Sci-Fi Movie Reviews

Alien

Ridley Scott's slow-burning, atmospheric filmmaking melds a first-rate screenplay, Giger's art, and Sigourney Weaver's formidable performance into a masterpiece of sci-fi cinema

Donnie Darko

A weird, soulful film that peels back an outer layer of teenage angst and superficial 80s suburbia to delve into mental illness, quantum physics and time travel, and tie them together into a beautiful piece of art

Aliens

A textbook sequel which takes the essence of the first and pivots to a larger action movie while keeping the atmosphere, suspense, and strong lead of the original

Animatrix, The

Directed by some notable animators, The Animatrix was a slick way to add flavour to the Matrix universe via an atmospheric series of short films, which ended up being more enjoyable than the subsequent movies

Gravity

Watching this sci-fi thriller in IMAX was wild, this movie is a completely engrossing white knuckle ride with stunning SFX vistas and a simple compelling plot that is exceptionally well executed by both main characters

Jurassic Park

Michael Crichton’s page turner was the perfect Spielberg blockbuster, best watched as a small child but really timeless action packed sci-fi for all ages, with a few darker warnings remaining from the novel

Moon

This minimalistic gem uses a haunting score and few slick effect shots of the indifferent beauty of the moon to perfectly set up an atmosphere of claustrophobic isolation, into which Sam Rockwell delivers a riveting performance through some tightly written plot beats

Solaris (2002)

Soderbergh's adaptation is more approachable and less cerebral than Tarkovsky's due to his focus on the character relationships rather than the larger metaphysical concerns of the novel, and this angle ultimately yields an enjoyable and well told tale

War Of The Worlds (2005)

There is something very cathartic about the deadbeat dad redemption and post 9-11 trauma themes worked throughout, and along with the effective build up of tension and amazing special effects, that makes this an extremely enjoyable movie

Blade Runner 2049

Villeneuve creates a visually stunning and dark future worthy of the original, which along with Zimmer's score and masterful acting performances creates a magnificent backdrop to an engaging and well thought out screenplay

Ex Machina

An excellently paced sci-fi thriller, we are driven through a beautifully atmospheric setting by an extremely compelling idea to the inevitable conclusion, with the conflicting personalities and strength of the ideas making this a completely enthralling journey from start to finish.

Inception

A cultural phenomenon that overcomes its absurdity and weak characters with blockbuster effects and a few intriguing plot hooks, much like the Matrix 11 years earlier

Martian, The

Andy Weir's upbeat, funny protagonist of science Mark Watney is a perfect fit for Matt Damon, and coupled with Ridley Scott's eye for the stunning visuals this is a glorious and very enjoyable movie

Matrix, The

The Matrix was a groundbreaking and visually stunning sci-fi that survives multiple rewatchings due to the tight plot, pop philosophy, and fun action sequences leading up to a satisfying conclusion

Monsters

Jon Hopkins delicate, beautiful score is the perfect accompaniment to this sci-fi romance, and along with the top notch cinematography it brings to life the wonder of the strange alien life in the film's believable devastated landscape, despite the shoestring budget this was shot on

Avatar

This groundbreaking 3D cinematic experience, despite the simple plot, is still enjoyable in 2d due to the passion and detail that has clearly gone into each shot and some interesting world building and sci-fi elements to boot

Blade Runner

The beautiful over the top noir cinematography established Scott and the crew's creation as the definitive cyberpunk environment, and although parts of the film are a bit empty the story is compelling and filled with both spectacular scenes and fascinating mundane details courtesy of Syd Mead's background design

Her

Set in a bright glossy future L.A, this warm and engaging human machine romance has some interesting takes on a well-worn formula

Prometheus

A more cerebral and big-picture exploration of the origins of Alien, this has the same slow building tension although lacks some of the tight focus and attention to detail

Alita: Battle Angel

Rodriguez high energy directorial style does justice to Yukito Kishiro's cyberpunk spectacle, with the movie remaining engaging and confident throughout

Arrival

A graceful adaptation of Ted Chiang's novella, this captures a lot of its fascination with language and time, tying everything together with nuanced performances by the leads and some excellent cinematography.

Battle For Terra

A clever and original kids sci-fi with some excellent world building

Cloud Atlas

A dreamlike, intoxicating epic of intertwined stories, connected from past to future by repeated motifs, with each period lovingly designed and the philosophic themes underpinning them working on some subliminal level even when it is emotionally difficult to connect to some of the stories.

Dune (2021)

Leaning into the colonial allegories from the source a bit more than the Lynch version works well in creating an engaging and atmospheric adaptation that is well paced and entertaining throughout

Event Horizon

This well paced sci-fi horror works well as an enjoyable late-night popcorn flick

Fifth Element, The

Visually stunning cinematography, amazing goofball costumes and lines, and thoroughly entertaining from start to finish, there has never been anything else quite like this sci-fi blockbuster

Interstellar

A behemoth of a movie, the sheer scope and spectacle is enthralling enough to overlook the weak characters and hit-and-miss mystical themes

Pandorum

A slick, bleak, atmospheric sci-fi horror with some great action scenes

Passengers

A slick, enjoyable sci-fi rom-com carried by the main characters and special effects

Project Hail Mary

Tries a little too hard to be likeable, cuts some important explanations from the book, and music is annoying; but wow, still funny, good character arc, great science

Strange Days

Kathryn Bigelow's underrated cyberpunk noir is a whirlwind drive through the last days of the 20th century, foreshadowing the issues of the 21st with its backdrop of a dysfunctional society and a confronting series of virtually experienced murders

Sunshine

Stunning cinematography, a solid cast, and interesting premise mostly overcome the weird metaphysical elements in the screenplay, although the second half is much weaker than the first

A.I. Artificial Intelligence

Spielberg's tribute to Kubrick is one of his best films and a great sci-fi, slick entertainment throughout and some great world building on top of some involving and melancholy moments

Alien3

Fincher takes the Aliens franchise in a grimmer direction, building a grimy and claustrophobic visual language that ultimately works well despite all the compromises that were made in the direction of this movie

Alien: Romulus

An excellently made and worthy neo-sequel to Alien, while in many places it lacks originality it does deliver a believable extension to the world building and claustrophobic atmosphere of the original

Contact

A satisfying adaptation of Carl Sagan's novel which digs into the implications of first contact on science and faith

Edge Of Tomorrow

Beautifully shot action packed movie with a great high concept, characters are a bit of a let down but have their moments

Looper

This time travel movie features a clever and surprisingly internally consistent plot, as well as likeable characters and (ignoring the time travel) glimpses of a solidly believable future

Sputnik

A punchy, back-to-basics Russian sci-fi that injects some introspection and novelty into a well worn formula

Upgrade

Fast paced, grimy cyberpunk flick featuring some interesting tech without delving too much into the implications

WALL-E

My favourite Pixar movie, Stanton's subtle screenplay turns what could have been a brain-dead kids movie into a touching and intelligent sci-fi

Waterworld

Sure the characterisation is weak and the world building could have been more subtle, but the ascetic is top notch and every scene in this epic blockbuster is perfectly conceived and executed and they connect together into an intriguing and satisfying experience

World War Z

This tense and visually stunning zombie movie sneaks enough science into its slower third act to consider it a sci-fi, and for the rest is a enjoyable and smart series of fast paced action set pieces

12 Monkeys

Gilliam's style is present in every shot, but unlike Brazil this sci-fi has a suspenseful and driven narrative that keeps you hooked until the end

Contagion

Tense disaster movie which was prescient in predicting rapid vaccine development, however it would have been a better movie if some of the characters and subplots were cut

Creator, The

This visually stunning exploration of a future containing a polity of primitive AIs quickly runs into an uncanny valley of implausibility once we get into the details.

Elysium

Neill Blomkamp continues to pull no punches in this gritty if slightly illogical dystopian vision, which is worth watching just for set design and costumes.

Fountain, The

A beautiful and ambitious movie about the quest for eternal life, the story is quite meandering and confusing but the visuals are spectacular

Gattaca

This exploration of the consequences of designer babies is A grade classic science fiction, the setting is a bit uninspired but the brilliant high concept and decent characters pull everything together well enough

Life

A tense but not terribly original sci-fi horror which is propelled along by the suspense and character conflicts in its fairly realistic and claustrophobic setting

Titan, The

A solid but slightly unfocused narrative which treads a fair bit of new ground but never quite takes off

Abyss, The (Directors Cut)

Cameron’s deeply technical and atmospheric classic has a somewhat odd storyline which needs to be watched with the director's cut ending to make any sense

Annihilation

City of Ember

Slightly satirical sci-fi movie for older kids, nicely designed

District 9

The flawed and dysfunctional alien society is more interesting than the apartheid parallels, and the characterisation is a bit one dimensional, but this is funny and sad and watchable nonetheless

Downsizing

Good high concept which wears a little thin but it remains light hearted and watchable throughout

Gorge, The

Beautiful scenery and soundtrack with decent characters and novel action/horror/romance/sci-fi concept, however once the pacing picks up it all becomes a bit formulaic

Hunger Games, The

Like Harry Potter this is a young adult blockbuster which ends up being less dark than its book, but in this case with better acting and a bit of muted social criticism

I Am Mother

Serenity

A space opera that carries the fun free-wheeling libertarian ethos over from Firefly, but it doesn't quite deliver as well in a full length movie format

Stalker

Like a sci-fi Mulholland Drive, this film's dreamy and hypnotic shots pack a much more powerful punch than Solaris (or 2001 for that matter) and effectively bring the difficult cerebral concepts in Roadside Picnic to life in a deeply visceral and intuitive way.

Tomorrow War, The

A fast and fun popcorn flick that manages to land a few hits on some topical issues without taking itself too seriously

28 Days Later

Adjustment Bureau, The

After Earth

The Jaden and Will Smith relationship makes this, otherwise average concept

Archive

Brings a fresh cyberpunk aesthetic and a decent plot

I Am Legend

IO

Limitless

Terminator

Tides

An enjoyable fast moving sci-fi, largely carried by the cinematography and Nora Arnezeder’s character

Anon

Carriers

Chappie

Deep Impact

Oblivion

On The Beach

Predestination

Quiet Place, A

Reminiscence

Gorgeous blend of noir and eco-collapse setting, sadly let down by vanilla casting and plot

Screamers

Soylent Green

Spectral

Terminator 2 - Judgement Day

Total Recall

Transcendence

10 Cloverfield Lane

2001 - A Space Odyssey

Brilliant premise and ideas which Kubrick brings to life, but the plotting meanders.

Children of Men

Containment

Divergent

Extinction

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die

Main plot is a fun topical romp carried by Rockwell, but the flashbacks are a snoozefest

Matrix Revolutions

Mickey 17

A bit campy but roles are played with gusto and you can’t help wanting to see everyone get their just desserts

Never Let Me Go

Outland

Prospect

Riverworld

Vesper

Novel biopunk setting

13th Floor

Bicentenial Man

Congress, The

Cube

Dawn of the planet of the apes

Deep Blue Sea

Ender's Game

Ghost In The Shell (2017)

Last Days, The

Otherlife

Paradise

Robocop (2014)

Running Man, The (2025)

Funny and enjoyable remake, the corporate dystopia is unoriginal but handled with robocop-esque dark humour which works well

Slingshot

Quite watchable space based psychological thriller with a bit of a shaky premise and characterisation

Vanilla Sky

What Happened to Monday?

6th Day, The

Peak Schwarzenegger, the concept is a little ridiculous but it all works

Ad Astra

Alien 4

Chaos Walking

Chrysalis (2014)

Cloverfield

Code 8

Colony, The

Host, The

Hotel Artemis

How It Ends

Long Distance

Few enjoyable dark humour moments, characters are a bit annoying but the ecosystem of the world is interesting and nice CGI.

Marjorie Prime

Matrix Reloaded

Mute

Pod Generation, The

Not much happens in this single-issue sci-fi, and yet the characters play the romance and mild black comedy script well and the world feel close and real

Robot & Frank

Self/less

Simulant

A shallow noir about humanoid robots, the atmosphere and characters are reasonable but it never lives up to its potential

Source Code

Synchronic

Screenwriter does reasonable job of tying together a difficult but ultimately rewarding high concept, despite some implausible scenes along the way.

Zone 414

Tries hard to create an engaging atmosphere and characters and at times almost succeeds

Automata

Cloverfield Paradox

Greenland

Lapsis

A strong lead character and some clever, offbeat world building overcome the meandering and implausible plot to deliver a memorable critique of the gig economy.

Machine, The

Minority Report

Altitude

Shallow but entertaining and well paced apocalyptic story which goes a bit wrong in the last 20 minutes

Captive State

Day The Earth Stood Still, The (2008)

Dredd

Europa Report

External Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Forbidden Planet

Last Days On Mars

Mad Max

Mercy

Sets up an interesting premise and method of storytelling, but fails to deliver

Outside The Wire

Predator

Real Steel

Sea Fever

Underwater

WarGames

Approaching The Unknown

Brazil

Coherence

Geostorm

I, Robot

Independence Day

Mission To Mars

Mortal Engines

Mother/Android

Narcopolis

Pitch Black

Red Planet

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

These Final Hours

Thing, The

Uncanny

Wandering Earth, The

28 Weeks Later

Blindness

Cargo

Cowboy Bebop: The Movie

Cypher

Dune (1984)

Oxygen

Purge, The

Settlers

Sphere

Stowaway

Supernova

Advantageous

Code 46

Fahrenheit 451

Ghosts of Mars

Hardware

Hell

Imposter, The

Tremors

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets

Day, The

Giver, The

Godzilla (2014)

Johnny Mnemonic

Knowing

Rise of the planet of the apes

Space Between Us, The

Time Machine, The (2002)

Atomica

Back To The Future

Clone Returns Home, The

Eva

Maze Runner, The

Pacific Rim

Solar Crisis

Battleship

Infini

Lobster, The

Rupture

Osiris Child, The

Mutant Chronicles

Land Of The Dead

THX 1138

Replicas

Stake Land

Escape From L.A