10 Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 2010s, Ranked

If you asked most film fans what the 2010s are most notable for, most would say the explosion of comic book tent poles. Some would even say Disney’s Bob Igor assisted box office domination. However, 2010’s movie landscape also had another noteworthy addition to pop culture: its Sci-Fi renaissance. After having no shortage of great sci-fi blockbusters during the 90s, from serious to Armageddon, the 2000s were somewhat lackluster.

All of that changed in the 2010s when there was a rise in hardcore sci-fi films of all budget ranges and appeal. Perhaps as an answer to all the more vapid Disney and comic book films or the ascension of A24 and their more experimental film making. Whatever the reason, the popularity of movies like Arrival and Inception ushered in a new era of sci-fi with no fear of isolating mainstream audiences but trusting them with complex ideas.

10 Her (2013)

Directed by Spike Jonze

In 2000, Spike Jonze came up with the idea for this Best Screenplay Winner, about a man who fell in love with his A.I. operating system, after reading an article about a website where people could instantly message with A.I.

Her has hints of sci-fi, but not so much that you couldn’t see it happening within a few decades. Time has helped this film, with Samantha basically being Alexa before Alexa. Scarlett Johansson has the perfect monotone voice for an A.I. Johanson does double duty, being rigid enough to feel like an A.I. but having enough emotion to make fans believe Samantha is slowly becoming sentient. This plot line makes the film fascinating because it asks if she has feelings for Theodore or if it’s just programming. Even though Johanson and Joaquin Phoenix are never on-screen together, viewers can feel the chemistry between the two, which testifies to the acting in this film. As sci-fi and odd as this film is, like any romance film, Samantha and Theodore go through the different stages of a relationship, appealing to more than just sci-fi fans.

Her can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.

WATCH ON HULU

9 Upgrade (2018)

Directed by Leigh Whannell

This Blumhouse film proves studios don’t have to dump millions of dollars into a movie for it to look and be amazing. This film, about a man with paraplegia using his new AI body implant to help him hunt down his wife’s killer, only cost three million dollars and made 16 million at the box office.

This movie defies the odds, being an intelligent sci-fi and a good old-fashioned revenge film. The set pieces, while short, are thrilling, almost kin to the fatalities in a Mortal Kombat video game. STEM and Ryan’s relationship is charming as they go through what viewers think is a standard procedural movie to find his wife’s killer. However, the twists and turns of this film take it from a procedural to a cerebral movie as STEM slowly takes control of Grey like a drug to an addict. Like any great sci-fi, it leaves the audience to answer its hypothesis: is being trapped in a fantasy better than being free and miserable?

Upgrade can be streamed on Max in the U.S.

WATCH ON MAX

8 Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)

Directed by Doug Liman

Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt star in this action-packed sci-fi about an army major thrown onto the front lines in the battle for Earth when he mysteriously begins living the same day repeatedly each time he dies. While this film was a box office disappointment because of misleading promotion, it found an audience on DVD.

This film is basically Groundhog Day meets Aliens. Its overused hook of repeating the same day over and over should be annoying at this point, but the film turns it into a running joke every time Cruise dies. This plays into the film’s best aspect: Tom Cruise reminding audiences how great he is at comedy. Seeing him play cowards rather than the brave hero is a welcome subversion from this sci-fi gem.

Edge of Tomorrow

Release Date

June 6, 2014

Director

Doug Liman

Runtime

113 minutes

Studio

Warner Bros. Pictures

Edge of Tomorrow can be streamed on Amazon in the U.S.

RENT ON AMAZON

7 Under The Skin (2013)

Directed by Jonathan Glazer

This cult film about an alien who kidnaps men to take their skin was probably too abstract for mainstream audiences. However, while being a box office failure, it helped gain more respect for A24 and Scarlet Johansson, whose performance forced fans to see her as more than just Black Widow. The film is also 61st on the BBC’s 100 Greatest Films of the 21st Century.

This quiet movie relies on the characters’ actions and symbolic imagery to tell most of the story. Despite barely speaking in the film and playing a less-than-moral character, Johansson is able to make this alien vulnerable and sympathetic. While hardly saying a word, Johanson is able to subtly communicate the identity crisis this alien goes through after she begins to question her behavior. This film shows the power of visual storytelling and the old Hollywood mantra Show Don’t Tell.

Under the Skin

Release Date

March 14, 2014

Director

Jonathan Glazer

Cast

Jeremy McWilliams , Lynsey Taylor Mackay , Dougie McConnell , Kevin McAlinden , D. Meade , Andrew Gorman , Scarlett Johansson

Runtime

108

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Writers

Walter Campbell , Michel Faber , Jonathan Glazer

Under the Skin can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.

WATCH ON HULU

6 Annihilation (2018)

Directed by Alex Garland

If there is one director fans can depend on to give them hardcore sci-fi, it’s Devs and Ex Machina director Alex Garland. This film, based on a book about a group of scientists who go into an abnormal shimmer covering a forest, goes from strange to flat-out confusing.

This puzzling film has more questions than answers, which is what makes it so intriguing and a true blue sci-fi. As these five women travel through this mysterious shimmer and encounter the unknown, the audience is just as confused about these natural phenomena as the characters. The film shows things that neither the audience nor the characters have ever seen, like a monstrous hog who makes the sounds of his last victim. This sterile, almost horror atmosphere Garland builds adds to this film’s strangeness. Even the viewers feel lost in the shimmer by the film’s end. Instead of closing the story, the unforgettable ending opens the movie to more questions that are still debated by fans today.

Annihilation

Release Date

February 22, 2018

Director

Alex Garland

Runtime

115 minutes

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Writers

Alex Garland , Jeff VanderMeer

Studio

Paramount Pictures

Annihilation can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.

WATCH ON HULU

5 Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

Directed by Denis Villeneuve

Most decade-long sequels don’t live up to the magic of the original. However, Denis Villeneuve’sBlade Runner sequel, about a replicant who discovers he may be Detective Decker’s son, succeeds by not trying to. This film failed at the box office but triumphed in being a great sequel.

If there was anyone who could come even close to topping the first Blade Runner, it would be Villeneuve. His atmospheric style fits perfectly in the Blade Runner universe without seeming like he’s trying to copy it. However, he adds a particular heart and sentiment rarely seen in the first. Audiences invest in K and Delieas romance even though neither is human. Unlike Decker in the original, K is a sympathetic character. Audiences root for him to find his supposed father and achieve his secret desire to amount to more than just another replicant. Even minor characters like Decker and Dave Batista’s Sapper, who have tragic stories, bring a certain heart to this emotional story. There is also a very un-blade-runner-like supernatural element with a half-replicant half-human child being born. All these strange differences have caused some fans to prefer the sequel.

Blade Runner 2049

Release Date

October 6, 2017

Director

Denis Villeneuve

Runtime

164 minutes

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Blade Runner 2049 can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.

WATCH ON HULU

4 Interstellar (2014)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

This Christopher Nolan-directed sci-fi about a group of scientists and a pilot who travel the cosmos looking for an inhabitable planet won Best Visual Effects at the Oscars. While some fans were left scratching their heads, the film was praised by astronauts and scientists for its accuracy thanks to physicist Kip Thorne being a consultant on set.

Only Christopher Nolan can make relativity enjoyable. Nolan uses relativity theory as a plot device that keeps the audience thinking and engaged. He also makes time terrifying and almost a character in this movie. This planet-hopping film is littered with breathtaking visuals both on and off Earth. Hans Zimmers’s score makes every scene that much more epic and moving. While it would have been easy to just make an action movie in space, this film is ultimately about how love transcends time and space.

Interstellar

Release Date

November 7, 2014

Runtime

169 minutes

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Studio

Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures

Interstellar can be streamed on Amazon in the U.S.

RENT ON AMAZON

3 Ex Machina (2014)

Directed by Alex Garland

Alex Garland came up with the idea for this psychological thriller about a programmer who falls for a synthetic intelligence at 12 years old after coding on a computer he believed sometimes had a mind of its own.

This claustrophobic film manages to keep the audience completely on edge by attempting to mess with the audience’s heads. From Oscar Isaac’s unnerving portrayal of Nathan to Alicia Vikander’s subtle performance, which makes Ava’s every move questionable, the performances make this film. The moral dilemmas raised about humans’ lack of thought about artificial intelligence are also intriguing and disturbing. This feeling intensifies after fans buy into Ava and Caleb’s romance without questioning why an intelligent person, artificial or otherwise, would fall for a stranger they’ve been forced to talk to by the man holding them hostage. By the film’s end, viewers are brilliantly left thinking they’ve undervalued Ava’s feelings like everyone else in the movie.

Ex Machina

Release Date

April 24, 2015

Director

Alex Garland

Runtime

108 minutes

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Writers

Alex Garland

Studio

A24 Films

Ex Machina can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.

WATCH ON HULU

2 Inception (2011)

Directed by Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi heist film is about a bunch of criminals breaking into the heir of a company’s dreams to make him sell his inheritance. Like Barbenheimerr, it came out the same day as another blockbuster, easily outperforming Angelina Jolie’sSalt, opening with over 60 million at the box office. This is no easy feat for such a cerebral film during the summer box office season.

This modern classic puts a sci-fi spin on Film Noir. As fans would expect, it has the same solemn and jaded protagonist involved in dark-world crime and a dangerous femme fatale. However, Nolan introduces a fantastic element he plays seriously, setting up clear rules for the dream world that make it feel like science as they break into people’s dreams. The film raises profound questions about the human psyche and the true meaning of happiness, making it more than just another sci-fi blockbuster.

Inception

Release Date

July 15, 2010

Runtime

148

Studio

Warner Bros. Pictures

Inception can be streamed on Hulu in the U.S.

WATCH ON HULU

1 Arrival (2016)

Directed By Denis Villeneuve

This film is based on the award-winning novella about a linguistics professor who runs a team trying to figure out why alien ships have arrived on Earth. Despite being a stripped-down sci-fi blockbuster, this film defied the odds, grossing 203 million dollars.

Most people don’t find the study of Linguistics fascinating, but this film makes it seem riveting. Arrival shows the way languages reveal how different cultures and people think through Lousies’ survey of the aliens’ language. There’s also a heavy mystery aspect to this film that makes it immersive. The aliens arrive, but no one knows why, and the film keeps flashing between time periods with no explanation. Things get even more perplexing when it’s revealed that Louise sees the same flashes between periods as the audience does. This film feels like a fun puzzle the audience and the characters have to put together. When the pieces of the film are finally assembled, the audience is left with an emotional, cathartic feeling that’s hard to shake.

Arrival

Release Date

November 11, 2016

Director

Denis Villeneuve

Runtime

116 minutes

Main Genre

Sci-Fi

Writers

Eric Heisserer , Ted Chiang

Studio

Paramount Pictures

Arrival can be streamed on Prime Video in the U.S.

RENT ON PRIME

KEEP READING: The 10 Best Movies From The 2010s, According To IMDd