Han Solo with a confused expression in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back.Image via Lucasfilm
By
Diego Pineda Pacheco
Published 14 minutes ago
Diego Pineda has been a devout storyteller his whole life. He has self-published a fantasy novel and a book of short stories, and is actively working on publishing his second novel.
A lifelong fan of watching movies and talking about them endlessly, he writes reviews and analyses on his Instagram page dedicated to cinema, and occasionally on his blog. His favorite filmmakers are Andrei Tarkovsky and Charlie Chaplin. He loves modern Mexican cinema and thinks it's tragically underappreciated.
Other interests of Diego's include reading, gaming, roller coasters, writing reviews on his Letterboxd account (username: DPP_reviews), and going down rabbit holes of whatever topic he's interested in at any given point.
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There is arguably no science fiction multimedia franchise more influential or of higher impact than George Lucas' Star Wars universe. The franchise's films in particular have had their fair share of ups and downs, but overall, no list of the best sci-fi movies of all time is ever complete without Star Wars and its greatest movies. However, that doesn't mean that there aren't sci-fi movies out there that, overall, are of higher quality.
Some of these are recent, like Dune: Part Two, so it's obvious that they haven't had the time to cement a legacy as big as Star Wars'. Others are far less mainstream, like Andrei Tarkovsky's Stalker, so they haven't been given the opportunity to be as popular with general audiences. All of them have something in common, though: All things considered, they're strictly better films than the Star Wars series. That is in no way meant to detract from the tremendous quality of the films from a galaxy far, far away; it simply means that fans have tons of other great gems out there that they might not have discovered yet.
7 'Dune: Part Two' (2024)
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Star Wars, like virtually any sci-fi story produced after 1965, was heavily inspired by Frank Herbert's Dune. For many years — and particularly after David Lynch's eponymous flop and Alejandro Jodorowsky's failed attempt to make another adaptation — it was a widely-held belief that it was simply impossible to turn this legendary paragon of the genre into a movie that was worthy of its title. Denis Villeneuve proved all naysayers wrong with his phenomenal Dune in 2021, but it would be the surprise he had in store for three years later that would really seal the deal: This is the definitive cinematic Dune adaptation.
Whether it's because of the phenomenal writing, matching the epic sense of scale and tremendous thematic depth of the source material in all sorts of ways; the jaw-dropping visuals, led by Greig Fraser's masterful cinematography; Hans Zimmer's soul-stirring and Oscar-winning score; or the overall quality of Villeneuve's direction and the way his vast imagination matches Herbert's perfectly, Dune: Part Two is far and away one of the best sci-fi movies of the last 10 years. It's as much of a love letter to the book as it is a sprawling masterpiece in and of itself.
6 'Solaris' (1972)
Image via Mosfilm
The Soviet auteur Andrei Tarkovsky is one of the greatest poets who has ever held a movie camera. Characteristically slow-burning and purely arthouse, his cinema is certainly not for those who prefer sci-fi that's all about the thrill of spaceship dogfights and lightsaber battles. If there's one Tarkovsky film that should serve as a perfect gateway for the uninitiated, though, it would definitely have to be Solaris. One of the best sci-fi movies of all time, this classic is as deeply philosophical as the rest of Tarkovsky's work, but somewhat easier to interpret and full of familiar elements that sci-fi fans are guaranteed to love.
The film's exploration of the nature of human connections is as profound as it is compelling, and it makes for a movie that, in spite of its slow nature, still manages to hijack the audience's attention for nearly three hours. The performances are fantastic, Tarkovsky's unglamorized vision of space and space exploration is both fresh and engaging, and the ending is one of the most thought-provoking of any sci-fi film of its era. Solaris may have hugely different intentions from Star Wars', but it's just as powerful and memorable — if not even more.
5 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004)
Clementine (Kate Winslet), a young woman in a bright orange jacket with blue hair, sits in a diner reading a book with a cup of coffee in 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004).Image via Focus Features
Action and adventure aren't the only genres that sci-fi can be coupled with to great effect. It turns out that there are also some amazing sci-fi romance dramas out there, and among them, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind stands out as the best. From a screenwriter as brilliant as Charlie Kaufman and a director as visionary as Spike Jonze, you can expect nothing less than an unbelievable gem, and that's precisely what this movie is.
Eternal Sunshine and Star Wars' target audiences are, admittedly, entirely different, but that doesn't detract from the fact that Eternal Sunshine is a virtually perfect film. Kaufman's script is full of the idiosyncratically wild ideas one can always expect from him, Jonze's direction is as romantic as it is poignant, and Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet deliver some of the best work of both their respective careers. All in all, this is one of the best soft sci-fi movies of the 21st century.
4 'Metropolis' (1927)
A machine's face in Metropolis.Image via Parufamet
There was a plethora of exceptional silent films made throughout the 1920s, many of them among the most influential films ever in their respective genres. During that time, German Expressionism was booming, a cinematic movement that rejected realism and instead used twisted styles to explore the psychology of its characters. One of the most important examples of German Expressionism also happens to be one of the most influential sci-fi movies ever made: Fritz Lang's Metropolis.
Everything about it, from its stunning and way-ahead-of-their-time visuals to its highly theatrical performances, has aged like fine wine.
Nearly a hundred years later, Metropolis still hits just the right spots. Everything about it, from its stunning and way-ahead-of-their-time visuals to its highly theatrical performances, has aged like fine wine, and its beautifully humanist themes critiquing greed and materialism also haven't aged a day. Like any other post-1927 sci-fi film or film franchise, Star Wars owes to Metropolis a lot more than most people usually give it credit for.
3 'Back to the Future' (1985)
Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd as Marty McFly and Doc Brown in 'Back to the Future'Image via Universal Pictures
Sci-fi films don't need to be hugely ambitious or particularly artsy in order to be masterpieces. Case in point: Back to the Future, which takes a simple-enough time travel narrative and turns it into one of the most delightful Hollywood classics of the '80s. From the music to the visual effects and from the story to Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd's timeless performances, this quintessential gem of American cinema is every good thing that sci-fi should strive to be.
For all its strengths, the Star Wars franchise can fall into some writing and directing problems here and there; that's in no way the case for Back to the Future, the definitive film of its very particular sci-fi subgenre. There's no way of denying that it's one of the funniest time travel movies ever made, and that distinct sense of humor is complemented by one of the most adventurous narratives of any sci-fi movie of the decade. Vibrant, nostalgic, and fresh, Back to the Future will forever hold up.
2 'Stalker' (1979)
Image via Mosfilm
Solaris may be a great film — great enough to be considered better than a franchise as exceptional as Star Wars — but it should say all that needs to be said about Andrei Tarkovsky that that's not even his best sci-fi movie. The only other film in the genre that the auteur ever made was Stalker, based on the Soviet novel Roadside Picnic. Slow though it may be, it's hugely rewarding thematically, intellectually, and aesthetically, and that makes it one of the greatest arthouse sci-fi movies ever made.
Like all of Tarkovsky's filmography, Stalker explores more aspects of life, philosophy, and the human condition than one can possibly absorb in a single watch. Upon further viewings, however, one will come to fully appreciate the brilliance of Tarkovsky's exploration of themes of faith, desire, and the oppressive ugliness of a hypothetical world without them. The film's horribly troubled production sadly involved shooting near a toxic industrial plant, which tragically eventually led to Tarkovsky and many other members of the cast and crew passing away from cancer. Stalker is, indeed, surrounded by tragedy — but isn't all great art?
1 '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968)
Image via Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
There are some who would call Stanley Kubrick the greatest filmmaker in history, and many among those people who would call 2001: A Space Odyssey the director's greatest film. Massively influential and virtually flawless in every way, it's one of the most powerful sci-fi movies ever made, a space epic about humanity and its complex relationship with technology that has only gotten better with age. There truly is no film quite like this one, and all sci-fi fans should check it out at least once in their lives.
The movie is slow, but not enough to put off those who don't typically like arthouse-coded pacing. Despite its slow-burning nature, though, 2001 is absolutely thrilling in all sorts of other ways, from exceptional visuals to some of the best direction ever committed to celluloid. It's a masterclass of the genre from beginning to end, and there's really no point in comparing it to any other sci-fi film. No matter how amazing it is, it's bound to lose against 2001.
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2001: A Space Odyssey
G
Science Fiction
Mystery
Adventure
Release Date
April 10, 1968
Runtime
149 minutes
Director
Stanley Kubrick
Writers
Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke
Cast
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Keir Dullea
Dr. David Bowman
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Gary Lockwood
Dr. Frank Poole
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