There have been plenty of outstanding sci-fi movies over the past 25 years, but only a select few stand out as the greatest works of this century. From dystopian nightmares to interstellar adventures, sci-fi has the power to explore humanity’s hopes and fears in a way that transcends everyday imagination and depicts realities, possibilities, and consequences beyond our world.

The greatest sci-fi movies of recent years were produced by some of the most acclaimed directors working today, as auteurs like Christopher Nolan, Denis Villeneuve, and Steven Spielberg have released sci-fi works that became instant classics. As an awe-inspiring genre where anything is possible, the greatest sci-fi movies of the 21st century have left their mark on modern cinema.

20

District 9 (2009)

Directed by Neill Blomkamp

Social commentary and satire came together in District 9, an epic story of xenophobia and social segregation that acted as a powerful metaphor for apartheid in South Africa. Coming from director Neill Blomkamp, this unique narrative positioned aliens not as terrifying threats but as displaced beings in need of refuge.

With the aliens relocated to a confinement camp, District 9 was inspired by the true stories of segregation in Cape Town. District 9 was extraordinarily thought-provoking as viewers must confront history as well as the current social and political landscape. With the doors open for a sequel, sci-fi fans have been waiting for a follow-up for more than 15 years now.

19

Coherence (2013)

Directed by James Ward Byrkit

As a thriller exploration of quantum mechanics and the concept of Schrödinger’s cat, Coherence was a truly unusual sci-fi that toyed with the nature of reality itself. Taking place on the night of Miller’s Comet’s pᴀssing, guests at a dinner party must deal with their existence splitting between parallel realities.

Through its deeply disarming style, Coherence saw the guests meeting duplicates of themselves, and they were forced to question which universe they were actually in. With much of the script improvised by the actors, this loose feel added a sense of realism to this already mind-bending sci-fi.

18

Looper (2012)

Directed by Rian Johnson

Featuring two great performances from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis, Looper tells the story of an ᴀssᴀssin whose targets are sent from the future for him to kill. However, he’s forced on an action-packed mission through time when he realizes that his latest victim is the older version of himself.

This mind-bending sci-fi paired fascinating ideas with incredible action sequences in a movie that combines thoughts with thrills. With excellent direction and a sharp script from the future Knives Out filmmaker Rian Johnson, Looper was an inventive film that proved action movies don’t need to sacrifice intelligence for excitement.

17

The Martian (2015)

Directed by Ridley Scott

As the director behind such enduring sci-fi classics as Alien and Blade Runner, Ridley Scott proved he could still deliver an all-time great sci-fi in the 21st century with The Martian. As an excellent adaptation of the original novel by Andy Weir, it was Matt Damon’s committed performance as a botanist marooned on Mars that elevated this film.

With a great sense of humor and plenty of thrills, watching as Dr. Mark Watney figured out a way to survive and even grow potatoes on the red planet made for a heart-racing story of survival. Like a version of Robinson Crusoe set in space, The Martian just got everything right.

16

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

A.I. Artificial Intelligence was a pᴀssion project of director Stanley Kubrick that he was unable to make before his death. Following this, Steven Spielberg stepped in to finish what his late colleague started, and the result was a spectacular movie that blended the dark undercurrents of Kubrick with the sentimental optimism of Spielberg.

Telling the story of an artificial boy who was programmed with the ability to love, A.I. Artificial Intelligence was marketed as a futuristic version of Pinocchio. With a lot of heart and a great performance from Haley Joel Osment, the emotional resonance of this story has only become more relevant as the capabilities of AI continue to expand.

15

WALL-E (2008)

Directed by Andrew Stanton

It’s a testament to the wondrous creativity of Pixar that a film that can be enjoyed equally by young viewers and adults alike ranks among the best sci-fi movies of the past 25 years. WALL-E was the powerful story of a robot left cleaning garbage on an uninhabited planet that managed to have more poignant emotional power than most dramas.

With minimal dialogue, WALL-E was almost a silent movie, which made the fact that its robot star was able to convey such surprising humanity all the more impressive. WALL-E captured something special and was rightfully given the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.

14

Annihilation (2018)

Directed by Alex Garland

Following his outstanding directorial debut with Ex Machina, Alex Garland delivered yet another modern classic with Annihilation. As a powerful adaptation of Jeff VanderMeer’s original novel, Annihilation was a Lovecraftian tale exploring the incomprehensible nature of extraterrestrial life through a quarantined zone called the Shimmer.

With a group exploring this eerie zone, Annihilation brought to mind works like Andrei Tarkovsky’s Stalker as the characters faced intense conflicts of idenтιтy, psychology, and their own sense of self. Annihilation was far more than its eerie setting, as it forced viewers to confront the darkest aspects of human existence and the fragility of our own minds.

13

Minority Report (2002)

Directed by Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg’s first movie in the post 9/11 era was appropriately a sci-fi about police who stopped crimes before they happened. With a story that American viewers could definitely connect with at the time, this Tom Cruise cyberpunk tale blended tech noir, whodunnit, thriller, and sci-fi styles all into one.

Minority Report was based on a short story by Philip K. Dick, and Spielberg captured its complex themes and repackaged it as a high-octane action thriller. As a cinematic spectacle at its absolute finest, Minority Report represented the best of what blockbuster sci-fi movies could achieve.

12

Her (2013)

Directed by Spike Jonze

Perhaps more than any other film in recent memory, Spike Jonze’s Her most accurately predicted what life would look like in the near future. With Joaquin Phoenix as the lonely, single Theodore Twombly, this soul-searching man’s life finds new meaning when he begins a romantic relationship with an artificial operating system voiced by Scarlett Johansson.

With plenty of heart and a whole lot of wisdom, Jonze captured the complexities of modern romance in a story that felt eerily possible. Her was elevated by Phoenix’s reserved performance, as Theodore’s loneliness and longing quietly revealed the all-time common unmet desire for real connection in modern life.

11

Under The Skin (2013)

Directed by Jonathan Glazer

Under the Skin was sci-fi unlike anything before or after it, as Jonathan Glazer’s dark story of an alien enтιтy had a truly original and unnerving atmosphere. With Scarlett Johansson as a seductive otherworldly alien who preys on unsuspecting men in the Scottish countryside, the minimalist style and slow-burning tension of this story left viewers haunted and mesmerized.

While Under the Skin’s idiosyncratic style may be too unnerving for some viewers, it gained widespread acclaim from critics and was lauded as one of the best films of the 21st century. With feminist undertones and a haunting cinematic style, Under the Skin remains an unusually high point in both Glazer’s and Johansson’s filmographies.