Science fiction is a broad genre, and in one of its most beloved forms it is fused with the dynamics of a thriller. The best of these films are simultaneously suspenseful, thought-provoking and dazzling.
‘Aliens’ (1986)
Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the lone survivor of the slow-burn rampage in 1979’s “Alien,” reluctantly tags along with a squad of Marines to a colony menaced by the Xenomorphs. This “perfect sequel” is a “war movie fused inextricably with science fiction,” said Ian Nathan at Empire. (Netflix)
‘12 Monkeys’ (1995)
James Cole (Bruce Willis) is a convict sent back in time from 2035 to find the source of a manufactured virus that wipes out 99% of the global population. The film succeeds as a “vigorous work of dark, surprise-filled science fiction,” said Janet Maslin at The New York Times. (Prime Video)
‘Children of Men’ (2006)
As a long fertility crisis threatens total societal collapse, Theo (Clive Owen) escorts a pregnant woman to safety through a bleak United Kingdom teeming with refugees and fear. This masterful parable is a “fast-paced, kinetically shot dystopia,” said Brian Eggert at Deep Focus Review. (Prime Video)
‘Annihilation’ (2018)
Lena (Natalie Portman) is a biologist who joins an expedition into a slowly expanding extraterrestrial bubble, inside which plant and animal life, as well as reality itself, are subject to bizarre mutations. Watching this “shimmering sci-fi art installation” is a “foreboding, unique and wholly challenging experience,” said David Crow at Den of Geek. (MGM+)