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Science fiction has proven itself to be one of the most effective and creative genres for dynamic and interesting stories throughout film history. Numerous legendary films are a part of the science fiction genre, ranging from massive commercial blockbuster franchises such as Star Wars and Star Trek to one-off auteurist works of art like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Interstellar. Sci-fi as a genre has continued to thrive throughout the modern era of the 2020s, with numerous amazing and standout films being released that will surely become icons of the genre in time.
The latest and greatest visual effects technology has allowed science fiction films to create mind-bending visuals simply never before seen on the big screen, continuing to push the boundaries of what's possible. The decade has also seen an outstanding mixture of both iconic continuing and revived franchises, bringing new light and vision to the genre, as well as new highly creative original works that delight and enchant audiences just as well. While the decade is sure to have even more legendary sci-fi films as it continues, the 2020s are already home to many amazing sci-fi films.
'Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes' (2020)
A low-budget time travel story that makes the most out of its simple style for a deeply satisfying one-take story, Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is a Japanese sci-fi comedy filled to the brim with charm and heart. The film follows a café owner who discovers that the television in his café displays a look and direct communication into the future, but only two minutes into the future. As the café owner and the frequent customers begin to experiment and test the possibilities of this look across time, they find themselves accidentally caught in a dangerous gangster plot.
Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes is a perfect example of how, even with a minuscule budget, a dedicated enough team can bring to life any type of story, no matter how extravagant or wild the premise may be. It makes for a deeply satisfying and hilarious story to watch unfold, as it uses time travel as a tool for frequent, effective callbacks in a deeply creative and ingenious way. Especially for those looking to check out modern, low-budget Japanese filmmaking, it's difficult to find an experience better than this.
'Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die' (2026)
A.I. has sadly become an increasingly unavoidable part of daily life in the modern day, with many corporations quick to adopt the cheaper technology to replace human workers and cut back on spending. From acclaimed Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski, Good Luck, Have Fun, Don't Die is one of the most striking and overwhelming anti-A.I. experiences from a recent sci-fi experience. It's a manic, absolutely absurd action comedy that thrives off of the insanity and unpredictability of its execution.
This quasi-anthology time-loop film thrives off of not just its personality and charm, but the overwhelming rage that it holds towards the difficulties and pains of the technology-reliant modern era. While certainly a bit preachy at times, it still finds a way to be endearingly entertaining and effective in its messaging, as well as being further elevated by some great performances from the likes of Sam Rockwell and Haley Liu Richardson.
'After Yang' (2021)
After Yang sees a far-off future similar enough to our own, following the story of a family's struggles and turmoil when a daughter's beloved android companion, Yang, begins to malfunction. The father of the family, Jake, searches for a way to repair him, and in the process, comes to a realization about the fragility and sacred nature of life, and how he's been wasting it all this time. As he now realizes the barriers that he has placed between himself and the rest of his family, his quest to repair Yang has him mending these connections with his family that he didn't realize he'd destroyed.
After Yang accomplishes one of the simplest yet most effective ways that a Sci-fi story can be told, using technology and a sci-fi setting as a jumping-off point for a poignant and powerful drama. The film features an array of powerful performances from nearly everyone in the cast, especially the incredible Colin Farrell, who providesone of his best dramatic performances in recent memory. It speaks volumes to the genre of sci-fi as a whole that even though there have been hundreds of films that tackle artificial intelligence, original stories bursting with creativity and strength can still be created in the modern era.
'Tenet' (2020)
One of the first major blockbuster experiences after theaters reopened following the COVID-19 shutdown, Tenet sees director Christopher Nolan at his most extravagant and mind-melting, combining exceptional action with a wild time-manipulation premise. The film follows a secretive battle hidden beneath the surface involving machines that allow people to reverse their own flow of time, traveling backward in time as opposed to adhering to the standard flow of time.
While the story of Tenet can certainly be a bit confusing and complicated at times, it's all in service of what are easily some of the most satisfying action sequences and memorable moments in any Nolan film to date. Nolan makes the most out of the wild reverse time premise to create several deeply creative sequences that no other filmmaker could effectively pull off. It sets out to take risks and choices that no other modern blockbuster would take, and while not all of these risks pay off, they all come together to make an essential blockbuster experience for the decade.
'Bugonia' (2025)
A ruthlessly dark sci-fi thriller from acclaimed arthouse director Yorgos Lanthimos, Bugonia plays to the director's inherent strengths to create a wild ride of personality with an upbeat tone mixed with dark, deeply depressing subject matter. The film follows a duo of conspiracy nuts who enact a plan to kidnap a high-powered CEO, believing her to be an evil alien intent on destroying the planet Earth. While the film certainly has its moments of fun and poking fun at the absurdity of its situation, it doesn't hold back in terms of shocking, deeply upsetting content.
Lanthimos's charm as a filmmaker is in full force in Bugonia, bringing his signature touch and style to this remake of a cult-classic South Korean film to transform it into its own individual experience. It's a film that constantly brushes with and toys with the concepts of sci-fi, keeping the audience guessing until the very end whether it truly is full-on sci-fi or all in the heads of its chaotic, conspiracy-driven characters.
'The Wild Robot' (2024)
A beautifully stylized animated work of art, as well as one of the best DreamWorks Animation movies of all time, The Wild Robot has quickly risen to become one of the defining animated achievements of the decade so far. It follows a similar vein to many previous feel-good family sci-fi robot movies of yesteryear, as a robot learns to break free from its robotic programming while experiencing the vast world around it. The film is as much about science fiction as it is about the all-natural environment surrounding the robot, telling a beautiful story of a found family and adaptation to adverse surroundings.
The film expertly utilizes both the possibilities of sci-fi and animation to create a refreshingly brilliant adaptation of an all-time classic style of story, elevating the material to become an instant classic of the modern era. It has such an overwhelming passion and care placed into each frame and aspect of its storytelling that it's difficult not to fall in love with its message and profoundly beautiful style. The film established itself as one of the decade's prominent science-fiction family releases.
'Crimes of the Future' (2022)
From the master of body horror, David Cronenberg, Crimes of the Future takes place in a strange dystopian future where humans have evolved to a synthetic environment, no longer feeling pain or requiring medicine. In this strange future, body modification, transformations, and mutations have become a part of everyday life, as it follows the story of a duo of celebrity performance artists (played by Viggo Mortensen and Léa Seydoux). In their act, they perform live removal of meticulously crafted tumorous organs, garnering massive attention from parties both friendly and deceptive.
Crimes of the Future is continuous proof that, even in the modern era, Cronenberg can evolve and translate his signature style into a powerful and relevant sci-fi story. What makes the film so spectacular to watch comes less from the thrills that come from Cronenberg's signature body horror, but instead, the incredible world-building on display and how Crimes of the Future parallels our world. Despite the film's highly divisive nature, it still features enough genuinely great moments, performances, and themes to make it well worth a watch for those who can stomach body horror.
'Disclosure Day' (2026)
Steven Spielberg has helped bring to life some of the most legendary and appreciated sci-fi movies of all time, so it isn't exactly surprising that his latest alien film, Disclosure Day, would tap into his inherent strengths as an architect of sci-fi filmmaking. The conspiracy thriller follows a cybersecurity expert (Josh O'Connor) and a meteorologist (Emily Blunt) who individually find themselves at the center of a vast conspiracy to hide the existence of aliens from the rest of the human race.
From well-executed action sequences to a greater focus on emotion and human empathy from its characters and storytelling, Disclosure Day cuts to the heart of what makes Spielberg's vision and perspective on the sci-fi genre so captivating, even all these years later. While time will only tell if the film manages to have even close to a similar legacy as the likes of Close Encounters of the Third Kind or even Minority Report, it certainly stands out as one of the premier original sci-fi blockbusters of the decade so far.
'Mars Express' (2024)
Proving that brilliant science fiction worlds and stories are not entirely limited to the scope of live-action, Mars Express is a French animated film that tackles the inherent moral dilemmas of an android-prevalent future. The film takes place in the far-off year of 2200, following private detective Aline Ruby and her android partner Carlos, who have been hired to track down a notorious hacker on Mars. This ends up only being the beginning, as it sends them down a dangerous rabbit hole of crime, corruption, and dastardly secrets that threaten the safety of every robot on Mars and Earth.
Mars Express makes the most out of the medium of animation to bring to life its breathtaking world that is equal parts brimming with creativity as well as grounded in the harsh realities of modern capitalistic culture. The film doesn't hold back in tackling several dark and disturbing themes and concepts as it builds to be a wholly exciting and unpredictable crime procedural mystery. It makes for one of the most underrated sci-fi films of recent memory, as well as one of the best animated films to come from France.
'They Cloned Tyrone' (2023)
They Cloned Tyrone follows the story of an unlikely trio who, after several mysterious and seemingly unexplainable events, find themselves going down a strange rabbit hole to discover answers. In their search, they find themselves uncovering a confusing and dangerous government conspiracy that seems to be impacting the lives of every single person living in their neighborhood. The trio now finds themselves at an impasse in figuring out the motivation behind this scheme, as well as how to put a stop to it once and for all.
They Cloned Tyrone is brimming with nightmarish creativity from its brilliantly dark premise from beginning to end, with a great number of twists and turns to keep audiences engaged throughout. Nearly every character in the film brings something to the table to make the film a more enjoyable experience, but the primary trio of John Boyega, Teyonah Parris, and Jamie Foxx especially elevate the material. The film takes direct inspiration from a lot of the great sci-fi stories of the past, but stands out with the inclusion of its own socially relevant themes and messaging.
