95
Mad Max: Fury Road review
A two-hour chase across a desert wasteland with almost no dialogue and an extraordinary amount of practical stunt work. The best action film of its de…
★★★★½ 4.9/5
Science Fiction films, reviewed
Science fiction is the genre of extrapolation — take one premise, follow it rigorously, and see what it reveals about the present. The best examples treat their central idea as a question rather than a setting, and they are usually less interested in the future than in the assumptions of the moment they were made in. Technology is the delivery system; the subject is always us.
What we look for in science fiction
- A premise that is genuinely followed through
- Ideas that are dramatised rather than explained
- Worlds with internal economic and social logic
- Present-day relevance that emerges rather than being stated
This hub currently collects 8 reviews. Our library is curated rather than comprehensive, and every genre page grows as we publish.
Every science fiction film we have reviewed
Ordered by our score, highest first.
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95
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94
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind review
A couple erases each other from their memories after a breakup, and the film follows the erasure from the inside. Kaufman's best script and Carrey's b…
★★★★½ 4.8/5
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94
Inception review
A heist film with five simultaneous timelines and an emotional core about mourning. The spectacle is the delivery system; the guilt is the payload.
★★★★½ 4.8/5
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94
The Matrix review
A hacker learns his reality is a simulation and spends two hours deciding what to do about it. The action was revolutionary; the ideas were older than…
★★★★½ 4.8/5
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92
Blade Runner 2049 review
A replicant blade runner uncovers a secret that could collapse the distinction between human and manufactured. Patient, beautiful, and uninterested in…
★★★★½ 4.7/5
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92
Everything Everywhere All at Once review
A laundromat owner discovers she must connect with parallel versions of herself to save existence, and the film turns out to be about a mother and a d…
★★★★½ 4.7/5
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92
Interstellar review
An unusually earnest science-fiction film that treats relativity as a source of grief. When it works it is overwhelming; when it explains itself it st…
★★★★½ 4.7/5
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91
Dune review
The first half of Frank Herbert's novel, adapted with unusual fidelity and an extraordinary sense of scale. Patient, enormous, and confident.
★★★★½ 4.7/5
Science Fiction index
Year, director, runtime and score for every film in this genre.
| Film | Year | Director | Runtime | Score | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mad Max: Fury Road | 2015 | George Miller | 120 min | 95 | ★★★★½ |
| Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | 2004 | Michel Gondry | 108 min | 94 | ★★★★½ |
| Inception | 2010 | Christopher Nolan | 148 min | 94 | ★★★★½ |
| The Matrix | 1999 | Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | 136 min | 94 | ★★★★½ |
| Blade Runner 2049 | 2017 | Denis Villeneuve | 164 min | 92 | ★★★★½ |
| Everything Everywhere All at Once | 2022 | Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert | 139 min | 92 | ★★★★½ |
| Interstellar | 2014 | Christopher Nolan | 169 min | 92 | ★★★★½ |
| Dune | 2021 | Denis Villeneuve | 155 min | 91 | ★★★★½ |
Frequently asked questions
What separates science fiction from fantasy?
Science fiction extrapolates from existing or plausible science and generally maintains internal rules about what is possible. Fantasy invents its own rules. The boundary is frequently contested and frequently blurred.
Why is so much science fiction about dystopia?
Because dystopia is the most efficient way to make present-day anxieties legible. It is easier to see a system's logic when it has been followed to its conclusion.
Which science fiction film here is the best entry point?
Inception for accessibility, Interstellar for emotional scale, and Blade Runner 2049 for atmosphere.
Read around science fiction
Our ranked lists place these films against each other within a decade or a genre, and explain the ordering.