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Science Fiction

Science fiction as a genre of film making has been an element of the cinema experience since the earliest days of the motion picture industry. These films have explored a great range of unique topics, including many that cannot be readily presented in other genre. Science fiction films have been used to explore sensitive social and political issues, while often providing an entertaining story for the more casual viewer. Today, science fiction films are in the forefront of new special effects technology, and the audience has become accustomed to displays of realistic aliens, space battles, energy weapons, faster than light travel, and distant worlds. This genre has produced many memorable films, as well as a number that can be considered mediocre or even among the worst examples of film production. It took many decades, and the efforts of talented teams of film producers, for the science fiction film genre to be taken seriously as an art form by many critics. The very best of these films may be scrolled below, or for Sci-Fi TV Series, select the green 'Televison Shows' heading on left, and then the 'TV Sci-Fi' option.

Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut (2001)

8.1/10
Director: Richard Kelly
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Katharine Ross, Mary McDonnell, No...

During the presidential election of 1988, a teenager named Donnie Darko (Jake Gyllenhaal) sleepwalks out of his house one night, and sees a giant, dem... Read more

The Terminator (1984)

8/10
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Paul Winfield, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Arnold Schwarzenegger

A cyborg is sent from the future to present-day Los Angeles on a deadly mission. He's got to kill a young woman whose life will have great significanc... Read more

Minority Report (2002)

7.7/10
Director: Steven Spielberg
Starring: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Max von Sydow, Samantha Morton, Peter Stormare

In Steven Spielberg's electrifying adaptation of Philip K Dick's short story, Tom Cruise is a detective for a government agency in 2025 Washington tha... Read more

Fahrenheit 451 (1966)

7.3/10
Director: Francois Truffaut
Starring: Oskar Werner, Julie Christie, Cyril Cusack

In a future society all books are destroyed, so that hope for humanity resides in those few outcasts who have committed them to memory. Based on Ray B... Read more

The Abyss (1989)

7.6/10
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Ed Harris, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Michael Biehn

Spectacular underwater saga/sci-fi adventure about an oil-rig crew that gets involved in a perilous mission to rescue a sunken nuclear sub, and encoun... Read more

Primer (2004)

6.9/10
Director: Shane Carruth
Starring: Shane Carruth, David Sullivan, Anand Upadhyaya, Casey Gooden, Carrie Crawford

Everything you think you know about modern science is about to unravel. Written, directed by and starring Shane Carruth, this critically acclaimed low... Read more

Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979)

6.4/10
Director: Robert Wise
Starring: William Shatner, Leonard Nimoy, DeForest Kelley, James Doohan, George Takei, Per...

The crew of the Enterprise are reunited to combat a lethal force field headed toward Earth. This was the first big screen outing for the Trek franchis... Read more

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

7.9/10
Director: Taika Waititi
Starring: Anthony Hopkins, Cate Blanchett, Clancy Brown, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Karl...

Imprisoned on the other side of the universe, the mighty Thor finds himself in a deadly gladiatorial contest that pits him against the Hulk, his forme... Read more

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005)

6.8/10
Director: Garth Jennings
Starring: Martin Freeman, Mos Def, Sam Rockwell, Zooey Deschanel, Warwick Davis, Alan Rick...

Arthur Dent (Martin Freeman) escapes Earth seconds before destruction with ET pal Ford (Mos Def) joining forces with galactic president Zaphod (Sam Ro... Read more

Mars Attacks! (1996)

6.3/10
Director: Tim Burton
Starring: Jack Nicholson, Glenn Close, Danny DeVito, Annette Bening, Michael J Fox, Martin...

Tim Burton's wonderful kitsch homage to the Sci Fi movies of the 50's is certainly a wild ride with Jack Nicholson portraying both the American Presid... Read more