15 Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 21st Century & Where to Watch

Science fiction (sometimes shortened to sf or sci-fi) is a genre of speculative fiction, which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel universes, and extraterrestrial life. Expending from literature, Sci-Fi has been seen in music, paintings, sculptures, films, and architecture. Sci-Fi movies have been a very important, or even the most widely spread method for Science fiction. What are the best sci-fi movies in the 21st century? Where to watch sci-fi movies? On this page, we have summarized the best sci-fi movies of the 21st century and places for you to watch these wonderful sci-fi movies.

Part 1: 15 Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 21st Century

Below are the 15 best sci-fi movies of the 21st century that have widely been highly praised or positively reviewed.

◎ 1. Children of Men (2006)

IMDb rating: 7.9/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 85%

Director Alfonso Cuaron’s adaptation of PD James’ novel is a chilling nightmare, set in a future where human infertility has rendered society increasingly unstable (morality matters less when extinction is in the offing). The film’s rumpled, weary atmosphere, as embodied by conflicted hero Clive Owen — playing a cynical bureaucrat drafted into a potentially species-saving plot – and stubborn optimism (personified by Michael Caine’s aging hippie weed-dealer) combine to create a movingly tangible sci-fi tale that suggests that the end of the world, and its salvation, might not come with a bang, but a whimper.

◎ 2. Arrival (2016)

IMDb rating: 7.9/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 82%

Arrival is a true masterpiece of science fiction cinema and a testament to the power of storytelling. The film is an adaptation of the short story “Story of Your Life” by Ted Chiang, and it explores themes of language, communication, and the nature of time. It follows Louise Banks, a linguistics professor who is recruited by the US military to help communicate with an alien race that has landed on Earth. Along with theoretical physicist Ian Donnelly, Louise races against time to decipher the aliens’ language and uncover the purpose of their visit before global tensions escalate into war.

◎ 3. Inception (2010)

IMDb rating: 8.8/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 91%

Dom Cobb is a thief with the rare ability to enter people's dreams and steal their secrets from their subconscious. His skill has made him a hot commodity in the world of corporate espionage but has also cost him everything he loves. Cobb gets a chance at redemption when he is offered a seemingly impossible task: Plant an idea in someone's mind. If he succeeds, it will be the perfect crime, but a dangerous enemy anticipates Cobb's every move.

◎ 4. Minority Report (2002)

IMDb rating: 7.6/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 80%

In which Hollywood brings out the Howitzers – Spielberg! Cruise! A script based on a Philip K. Dick story – and still manages to deliver a savvy, smart sci-fi blockbuster not aimed at the lowest common denominator. Never mind that it moves with the director’s customary thrill-ride efficiency; the more times you watch this story of a future cop dedicated to stopping murders before they’ve occurred, the more you marvel at how it seems to anticipate the NSA/drone-strike zeitgeist of the here and now.

◎ 5. Gravity (2013)

IMDb rating: 7.7/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 79%

Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a medical engineer on her first shuttle mission. Her commander is veteran astronaut Matt Kowalsky (George Clooney), helming his last flight before retirement. Then, during a routine space walk by the pair, disaster strikes: The shuttle is destroyed, leaving Ryan and Matt stranded in deep space with no link to Earth and no hope of rescue. As fear turns to panic, they realize that the only way home may be to venture further into space.

◎ 6. Guardians of the Galaxy (2023)

IMDb rating: 8.1/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 94%

In Marvel Studios "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" our beloved band of misfits is looking a bit different these days. Peter Quill, still reeling from the loss of Gamora, must rally his team around him to defend the universe along with protecting one of their own. A mission that, if not completed successfully, could quite possibly lead to the end of the Guardians as we know them.

◎ 7. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

IMDb rating: 7.9/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 90%

When Earth falls under attack from invincible aliens, no military unit in the world is able to beat them. Maj. William Cage, an officer who has never seen combat, is assigned to a suicide mission. Killed within moments, Cage finds himself thrown into a time loop, in which he relives the same brutal fight - and his death - over and over again. However, Cage's fighting skills improve with each encore, bringing him and a comrade ever closer to defeating the aliens.

◎ 8. Interstellar (2006)

IMDb rating: 8.7/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 86%

In Earth's future, a global crop blight and the second Dust Bowl are slowly rendering the planet uninhabitable. Professor Brand, a brilliant NASA physicist, is working on plans to save mankind by transporting Earth's population to a new home via a wormhole. But first, Brand must send former NASA pilot Cooper and a team of researchers through the wormhole and across the galaxy to find out which of three planets could be mankind's new home.

◎ 9. The Martian (2015)

IMDb rating: 8.0/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 91%

When astronauts blast off from the planet Mars, they leave behind Mark Watney, presumed dead after a fierce storm. With only a meager amount of supplies, the stranded visitor must utilize his wits and spirit to find a way to survive on the hostile planet. Meanwhile, back on Earth, members of NASA and a team of international scientists work tirelessly to bring him home, while his crew mates hatch their own plan for a daring rescue mission.

◎ 10. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

IMDb rating: 8.1/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 86%

Years after the collapse of civilization, the tyrannical Immortan Joe enslaves apocalypse survivors inside the desert fortress Citadel. When the warrior Imperator Furiosa leads the despot's five wives in a daring escape, she forges an alliance with Max Rockatansky, a loner and former captive. Fortified in the massive, armored truck the War Rig, they try to outrun the ruthless warlord and his henchmen in a deadly high-speed chase through the Wasteland.

◎ 11. Ex Machina (2014)

IMDb rating: 7.7/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 86%

Caleb Smith a programmer at a huge Internet company, wins a contest that enables him to spend a week at the private estate of Nathan Bateman, his firm's brilliant CEO. When he arrives, Caleb learns that he has been chosen to be the human component in a Turing test to determine the capabilities and consciousness of Ava, a beautiful robot. However, it soon becomes evident that Ava is far more self-aware and deceptive than either man imagined.

◎ 12. Dredd (2012)

IMDb rating: 7.1/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 72%

Mega City One is a vast, violent metropolis where felons rule the streets. The only law lies with cops called "judges," who act as judge, jury, and executioner, and Dredd is one of the city's most feared. One day, Dredd is partnered with Cassandra, a rookie with powerful psychic abilities. A report of a terrible crime sends Dredd and Cassandra to a dangerous area controlled by Ma-Ma, a drug lord who will stop at nothing to protect her empire.

◎ 13. The World’s End (2006)

IMDb rating: 6.9/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 72%

Gary King (Simon Pegg) is an immature 40-year-old who's dying to take another stab at an epic pub-crawl that he last attempted 20 years earlier. He drags his reluctant buddies back to their hometown and sets out for a night of heavy drinking. As they make their way toward their ultimate destination - the fabled World's End pub - Gary and his friends attempt to reconcile the past and present. However, the real struggle is for the future when their journey turns into a battle for mankind.

◎ 14. Cloverfield (2008)

IMDb rating: 7.0/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 68%

As a group of New Yorkers (Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, Odette Yustman) enjoy a going-away party, little do they know that they will soon face the most terrifying night of their lives. A creature the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city, leaving death and destruction in its wake. Using a handheld video camera, the friends record their struggle to survive as New York crumbles around them.

◎ 15. Prometheus (2012)

IMDb rating: 7.0/10.0

Rotten Tomatoes audience rating: 68%

The discovery of a clue to mankind's origins on Earth leads a team of explorers to the darkest parts of the universe. Two brilliant young scientists lead the expedition. Shaw (Noomi Rapace) hopes that they will meet a race of benevolent, godlike beings who will in some way verify her religious beliefs, while Holloway (Logan Marshall-Green) is out to debunk any spiritual notions. However, neither the scientists nor their shipmates are prepared for the unimaginable terrors that await them.

Part 2: Where to Watch Sci-Fi Movies Online?

You might want to know where to watch these best sci-fi movies online. There are quite a big number of streaming services that provide various sci-fi movies for you to stream and watch. Some of them are free to watch, while others might require you to subscribe. Here we have collected several top websites to watch sci-fi movies online.

The left-below sites require you to subscribe before you could watch sci-fi movies on them. Meanwhile, if you prefer to watch sci-fi movies online for free and don’t want to register and subscribe, make use of the right-below site list, which includes some top sci-fi movie sites for free playback