A well-made science fiction movie makes us ponder the incredible ways in which technology can affect us in the near or far future or in an alternate reality. Besides providing insightful entertainment, they also educate us on some level. The icing on the cake is the breath-taking visuals we are treated with. Some eminent filmmakers have given us stellar sci-fi films like The Matrix, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Interstellar, Gravity – to name a few.
We have handpicked a list of the 5 must-watch science fiction films, currently streaming on Netflix, for you to watch this weekend:
1. Arrival (2016)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, who is known for remaking Ridley Scott’s ‘Blade Runner’, this sci-fi slow burner features Amy Adams as a linguistic expert, who is called up by the US Army to communicate with the aliens using her unique skills, in a race against time, to decode the mystery. The film also starred Jeremy Renner and Forest Whitaker.
2. Passengers (2016)
Set in the distant future, the film follows the dilemma of two spaceship passengers (played by ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ star Chris Pratt and ‘Hunger Games’ actress Jennifer Lawrence), who erroneously wake up 90 years earlier than the scheduled 120 years. Unlike the intense and thought-provoking ‘Arrival’, this one is a light-hearted entertainer. The film was helmed by ‘The Imitation Game’ director Morten Tyldum.
3. I Am Mother (2019)
A surviving teenage girl in a post-apocalyptic world is ‘nurtured’ inside a secured bunker by an artificially intelligent robot, whose primary purpose is to repopulate the world. Things turn a U-turn when a mysterious stranger (Hillary Swank) enters their seemingly perfect life. Super intriguing plot, isn’t it?
4. Annihilation (2018)
A thought-provoking film directed by Alex Garland, it follows a cellular biologist (played by Natalie Portman) leading an expedition into an ever-expanding mysterious zone, engulfed by a catastrophic alien presence. The film’s visual opulence and philosophical premise will manage to keep you engaged throughout.
5. ARQ (2016)
In this low-budget sci-fi, a couple (played by Robbie Amell and Rachael Taylor) fight a home invasion while also being stuck in an infinite time loop, which compels them to repeatedly relive the same day. Their attempts to safely get out of the time loop, and confront the intruders form the rest of the story.