The Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 2010s – Paste Magazine

In putting together a list of the best science fiction films of the 2010s, we immediately deviated from the criteria used in our 100 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time list. For that list, in an effort to give the true breadth of the sci-fi genre its due and avoid having one-third of the list dominated by sub-genres that deserve (and have been accorded) lists of their very own, we purposefully stayed away, mostly, from films depicting post-apocalyptic wastelands, superheroes or kaiju. For this list, weve relaxed those restrictions a bit. In tipping the hat to the best sci-fi movies of a decade, it would seem a shame to exclude explorations of time-honored genre concepts like the multiverse, worm holes and flame-throwing electric guitars.

35. Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) Director: Matt Reeves

The second film in the rebooted Planet of the Apes series, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a beautifully designed mixed bag. Its a good film, and if you enjoy action or sci-fi movies or keeping up with the latest advances in How the hell did they pull that off? visual effects, you should definitely see it. But in comparison to the fun and surprises of Rise, Dawn cant help but feel a little self-serious and predictable. Its a parable that strives to be an epic. Ascendant director Matt Reeves (Cloverfield, Let Me In) evidently has the ambition to equal The Empire Strikes Back or The Dark Knight when it comes to genre sequels, and even though the film falls considerably short of those lofty goals, you cant fault him for trying.

Set roughly a decade after the events of Rise, heroic chimp Caesar (Andy Serkis, reprising his justly lauded performance-capture role) has established an Ewok-style primate paradise in the lush forests outside San Francisco. Its an apparent utopia where the golden rule is ape do not harm ape, communication happens via sign language and the existence of humans, largely wiped off the planet by the virus introduced in Rise, is a distant memory. For some, that memory is more of a nightmareincluding Caesars longtime frenemy Koba (Toby Kebbell), who has never been able to forgive the evils inflicted upon him in human captivity.

For all the flaws of character and narrative, Reeves has crafted a movie of nearly nonstop forward momentum. Its visually compelling, never drags and benefits from ace technical contributions from the likes of cinematographer Michael Seresin (Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban) and Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino. Geoff Berkshire

34. Monsters (2010) Director: Gareth Edwards

Gareth Edwards 2010 directorial debut about a world going about its business six years after a crashed NASA probe has spawned monsters would lead to much bigger things (and bigger monsters) for the films director/writer/cinematographerboth 2014s Godzilla reboot and even a piece of Star Wars (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story). Its a bit ironic that Edwards got handed the keys to films depedent on spectacle when his Monsters depends on understatement and a focus on the all-too-human interactions going on in the midst of what sure seems to be an alien invasion. Monsters focuses on a photojournalist (Scoot McNairy) tasked with escorting the daughter (Whitney Able) of his boss out of a expanded quarantine zone and into the safe area beyond the border walls erected to keep the monsters out. (This is the rare case where a movie involving trying to keep others out of the United States has very little purposeful resonance with our current political climate.) The resulting film feels both familiar and strange, even as the performances and script sometimes flaga viewer ultimately doesnt really know whats coming next, which is great quality for any sci-fi film to have. Michael Burgin

33. The Worlds End (2013) Director: Edgar Wright

The third installment in Edgar Wrightand Simon Peggs Cornetto trilogyso named for the ice cream treat that makes a cameo in each episodeis a clever extension of the signature style the director and star/writing partners established with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz, and an expansion on their themes of friendship, nostalgia and standing up to the Man. Where their 2004 zombie comedy riffed on monster movies and their 2007 actioner took on buddy cop flicks, The Worlds End mines sci-fispecifically, a particular brand of mid-20th-century social science fiction (think Invasion of the Body Snatchers)to explore dichotomous trends in the yearning to recapture youth and the homogenization of culture.

The novelty has worn off Wright and Peggs shtick a bit, but even the reiterated gags (the characters must traverse garden fences again) are still funnywinks to their fans rather than lazy writing. For all their horsing around, Wright is an accomplished filmmaker who embeds story in the very mechanics of cinema. The films narrative is steeped in reminiscenceour selective memories when it comes to what it was like to be young and how youth shapes the people we become as adults, from the labyrinthine origins of slang phrases that comprise the private language of a group to the adolescent loves and rivals that still obsess us. The epilogue goes off the rails a little, but Wright and Peggs willingness to introduce a new reality (like the humans and zombies living side-by-side at the end of Shaun) suggests another motif in their oeuvrethe resiliency of the human spirit. Exceedingly quick-witted and fast-paced, The Worlds End merits repeat viewings. If Shaun and Hot Fuzz are any indication, it, like old friends, will be even funnier and wiser than you remember. Annlee Ellingson

32. Big Hero 6 (2014) Directors: Don Hall, Chris Williams

Big Hero 6 takes place in San Fransokyo, a futuristic metropolis where east and west collide in a loudly colored urban jungle. Its in the citys back alleys that we meet the aforementioned Hiro as he hustles his way through an illegal robot-fighting ring; hes a smart kid, but he lacks ambition, at least until he signs up at San Fransokyo Tech (the movies M.I.T. surrogate) at the behest of his older brother, Tadashi (Daniel Henney). Fortune favors the clever Hiro, who gets in without breaking a sweat thanks to his last-minute invention, a nanobot legion with endless practical applications. But no sooner is he admitted than a fatal explosion at the school takes Tadashis life and sets Hiro on a grief spiral. Enter Baymax (Scott Adsit, formerly of TVs 30 Rock, whose voiceover is the films secret weapon). Tadashis crowning achievement, Baymax is an inflatable health care companion designed to dispense medical aid at the mere sound of human distress. Baymax wants Hiro to feel better. Hiro wants to distract himself from his brothers death by figuring out who stole his nanobots in the wake of the San Fransokyo Tech catastrophe. Thus, the kid whips up a suit of armor and a suite of programming upgrades to turn the big guy into an ass-kicking juggernaut. Theyre quite a pairone not seen in movies since 1999s The Iron Giantthough Hiro isnt battling crime as much as hes simply trying to move on from his brothers death. Its the films through line, and a big part of what makes Big Hero 6 such a success.

Theres a lot here that feels familiar, particularly the origin story trappings and the assembly of the super team were used to in the MCU, but few among those films feel quite so refreshingly alive as Big Hero 6. Theres a beat here, a rhythm that the film follows from start to finish as it juggles adult themes through the lens of childrens fare This is an immensely entertaining picturebright, vivid and smartly constructed on tropes that show themselves a bit too much in its peers. In Sonys The Amazing Spider-Man films, the confrontation of loss plays like a grinding chore instead of an essential part of the heros journey. In Big Hero 6, that component feels organic. It belongs. Thrilling, well-crafted set pieces are only one aspect of what makes blockbusters like this tick. The bond between a boy and his android makes up the rest. Andy Crump

31. Snowpiercer (2014) Director: Bong Joon-Ho

There is a sequence midway through Snowpiercer that perfectly articulates what makes Korean writer/director Bong Joon-ho among the most dynamic filmmakers currently working. Protagonist Curtis Everett (Chris Evans) and his ragtag band of rebels have just entered a train compartment where they are ambushed by a legion of men armed with axes. Everett bravely (or foolishly, depending on your perspective) leads the charge and the two armies engage in a no-holds-barred, slow motion-heavy action set piece. Metal clashes against metal, and characters slash through their opponents as if their bodies were made of butter. Its gory, imaginative, horrifying, beautiful, visceral and utterly glorious. As a whole, Snowpiercer may not always reach such a level, but it certainly does its darndest. Adapted from a French graphic novel by Jacques Lob, Benjamin Legrand and Jean-Marc Rochette, Snowpiercer is a sci-fi thriller set in a futuristic, post-apocalyptic world. Nearly two decades prior, in an ill-advised attempt to halt global warning, the government inundated the atmosphere with an experimental chemical that left our planet a barren, ice-covered wasteland. Now, the last of humanity resides on Snowpiercer, a vast train powered via a perpetual-motion engine. Needless to say, this scenario hasnt exactly brought out the best of humanity.

Bleak and brutal, Snowpiercer may not quite reach the heights of Bongs Korean output, but it does act as a more than successful demonstration of what he can bring to the table as a director. Bong may very well be playing a song that weve all heard before, but he does it with such gusto and dexterous skill you cant help but be caught up the flurry.

30. Ad Astra (2019) Director: James Gray

Brad Pitt plays Roy McBride, an astronaut from a future near to ours, who, when we meet him, is somehow surviving an explosion from an international space station by using his preternatural ability to control his heart rate and his breathing, remaining calm in the face of mortal peril. The explosion was caused by a series of solar flares that, its learned, may be caused by an experiment years before led by Roys father, Griffin (Tommy Lee Jones), who was thought to have died but may be alive and in fact may have sabatoged the mission. Government officials, fearing the flares could end up destroying all life on planet Earth, want Roy to send a message to Griffins ship, hopefully persuading him to halt the flares and come back home. Roy, who hasnt seen his father since he was a teenager, isnt sure the missions going to workbut hes haunted by his own demons, demons not entirely disconnected from his father. If this sounds like an exciting space yarn, know that director James Gray is in a much more meditative state here: The film is more about the mystery of the soul of man than it is about the mystery of the universe, or even about some big spaceship fights. The universe is the backdrop to the story of a man and his thwarted issues with his father, and his inability to connect with anyone else in the world because of it. Like many of Grays films, Ad Astra is about the depths one can find within oneself, how far down anyone can climb and hide. Pitt wouldnt seem like the ideal actor for a part like thatcharisma drips off him so effortlessly that it leaves a trail behind him wherever he goesbut hes impressive at playing a man who doesnt understand himself but suspects the answer to the riddle that has vexed him his whole life must be in this man who gave him life but whom he never really knew. Theres a reserve here that Pitt draws on that works well for him; its a serious performance, but it never feels showy. He is searching for something, knowing full well he probably wont find it. Gray does provide some thrills on the journey of father to find son, and they are extremely well-crafted, particularly a battle with space pirates on the moon that takes place in a world without both gravity and sound. And in Pitt he has a solid emotional center that the audience will still follow anywhere, even if its to the ends of the solar system just to confront his daddy issues. Will Leitch

29. Alita: Battle Angel (2019) Director: Robert Rodriguez

Alita: Battle Angel begins with Dyson Ito (Christoph Waltz), doctor to cyborgs, scavenging through a junkyard full of spare parts in order to find anything he can use. What better way to start a film than with a metaphor about itself? Just like Dr. Ito, director Robert Rodriguezand co-writer/co-producer James Cameron sift through the remnants of established sci-fi and cyberpunk properties in order to glue together a recognizable and cohesive narrative within the confines of its genre. Considering the talent involved, its not surprising that the finished product is a frequently fun and kinetic, visually pleasing sci-fi/actioner, albeit one that doesnt have a single new or fresh part embedded in it. Again considering the talent involved, that feels like a lost opportunity. Based on the popular manga, Gunnm, Alita: Battle Angel mostly takes its visual cues and narrative structure from a 1993 anime adaptation. That anime is barely an hour long, yet manages to pack in a sprawling cyberpunk universe with a deep and complex lore that supports whatever over-the-top tech fetish cyber action it throws at you. The story follows Alita (Rosa Salazar), whom Dr. Ito finds during his junk hunt and brings back to life. Her brain is human, but the rest of her is artificial. Just like a cyborg version of Jason Bourne, she doesnt remember her past, but has supreme ass-kicking instincts, leading Ito to suspect some sinister military use in her past. The future world that Battle Angel inhabits is the lovechild of Blade Runner and Mad Max, a grimy post-apocalyptic city thats also a grand, overpopulated cyberpunk metropolis. Apart from Alita gradually figuring out her ass-kicking skills, theres another clear reason for giving the character amnesia: So she can be used as an exposition dump to settle the audience into the storys world and the hodgepodge of various sub-plots that co-screenwriters James Cameron, Laeta Kalogridis and Robert Rodriguezcram into a two-hour runtime. However, when the fighting finally begins, Battle Angel gets its metallic ass in gear. Rodriguez pushes the confines of the PG-13 rating to create some genre- and source-material-appropriate hack-and-slash gruesomeness with a significant amount of cyborg bodies split in half, decapitated and torn to pieces. For fans of the manga and anime, there isnt much in the way of new material to be found here, though nor is it likely to grate on ones fandom to the extent that the Ghost of the Shell live-action adaptation did. For fans of futuristic sci-fi/action, it should provide an engaging experience. Oktay Ege Kozak

28. Tron: Legacy (2010) Director: Joseph Kosinski

Not quite 30 years past its predecessor, the sequel to Steven Lisbergers religious cyber-allegory doubles down on all of Trons big ideas, balking at nothing, embracing everything, re-introducing Computer Jesus/famous engineer Flynn (Jeff Bridges) in full saintly beard and robe, messiah and Jedi and godhead all at once. And all this time hes been hiding inside the cyberworld he once helped liberate from an evil AI, when his son, sexy hacker Sam Flynn (Garrett Hedlund), accidentally follows in his fathers footsteps and materializes within the much-updated cyberworld, discovering both what the elder Flynns been up to and just how fascistic cyberlife has gotten. The spiritual demagogue this time around is Clu (de-aged, digital Jeff Bridges), now far corrupted beyond the benevolent force Flynn once programmed him to represent, and the political subtext this time around is just all text. But with a lifetimes worth of digital effects advancements behind him, director Joseph Kosinski leans hard into building an overwhelming sense of awewhich makes him something of the perfect choice to helm the sequel. Like the first Tron, in which feeling gobsmacked by technology is kind of the point, Legacy compensates for any weaknesses in world building or shoddy storytelling with sheer scale. Daft Punk scores such astounding melodrama as deftly as they were obviously born to do. Accordingly, Kosinski holds back on the digital Jeff Bridges, couching the unreality within the excuse of an unrealityhes supposed to look a bit off, a bit concoctedand gauging the distance between what he wants to do and what he knows hes capable of doing with care and grace far beyond whats demanded of him in what could have amounted to little more than a long-overdue Disney cash-in. Dom Sinacola

27. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) Director: Gareth Edwards

Gareth Edwards venture into a galaxy far, far away is the Star Wars film we never knew we needed. A triumphantly thrilling, serious-minded war movie, its incalculably stronger for the fact that its not the first chapter in a new franchise, but complete and self-contained (to the extent that any Star Wars film can be) in a way that no other Star Wars entry, other than A New Hope, is capable of achieving. It doesnt set the stage for an inevitable next installment, and its characters are all the realer for the fact that theyre not perpetually sheathed in blasterproof Franchise Armor. I had no idea until I watched Rogue One how refreshing that concept would be.

Our protagonist is Jyn Erso (Felicity Jones), a plucky young woman whose brilliant scientist father (Mads Mikkelsen) has been controlled throughout her life by the Empire and coerced into designing superweapons of the moon-sized, planet-killing variety. Forced into adulthood on the fringes of the Rebel Alliance, shes assembled a Jack Sparrow-esque rap sheet and, as the film begins, finds herself in Imperial prison on various petty charges. Sprung by the rebels (who all carry themselves like serious badasses, by the way), shes sucked into a mission involving her father, the newly completed Death Star and a cast of resistance fighters and idealists all opposing the Empire in one way or another. Its often been said that George Lucass original work mirrors the likes of Kurosawa and spaghetti westerns, and thats never been more true than in Rogue One as it slowly assembles its team.

This is pretty far from the kid-friendly, fast-talking, joke-cracking bluster of John Boyegas Finn in The Force Awakens, and any fears that Disney was trying to lighten the mood of the film by inserting humor via subsequent reshoots are positively unfounded. The droid character of K-2SO, voiced by Alan Tudyk, shoulders almost the entire load of comic relief, and although his funnier lines do occasionally seem out of place, they ultimately buoy the film with much-needed levity. Indeed, without those occasional chuckles, one might describe the film as positively dourtheyre well calculated to be just enough. What Rogue One is, most accurately, is what it was sold as all along: A legitimate war movie/commando story, albeit with some familial entanglements. Jim Vorel

26. Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) Director: James Gunn

Director (and co-writer) James Gunn has taken the somewhat obscure team (to non-comic-book fans, at least) and kept the source materials tone, attitude and bombastic settings intact. As the self-named Star-Lord, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) presents viewers with a pretty irresistible amalgam of Han Solo, Mal Reynolds and Captain Kirk. (Pratt owns this role.) The scene-stealing duo of Rocket (voiced by Bradley Cooper) and Groot (voiced by Vin Diesel) also provides the latest reminder of how convincing mo-cap-aided CGI has become. (Within moments after being introduced to them, I was yearning for a Rocket and Groot buddy picture.) Frankly, its hard to compete with Quill, Rocket and Groot, but Drax (Dave Bautista) and Gamora (Zoe Saldana) dont need to shine as brightlyunlike The Avengers, one doesnt get the sense each team members time center stage is being meticulously measured. (One other important thing to note about Groothe is Groot.) Marvels rambunctious entry into the space-opera genreand the cornerstone of its Cosmic Marvel roster of characters and storylinesso perfectly embodies what the preceding months of hype and hope foretold that even its weak points feel almost like unavoidable imperfectionsbroken eggs for a pretty satisfying omelet. Michael Burgin

25. Pacific Rim (2013) Director: Guillermo del Toro

With Pacific Rim, Guillermo del Torohas reinvigorated the Kaiju film, one of those rare pulp genres thats actually native to the silver screen. In doing so, del Toro pulls off an even rarer feat, creating a movie that both distills and perfects the tradition from which its drawn. (Del Toro also delivers a few lessons in genre storytelling that many of the top names in sci-fi and fantasy would do well to emulate.) Ultimately, del Toros film is less an homage to the Kaiju film than the long overdue perfecting of it using technology that has finally caught up to the genres demands. (In this, it shares much with the superhero film efforts of the last decade or so.) Pacific Rim is the Kaiju film Ishiro Honda would have made had he $200 million and the technology of today to spend it on. And regardless of its box office success, it is the standard against which future Kaiju films will beor in the case of its lackluster sequel, wasjudged. Michael Burgin

24. Thor: Ragnarok (2017) Director: Taika Waititi

Like the Guardians of the Galaxy films, which are the closest non-Thor cousins in tone and spirit to the third installment in the god of Thunders personal franchise, Thor: Ragnarok opens with a lively prologue/set piece involving its protagonist Thor-ing like a boss accompanied by a rockin tune. Its a great nod to all the comic book fans jonesin to see Thor using Mjolnir, his trusty hammer, to just all-out wreck those who oppose him. From there, Waititi keeps the pace swift, resolving a few plot cliffhangers, throwing down an extended cameo, introducing this films big bad in Hela (a dependably enjoyable Cate Blanchett), propelling Thor (and Loki) to their next stop on the its a big universe express, meeting new faces (Jeff Goldblums Grandmaster and Tessa Thompsons Valkyrie foremost among them), reuniting with everyones favorite green-thewed god-pummeler before bringing it all back for the big finale in Asgard. The result? One of those two-hour-plus films that youll swear was just an hour-forty. Waititi seems to delight in exploring the interplay between Hemsworths physical and comic presence. It yields a version of Thor that might annoy some comic book purists (but certainly didnt this one), but its an undeniable asset for the franchise. Some years and a few Avengers films to go before audiences would know whats next for Thor (and whether it would involve Hemsworth), Thor: Ragnarok, left us all suddenly eager to find out. Michael Burgin

23. Inception (2010) Director: Christopher Nolan

In the history of cinema, there is no twist more groan-inducing than the it was all a dream trope (notable exceptions like The Wizard of Oz aside). With Inception, director Christopher Nolancrafts a bracing and high-octane piece of sci-fi drama wherein that conceit isnt just a plot device, but the totality of the story. The measured and ever-steady pace and precision with which the plot and visuals unfold, and Nolan mainstay wally Pfisters gorgeous, globe-spanning on-location cinematography, implies a near-obsessive attention to detail. The film winds up and plays out like a clockwork beast, each additional bit of minutia coalescing to form a towering whole. Nolans filmmaking and Inceptions dream-delving work toward the same end: to offer us a simulation that toys with our notions of reality. As that, and as a piece of summer popcorn-flick fare, Inception succeeds quite admirably, leaving behind imagery and memories that tug and twist our perceptionsdaring us to ask whether weve wrapped our heads around it, or were only half-remembering a waking dream.

Director Andrei Tarkovsky wrote a book about his philosophy towards filmmaking, calling it Sculpting in Time; Nolan, on the other hand, doesnt sculpt, he deconstructs. He uses filmmaking to tear time apart so he can put it back together as he wills. A spiritual person, Tarkovskys films were an expression of poetic transcendence. For Nolan, a rationalist, he wants to cheat time, cheat death. His films often avoid dealing with death head-on, though they certainly depict it. What Nolan is able to convey in a more potent fashion is the weight of time and how ephemeral and weak our grasp on existence. Time is constantly running out in Nolans films; a ticking clock is a recurring motif for him, one that long-time collaborator Hans Zimmer aurally literalized in the scores for Interstellar and Dunkirk. Nolan revolts against temporal reality, and film is his weapon, his tool, the paradox stairs or mirror-upon-mirror of Inception. He devises and engineers filmic structures that emphasize times crunch while also providing a means of escape. In Inception different layers exist within the dream world, and the deeper one goes into the subconscious the more stretched out ones mental experience of time. If one could just go deep enough, they could live a virtual eternity in their minds own bottomless pit. To sleep perchance to dream: the closest Nolan has ever gotten to touching an afterlife. Michael Saba and Chad Betz

22. The Martian (2015) Director: Ridley Scott

Ridley Scotts The Martian is largely a cold, deliberate film, but theres still something undeniably stirring about it. Instead of showering us with treacle, the film pays tribute to simple human attributes such as smarts, teamwork, sacrifice and determination, going about its business much like its resourceful characters do. And yet, the films underlying message is nonetheless inspiring: We can do great things if only we put our minds to it. Based on Andy Weirs 2011 novel, The Martian is set in a not-too-distant future in which U.S. astronauts are conducting manned missions to the Red Planet. The latest expedition finds a crew that includes Commander Melissa Lewis (Jessica Chastain) and botanist Mark Watney (Matt Damon) getting ready to return home to Earth when a deadly storm suddenly bears down on them. In the rush to return to their ship, Watney is hit by debris and presumed dead, Lewis reluctantly taking the rest of her crew into space. Except, of course, Watney hasnt really died. As you might imagine, much depends on the films outcome, and Scott finds a way, even in the storys final moments, to undercut the obviously emotional stakes with a calm precision that makes it all the more thrilling and harrowing. Consequently, The Martian is subtly heroic, peeling away the potential histrionics of the stranded-on-Mars plot to look at the very human men or women who ensure that the spaceships can fly in the first place.Tim Grierson

21. Attack the Block (2011) Director: Joe Cornish

Written and directed by Joe Cornish, the sci-fi action comedy centers on a gang of teenage thugsparticularly their disgruntled leader, Moses, remarkably underplayed by a young John Boyegaand their housing project in South London. When the defiant juveniles take their crime to a new level and mug an innocent nurse (a delightful Jodie Whittaker), they immediately find themselves plagued by alien invaders. These hideous creatures, with their jet black fur and glowing blue fangs, want nothing more than to destroy the boys and their tower block.

In the spirit of Spielbergeven more so than J.J. Abrams Spielberg ode of the same year, Super 8Cornish uses alien beings as the catalyst to bring supernatural redemption to a person and a community. He focuses specifically on Londons socioeconomic bottom half and the turmoil surrounding them, exposing the lies that societys youth buy into that prolong cultural discontinuity. A comical scene, in which Moses tries to make sense of the aliens while giving excuses for his criminal behavior, highlights this cleverlyhe doesnt just blame the government for violence and drugs in his neighborhood, he blames the government for the whole alien invasion.

Cornish, however, doesnt simply confront this hopeless attitude, he points toward hopemost vividly in the way Moses battles the aliens, his fight rapt with symbolic implications. Though he tries to escape the beasts through running and avoidance, he realizes he must inevitably face them, but not on his own. In Attack the Block, the alien invasion becomes one giant metaphor for the darkness that binds Moses, his friends and his blocka threat that can only be countered with the pivotal power of community. Maryann Koopman Kelly

20. Upstream Color (2012) Director: Shane Carruth

Shane Carruths Upstream Color builds a stunning mosaic of lives overwhelmed by decisions outside their control, of people who dont understand the impulses that rule their every action. Told with stylistic bravado and minimal dialogue (none in the last 30 minutes), the film continually finds new ways to evoke unexpected feelings. The visualsfrom stunning shots of underwater schist to microscopic photographycombine with extraordinary sound design and rhythmic cross-cutting to create a hypnotic portrait of the storys intertwined narratives. The means to the interconnectivity is a small worm whose parasitic endeavors link lives together, but Carruth doesnt bother with sci-fi exposition. The organism does what it does, and thats all we need to know. This allows more time to explore the emotional impact the organism has on the characters. Ultimately, thats where Upstream Color succeeds. An elaborate intellectual concept fuels the film, but a rich sense of humanity gives it power. Jeremy Matthews

19. Dredd (2012) Director: Pete Travis

Karl Urbanwhos no stranger to tightly wound sci-fi fare (including the unfairly maligned The Chronicles of Riddick) provides the scowl and chin of Judge Joseph Dredda total-law package professional who is clearly as disinterested in humoring his rookie partner as the script is in coddling its audience. A few lines of raspy Man with No Name narration, coupled with a superbly bleak establishing shot from cinematographer Anthony Dod Mantle, are all the generosity afforded by the filmmakers toward understanding this world before it unleashes chase sequences and bursting heads. This is a film that aims squarely at respecting its sources established fan base, and cares little for casualties who cant hang on through its grindhouse paces.

Though the competent, workmanlike approach to achieving the visceral thrills of the source material is excellently realized, it comes at the expense of sidelining writers Wagner and Ezquerras satirical background radiation of fascisms consequences. While a few moments of gallows humor emergetypically of the Ouch! varietyany subtext that might get in the way of servicing its adrenalized momentum is cordoned off, so as not to disturb the thrilling crime scene. Nothing more to see here, folks. Move along. But this is not even an offense punishable by three days in an Iso-Cube. The rule of law by which audiences are meant to abide is laid out immediately and authoritatively, andjust in case you needed remindingDredd is the law. Scott Wold

18. Looper (2012) Director: Rian Johnson

Joseph-Gordon Levitt channels his inner badass to act as the younger version of Bruce Willis, nailing (with the help of some CGI and prosthetics) Williss ubiquitous action presence. The best case made on film for If time travel is outlawed, only outlaws will have time travel!, writer/director Rian Johnson wisely treats the tech as a given, focusing instead on the dramatic scenarios humans use of it would create. The result is one of the more thrilling time-travel-infused flicks of the last few decades, and one obvious reason why Johnson was trusted with a Star Wars film not long afterward. Christian Becker

17. Okja (2017) Director: Bong Joon-ho

Okja takes more creative risks in its first five minutes than most films take over their entire span, and it doesnt let up from there. What appears to be a sticking point for some critics and audiences, particularly Western ones, is the seemingly erratic tone, from sentiment to suspense to giddy action to whimsy to horror to whatever it is Jake Gyllenhaalis doing. But this is part and parcel with what makes Bong Joon-ho movies, well, Bong Joon-ho movies: Theyre nuanced and complex, but they arent exactly subtle or restrained. They are imaginative works that craft momentum through part-counterpart alternations, and Okja is perhaps the finest example yet of the wild pendulum swing of a Bong films rhythmic tonality.

Okja is, in other words, the culmination of Bongs unique rhythms into something like a syncopated symphony. The film opens with Tilda Swintons corporate maven Lucy Mirando leering out an expository dump of public relations about her new genetically created super-pigs, which will revolutionize the food industry. Were also introduced to Johnny Wilcox, played by Gyllenhaal as a bundle of wretched tics, like theres a tightly-wound anime character just waiting to rid itself of its Gyllenhaal flesh, but in the meantime barely contained. Okja is the finest of the super-pigs, raised by a Korean farmer (Byun Hee-bong) and his granddaughter Mija (Ahn Seo-hyun), an orphan. Okja is Mijas best friend, a crucial part of her family. Bong takes his sweet time with this idyllic life Mija and Okja share. The narrative slows down to observe what feels like a Miyazaki fantasy come to life. Mija whispers in Okjas ear, and were left to wonder what she could possibly be saying. The grandfather has been lying to Mija, telling her he has saved money to buy Okja from the Mirando corporation. There is no buying this pig; it is to be a promotional star for the enterprise. When Johnny Wilcox comes to claim Okja (a sharp note of dissonance in the peaceful surroundings) the grandfather makes up an excuse for Mija to come with him to her parents grave. It is there he tells her the truth.

Mijas quest to rescue Okja brings her in alliance with non-violent animal rights activists ALF, which ushers the film into a high-wire act of an adventure where Bongs penchant for artful set-piece is pushed to new heights. The director works with an ace crew frontlined by one of our greatest living cinematographers, Darius Khondji, who composes every frame of Okja with vibrant virtuosity. The very action of the film becomes action that is concerned with its own ethics. As the caricatures of certain characters loom larger, and the scope of the film stretches more and more into the borderline surreal, one realizes that the Okja is a modern, moral fable. Its not a film about veganism, but it is a film that asks how we can find integrity and, above all, how we can act humanely towards other creatures, humans included. The answers Okja reaches are simple and vital, and without really speaking them it helps you hear those answers for yourself because it has asked all the right questions, and it has asked them in a way that is intensely engaging. Chad Betz

16. Interstellar (2014) Director: Christopher Nolan

Whether hes making superhero movies or blockbuster puzzle boxes, Christopher Nolandoesnt usually bandy with emotion. But Interstellar is a nearly three-hour ode to the interconnecting power of love. Its also his personal attempt at doing in 2014 what Stanley Kubrickdid in 1968 with 2001: A Space Odyssey, less of an ode or homage than a challenge to Kubricks highly polarizing contribution to cinematic canon. Interstellar wants to uplift us with its visceral strengths, weaving a myth about the great American spirit of invention gone dormant. Its an ambitious paean to ambition itself. The film begins in a not-too-distant future, where drought, blight and dust storms have battered the world down into a regressively agrarian society. Textbooks cite the Apollo missions as hoaxes, and children are groomed to be farmers rather than engineers. This is a world where hope is dead, where spaceships sit on shelves collecting dust, and which former NASA pilot Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) bristles against. Hes long resigned to his fate but still despondent over mankinds failure to think beyond its galactic borders. But then Cooper falls in with a troop of underground NASA scientists, led by Professor Brand (Michael Caine), who plan on sending a small team through a wormhole to explore three potentially habitable planets and ostensibly secure the human races continued survival. But the film succeeds more as a visual tour of the cosmos than as an actual story. The rah-rah optimism of the films pro-NASA stance is stirring, and on some level that tribute to human endeavor keeps the entire yarn afloat. But no amount of scientific positivism can offset the weight of poetic repetition and platitudes about love. Andy Crump

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The Best Sci-Fi Movies of the 2010s - Paste Magazine