Best Netflix sci-fi movies: fantastic films to stream right now
The big streaming services have wholeheartedly embraced the sci-fi genre, which means there's plenty of choice for picking out the best sci-fi movies currently sitting in the vast Netflix catalog.
With recent (and very good) titles including the likes of Annihilation and The Cloverfield Paradox, it's clear that there are plenty of sci-fi fans in the Netflix team.
Add to that other off-kilter slabs of sci-fi including Duncan Jones’ Mute and the huge fantasy/sci-fi hybrid hit that was Bright, and the Netflix sci-fi game is definitely strong.
With that in mind, we’ve culled through streams to find all of the best sci-fi movies you can summon on Netflix, and – because we know how suddenly movies can vanish off of Netflix – we will continue to update this article. Keep checking back here to see if your favorite movie is available to stream.
We have also handily split this list so that you can see all the movies available on both US and UK Netflix and the ones that are exclusive to each territory.
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This is the movie that director Duncan Jones has always wanted to make. A story that he first conceived before making his debut movie Moon, it took three Hollywood movies and the freedom of a Netflix deal before he could make his labor of love. The result is a rather muted (pun intended), strange movie that never goes where you expect it to. It’s based in a Berlin of the future, starring Alexander Skarsgård as a mute bartender looking for the love of his life. It is bold, single-minded filmmaking that needs to be watched a number of times to understand quite what’s going on.
This is exactly the sort of movie that Netflix should be making. It’s uncompromising sci-fi that has a smart smattering of horror running through it. Based on the hit series of books The Southern Reach Trilogy, the movie focuses on a group of scientists who go into Area X, a quarantined section of Earth where strange things are going on. Natalie Portman is superb and refreshing in the lead role.
It should have been so much better, but that doesn’t mean that it is all terrible. The Cloverfield Paradox had a stunning debut on Netflix. It was first revealed at the Super Bowl and then, to the surprise of the millions who were watching the halftime show, it was then released on Netflix that night. Much like 10 Cloverfield Lane, the movie has a faint line to the original Cloverfield. It’s set in space for a start and has a cast list that screams AAA - the film, however, is pure b-movie schlock that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense but is still well worth a watch.
Bong Joon Ho is one of the best directors around at the moment so when it was announced he was doing a Netflix-funded movie, excitement levels were high. The result is this sci-fi tinged story that focuses on a giant pig and its friendship with a small child. The movie is set in the near future and is a parable about animal cruelty. It's heady stuff but we'd recommend you check it out.
Noomi Rapace plays seven sisters in this high-concept, convoluted sci-fi tale. The premise is great: the world is overpopulated so there is a 'one child per couple' policy. Rapace plays sextuplets who are looking for their missing sister. It's an occasionally frustrating watch but for the most part is an entertaining sci-fi thriller.
Another Netflix original, another movie that was savaged by critics but, whisper it, it’s not half bad. Will Smith stars as a cop who just so happens to have a partner that’s an orc. Set in a world where fairies, orcs and humans coexist, Smith and his partner must protect an elf to protect the future of, er, their future. It’s certainly not for everyone but it’s one of the biggest and boldest movies Netflix has ever made.
In classic post-apocalyptic style, The Road is all about survival. After Earth falls prey to calamity, a man and his son take the long journey across America to the ocean, fighting to hold on to their soul. All around them are bloodthirsty gangs who would see them apprehended as slaves, or much worse.
Although there are hundreds of films in this genre and tone, execution really is everything. John Hillcoat’s vision comes across flawlessly on screen and packs an emotional punch that won’t leave you quickly. And with phenomenal performances from Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee, The Road is a worthy entry in the ever growing list of post-apocalyptic science fiction movies.
When it was announced that Luc Besson was getting back into driecting fully fledged sci-fi there was audible whoop in the office. This is, after all, the director that made the masterpiece that is Fifth Element. But Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets isn't quite the movie we wanted. Yes, it's visually stunning and it has the off-beat quirkiness that we have come to expect from Besson. But it's all a bit of a chaotic mess. It's definitely worthy of a watch, however, just don't go into this expecting to know exactly what is going on and when.
Most people think of Cloverfield’s brilliant marketing campaign way before they actually remember the movie, but it’s still worth watching this thrilling monster movie event directed by one of today’s brightest cinematic minds – Matt Reeves (War for the Planet of the Apes, the upcoming Batman film).
The film revolves around a group of New Yorkers that find themselves trapped as a terrifying monster falls on New York City. The survivors, with the help of a portable camera, attempt to document the atrocities that follow.
Now, while Cloverfield likely won’t go down in history as a sci-fi masterpiece, this handycam-riddled thriller has already gained quite a faithful cult following and received two distantly related sequels (essentially in name only, but still). If you’re looking to kill some time, you certainly can’t go wrong with Cloverfield. Just don’t think about it too much.
When Cloverfield came out, everyone was expecting the movie to be just another found-footage shock fest. While this is pretty much what it turned out to be, the footage may have been shaky but the mythos about a giant monster attacking New York was not. It turned out there are plenty of ways to do stories about the monster without recapping the original movie. 10 Cloverfield Lane does this - it's is a tense thriller with a nod to science fiction. For the most part it is a claustrophobic study into the human psyche, but when it finally changes gear it turns into something wholly different.
It wasn't looking good for World War Z. Its script was given a hefty rewrite, the ending was completely reshot to make it a little more coherent and the film, essentially about zombies eating people, had to adhere to a child-safe PG-13. The result is a movie that's a bit of a mess but is still watchable thanks to the star power of Brad Pitt and some sound scripting decisions by Lost scribe Damon Lindelof. Based on the book by Max Brooks, World War Z throws out the interview format of the novel but keeps the globalisation of the story - which means it really feels like the entire world has been overrun by zombies.
Yes, it’s a thinly veiled metaphor for the apartheid horrors South Africa faced in the ‘80s but what perfect way to showcase feeling alien in your own land by filling your movie with aliens? District 9 was the debut of visual effects artist Neill Blomkamp and it’s a riveting docudrama-styled ride through the slums of South Africa and beyond. With (naturally) superb visual effects and a brilliant central performance by Sharlto Copley as the shady government agent that’s after the alien’s advanced technology, District 9 is one of the most original sci-fi flicks to come out this century.
Bryan Singer’s original X-Men was a breath of fresh air for the superhero genre when it was released back in 2000. He managed to show the world that you can have a film about mutants that is also, well, intelligent. He improved on the formula with X2: X-Men United, switching the story so that it was about Wolverine - easily the most interesting of the X-Men. The introduction of William Strider (a menacing Brian Cox), the person who literally made Wolverine what he is, was a fantastic move - as was the notion that even though Magneto and Professor X are rivals in battle, their ideologies and goals are actually quite similar. Fantastic stuff.
After District 9, director Neill Blomkamp had a tough ask to make a movie that would live up to the brilliance of his debut. Elysium doesn’t quite hit the same heights, unfortunately, but it is a brave attempt at trying to create a sensible sci-fi movie. Matt Damon stars as Max, a man on a mission to try and bring some balance to a world where the rich and poor are severely divided. After a promising start, things do go downhill but it’s still an impressive, great-looking watch.
Robinson Crusoe in space - that was pretty much the elevator pitch for The Martian, a self-published novel that became a huge bestseller. Drew Godard adapts the book brilliantly for the big screen, keeping much of the dry humor and breezy nature. While Ridley Scott adds a little bit of sheen to the novel's rougher edges. But it's Matt Damon that steals the show as the shipwrecked Mark Watney who has to get his ass away from Mars.
Director JJ Abrams had the hardest job in Hollywood when he took on Episode VII. He had to appease the braying breed of Star Wars fanatics, as well as coax a whole new generation of fans to the franchise. He pulls it off by steeping the movie in the nostalgia of the Original Trilogy but also introducing new and exciting characters. Yes, it's pretty much a retread of Episode IV but cut it and it will bleed Star Wars, and that's the only thing that really matters.
Nobody expected James Gunn's superb The Guardians of the Galaxy to be as good as it was. Given it was about a bunch of Marvel characters that weren't mainstream and was directed by someone best known for b-movie horror, the odds were against it. But how wrong the world was: Guardians is a refreshing, funny and jam-packed sci-fi flick that's packed with retro references and the sort of space fun that's not been seem since, well, Star Wars.
As the first film outside of the saga and the first prequel since Jar Jar Binks, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story had a lot riding on it. It had to strike a balance between originality and familiarity that could have easily backfired and been rejected by old and new fans alike. Thankfully, Rogue One was a rousing success all across the board.
Taking place before the original Star Wars, Rogue One tells the tale of the brave band of rebel spies led by the tenacious Jyn Erso who risked everything to steal the plans to the fearsome Death Star. The forces of evil, led by Director Krennic, Grand Moff Tarkin, and Darth Vader himself meet the rebels in combat to prevent their plans from falling into the wrong hands.
The final result of Rogue One was a gritty war film that wasn’t perfect, but stands as an excellent entry into the already expansive Star Wars universe. From a visual perspective alone, this is well worth the stream.
As Marvel’s cinematic success has expanded, so has their creative sandbox. A Doctor Strange movie would have been a fool’s dream just a decade ago, but now the master of mystic arts has his own film with top-notch special effects, a dream team cast, and a talented director to helm it. What a time to be alive!
For those not in the know, Doctor Strange follows the story of Stephen Strange, a talented surgeon with an ego to match his skillset. After a car accident, Strange loses the use of his hands and loses his sense of purpose. On his journey to find healing, Strange stumbles into the mystic arts and finds a deeper purpose in magic, spirituality and sorcery.
While formulaic at times, Doctor Strange is a blast from start to finish, riddled with humor and enough sci-fi and sorcery babble to make your head spin.
Lightning doesn't quite strike twice for The Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2. It's great to watch and has the similar thrills and spills of the original but something is just that little bit off.
Maybe it's because the storyline goes a bit too big, focusing on Peter Quill's true parentage, and because of this it splits the team up for most of the movie. A half-decent Guardians, though, is better than most movies so it's still well worth a watch.
The book was always seen as unfilmable, so the fact a movie of Cloud Atlas got made at all is a win. It's a movies that weaves six interconnected stories together that are as disparate as a ship's voyage in the 19th Century, a nuclear power plant conspiracy and clones in Korea. Each story has a ripple effect for the next and the really clever thing about the movie is the same actor plays myriad characters that are connected in some way - essentially joining the dots that the book alludes to. It may not always work but Cloud Atlas is bold, visually arresting storytelling.
A timey wimey tale of time travel shot through the prism of teenage angst, Donnie Darko is a deliciously dark, mopey movie that tries its hardest to be obscure and infuriating but ends up being a wonderful piece of filmmaking. It will take a few watches to figure out just what is going on but this is a movie that gets better the more you unfold its secrets. Stunning stuff.
A monster hit in the 80s and for good reason, Ghost Busters (more commonly known now as Ghostbusters) is a brilliant character comedy that sees four hapless friends go from fake ghost hunters to real ghostbusters. Blessed with a script by an alumni of Saturday Night Live greats, this is as much an adult showcase as it is a kids movie. The brilliant thing about Ghostbusters, however, is that it enjoys being both so much.
Every single sci-fi movie of the past 75 years or so owes a massive debt to Metropolis. This silent showcase is a blistering portrayal of science fiction, as seen by German director Fritz Lang in the 1920s. Using special effects that still impress today, it's a wonderfully weird watch that shows the clash between the rich and poor, workers and city planners, and what drives someone to try and create the ultimate utopia. Metropolis is a movie that isn't complete - there are many versions of the film out in the world. But that doesn't stop it from being one of the most influential films ever made.
Director Duncan Jones' debut is sharp low-budget sci-fi that may wear its influences on its sleeves, but the rest of the shirt fits so well you won't care. Sam Bell (Sam Rockwell) is an astronaut who has to spend three years on a moonbase. This is all fine until the isolation makes Sam start to hallucinate and start to wonder if his sidekick computer GERTY is as nice as it seems to be. With a great central performance and some superb twists, Moon is a tight, twisty sci-fi thriller.
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Reviewed by mimisabreena
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Wednesday, August 15, 2018
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