in 1982, "TRON" was a breathtaking visual experience, and though the effects don't quite hold up in the 21st century, the film still holds interest because of its compelling story and important place in the history of sci-fi cinema.

• Starring: Jeff Bridges, Bruce Boxleitner, Cindy Morgan
• Director: Steven Lisberger
• Year: 1982
• Runtime: 96 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 73%

"Unbreakable" was director M. Night Shyamalan's follow-up to 1999's "The Sixth Sense," where once again teamed with Bruce Willis — this time to tell the story of a superhero in the making. Willis plays David Dunn, a security guard who survives a brutal train crash without any injury. When he's discovered by the incredibly fragile comic book collector Elijah Price, Dunn starts to realize that he may indeed be a real-life superhero. "Unbreakable" is one of Shyamalan's best reviewed movies and shows why he, despite his frequent missteps, is a director worth watching.

• Starring: Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson, Robin Wright Penn
• Director: M. Night Shyamalan
• Year: 2000
• Runtime: 106 minutes
• Rating: PG-13
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 70%

Matthew Broderick stars in this Cold War era sci-fi classic about computer games, artificial intelligence, and thermonuclear warfare. Broderick's David Lightman is a high school student and amateur computer hacker who uses his skills to alter his grades and explore the early internet. When David accidentally makes contact with a U.S. military-developed artificial intelligence, his love for games might just cause World War III, and soon, it's up to David and his friends to find a way to save the world from a nuclear apocalypse.

• Starring: Matthew Broderick, Ally Sheedy, John Wood
• Director: John Badham
• Year: 1983
• Runtime: 114 minutes
• Rating: PG
• Rotten Tomatoes Score: 93%