But what if you’re a cantankerous old spoilsport with no interest in George Lucas’ intergalactic saga (like Harrison Ford)? Fear not, here are 20 other science-fiction films that are worth watching, which also just happen to be my all-time favourite science-fiction films (and thus, the greatest science-fiction films ever made).
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick’s magnum opus isn’t just the best sci-fi film ever made – it’s one of the best films ever made, period. Opening with the dawn of mankind, ending with the birth of an all-seeing Star Child, and neatly summarising the entirety of evolution (in one extraordinary jump-cut) along the way, 2001 is nothing if not ambitious. Audiences have been trying to decipher its meaning for almost 50 years now, with some even turning to illicit substances for assistance (which no doubt leads to HAL-lucinations – I thank you!).
2. Blade Runner (1982)
Brit director Ridley Scott’s best film, Blade Runner was a box office bomb on release, but is now widely regarded as one of the most original and influential sci-fi films of all time. It packs as many memorable moments into its running time as a replicant has implanted memories in its head, cultivating in Rutger Hauer’s classic speech during the finale: ‘…and all those moments will be lost, in time… like Wally… in a crowd.’
3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
Steven Spielberg’s finest sci-fi film (sorry, E.T.), Close Encounters features dazzling special effects and a career-best Richard Dreyfuss making the most inventive use of mashed potato this side of Bodger & Badger.
4. John Carpenter’s The Thing (1982)
Ok, so The Force Awakens has a lot to recommend it, but does it have a human stomach sprouting teeth and biting someone’s hands off and/or a severed head growing spider legs and crawling across a floor? Answer: no, it does not. The Thing, on the other hand, has both, and plenty more besides, all courtesy of eye-bogglingly inventive FX wizard Rob Bottin. Eat your heart out, Yoda!
5. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Lashings of ultra-violence and the old in-n-out await anyone brave enough to tackle Stanley Kubrick’s other sci-fi masterpiece. The bearded director’s simultaneously funny and frightening vision of a dystopian future world (actually 1970s London) is liable to leave sensitive viewers with a globby feeling in their guttiwuts, but for everyone else a real horrorshow time awaits. Viddy well!
6. Alien (1979)
The first and, arguably, best in the long-running franchise, Ridley Scott’s sci-fi-horror remains terrifying thanks to all-too believable performances from a dedicated cast. Oh, and the eight-foot tall acid-spitting xenomorph, too.
7. Metropolis (1927)
German director Fritz Lang’s pre-War epic may not have been the first ever sci-fi film, but it may as well have been given how it completely and utterly rewrote the rule book. There are more versions of this film available than there are planets in the solar system, but in any format, it’s a masterpiece.
8. The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron’s awesome sci-fi actioner made a superstar out of Arnold Schwarzenegger, who would never again play such a scary character – or at least not until his role as the governor of California.
Made for a fraction of the cost of the later films, The Terminator is filled with budget-defying action sequences and effects; not least the jaw-dropping scene in which Stan Winston’s awesome animatronic robot rises from the ruins of an exploded tanker and gives chase – still the series’ finest hour.
9. Silent Running (1972)
The pro-environment, anti-pollution themes of Douglas Trumbull’s cult gem remain, sadly, even more relevant today than at the time of the film’s release. We’re all doomed, basically.
10. Brazil (1985)
Former Python Terry Gilliam’s futuristic satire on the drudgery of modern life is every bit as funny and inventive as you’d expect, in particular its comments on plastic surgery (which, if anything, has become even more of a disturbing industry than predicted here). Plus, Michael Palin as a bad guy – what more could you possibly want?
11. Forbidden Planet (1956)
Probably the only sci-fi film in history based on a Shakespeare play, this retelling of The Tempest starts light-heartedly but becomes increasingly more unnerving as the film progresses, not least when the invisible Id rears its head (still the creepiest transparent monster in film – sorry, Predator). Forbidden Planet also introduced the world to the indelible Robby the Robot, as well as to Leslie Nielson who appears in an early straight role (there’s not a beaver in sight!)
12. Westworld (1973)
Based on the book of the same name by Michael Crichton, Westworld’s story of a theme park gone awry is not dissimilar to Crichton’s other famous work, Jurassic Park. In fact, this is essentially an early (and equally as good) version of Spielberg’s blockbuster, only with robot outlaws in place of dinosaurs (say what you like about magnetic cowboys, but they stick to their guns).
13. Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
Or rather, Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khhhhhaaaaaannnnnnn!!! Excellent though Force Awakens director JJ Abrams’ recent Star Trek reboots have been, this 1982 film remains the Starship Enterprise’s finest big-screen outing to date.
14. Robocop (1987)
Paul Verhoeven has delivered several sci-fi classics throughout his frequently outrageous career (see 18) and none better than this violent but very funny satire on American consumerism and law enforcement (it’s amazing just how often Americans have been prepared to pay the Dutch director such big bucks to openly slag them off). Robocop also features a truly unforgettable scene involving a large vat of toxic waste and an unfortunate criminal. Not one to watch while eating porridge, then.
15. The Fly (1986)
Typically, remakes are never as good as the originals. Not so David Cronenberg’s 1986 update of The Fly, however, in which a career-best Jeff Goldblum inadvertently splices his molecular DNA with that of a common housefly. Cue doughnut regurgitation, an exploding baboon (no, really) and a bathroom cabinet filled with ominous-looking body parts. Not one to watch while eating… well, anything at all.
16. Predator (1987)
John Tiernan’s classic film features Arnie and an elite forces team doing battle with a dreadlocked alien in a remote jungle. It also includes some of the most quotable dialogue in the genre: ‘Run! Get to da chopper!’ has long been the hilarious come-to-bed cry of choice for fanboys the world over, much to the complete non-amusement of their partners.
17. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978)
The 1956 original is arguably better, but this Philip Kaufman remake remains my personal favourite, thanks to its infectiously paranoid atmosphere and nervy performances from the likes of Donald Sutherland, Jeff Goldblum and, yes, Leonard Nimoy. Spock was never this nasty.
18. Total Recall (1990)
Paul Verhoeven’s outrageously inventive sci-fi including some of the most amazing – and disgusting – practical effects ever put to screen, not least the scene in which Arnie yanks a tracking device the size of a Minion out of his left nostril. Avoid at all costs the lacklustre Colin Farrell remake.
19. They Live (1988)
The late, great Roddy Piper stars in John Carpenter’s superb sci-fi satire, in which a sinister all-powerful minority controls society to the benefit of the rich and the detriment of the poor.
So a bit like Jersey, then.
20. Under The Skin (2013)
Jonathon Glazer’s truly unique film sees Hollywood megastar Scarlett Johansson playing a deadly alien seductress in a bad wig driving around Scottish council estates picking up doomed strangers – and let’s face it fellas, if you are going to get killed by a killer alien, it might as well be one that looks like Scarlett Johansson in her undies.
