The first quarter of the 21st century has been a sneakily outstanding era for science fiction cinema, with the technological advancements of filmmaking combining with bold and innovative stories to produce a litany of masterpieces. In the eyes of many, the absurdist romantic drama Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is the genre’s defining triumph of the century so far, thanks to its compelling mixture of cerebral, high-concept storytelling, meditative contemplations on love, and flourishes of comic lunacy and romantic purity.
However, cinema has seen no shortage of sci-fi spectacles since the movie released in 2004, with the list being so competitive that noteworthy gems like District 9, Edge of Tomorrow, and Everything Everywhere All at Once haven’t made the cut. The films here epitomize the splendor of science fiction cinema at its mighty and mercurial best, be it in the form of epic adventures, contained thrills, experimental boldness, or even the wondrous allure of animation.
‘WALL-E’ (2008)
Even within Pixar’s illustrious and universally acclaimed catalogue of animated masterpieces, WALL-E stands out with its vibrant visuals, rich thematic undercurrent, and touching tale of robotic romance. It follows WALL-E (Ben Burtt), a robot tasked with cleaning up the waste-ravaged Earth when humanity flees the dying planet, who finds himself smitten with EVE (Elissa Knight), a robot who visits Earth to survey its habitability for humans. In pursuit of his new love, WALL-E embarks on an epic adventure across the stars that could alter the fate of humanity.
Absorbing from its opening minutes, WALL-E captures a bittersweet essence of heart and loneliness through the mere physicality of its titular hero, enchanting viewers with a wholesome story of love and innocence. The fact that such a charming and emotionally powerful family story also holds an important message on the environmental impact of consumerist consumption cements WALL-E as a rare sci-fi flick that strikes a truly perfect balance between touching storytelling and thematic conviction.
‘Under the Skin’ (2013)
Powered by a performance of incredible courage from Scarlett Johansson, Under the Skin wafts as an eerie and unnerving sci-fi that touches on ideas of human connection, predatory sexualization, and empathy through its story of quiet cosmic horror. Set in Glasgow, it follows an alien who lures lonely men with her charms, guiding them into a black liquid abyss from which they never return. Over time, the alien begins to develop compassion for her victims, impeding her ability to perform her task efficiently.
Complex, dense, and refusing to grant viewers easy answers, Under the Skin is a challenging viewing experience for even the most seasoned and cerebral of sci-fi lovers. Yet, its meditative stanzas on the fluidity of identity, the nature of sexuality and the male gaze, and the hostility of the world craft a spectacle that is unique and thought-provoking. In many respects, it skewers the obsession with beauty and sex appeal that dominates modern culture, presenting a tale of caution realized with a palpable and unsettling atmospheric richness.
‘Ex Machina’ (2014)
An underrated maestro of cerebral sci-fi cinema over the last 25 years, Alex Garland’s contributions as both a writer and a director are worthy of unending praise. He’s tackled scintillating thrills in the genre with films like Sunshine, action bombast with Dredd, and high-concept cosmic horror with Annihilation. However, his most piercing sci-fi comes with his official directorial debut, Ex Machina. Operating as a controlled small-scale chiller, it unfolds as a young programmer is invited by his eccentric boss to gauge the capabilities of Ava (Alicia Vikander), a fiercely intelligent robot.
Ex Machina is an entrancing delve into the ethics and intricacies of A.I. consciousness and its interface with emotionally malleable people, which is also able to be read as a parable about gender dynamics between men and women. Complemented by its trio of outstanding performances, Academy Award-winning visual effects that bring Ava to life in astonishing fashion, and a winding and savagely twisting screenplay, Ex Machina is a modern classic of sci-fi cinema at its contemplative and callous best.
‘Dune’ (2021) & ‘Dune Part 2’ (2024)
A blockbuster spectacle of uncommon artistry and impact, both Dune and Dune: Part Two have become arguably the two most defining cinematic releases of the 2020s so far. Based on Frank Herbert’s novel, the epic saga transpires in a distant future as House Atreides is tasked with extracting an invaluable resource known as “Spice” from the arid desert world of Arrakis. When his house is betrayed and his family slaughtered, Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) works with Arrakis’ native people, the Fremen, presenting himself as a prophesied messiah as he vows to take revenge on House Harkonnen and the Padishah Emperor.
Denis Villeneuve’s ability to present a breathtaking sense of scale is astonishing. The duology is a combination of immersive world-building, stunning visuals, and striking audio design that is respectful and faithful to Frank Herbert’s mercilessly complex story world while being a feat of cinematic grandiosity. Further bolstered by its ensemble and thematic interest in the dangerous nature of religious and political leaders, the Dune movies encompass the scope and might of sci-fi cinema.
‘Arrival’ (2016)
Going from one Denis Villeneuve gem to another, Arrival represents the Canadian filmmaker’s first foray into science fiction cinema. It is a remarkable feat of visually arresting imagery and tender, intricate drama, based on Ted Chiang’s novella Story of Your Life. It follows linguistics professor Louise Banks (Amy Adams), who is recruited by the US Army to spearhead communications with one of twelve alien spacecrafts that have arrived on Earth. The assignment grows increasingly desperate as political anxieties bring world leaders to the cusp of launching an attack.
Grounded in Adams’s typically magnificent performance, Arrival tackles heady themes with both intellectual might and emotional gravitas. It delivers a complex and confounding story of time, love, and loss that analyses the enigmatic nature of the human condition. With this philosophical richness only enhanced by the film’s spellbinding display, unique concept of alien invasion, and intriguing emphasis on obstacles of communication and language, Arrival excels as one of the more mindful science-fiction movies in recent decades.
‘Inception’ (2010)
Standing tall alongside Denis Villeneuve as one of the most significant filmmakers of the 21st century so far, Sir Christopher Nolan has built his career on the back of barnstorming and blitzing big-screen spectacles and intricate, complex storytelling that keeps viewers on the edge of their seats. These two qualities have served him well throughout his career, especially in the wheelhouse of science fiction cinema. 2010’s Inception stands as one of Nolan’s most defining triumphs through its mind-bending story of dream infiltration and corporate subterfuge.
The film combines the detailed and overwhelming sci-fi nuance of the narrative with an awe-inspiring visual display, while running effectively as a high-octane heist movie set in someone’s mind. Inception is an icon of 21st century cinema, not only for its ambition and technical prowess, but for its striking originality as well. Converging sci-fi, action thrills, character drama, and numerous monumental set pieces, Inception epitomizes Nolan at his very best and blockbuster science fiction at its most frenzied and impressionable.
‘Blade Runner 2049’ (2017)
Blade Runner 2049 passes the test of honoring the original, coming to be revered as a modern masterpiece of science-fiction cinema. Denis Villeneuve combines the grimy cyberpunk aesthetic of Blade Runner with a renewed sense of scope while delivering a captivating tale of humanity and identity. It follows Officer K (Ryan Gosling), a replicant Blade Runner who discovers a secret pertaining to a child born from a human father and an android mother. While K is tasked with investigating the phenomenon and concealing any evidence he finds, he begins to suspect he might be the child he is searching for, and wonders what it means for his own existence and purpose.
Making a sequel to a film released 35 years prior is an audacious undertaking that Villeneuve tackled head-on. A contemplative and cerebral tale of the nature of humanity, complemented by a stunning visual display courtesy of Roger Deakins’ typically enrapturing cinematography, Blade Runner 2049 is enshrined as one of the best and most ambitious sci-fi movies of all time, and it is truly a shame that it didn’t perform better financially.
‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)
The clashing of sci-fi tech and action carnage has inspired many of the best and most brutal blockbusters over the decades, from defining triumphs like Terminator 2: Judgment Day and Aliens to underrated modern hits like Edge of Tomorrow and Upgrade. Among the very best and most vibrant of them is 2015’s post-apocalyptic extravaganza, Mad Max: Fury Road, which once again follows wasteland drifter Max Rockatansky (Tom Hardy). In his efforts to escape the captivity of the Citadel, he joins forces with Imperator Furiosa (Charlize Theron), one of the local warlord’s key lieutenants, who betrays her ruler and strives to lead his multiple wives to a green haven from her youth.
A beautiful cacophony of cohesion and chaos, Mad Max: Fury Road delivers a heart-pounding and propulsive medley of mayhem, an inspired hit of action excess that makes for one of the greatest cinematic experiences of the 21st century thus far. Its sci-fi storytelling may not be as intellectually stimulating as that of its contemporaries, but its immersive realization of a dystopian world ravaged by war and waste is masterful, setting the scene for what is one of the greatest achievements in action cinema of all time.
‘Interstellar’ (2014)
Cited by many as being the 21st century equivalent of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Interstellar is an exhibition of sci-fi filmmaking at its commanding and creative best. Easy to consider as being Nolan’s magnum opus, the space adventure epic unfolds in a desolate near future where Earth’s resources are diminishing at a rapid rate. To secure humanity’s existence beyond Earth’s looming demise, former NASA astronaut Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) is recruited to pilot an expedition to examine the habitability of three planets in a distant galaxy.
Delivering hard, high-concept sci-fi, the film extracts drama and tension from its scientific realism. Its realization of the black hole is the best and most accurate cinema has ever seen, while its ability to incorporate time dilation and wormholes as essential plot points provides an intellectual appeal to match its breathtaking visual spectacle. However, the true masterstroke is how Nolan grounds the existential angst of humanity’s future in Cooper’s relationship with his daughter. With its combination of intelligent, scientifically accurate storytelling with pulsating human drama, Interstellar can only be considered one of the greatest science fiction movies ever made.
‘Children of Men’ (2006)
Not only is Children of Men among the most underrated sci-fi movies of the 21st century (if not of all time), but it also stands tall among the best examples of the genre that cinema has ever seen. A masterpiece of dystopian world-building, it transpires in a near-future where the abrupt infertility of women has seen birthrates decline. With no babies born in 18 years, humanity clings to civilization, though society is collapsing under the weight of looming extinction. Amid the turmoil, a former activist is recruited to escort a miraculously pregnant woman to a safe harbor at sea.
While it is based on P. D. James’s 1992 novel, the film intelligently expands on the bleak setting of the book. Among several key changes are making Theo (Clive Owen) more of an audience surrogate rather than an active protagonist from the outset, emphasizing the dystopia’s refugee crisis, and highlighting the way hope can be utilized as a political weapon. Combining this thematic might with stunning camerawork that includes several action-packed long takes and a disturbingly plausible world of despair, Children of Men excels as one of the most visceral and ferociously realistic sci-fi movies.