Produced by Avatar mastermind, James Cameron, who had long intended to direct the feature film adaptation of Yukito Kishiro’s cyberpunk manga himself, Alita: Battle Angel follows an adventurous cyborg (Rosa Salazar) and her compassionate “father,” Dr. Dyson Ido (Christoph Waltz), as they attempt to navigate the underworld of Iron City, which includes robot-scrapping thieves, cyborg serial killers, amoral bounty hunters, and an oppressive ruling class. In addition to its stellar special effects and engaging story, Alita: Battle Angel sports an incredible and diverse supporting cast, which includes Jennifer Connelly, Mahershala Ali, Jackie Earle Haley, Eiza Gonzalez, and Rick Yune, among many other talented performers. While Leigh Whannell is probably better known for his contributions to the horror genre with The Invisible Man (2020), Insidious, and Saw, his sophomore directorial effort is a gritty and badass blast surrounding a quadriplegic who is given an experimental chip implant that gives him back his mobility but begins pushing him towards bloody revenge against the men that attacked him and killed his wife. Twisty, darkly humorous, and occasionally gruesome, this Blumhouse-produced science-fiction/action film received high marks from critics and fans alike, and its futuristic, dystopian setting might just remind the fans of Andor of the latter series’ grounded yet galactic locales. A pensive and mysterious science fiction thriller from visionary genre director Jim Mickle, In the Shadow of the Moon is a decades-spanning procedural about an ambitious police officer who begins tracking a serial killer that resurfaces every nine years. Developing an unhealthy obsession with finding the truth and bringing the criminal to justice, the search is futher complicated when the crimes happen to defy all logical explanation. Though the film’s tonal balancing act might be too much for some, the engaging story, powerful performances and superb reveals cement In the Shadow of the Moon as one of the more underrated science fiction films in recent years. In this belated legacy sequel to Ridley Scott’s genre-redefining sci-fi noir film about volatile bioengineered “replicants” and those that hunt them, also known as “blade runners,” a replicant tasked with hunting his own uncovers a secret that threatens to destabilize the world as he knows it. Working from a story created by original Blade Runner writer Hampton Fancher, Denis Villeneuve brings the world of the first film back to stunning life, with mind-blowing visuals, immersive practical sets, a brooding atmosphere, and an all-star cast that includes an amazing Ryan Gosling, a star-making turn from Ana de Armas and even Harrison Ford reprising the iconic role of Rick Deckard. From the director of The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow (which has also been dubbed as Live. Die. Repeat. since its home media releases) is an awesome time loop thriller that also doubles as a riveting adaptation of Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s All You Need is Kill. Starring Tom Cruise as a cowardly military PR officer who is forced onto the battlefield against an invading extraterrestrial force (and finds himself repeating the same day until meeting his eventual untimely demise), Edge of Tomorrow found its audience after a lukewarm domestic box office opening and has since been acknowledged as one of the most clever, humorous and exhilarating science fiction flicks of its time. From the Academy Award-winning filmmaker behind such breathtaking movies as Parasite and Memories of Murder, Snowpiercer is an intense, hard-hitting science fiction action flick following a small contingent of humans surviving on a train that can never stop due to failed climate engineering attempt. Divided into sections of the train by class, the poor and abused tail-section passengers (led by Captain America himself, Chris Evans) eventually discover their oppressors may not be as powerful as they seem and stage a rebellion to fight their way to the legendary figure at the front of the train with the power to change their living conditions. Inspired by Chris Marker’s spellbinding 1962 short film La Jetée, Terry Gilliam’s revelatory sci-fi thriller surrounds a prisoner (Bruce Willis) in a future where mankind was ravaged by a virus who is selected to travel in time to help scientists develop a cure, but an error causes him to be sent back six years earlier than expected, where he is incarcerated in a mental hospital with a mental patient (Brad Pitt) that is suspected of unleashing the virus. A clever, race-against-time drama with a unique time travel framework, Twelve Monkeys also flourishes thanks to Bruce Willis’ solid work as a man lost in time as well as Brad Pitt’s manic supporting turn that garnered him his first Academy Award nomination. A contemporary cult classic that additionally serves as the feature film debut of John Boyega, Attack the Block follows a street gang of teenagers who must team with a nurse they had previously robbed to defend their neighborhood from bloodthirsty extraterrestrial creatures. Co-starring future Doctor Who Jodie Whittaker, this foul-mouthed slice of adult entertainment within the sci-fi genre was considered ahead of its time and notably sympathetic toward its gang-affiliated characters. Despite flopping at the domestic box office, a belated sequel to Attack the Block is currently gestating with Joe Cornish returning to direct and Boyega attached to produce and reprise his role of Moses. Denzel Washington headlines this post-apocalyptic science fiction western from the directors of Dead Presidents, which tells the tale of a mysterious and dangerous stranger who believes he has been chosen to deliver a sacred book to a safe location, though his journey will take him across the paths of murderous thieves, a power-hungry gang lord and even cannibals populating their post-nuclear war wasteland. Also showcasing the talents of Gary Oldman, Mila Kunis, Ray Stevenson, Jennifer Beals, Michael Gambon, and Tom Waits, The Book of Eli puts a unique spin on the lone swordsman/gunman archetype and delivers a satisfying amount of action as such. A pulse-pounding science-fiction action thriller that earned rave reviews for director Alfonso Cuarón and cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki for his astounding use of long takes throughout, this adaptation of P.D. James’ 1992 novel surrounds an unstable world in which humans have become unable to breed. After his estranged wife is killed in a terrible conspiracy by her own activist group, a civil servant (Clive Owen) is tasked with escorting the first pregnant woman in nearly 20 years (Clare-Hope Ashitey) through war-torn Britain to a scientific group that will provide her with sanctuary as they search for a permanent cure for human infertility. The feature film continuation (and, as of this writing, conclusion) to Joss Whedon’s cult favorite space Western series Firefly, Serenity follows Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his band of roaming smugglers as they learn of the true nature of their dangerous stowaway, River Tan (Summer Glau), while avoiding a relentless assassin (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and cannibalistic cutthroats known as “reavers.” Bringing back the core cast of the television program, Serenity hits many similar beats to Andor in terms of political intrigue and emotional interpersonal drama while the Star Wars Universe certainly provides some inspiration to that of the Firefly franchise. A not-so-thinly veiled twist on Fahrenheit 451 but with explosive and innovative hand-to-hand combat on display, Kurt Wimmer’s dystopian epic takes place in a world where emotions are medically suppressed and artistic expression is outlawed under punishment of death, in which an ambitious enforcement officer (Christian Bale) begins to question everything he knows after his partner is executed for treason. Enhanced in every way by a great cast, including Taye Diggs reveling in a steely villainous role, Equilibrium apes the likes of The Matrix, 1984, and Gattaca, but remains one hell of a fun ride by executing a number of genuinely memorable action sequences. Also known as Escape from Absolom, No Escape stars Ray Liotta in a rare heroic role as a wrongfully convicted ex-Marine who is exiled to a penal colony where he finds himself as a key figure in a war against the might-makes-right Outsiders faction and a more compassionate autonomous community known as the Insiders. With a fun and frenetic “Hunger Games meets Lord of the Flies” premise from the director of GoldenEye and The Mask of Zorro, No Escape offers more understated science fiction elements while letting the amazing Australian environments and the performances from the ensemble cast sell its barbaric setting. Written by the Wachowskis based on the 1988 graphic novel from groundbreaking comic book writer Alan Moore and esteemed illustrator David Lloyd, V for Vendetta effortlessly mixes slick superhero action, politically driven dystopian science fiction, and violent revenge thriller in one engaging cinematic package. A box office hit upon its release in 2005, V for Vendetta follows a young woman (Natalie Portman) living in a fascist futuristic Britain who is rescued from secret police by a vigilante anarchist in a Guy Fawkes (Hugo Weaving), who changes her worldview and attempts to incite a revolution against the powerful and sadistic political leaders. The feature film directorial debut from South African photorealistic CGI maestro Neill Blomkamp, District 9 is a brilliant and heartbreaking science fiction thriller about a mild-mannered bureaucrat leading an alien slum relocation who is accidentally exposed to a strange chemical that gradually transforms him into an alien himself, which turns him into a target from both heartless corporate executives and deranged arms dealers. Produced by Peter Jackson and partially inspired by Cape Town’s District Six during South Africa’s apartheid rule, District 9 became a defining sci-fi film of its era, and its story of kinship, freedom, and questioning one’s own moral compass lines up with similar themes throughout Andor. Previously considered to be the last hurrah for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine before the actor was lured back to the role for the upcoming Deadpool 3, this harrowing, R-rated adventure follows the aged James Howlett (a/k/a Logan, a/k/a Wolverine), a senile Professor X (Patrick Stewart) and a neurotic Caliban (Stephen Merchant) as they come across a young girl created from Wolverine’s DNA (Dafne Keen), who has a trail of mercenaries on her trail. A stark and surprisingly bleak story for 20th Century Studios’ former X-Men franchise, Logan set the bar for gritty and adult-oriented science fiction with the reach of a comic book film’s global audience. Capturing the essence of such epics as Apocalypse Now and 2001: A Space Odyssey, James Gray’s Ad Astra surrounds an emotionally distant astronaut (Brad Pitt) who is recruited to venture into deep space to find his missing father (Tommy Lee Jones), whose unrelenting search for intelligent alien life has inadvertently threatened life on Earth. A more patient and contemplative space-bound epic than most of its contemporaries, Ad Astra’s blunt presentation of a corporate-driven future in which the Moon has a fast-food laden travel terminal and scavenger pirates on lunar rovers really set it apart from the flashy and spectacle-driven sci-fi presented in the majority of big-budget blockbuster films. A true genre gem that became a cult classic as a result of its vocal online fanbase and remarkable home video sales, Dark City is a neo-noir horror/science fiction hybrid about an amnesiac (Rufus Sewell) who awakens in circumstances befitting that of a murderer, but his memories tell the tale of someone else entirely, sending him on a path to clear his name and discover a conspiracy that affects every person, place, and thing in his city. Beyond its committed ensemble cast and grungy production design, Dark City is easily one of the best-written sci-fi flicks of the 1990s, as director Alex Proyas and co-writers Lem Dobbs and David S. Goyer build an incredible story that feels just at home with hardboiled mysteries of the ‘40s as it does with The Twilight Zone. In 2021, modern filmmaking great Denis Villeneuve did what many sci-fi fans thought was impossible: he directed an amazing, cohesive and thrilling adaptation of Frank Herbert’s seminal space novel, Dune. Equipped with one of the most stacked casts in history, including rising star Timothée Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Josh Brolin, Zendaya, Jason Momoa, and Javier Bardem, to name only a few, and some of the most effective blends of practical and digital SFX ever, Dune is an immersive and emotionally gripping film that breaks every constraint of Hollywood’s studio system while offering an off-planet environment that feels decidedly real in a way no film has really captured since James Cameron’s Avatar. Neill Blomkamp finds his way onto this list again with his follow-up to District 9, the more polarizing Elysium, which surrounds a lower-class laborer (Matt Damon) who is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation on a job site, which motivates him to find an illicit way to reach an off-planet paradise for the rich named Elysium that has the ability to heal any disease or condition. In doing so, he runs afoul of Elysium’s ruthless defense secretary (Jodie Foster) and a psychopathic mercenary (Sharlto Copley). While the film didn’t match the critical acclaim of District 9, Elysium was a box office hit and the film’s fanbase has grown with appreciators over the past decade. Starring a pre-Mandalorian Pedro Pascal as well as Yellowjackets breakout star Sophie Thatcher, Prospect is an independent heart-pounding thriller set in a grim future where freelance ore refiners travel to dangerous and oft-uninhabitable planets looking to score big with rare and hard-to-obtain minerals. Teaming with her ambitious father (Jay Duplass), the teenage Cee (Thatcher) hopes their next outing will be their last, but when things quickly go awry, the young woman finds herself relying on the help of a manipulative and dangerous stranger to find a way off of a planet filled with toxic air, predatory colonists and volatile contractors.
