Movies

35 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes

35 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time, Ranked by Rotten Tomatoes
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Epic tales of time travel, dystopian futures, and alien encounters.

From the mind-bending twists of cult classics that have fans debating decades later, to the high-octane thrillers that make you grip your popcorn like it's the control stick of a starfighter, each movie here has been scrutinized by the critics and emerged as a titan in a genre that's as vast as space itself.

35. Interstellar ( 2014)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 73%

In a near-future Earth ravaged by climate change, a group of astronauts travel through a wormhole near Saturn in search of a new habitable world for humanity, confronting the relativity of time, the bonds of love, and the extremes of human endurance.

34. Avatar ( 2009)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 81%

On the lush alien world of Pandora, disabled Marine Jake Sully becomes part of an avatar program, finding himself torn between his duty to the military-industrial complex that seeks to exploit Pandora's resources and his love for the native Na'vi people.

33. The Matrix ( 1999)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 83%

Computer programmer Thomas Anderson, living a double life as the hacker Neo, discovers that reality as perceived by most humans is actually a simulated reality called the Matrix, created by sentient machines, and joins a group of rebels to fight against the machines.

32. Under the Skin (2013)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%

An enigmatic extraterrestrial being, taking the form of a woman, prowls the streets of Scotland, seducing lonely men into a void where they are consumed, only to undergo a crisis of identity and empathy, leading to her own demise.

31. The Thing (1982)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 85%

A group of American researchers in Antarctica encounter a parasitic extraterrestrial lifeform that assimilates, then imitates other organisms, leading to paranoia and distrust as they try to determine who among them has already been taken over.

30. Inception ( 2010)

Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

Dom Cobb, a skilled thief who enters people's dreams to steal secrets, is offered a chance to have his criminal history erased if he can implant an idea into a target's subconscious, leading to a complex and visually stunning journey through layered dreamscapes.

29. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

Admiral James T. Kirk faces off against his old enemy, Khan Noonien Singh, who seeks revenge against Kirk while attempting to acquire a terraforming device, Genesis, leading to a battle of wits and sacrifice in deep space.

28. Planet of the Apes (1968)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

Astronaut George Taylor crash-lands on a mysterious planet ruled by intelligent apes who enslave mute, primitive humans, only to discover in a shocking twist that he has been on a post-apocalyptic Earth all along.

27. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%

In a dystopian future, Alex, a charismatic and sociopathic delinquent whose interests include classical music, rape, and ultra-violence, undergoes an experimental procedure to cure him of his violent tendencies, but it also robs him of his ability to choose.

26. Blade Runner ( 1982)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%

In a dystopian future, Rick Deckard, a "blade runner," must track down and retire four replicants who stole a ship in space and returned to Earth to find their creator, leading him to question his own humanity and the nature of the soul.

25. Minority Report (2002)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%

In a future where a specialized police department apprehends criminals based on foreknowledge provided by three psychics called "Precogs," Officer John Anderton is accused of a future murder and must unravel a conspiracy to prove his innocence.

24. District 9 (2009)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

In an alternate 1982, an extraterrestrial race forced to live in slum-like conditions on Earth suddenly finds a kindred spirit in a government agent who, through exposure to their biotechnology, becomes the key to their liberation.

23. Moon (2009)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%

Sam Bell, nearing the end of his three-year contract mining Helium-3 on the moon, experiences a personal crisis compounded by the arrival of a younger version of himself, leading to revelations about his identity and the nature of his work.

22. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

A more advanced and deadly cyborg is sent back in time to kill John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance against machines, while Connor's mother, Sarah, and a reprogrammed T-800 Terminator, work to protect him.

21. Jurassic Park (1993)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%

A billionaire philanthropist and a team of genetic scientists create a wildlife park of cloned dinosaurs, but chaos ensues when a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to escape and terrorize the human visitors.

20. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

A visionary and enigmatic exploration of human evolution and space exploration, featuring a mysterious black monolith that influences human evolution, leading to an epic journey to Jupiter and beyond the infinite, accompanied by the malevolent AI HAL 9000.

19. Ex Machina (2014)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

A young programmer, Caleb, is invited by his CEO to administer a Turing test to an advanced humanoid AI, Ava, but becomes entangled in a manipulative game between AI and creator, leading to a profound exploration of consciousness, manipulation, and freedom.

18. Solaris (1972)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

A psychologist travels to a space station orbiting a mysterious ocean planet, Solaris, only to encounter his deceased wife recreated by the planet's ocean, leading him to question reality, memory, and the nature of consciousness.

17. RoboCop (1987)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

In a crime-ridden Detroit, a fatally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories, fighting crime and corruption while struggling to uncover his own identity.

16. Children of Men (2006)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%

In a dystopian world where humans have become infertile and society is on the brink of collapse, a disillusioned bureaucrat, Theo, becomes the protector of a miraculously pregnant woman, leading him on a perilous journey to deliver her to a sanctuary at sea.

15. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

In San Francisco, a group of people discover that humans are being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates grown from plant-like pods, leading to a tense and paranoid fight for survival against an ever-growing alien invasion.

14. Back to the Future ( 1985)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

Marty McFly, a 17-year-old high school student, is accidentally sent 30 years into the past in a time-traveling DeLorean invented by his close friend, the eccentric scientist Doc Brown, and must ensure his high-school-aged parents unite in order to save his own existence.

13. Godzilla ( 1954)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

A gigantic, prehistoric, radioactive monster called Godzilla emerges from the Pacific Ocean, wreaking havoc on Tokyo, symbolizing nuclear holocaust from Japan's perspective, and reflecting the fears of post-war Japan.

12. Alien (1979)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 93%

The crew of the commercial space tug Nostromo is awakened from cryo-sleep to investigate a distress call from an alien moon, leading to a deadly encounter with a lethal extraterrestrial creature that infiltrates their ship.

11. Arrival (2016)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

Linguist Louise Banks is recruited by the military to communicate with alien beings who have arrived on Earth, leading to a breakthrough in understanding their language, which challenges her perception of time and her own life choices.

10. Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

An exhausted Chinese-American woman, Evelyn Wang, discovers she can access the skills and lives of her multiverse counterparts and must use these newfound powers to fight a mysterious force threatening reality itself.

9. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 94%

After an encounter with UFOs, a line worker feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen, leading to a meeting with government agents who are also tracking the phenomenon.

8. WALL-E (2008)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

In a future where Earth has been abandoned due to waste and pollution, a small waste-collecting robot named WALL-E falls in love with a sleek search robot, EVE, and follows her into space, inadvertently embarking on a journey that will decide the fate of mankind.

7. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

An alien named Klaatu lands on Earth with his powerful robot Gort to deliver an important message to humanity: live peacefully or be destroyed as a danger to other planets.

6. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%

The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker trains with Master Yoda to become a Jedi Knight while his friends are pursued by Darth Vader as part of his plan to capture Luke, culminating in a shocking revelation about Luke's parentage.

5. Forbidden Planet (1956)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%

In this adaptation of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" set in space, a starship crew travels to a distant planet to investigate the fate of a colony, encountering the sole survivors, Dr. Morbius and his daughter, and confronting an invisible monster, ultimately revealed as a manifestation of Morbius's subconscious.

4. Metropolis (1927)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%

In a futuristic, dystopian city, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences, leading to a struggle between the workers and the elite.

3. Brazil (1985)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%

In a retro-futuristic world filled with bureaucratic nightmares, a low-level government employee, Sam Lowry, becomes an enemy of the state when he tries to correct an administrative error, leading him into a surreal journey of love, dreams, and resistance.

2. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 99%

A young boy named Elliott befriends an extraterrestrial, dubbed E.T., who is stranded on Earth, and with the help of his siblings, he must find a way to help E.T. return to his home planet while evading government agents.

1. Stalker (1979)

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Rotten Tomatoes score: 100%

In a post-apocalyptic world, a guide known as the Stalker leads two clients through the mysterious and dangerous Zone, a place rumored to fulfill one's deepest desires, exploring existential themes amidst a surreal and hazardous landscape.