The Best Science Fiction Films of the New Millennium
Whether your hero is shooting pistols at drug lords or shooting lasers at aliens, it's an action movie. It doesn't matter if the psycho or the mutant wants to kill humans, it's a horror movie. If the hero on the movie poster is running in a suit with a gun because he needs to catch a spy or because he needs to invade a dream, it's a thriller.
This is pure science fiction.
Good science fiction starts with a theoretically possible premise; what if we encountered blank, what if we had the technology to do blank, what if the laws of physics as we knew them were suspended in bizarre blank place, etc. It then tries to show what humans would realistically do in that situation/with that technology/in that place.
If all goes well, we'll see some insights into the human condition and maybe even some social commentary. If not, maybe we'll at least briefly ponder what we would do in that situation/with that technology/in that place.
If a movie is less than a year old, it's possible I just haven't seen it yet.
This is pure science fiction.
Good science fiction starts with a theoretically possible premise; what if we encountered blank, what if we had the technology to do blank, what if the laws of physics as we knew them were suspended in bizarre blank place, etc. It then tries to show what humans would realistically do in that situation/with that technology/in that place.
If all goes well, we'll see some insights into the human condition and maybe even some social commentary. If not, maybe we'll at least briefly ponder what we would do in that situation/with that technology/in that place.
If a movie is less than a year old, it's possible I just haven't seen it yet.
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- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsSam RockwellKevin SpaceyDominique McElligottAstronaut Sam Bell has a quintessentially personal encounter toward the end of his three-year stint on the Moon, where he, working alongside his computer, GERTY, sends back to Earth parcels of a resource that has helped diminish our planet's power problems.%89 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorRichard SchenkmanStarsDavid Lee SmithTony ToddJohn BillingsleyAn impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he has a longer and stranger past than they can imagine.While not enough critics have reviewed this on Rotten Tomatoes for the site to generate a percentage, all four who did gave it high marks.
- DirectorDenis VilleneuveStarsAmy AdamsJeremy RennerForest WhitakerA linguist works with the military to communicate with alien lifeforms after twelve mysterious spacecraft appear around the world.%94 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsJulianne MooreClive OwenChiwetel EjioforIn 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have somehow become infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.%92 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorAlex GarlandStarsAlicia VikanderDomhnall GleesonOscar IsaacA young programmer is selected to participate in a ground-breaking experiment in synthetic intelligence by evaluating the human qualities of a highly advanced humanoid A.I.%93 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorSpike JonzeStarsJoaquin PhoenixAmy AdamsScarlett JohanssonIn a near future, a lonely writer develops an unlikely relationship with an operating system designed to meet his every need.%95 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsKirsten DunstCharlotte GainsbourgKiefer SutherlandTwo sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.%79 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorNacho VigalondoStarsKarra ElejaldeCandela FernándezBárbara GoenagaA man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.%88 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorMichael AlmereydaStarsGeena DavisHannah GrossJon HammA service that provides holographic recreations of deceased loved ones allows a woman to come face-to-face with the younger version of her late husband.It's based on a play, if that helps.
%89 on Rotten Tomatoes. - DirectorJames Ward ByrkitStarsEmily BaldoniMaury SterlingNicholas BrendonStrange things begin to happen when a group of friends gather for a dinner party on an evening when a comet is passing overhead.%88 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorBrandon CronenbergStarsAndrea RiseboroughChristopher AbbottJennifer Jason LeighAn agent works for a secretive organization that uses brain-implant technology to inhabit other people's bodies - ultimately driving them to commit assassinations for high-paying clients.%93 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorZach LipovskyAdam B. SteinStarsEmile HirschBruce DernGrace ParkA bold girl discovers a bizarre, threatening, and mysterious new world beyond her front door after she escapes her father's protective and paranoid control.%88 on Rotten Tomatoes
Don't watch any previews or read any more than a single sentence about the movie. I went in blind and for the first half hour I genuinely had no idea what the movie was going to be about. Is the dad just crazy and the outside world is normal? Is it post-apocalyptic and full of monsters? Are the Father and daughter Vampires that can't go in the light? Information is parceled out in little bits and you have to put together what is really happening. I love that. - DirectorMike CahillStarsBrit MarlingWilliam MapotherMatthew-Lee ErlbachOn the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.%66 on Rotten Tomatoes. I don't care.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsJim CarreyKate WinsletTom WilkinsonWhen their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.%93 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorMichael SpierigPeter SpierigStarsEthan HawkeSarah SnookNoah TaylorAs his last assignment, a temporal agent is tasked to travel back in time and prevent a bomb attack in New York in 1975. The hunt, however, turns out to be beyond the bounds of possibility.Unsurprising surprises aside, it's a good one.
%84 on Rotten Tomatoes - DirectorShane CarruthStarsShane CarruthDavid SullivanCasey GoodenFour friends/fledgling entrepreneurs, knowing that there's something bigger and more innovative than the different error-checking devices they've built, wrestle over their new invention.%72 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorShane CarruthStarsAmy SeimetzFrank MosleyShane CarruthA man and woman are drawn together, entangled in the life cycle of an ageless organism. Identity becomes an illusion as they struggle to assemble the loose fragments of wrecked lives.Artsy and obtuse, not for everyone.
%85 on Rotten Tomatoes - DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsScarlett JohanssonJeremy McWilliamsLynsey Taylor MackayA mysterious young woman seduces lonely men in the evening hours in Scotland. However, events lead her to begin a process of self-discovery.%85 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorJake SchreierStarsPeter SarsgaardFrank LangellaSusan SarandonIn the near future, an ex-jewel thief receives a gift from his son: a robot butler programmed to look after him. But soon the two companions try their luck as a heist team.%86 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorBradley KingStarsDanielle PanabakerMatt O'LearyGeorge FinnThree friends discover a mysterious machine that takes pictures twenty-four hours into the future, and conspire to use it for personal gain, until disturbing and dangerous images begin to develop.%73 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsMatt DamonJessica ChastainKristen WiigAn astronaut becomes stranded on Mars after his team assume him dead, and must rely on his ingenuity to find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive and can survive until a potential rescue.%91 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorAlex GarlandStarsNatalie PortmanJennifer Jason LeighTessa ThompsonA biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply.Sigh.
It's sad, but I think I would have loved this movie if I had never read the book on which it is so loosely based. As it was, I was asking 'what' and 'why' instead of appreciating what I knew was a great movie.
From Alex Garland, a man who had already written several great sci-fi movies.
%87 on Rotten Tomatoes. - DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.%71 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCillian MurphyRose ByrneChris EvansA team of international astronauts is sent on a dangerous mission to reignite the dying Sun with a nuclear fission bomb in 2057.%76 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorSebastián CorderoStarsSharlto CopleyMichael NyqvistChristian CamargoAn international crew of astronauts undertakes a privately funded mission to search for life on Jupiter's fourth largest moon.It does veer into Sci-fi/Horror toward the end, but I'm counting it.
%80 on Rotten Tomatoes - DirectorAri FolmanStarsRobin WrightHarvey KeitelJon HammAn aging, out-of-work actress accepts one last job, though the consequences of her decision affect her in ways she didn't consider.%74 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorPella KagermanHugo LiljaStarsEmelie GarbersBianca CruzeiroArvin KananianA spaceship carrying settlers to Mars is knocked off course, causing the consumption-obsessed passengers to consider their place in the universe.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHaley Joel OsmentJude LawFrances O'ConnorA highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.%73 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorVincenzo NataliStarsAdrien BrodySarah PolleyDelphine ChanéacGenetic engineers Clive Nicoli and Elsa Kast hope to achieve fame by successfully splicing together the DNA of different animals to create new hybrid animals for medical use.Despite the advertisements, this is not a horror movie. This bait and switch is probably why this movie has such a low rating on this site.
It has a %74 rating on Rotten Tomatoes. - DirectorChristopher CaldwellZeek EarlStarsSophie ThatcherJay DuplassPedro PascalA teenage girl and her father travel to a remote alien moon, aiming to strike it rich. They've secured a contract to harvest a large deposit of the elusive gems hidden in the depths of the moon's toxic forest. But there are others roving the wilderness and the job quickly devolves into a fight to survive. Forced to contend not only with the forest's other ruthless inhabitants, but with her own father's greed-addled judgment, the girl finds she must carve her own path to escape.%89 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorAndrew StantonStarsBen BurttElissa KnightJeff GarlinIn the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.%96 on Rotten Tomatoes
- DirectorChristian VolckmanStarsDaniel CraigCatherine McCormackJonathan PryceA young gene researcher, Ilona, is kidnapped in a future Paris. Police Captain Karas and his team are in charge of finding her.
- DirectorDennis IliadisStarsRhys WakefieldLogan MillerAshley HinshawThree college friends hit the biggest party of the year, where a mysterious phenomenon disrupts the night, quickly descending into a chaos that challenges their friendships - and whether they can stay alive.Coherence meets Can't Hardly Wait
%75 on Rotten Tomatoes - DirectorZal BatmanglijStarsChristopher DenhamNicole ViciusBrit MarlingTwo documentary filmmakers attempt to penetrate a cult who worships a woman who claims to be from the future.Maybe
%75 on Rotten Tomatoes - CreatorDan HarmonJustin RoilandStarsChris ParnellSpencer GrammerSarah ChalkeThe fractured domestic lives of a nihilistic mad scientist and his anxious grandson are further complicated by their inter-dimensional misadventures.Better than any serious Sci-fi series made in the past twenty years.