The most emotional moments in sci-fi movies are powerful enough to reduce anyone to tears, even if they use otherworldly concepts that are hard to relate to. Great storytelling revolves around characters and emotion, which means that filmmakers can connect with their audiences even if they are juggling concepts like time-travel, alien life and deep space exploration that people have no frame of reference for.

It’s often the case that strange sci-fi concepts can make a story even more emotionally resonant, since they allow us to see our own experiences with fresh eyes. Movies like Arrival and Interstellar use their sci-fi elements to interrogate loss, memory and emotional distance from a fresh perspective. Ultimately, it’s not difficult to relate to an alien, a robot or an astronaut in the furthest reaches of the galaxy if their stories are deeply human.

10

Cooper Gets A Message From His Daughter

Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar didn’t receive the same level of widespread critical acclaim as some other Christopher Nolan movies when it first came out, but it has gradually grown in stature over the years. Now, many Nolan fans rank it as one of the director’s best efforts, and it bears many of his signature touches. Just as Nolan has always been interested in non-linear storytelling, Interstellar‘s strange time travel structure is used for maximum emotional impact.

Interstellar has some scenes of nerve-shredding tension, but Nolan is deft enough to deliver some heartbreaking moments too. The scene in which Cooper watches the messages that have been piling up over the years he has been away is devastating, and it’s made even better by Matthew McConaughey’s raw emotional performance and Hans Zimmer’s delicate score. It perfectly illustrates how Nolan retains a focus on his characters amid some mind-bending space exploration.

9

Louise Sees Her Future

Arrival (2016)

Like Interstellar, Arrival has a unique approach to its non-linear storytelling, and it uses this peculiar structure to deliver an emotional hammer blow that no other movie could muster. The story follows a linguist who is tasked with deciphering the language of an alien species that has landed on Earth, but her understanding of the language ultimately affects her ability to understand the world around her.

The shocking twist ending of Arrival reveals that the flashbacks peppered throughout the story are actually glimpses into the future. Louise’s broken marriage and her daughter’s death are things which await her in the future, not the past. Her decision to accept this future rather than shying away from it opens up an interesting discussion on the nature of life, and it also ties into Arrival‘s theme of free will vs. determinism. The emotional weight of her decision comes crashing down in one striking moment.

8

E.T. Returns Home

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Steven Spielberg’s style can often be categorized by his sentimental storytelling, and this is something that both his supporters and detractors underline in various ways. While some of his weaker movies reach for sentimentality without doing the necessary groundwork, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an example of Spielberg operating at the peak of his powers. It’s easily one of his most emotional movies, precision-engineered to induce tears in audiences of all ages.

The scene in which Elliott says goodbye to E.T. is the culmination of an emotional roller-coaster, and it echoes Spielberg’s common themes of abandonment and unorthodox parental relationships. It’s a bittersweet finale for Eliott and E.T., since they both knew that staying on Earth was never possible for E.T. In sending him home, Elliott bids farewell to the most unexpectedly meaningful relationship of his young life.

7

Caesar’s Death

War For The Planet Of The Apes (2017)

The Planet of the Apes prequel movies have surpᴀssed all expectations, and they’ve exceeded the quality of the original sequels. The emotional payoff at the end of War for the Planet of the Apes is unlike anything that the original franchise delivered, beyond the explosive first movie. This is largely because Caesar’s journey is so well-crafted, and it mirrors the rise of the apes as human civilization starts to decline.

Caesar starts his journey as an orphaned baby chimpanzee in a pharmaceutical laboratory, and he ends his life as the leader of a burgeoning society who has safely delivered his fellow apes to a peaceful home. As the sun sets and he closes his eyes, it’s hard not to shed a tear. Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes starts by replaying this moment, underlining its symbolic importance, and Caesar’s legacy will likely continue to play a part in the future of the Planet of the Apes franchise.

6

Roy Lets His Father Go

Ad Astra (2019)

Ad Astra deserves more love as one of the best space exploration movies ever, but it probably suffered as it came at the tail-end of a boom in similar movies in the 2010s. Although it may look like Interstellar, Gravity or The Martian, Ad Astra skillfully combines elements of 2001: A Space Odyssey and Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. These disparate influences are drawn together by the movie’s focus on the physical and emotional journey of the main character.

Brad Pitt’s jaded astronaut ventures deep into the solar system to find his father, who had long since been presumed ᴅᴇᴀᴅ. In doing so, he inadvertently causes just as much death and destruction as his father. Their confrontation on a space station orbiting Neptune is an emotionally charged and wonderfully written examination of each man’s faults and similarities. By the time Roy has to let go of his father in order to save his own life, Ad Astra has done enough to earn this visual metaphor.

5

Robert Is Forced To Put His Dog Down

I Am Legend (2007)

The death of a dog is a sure-fire way to get audiences to cry, and I Am Legend‘s death scene is even more harrowing than most. The story takes inspiration from Richard Matheson’s novel of the same name, but it’s a decidedly loose adaptation. It broadly sticks to the same concept, however, as Will Smith plays a man with only his pet dog for company in a city ravaged by a zombie apocalypse.

Sam is Robert’s only friend in the world, and he depends on her even more, considering that he hasn’t seen a human in years. Their bond is more than the usual relationship between a man and his dog, so it’s a heartbreaking moment when Robert has to put her down after she is bitten by a zombie. Dogs don’t understand the complexities of certain situations, but they are driven by love and loyalty. Sam, like almost all dogs, is too pure for the world she finds herself in. The I Am Legend sequel could struggle to replicate the emotional impact of this scene.

4

WALL-E Loses His Memories

WALL-E (2008)

Pixar has a strong track record of making audiences cry, so it’s no surprise that the studio’s sci-fi masterpiece WALL-E has its fair share of emotional moments. Although there are plenty of gut-wrenching scenes which highlight WALL-E’s isolation and his fascination with human culture, the scene in which he loses his memories is easily the saddest. It’s fairly brief, but the idea behind it is so powerful that it carries a devastating impact.

WALL-E goes on a bold and dangerous journey from the relative safety of his life on Earth, and he ultimately sacrifices himself to save humanity. When he loses his memory, he reverts to his factory settings and becomes nothing more than a lifeless droid programmed to carry out manual labor. He even crushes his treasured belongings into cubes and blindly runs over his cockroach friend. It’s one of Pixar’s most emotional moments, and the joyful upswing when he regains his memories is just as powerful.

3

The Iron Giant’s Superman Moment

The Iron Giant (1999)

The Iron Giant tells the story of a planet-killing robot who doesn’t want to be a weapon, and his sacrifice is the ultimate proof of his soul. The giant realizes that the only way to save the town is to fly up and meet the missile that’s headed toward them head on. It’s a moment of pure heroism that earns him the respect of everyone below, particularly the General who had, just moments earlier, been trying to destroy him.

The Giant may be an immense robot, but he’s more emotional, empathetic and intelligent than most of the human characters, especially the military men who try to shut him down. He reflects the best sides of humanity without the tension, paranoia and violent instincts for pre-emptive self-preservation that drive The Iron Giant‘s Cold War story. His sacrifice is symbolic of an ideal that remains out of reach for most people.

2

The Rebels Sacrifice Themselves On Scarif

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)

Rogue One is the first live-action spinoff in the Star Wars franchise, and it manages to deliver an emotional gut-punch on par with anything in the main series of films. Although the movie doesn’t have as much time to get the audience acquainted with the new characters, it’s still heartbreaking to see them all sacrificing their lives to ensure that the rebellion has a glimmer of hope in the fight against the empire.

There are plenty of upcoming Star Wars movies as the franchise finally makes its return to the big-screen, but it could be a long time before a spinoff matches the quality of Rogue One. Jyn, Cᴀssian, K-2SO and the rest of the misfit rebels feel like such fully realized characters that the emotion of their final moments hit hard. It’s even more heartbreaking for fans of the franchise who know what their actions mean in the broader context of the galactic struggle for freedom.

1

Roy Batty’s Death

Blade Runner (1982)

Blade Runner has influenced sci-fi movies for decades, especially those with an interest in artificial intelligence and the question of what it means to be human. If Blade Runner‘s philosophy on these subjects could be crystallized down into a single moment, it would be Roy Batty’s heartbreaking final speech before his death, shortly after he saves Deckard’s life. Rutger Hauer’s performance keeps the audience hanging on his every word.

Although there’s no way to visualize some of the things Roy says in his famous “tears in rain” speech, he still conveys the majesty of his life experience effectively. Most importantly, he seems to have his own experiences and emotions that the audience can know nothing about, just like any other person. His status as a replicant means that he is viewed as subhuman, but with his dying breath he shows that he’s as complex and introspective as anyone.