The 20 best sci-fi movies on Netflix right now

The Adam Project (2022)

The rules of time travel be damned! In The Adam Project, a fighter pilot (Ryan Reynolds) living in the year 2050 attempts to travel back to 2018 to save his wife (Zoe Saldaña), but accidentally crash lands in 2022 where he comes face-to-face with his teenage self (Walker Scobell). As the two Adams work together to return Old Adam to the future, they find ways to grow and grieve through traumas new and old. Think Back to the Future–meets–Free Guy.

Also starring Catherine Keener as the leader of Old Adam's world and Mark Ruffalo as Adam's father Lou, EW's critic writes that "Adam barrels along on movie stars and charm, from futures past and back again." —Randall Colburn

Where to watch The Adam Project: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Shawn Levy

Cast: Ryan Reynolds, Zoe Saldaña, Catherine Keener, Mark Ruffalo, Walker Scobell

Anon (2018)

Privacy and anonymity are luxuries afforded to no one in the 2018 British-American sci-fi thriller Anon. Clive Owen stars as Det. Sal Frieland, a troubled cop operating in a dystopia where the entire populace is implanted with an ocular device intended to record and track the movements of the people around them. The government's transparency methods ensure that all criminal activity is caught on tape — but when a mysterious woman with no digital footprint (Amanda Seyfried) crosses paths with Sal, he realizes she might have a connection with a series of unsolved murders he's investigating.

Director Andrew Niccol tells EW, "I always wanted to do a movie about privacy and the fact that there was never a war for privacy because we already lost — we gave away our privacy without a fight, all for convenience." —Ilana Gordon

Where to watch Anon: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Andrew Niccol

Cast: Clive Owen, Amanda Seyfried, Colm Feore, Mark O'Brien

Bird Box (2018)

Sight becomes a barrier in Bird Box, a postapocalyptic thriller where the enemy must go unseen, or else. Sandra Bullock stars as Malorie Hayes, a woman responsible for transporting her two young children down a river while wearing blindfolds: a strategy intended to help the survivors avoid seeing the entities that attacked Earth five years earlier, and who cause those who look upon them to commit suicide.

Jumping between their present journey and the past events that led Malorie and the children to this point, director Susanne Bier leans into the tension of the unknown and relies on her talented but eclectic cast to do the rest. Released the same year as A Quiet Place, and possessing a somewhat similar premise, Bird Box received less attention when it first premiered, but this sci-fi horror film is a great option for fans of both genres. —I.G.

Where to watch Bird Box: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Susanne Bier

Cast: Sandra Bullock, Trevante Rhodes, John Malkovich, Danielle Macdonald, Sarah Paulson, Machine Gun Kelly

Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)

As it turns out, the only thing missing from the British anthology series, Black Mirror, was options. In Black Mirror: Bandersnatch, the TV show gets a movie makeover, but with a twist: The film was shot in the style of a "choose your own adventure" novel, and viewers can customize their viewing experience through their scene selections.

Centered around a young programmer named Stefan (Fionn Whitehead), Bandersnatch follows Stefan's journey in developing a video game for a famous gaming company, a journey that puts Stefan under a great deal of mental and emotional stress, and results in one of ten main endings. Black Mirror is beloved for its eldritch and tech-focused content, and Bandersnatch keeps that tone alive, using the main story line to explore themes like free will and mind control, even as the viewers' choices drive the story forward. —I.G.

Where to watch Black Mirror: Bandersnatch: Netflix

Director: David Slade

Cast: Fionn Whitehead, Will Poulter, Craig Parkinson, Tallulah Rose Haddon, Catriona Knox

Blade Runner: The Final Cut (1982)

Ridley Scott’s 1982 sci-fi slow-burn has been recut many times, but Blade Runner: The Final Cut (2007) is, as the title suggests, the ultimate version. The only edit of the film in which Scott enjoyed total artistic freedom, the last release of the first Blade Runner movie introduces ex-police officer Rick Deckard (Harrison Ford) and his mission to retire replicants.

The film is set in a dystopian version of 2019 where synthetic humans have been bioengineered to work in space. Now employed as a bounty hunter, Deckard is recruited to track down some rogue androids who escaped to Los Angeles and eliminate them. In the review of Scott’s first re-edit of the film (Blade Runner: The Director's Cut, released in 1992), EW’s former senior writer explains the cult-like success the franchise has enjoyed years after its release as reality catching up with the film “faster than anybody expected.” —I.G.

Where to watch Blade Runner: The Final Cut: Netflix through April 30

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Ridley Scott

Cast: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos

Cities of Last Things (2018)

A Chinese film constructed in reverse chronological order, Cities of Last Things tells one man’s life story from end to beginning. Set in 2056 and littered with sci-fi goodies like rejuvenation fluids that make women look younger, and citizen ID tags, the film is set in the same city, and told over three separate nights, in three different phases of the man’s life.

The movie is a revenge film, and as such the violence is overt — an early suicide scene deserves a trigger warning — but the acting is excellent, and the story is devastating and engaging, making Cities of Last Things worthy of your time and consideration. —I.G.

Where to watch Cities of Last Things: Netflix

Director: Ho Wi Ding

Cast: Jack Kao, Lee Hong-chi, Hsieh Chang-Ying, Louise Grinberg

Code 8 (2019)

A Canadian offering produced by and starring cousins Robbie Amell and Stephen Amell, Code 8 is a sci-fi action film that made Netflix’s Top 10 list during the peak of lockdown in 2020. A superhero movie about a world in which 4 percent of the population is born with supernatural abilities — and monitored by the militarized police — the film centers around Connor (Robbie Amell) a 26-year-old with powers and an ailing mother who is desperate for money.

When Garrett (Stephen Amell), an aide for a local crime lord, approaches Connor about using his powers for a more lucrative purpose, Connor accepts and soon finds himself on the police’s radar. A film financed through crowdfunding, Code 8 lacks the flash and production pizzaz of some of its contemporaries, but the movie’s script, heart, and production backstory make it a fun watch anyway. —I.G.

Where to watch Code 8: Netflix

Director: Jeff Chan

Cast: Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell, Sung Kang, Kari Matchett, Greg Bryk, Aaron Abrams, Kyla Kane, Laysla De Oliviera, Vlad Alexis

Don't Look Up (2021)

As a comet sets its sights on Earth and prepares to wipe out human civilization, two astronomers (Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence) rush to warn the world of the impending collision — only to discover the world doesn't really care. "Based on events that haven't happened yet," as the film's trailer states, Don't Look Up is a sci-fi satire that skewers climate deniers and government inaction in the face of scientific evidence pointing to looming catastrophe.

Directed by Adam McKay (Vice, The Big Short), and featuring everyone in Hollywood from Jonah Hill and Meryl Streep to Timothée Chalamet and Ariana Grande, Don't Look Up offers great jokes and fun cameos, but be warned: it's not exactly light fare. Still, as far as sci-fi comedies go, this one is worth a watch — just don't think too deeply about the implications of the film's ending. —I.G.

Where to watch Don't Look Up: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Adam McKay

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Jonah Hill, Meryl Streep, Timothee Chalamet, Ariana Grande, Cate Blanchett, Mark Rylance, Melanie Lynskey, Chris Evans

Dune: Part Two (2024)

The second film in Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation of Frank Herbert’s fantasy novel, Dune: Part Two follows Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) on his quest to unite and lead the Fremen people into battle against House Harkonnen. Production on the film was also a fight: The project contended with pandemic filming restrictions and strike delays. The movie — a love story threaded with themes of imperialism and colonialism — triumphed anyway, earning the fourth slot on EW’s list of the 10 best movies of 2024 and a pair of Oscars in 2025 for Best Sound and Best Visual Effects.

EW’s writer explains, “Dune: Part Two found stars Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya deepening their performances, while Austin Butler and Florence Pugh brought new flavors to the mix.” Boasting stunning cinematography, this sci-fi epic isn’t just good for a sequel — audiences, critics, and top-tier directors have acknowledged it as one of the best movies in the sci-fi genre. —I.G.

Where to watch Dune: Part Two: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Denis Villeneuve

Cast: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Christopher Walken, Léa Seydoux, Stellan Skarsgård, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

George Miller revitalized his Mad Max franchise with the 2015 release of Mad Max: Fury Road. Now, he’s telling Furiosa’s origin story in an eponymous prequel starring Anya Taylor-Joy. The film follows Furiosa as she is kidnapped as a child (played by Alylya Browne) from her home in the Green Place of Many Mothers, and brought as a gift to the leader of a biker gang.

This is a perfect introduction to the events depicted in Fury Road, and it’s the first film in the franchise not to focus on Max himself (played in different versions by Mel Gibson and Tom Hardy). The movie fills in lots of narrative questions raised in the franchise, and while EW’s reviewer notes that Furiosa isn’t quite as good as Fury Road, “it does allow us to spend a little more time in this world and Miller’s mind.” —I.G.

Where to watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: George Miller

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Chris Hemsworth, Tom Burke, Alyla Browne

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

Godzilla Minus One won the 2024 Oscar for Best Visual Effects, but the film is so much more than a monster movie with incredible CGI. Set in Japan, a country ravaged by the after-effects of World War II, the film follows a failed kamikaze pilot as he is haunted both by his performance during the war and a gargantuan monster with a heat ray capable of razing Tokyo.

A love story disguised as a horror movie, Godzilla Minus One offers stunning performances, a fascinating historical perspective, and — of course — the kind of city-trampling mayhem one would expect when selecting a Godzilla movie. You know they did a good job when the filmmaker has you sympathizing with both the monster and the citizens rallying to defeat it. —I.G.

Where to watch Godzilla Minus One: Netflix

Director: Takashi Yamazaki

Cast: Ryunosuke Kamiki, Minami Hamabe, Yuki Yamada, Munetaka Aoki, Hidetaka Yoshioka, Sakura Ando, Kuranosuke Sasaki

Melancholia (2011)

Considered one of the best movies ever made about mental health and depression, EW’s review describes Lars von Trier’s 2011 science fiction drama Melancholia as a “giant achievement.” Kirsten Dunst took home the Best Actress trophy at the Cannes Film Festival that year for her portrayal of Justine, a bride whose descent into a mental health crisis coincides with the arrival of a rogue planet called Melancholia, which threatens to collide with Earth.

The movie was a hit among the critical community when it was released, with most noting how Melancholia departed from some of von Trier’s earlier, more provocative work. EW’s critic writes that he creates, “striking visual tableaux that, in their majestic simplicity, convey a profound emotional depth that transcends word.” —I.G.

Where to watch Melancholia: Netflix

EW grade: A (read the review)

Director: Lars von Trier

Cast: Kirsten Dunst, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alexander Skarsgård, Kiefer Sutherland, Cameron Spurr, Charlotte Rampling, John Hurt

The Midnight Sky (2020)

George Clooney directs, co-produces, and stars in this moody and often wordless adaptation of Lily Brooks-Dalton's 2016 novel Good Morning, Midnight. Clooney — face wrapped in a giant gray beard — plays Augustine, a scientist at an Arctic research station that's still standing after an unnamed global catastrophe leaves the Earth irradiated. Health declining, he makes two big discoveries: 1) There's a mysterious little girl (Caoilinn Springall) on the station with him, and 2) her only hope for survival is the Aether, a distant spaceship that's returning to Earth unaware of the fate that's befallen it.

The Midnight Sky is familiar in its use of genre tropes, but Clooney's soulful performance brings a welcome warmth to this cold vision of Earth's future. As EW's critic notes in her review, the film also has some "arresting visual set pieces, including a blizzard white-out that feels like the actual end of the world and a memorable lesson on the physics of blood dispersion in zero gravity." —R.C.

Where to watch The Midnight Sky: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: George Clooney

Cast: George Clooney, Felicity Jones, Tiffany Boone, Kyle Chandler, Sophie Rundle, Ethan Peck, Caoilinn Springall

Oxygen (2021)

A nightmare comes to life for claustrophobics everywhere, Oxygen is a French-language sci-fi film that thinks outside the box in terms of action. At the genesis, an unidentified woman (Mélanie Laurent) awakens in an airtight medical unit, unsure of who or where she is. Interactions with the system's AI — dubbed M.I.L.O. (Medical Interface Liaison Officer) — provide some clarity as to her identity, but no matter what she tries, she cannot escape her prison.

As she seeks to understand who placed her in the box and why, truths about her personal life and the current state of the world come into focus — but her search for context is actually a race to outwit the slowly depleting oxygen levels. Laurent is excellent, and despite being forced to perform on her back, she manages to imbue the film with a strong sense of determination and humanity. —I.G.

Where to watch Oxygen: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Alexandre Aja

Cast: Mélanie Laurent, Mathieu Amalric, Malik Zidi

Project Power (2020)

What do a New Orleans police officer (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a soldier in search of his daughter (Jamie Foxx), and a rapping drug dealer (Dominique Fishback) have in common? They're all working to rid the streets of Power, a new drug that gives users five minutes of superhero abilities, at the risk of killing them with one hit. A sci-fi action film produced by Netflix, Project Power invites audiences into a city still suffering the after-effects of Katrina, even decades after the hurricane hit.

Populated by morally murky characters — like Gordon-Levitt's Detective Frank Shaver, a cop who uses the drug to level the playing field against the city's criminals, or Fishback's teenage Robin Reilly, who knows she needs to deal to get ahead in this world, but is too smart to partake of her own product — the film finds room for cultural context amidst the action sequences. —I.G.

Where to watch Project Power: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Director: Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Jamie Foxx, Dominique Fishback, Machine Gun Kelly, Rodrigo Santoro, Courtney B. Vance, Amy Landecker

See You Yesterday (2019)

The best way to live life with no regrets is to build a time machine — which is exactly what happens in Netflix's Spike Lee-produced sci-fi adventure film, See You Yesterday. After best friends and high school science prodigies, C.J. (Eden Duncan-Smith) and Sebastian (Danté Crichlow), unlock the secrets to time travel, they're forced to use their newfound invention in an attempt to save C.J.'s brother Calvin (Brian "Stro" Bradley) from a fatal encounter with the police.

A modern take on Back to the Future — also featuring an appearance by the original time traveler, Michael J. Fox — the film grapples with highly relevant cultural issues like police brutality while still having fun with high school tropes and time loops. See You Yesterday might not have gotten the attention it deserved when it first premiered on the platform back in 2019, but the film remains a regret-free sci-fi adventure worth embarking upon. —I.G.

Where to watch See You Yesterday: Netflix

Director: Stefon Bristol

Cast: Eden Duncan-Smith, Danté Crichlow, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Brian "Stro" Bradley

Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2023)

With Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) setting sky-high standards after winning Best Animated Feature, the equally acclaimed sequel proved to be worth the five-year wait. Also nominated for the same Oscar category, Spider-Man: Across the Universe slightly shifts its perspective from Brooklyn's amiable Spider-Man, Miles (voiced by Shameik Moore), to his confidante from another dimension: Gwen Stacy, a.k.a. Spider-Woman (Hailee Steinfeld).

As she navigates her complicated relationship with her police dad (Shea Whigham) — who is unknowingly hunting her —  Gwen and Miles swing across the multiverse and ultimately band with a team of Spider-People to protect its existence against a new supervillain, the Spot (Jason Schwartzman). Retaining and even elevating the same prismatic blend of CGI and hand-drawn animations that captivated audiences in the original, the 2023 sequel goes beyond the visual dynamism expected of a superhero movie. —James Mercadante

Where to watch Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse: Netflix

EW grade: B+ (read the review)

Directors: Joaquim Dos Santos, Kemp Powers, Justin K. Thompson

Cast: Shameik Moore, Hailee Steinfeld, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Vélez, Jake Johnson, Jason Schwartzman, Issa Rae, Karan Soni, Shea Whigham, Greta Lee, Daniel Kaluuya, Mahershala Ali, Oscar Isaac

They Cloned Tyrone (2023)

A single genre isn't enough to contain one of Netflix's 2023 releases, They Cloned Tyrone. A sci-fi comedy that combines '70s Blaxploitation with mystery and social satire, the film has similar vibes to movies like Get Out (2017) or Sorry to Bother You (2018) while employing a far more absurd premise. Fontaine (John Boyega) is a drug dealer living in an impoverished area called the Glen. While trying to collect funds owed to him by a local pimp named Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx), Fontaine is shot and killed — but that doesn't stop him from showing up on Slick's doorstep the next day to collect his money.

Joined by a sex worker named YoYo (Teyonah Parris), the trio attempts to get to the bottom of what appears to be a massive government conspiracy aimed at exploiting their disenfranchised community as medical subjects. A satirical romp that has as much to say about class and racial injustices as it does about mystery movie tropes, They Cloned Tyrone is smart, silly, and uniformly well-acted. —I.G.

Where to watch They Cloned Tyrone: Netflix

Director: Juel Taylor

Cast: John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, Jamie Foxx

Waterworld (1995)

Waterworld cost $200 million to make, required 166 days to shoot, and got a bad rap when it arrived in theaters. Often compared to Mad Max, time and global warming have given people reason to reconsider the merits of this postapocalyptic science fiction film. Set in 2500, the movie finds the planet underwater after rising seas and melting ice caps covered the land, driving humans onto floating communities. Waterworld is, 30 years after its debut, depressingly prescient.

Kevin Costner stars as the Mariner, a nomad with a boat and a talent for defending himself against the gangs that travel the seas, raiding local communities. EW’s critic writes,“his downbeat surfer-bum affectlessness works for Waterworld. In a universe built on pitching waves, a hero can’t afford to waste energy imposing himself.” When the Mariner rescues a woman named Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn) and a young girl named Enola (Tina Majorino), he discovers he might have found the key to accessing dry land. —I.G.

Where to watch Waterworld: Netflix

EW grade: B (read the review)

Director: Kevin Reynolds

Cast: Kevin Costner, Dennis Hopper, Jeanne Tripplehorn, Tina Majorino, Michael Jeter

What Happened to Monday (2017)

Orphan Black lovers will want to check out What Happened to Monday, a 2017 sci-fi action thriller directed by Tommy Wirkola. The film stars Noomi Rapace (The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo), giving seven unique performances as septuplet sisters, each named after a different day of the week. The siblings live in a fascist America where overpopulation has necessitated the creation of a Child Allocation Bureau (run by Glenn Close), which imposes a single-child policy on all families.

The septuplets live secretly with their grandfather (Willem Dafoe), share the name Karen Settman (a relic from their dead mother), and are only allowed to leave the house on the day of the week that corresponds with their name. But after Monday goes out and never comes home, it's up to her sisters to save her — at the risk of exposing themselves. —I.G.

Where to watch What Happened to Monday: Netflix

EW grade: N/A (read the review)

Director: Tommy Wirkola

Cast: Noomi Rapace, Glenn Close, Willem Dafoe