55 Greatest Science Fiction Movies of All Time

Thomas Anderson, a computer programmer, is led to fight an underground war against powerful computers who have constructed his entire reality with a system called the Matrix.

In a post-apocalyptic Earth menaced by crop blights and dust storms, physicist Professor Brand sends a team of researchers led by former NASA pilot Cooper to carry frozen human embryos onboard spacecraft Endurance through a wormhole to a distant galaxy with three potentially habitable planets which can be the new home for the human race.

Set eleven years after The Terminator, the sequel witnesses the return of a revamped version of the titular cyborg to protect John, 10-year-old son of Sarah Connor and future leader of the human resistance against a robot uprising. He must protect the mother-child duo from another more advanced shape-shifting Terminator that has been sent to kill them.

Christopher Nolan concludes his The Dark Knight trilogy featuring DC superhero Batman by bringing him back from self-imposed exile to tackle the merciless mercenary Bane, who plans to take over Gotham city by controlling its dark underworld, with the help of the mysterious cat burglar Selina Kyle and his trusted butler Alfred.

Savage convict Alex DeLange volunteers for an experimental trial, to change his conduct, but the experiment doesn't exactly turn out the way it was planned. Based in future Britain, A Clockwork Orange highlights issues like youth gangs, psychiatry, and more, through disturbing visuals and violence.

Dr Alan Grant and Dr. Ellie Sattler are amongst the group of expert invited by John Hammond to visit his theme park where cloned dinosaurs are the highlight. However, the tour goes wrong when a storms sets in and an employee shuts down the power leaving the man eating dinosaurs to roam around freely. Alan has to ensure a safe return for himself and Hammond’s two grandchildren.

In this James Cameron’s science fiction film, a cyborg assassin and a human soldier, both from 2029, are sent to 1984 on a mission. The former is programmed to kill a woman, Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is supposed to become the saviour of humanity in post-apocalyptic future. The latter, meanwhile, is tasked to save her.

Adapted from Andy Weir’s 2011 novel of the same name, the film portrays the struggle of an astronaut, Mark Watney, after he gets left behind by his crew who think he died in a powerful storm. He strives to survive on Mars and uses scientific wisdom to send signals to earth. Meanwhile a team of international scientists collaborate to bring him back to earth

Theodore Twombly is a highly sensitive loner whose professional qualification is writing soulful personal letters for others. Depressed over his impending divorce, he decides to install the latest artificially intelligent operating system Samantha, which has a bright voice and a consciousness. He begins to doubt himself as he gradually develops a romantic relationship with his AI assistant.

Thirty years after the events of the original film, a young blade runner, LAPD officer K, uncovers a secret that can lead to a war between humans and replicants. His investigation points him towards a previous blade runner, Rick Deckard, the protagonist of the first story, who is missing for the last three decades.

A spaceship crash lands into an unknown planet. Three astronauts think that the planet has no intelligent life form. However, they soon come across a much more advanced society of apes that rule the planet. Humans, in this planet are reduced to slaves and are locked up. Astronaut Taylor has to escape to save his life but he comes across a startling discovery about the planet itself.

Children of Men takes us to a dystopian future in the year 2027, where human beings are no longer able to procreate, as a result of infertility. The film revolves around Theo Faron, who helps a woman found mysteriously pregnant, in transporting her to safety. 

This science fiction film is sequel to the 1985 film Back to the Future. Doc convinces Marty McFly and his girlfriend Jennifer to go to the future in 2015, where Marty poses as his future son to save him from imprisonment. However, they return to a nightmarish 1985 in which Biff Tannen has become wealthy thanks to a sports almanac from the future, prompting the duo to go back to 1955.

In 2092, Nemo Nobody, a 118-year-old man, is the last mortal on earth while the rest have achieved immortality. In an interview, he recounts the dilemma a young nine year old Nemo faced when he had to choose between accompanying his mother or staying behind with his father after their divorce. The film explores all the lives that Nemo could lead based on this one decision.

Frankenstein is a science fiction horror film which is based on the novel by Mary Shelley. It revolves around a scientist named Henry Frankenstein, who is obsessed with creating human life. Along with his assistant, he manages to gather parts from freshly buried bodies, but ends up getting a damaged brain. Eventually, he succeeds in bringing the creature to life, although he is unaware that its brain is damaged.

The first sequel to the 1931 film Frankenstein, the story follows Henry Frankenstein, who is thought to have died, but is actually alive and reunited with his fiancée. Although he decides to abandon his attempt to create life, his old mentor soon coerce him into creating a mate for the Monster and he succumbs to it, initially unwilling. 

Astronauts Dr. Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski are left stranded in outer space while aboard a NASA space shuttle, due to flying debris from a Russian attack. Gravity is the saga of their survival against all odds.

Loosely based on Philip K. Dick’s 1954 short story, the movie is set in 2054 Washington where specialised police arrests murderers before they actually kill someone. Helping the police are three psychics or precogs who can predict these murders. John Anderton works for this special police force but when one day, he is identified as a future killer, he is forced to escape to prove his innocence.

In this reboot version of the Planet of the Apes series, scientist Will Rodman’s experimental drug for the cure of Alzheimer's disease gives human-like intelligence and emotions to a chimpanzee, Caesar. When Caesar is separated from Will and imprisoned with other apes, he gives the same drug to the them and begins an uprising against humanity.

One of the highest-grossing films of 2014, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes follows the lives of a group of people who struggle to survive after a deadly global pandemic wipes out most of humanity, giving the apes—led by Caesar—an upper hand. 

RoboCop is a science fiction dystopian action film which takes us to a future Detroit, a city infested with crime. The film tells the story of a police officer named Alex Murphy, who gets murdered by a gang of criminals. However, he returns to life with the help of a mega-corporation named Omni Consumer Products, as a powerful cyborg law enforcer RoboCop. However, he is unaware of his former life.

Scientist Seth Brundle is able to transport living matter from one pod to another using his 'telepods'. Unfortunately, during one experiment he accidentally transports a fly along with himself, fusing them on a genetic level. From then on the movie follows the horrific disintegration of Seth’s psyche and his physical transformation into a massive fly. 

The Incredible Shrinking Man is a science fiction horror film which revolves around a businessman named Scott, who is on a vacation by boat, along with his wife Louise. Things get ugly when he is exposed to harmful chemicals, which causes him to shrink in size. As he continues to grow smaller and smaller, survival becomes difficult for him.

An uprising erupts after Katniss Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are announced co-winners of the 74th Hunger Games. Furious, President Snow visits her ahead of the Victory Tour and warns her of dire consequences if she fails to convince the crowds that she has chosen to die with Peeta out of love, and not to defy him.

In the final movie in the Back to the Future trilogy, Marty McFly, stuck in 1955, learns about the death of his friend Dr. Emmett Doc Brown in 1885. To save his friend, he travel backs in time in the DeLorean car and convinces Doc to return to the present. However, DeLorean is damaged and the Doc falls for a local woman.

Grey is a car mechanic living at a time in the future, where technology controls nearly all aspects of life. He is a technophobe who doesn’t want to be dependent on technology. However, after his wife dies, and he is left injured, all he wants is revenge against the men who are responsible. He is soon visited by a man who convinces him to get a chip implanted into his body, which would not only let him walk, but also turn him into a deadly and efficient fighter.

The sci-fi film set in the England of Victorian era follows scientist George Wells as he creates a time machine that takes him thousands of years ahead. But what he finds is not the Utopian society that he envisioned; instead, he is shocked to discover a benign, mild race of vegetarian Elois who are preyed upon by cannibalistic, ferocious Morlocks, living underground.  

The science-fiction drama intertwines six interconnected storylines spread over multiple eras of time. Cloud Atlas portrays the reincarnation of souls through time and explores the ripple effect caused by the consequences of actions and kindness through time and space. It remains one of the most expensive independent movies ever made. 

Directed by the renowned Christopher Nolan, Tenet is a mind-bending science-fiction action thriller film which revolves around a special agent who is sent on a mission armed with only one word as his weapon. He must travel through time as well as bend the laws of nature in order to succeed in his mission, which involves stopping a Third World War from erupting.  

Following World War III, the totalitarian government in control of the whole world outlaws basic human feelings in order to prevent future wars. John Preston, a high-ranking Cleric who tracks down and executes Sense Offenders, accidentally misses his daily dose of Prozium, a drug to suppress emotions, and gradually becomes involved in the Underground resistance against the government.

This Steven Spielberg’s science-fiction and action-adventure film, set in 2045, revolves around a contest devised to find an heir by the eccentric genius James Halliday, the creator of virtual reality universe, OASIS. When young Wade Watts takes up the challenge to hunt that digital Easter Egg, he finds himself facing terrifying dangers and enigmatic discoveries in an incredible universe.

Released from prison, Scott Lang finds it difficult to get a job and is prohibited from seeing his daughter by his ex-wife. Scientist Hank Pym lures him with a heist tip-off, and encourages him to don a special suit to become Ant-Man, gaining superhuman strength and shrinking ability. However, he must undertake a daunting heist to save the world.

Mija, a South Korean mountain-girl, raises a fascinating but loving beast and her friend of 10-years, Okja. But Miranda Corporation, a multinational firm, claims Okja as its own and takes her to New York. With only one aim of rescuing Okja, Mija follows them but encounters many incongruent groups having their own agenda regarding Okja’s future. Can Mija get her friend back?

In a small British village named Midwich, the people fall unconscious suddenly without any apparent reason. A few months later, every young woman who is capable of child-bearing, gets pregnant. However, the children that are born at the same time, also seem quite strange, having penetrating eyes. As they continue to grow, it becomes clear that they also possess telepathic abilities. Professor Gordon, whose wife also gave birth to one of the children, attends a meeting with the British Intelligence in order to discuss the problem.

The movie is based on the eponymous novel by Suzanne Collins and is the first in The Hunger Games film series. In a fictional nation of Panem, in a dystopian post-apocalyptic future, Katniss Everdeen willingly replaces her sister in a televised competition wherein two teenagers from each of the twelve districts of the nation are selected as ‘tributes’ and compelled to fight to the death.

A deadly virus has wiped out most of the humanity and turned the rest into nocturnal mutants. Robert Neville, a virologist, is perhaps the sole survivor. He desperately seeks to create a cure and looks out for other survivors even as the infected wait for him to make a mistake.

David Swinton is a mecha—highly advanced robot—programmed to experience love. He lives with Henry and Monica as their son because the couple’s real son, Martin, is in a comatose condition. David’s life is good but when Martin returns, the couple abandon him. David now wants to become real so that his human mother can love him.

The small town of Maine is hit by a severe thunderstorm. The next day a thick mist engulfs the town. As David Drayton, his son and neighbour visit a supermarket, they realise that vicious otherworldly creatures hide behind The Mist. Trapped in the store, David and others have to survive the attacks of frightening creatures. But then, there is disputes amidst survivors too.

This post apocalyptic science fiction horror film revolves around the Abbot family as they try to survive after the entire world is attacked by deadly and powerful creatures that are blind but are quite sensitive to sound. After Lee Abbott passes away, along with her children, his wife Evelyn Abbott sets out to look for other survivors. They soon meet an old friend named Emmet, who has also lost his family, but refuses to help them out of cynicism.

Mike and Lee prepare for a dinner party at their home, along with six of their friends. However, due to the malevolent influence of a passing comet, they soon start to experience a strange troubling chain of events, which start with a power outage.  

In 1866, Professor Pierre M Aronnax and his assistant come across reports of a giant sea monster that is attacking ships in the Pacific Ocean. They are asked to investigate the disappearances, and therefore they set out on an expedition. But soon they discover that the monster is actually an advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.   

This 3D science-fiction action film is set in a crime-ridden futuristic metropolis, Mega City One, where Judge Dredd, a dreaded police-officer with instant field judiciary powers, has sworn to rid the city of crime. Along with Judge Anderson, a trainee assistant with psychic abilities, he takes on the drug-lord Ma-Ma, who runs the racket of the reality-altering drug Slo-Mo.  

The second installment of Lars von Trier’s Depression Trilogy, Melancholia follows the two sisters Justine and Claire. The severely depressed Justine and the fearful Claire must come to terms with their destinies as a rogue planet named Melancholia heads on a direct collision course towards Earth.

The dystopian tragedy depicts the story of three friends Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy. As they grow up in an idyllic boarding school, they find out they are destined to be organ donors and will die in their early adulthood. Human emotions of love, jealousy, and hope come to play as they try unsuccessfully to avoid their fate. 

In an alternate reality, Manhattan Island in New York City has been converted into a maximum security prison following a 400% increase in crime in the United States. When Air Force One is hijacked and the President is crash-landed into the island, former Special Forces soldier and convicted robber, Snake Plissken, is coerced into launching a rescue initiative.

In a near-future America where one-fifth of the population is addicted to the drain damaging drug, Substance D, Bob Arctor works as an undercover agent known only by his codename 'Fred'. As Bob himself becomes addicted and schizophrenic while trying to cozy up with drug dealer Donna, Fred's senior officer orders him to begin invasive surveillance on Bob.

Pentagon has fully automated its missile launch control centers in order to eliminate risky human element in the event of an actual war. Meanwhile, two computer savvy high school students are searching for interesting games, eventually coming across something called "Global Thermonuclear War".  They somehow hack into the site and start playing, not realizing their action can lead to WWIII. 

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch is an interactive science fiction film which was released on the streaming service platform Netflix.  The film tells the story of a young programmer who is working to develop a video game. However, he soon finds himself questioning reality.  

The Fly is a science fiction horror drama film which tells the story of Andre, a scientist, who invents a teleportation device. However, things take an ugly turn and he meets with a terrible accident, as a fly enters his device.  This transforms him into a strange creature, which is a human-fly hybrid.

Time after Time is an adventure science fiction film which tells the story of HG Wells, British author, who uses his time machine to pursue a serial murderer into the 20th century.

Chronicle is the story of three high school friends of different temperaments and backgrounds, who inexplicably discover telekinetic abilities which bring them superpowers. Initially they use it to their advantage and for fun, but soon they get caught in the whirl of those powers that bring out their darker side to the surface, testing them and their friendship. 

Up-and-coming US Congressman David Norris discovers that human destiny is being controlled by supernatural agents of fate called the Adjustment Bureau. Against their plans, he meets a young Ballet dancer Elise and falls in love. David and Elise must escape being reset by the Bureau which will take all of their memories away. 

Soylent Green is a dystopian thriller film which takes us to a future where the world is suffering from the greenhouse effect as well as overpopulation. The story revolves around a detective investigating the murder of the CEO of a big company. 

Journey to the Center of the Earth is a science fiction adventure film which revolves around a geologist and his assistant who decide to go on an expedition to find the center of the Earth. The travel to a volcano in Iceland, from where they plan to begin their journey. Two other people decide to join them, but problem arises when a rival scientist decides to follow them as well.

Charly is a science fiction drama film which tells the story of an intellectually disabled man, Charly, who is attending night school, as well as working at the local bakery as a janitor. His teacher Alice makes him take part in an experiment which gives him the intelligence of a super-genius. He not only surpasses Alice, but also the scientists who had conducted the experiment on him. However, it seems that his intelligence is not everlasting, as after some time, it starts to fade away.