Science Fiction, or Sci-Fi movies began way back in 1902 with the release of the short French film, A Trip to the Moon. From trips to space and beyond, to dystopian nightmares, Sci-Fi movies have become ingrained in pop culture and produce some of the most memorable and successful movies of all time.
It is indeed a very different time for Science Fiction movies as it took till the 1960s for them to be taken seriously. Nowadays big, award-winning blockbusters from the likes of Marvel to indie small budget movies pull from ideas and stories of fantastical futures and advanced technology. From high-tech vehicles to laser blasters, audiences around the globe find joy in the Sci-Fi genre thanks to the fascinating what-if scenarios combined with magical and spellbinding worlds for the characters to exist within.
7 Naboo
Star Wars is probably the most famous Science Fiction movie series of all time. Now owned by the media giant that is Disney, Star Wars produces high-quality movies as well as television/streaming shows for Sci-Fi fans of all ages to enjoy. Tatooine may spring to mind when thinking about Star Wars, however, the planet Naboo has a more diverse and interesting ecosystem.
With renaissance era-like architecture on the planet's surface and lush green forests, the land above only hints at the melting pot of habitats in this infamous world. Deep below the waters of Naboo, there lives a people known as the Gungan, most famous of the Gungan people, Jar-Jar Binks, was heavily involved in the galaxy-changing events of the saga. The Gungan city makes the surface world feel almost Stone Age in comparison. Bubble shields surrounding housing and communal areas give an otherworldly feel that is everything great about the Star Wars franchise.
6 The Oasis
Ready Player One was a look into the fantastical potential future of gaming, specifically virtual reality. Based on the book of the same name written by Ernest Cline, Ready Player One the movie, released in 2018, was directed by the one and only Steven Spielberg.
In Ready Player One, society was fixated on The Oasis, a virtual paradise where players could use their real-life cash to buy cosmetics for their in-game avatars. Like Fortnite players could purchase licensed looks for clothing and even famous movie vehicles like the batmobile or the Delorean from Back to the Future. Living most of their non-work life in The Oasis, the characters of Ready Player One often found themselves preferring their life in The Oasis to their life in the real world.
5 LV-426
Aliens is almost the definitive Sci-Fi sequel, verging on the action side of Sci-Fi over the horror roots seen in the original movie. The 1986 classic gave viewers another chance to join Ripley on her xenomorph-filled adventures. This time Ripley is tasked with making contact with a colony on Planet LV-426.
Situated in the Zeta Reticuli system, LV-426 is one of three moons that orbit Calpamos. Its terrain is made up of rocks, mountains and lava, making its surface almost as terrifying as the alien queen and her offspring Ridley must battle for survival. Explored further by players of the Alien Isolation videogame, this planet was also home to the derelict ship that contained the infamous space jockey in its cockpit.
4 Dinohattan
Super Mario Bros the movie was released in 1993 and was hugely different from its videogame origins. Starring Bob Hoskins and John Leguizamo as the Mario Bros, the movie has since become a cult classic. Set in a strange land where dinosaurs never went extinct, instead they evolved like mammals on Earth and became the dominant species.
Dinohattan is where the majority of the movie takes place, and viewers get to see the dystopian Blade Runner-esque city and its inhabitants. People here have seen their king turned into a giant fungus that surrounds the city and Yoshi looks like he wandered off the set of Jurassic Park. The weird cyberpunk feeling of the entire movie is baffling, considering the Mario video games the movie was based on. However, cast another eye over this one and a masterpiece is somewhere underneath its licensed roots. Trust the fungus.
3 Pandora
Avatar was sitting high on the all-time best-selling movie charts for years, that was until a little project known as the Marvel Cinematic Universe came along, and all bets were off. The movie was released in 2009 and starred Sam Worthington as Jake Sully and was directed by James Cameron himself.
Pandora is the lush setting for the movie, with humans trying to colonize the lush jungle-filled planet to the Na’vi native's chagrin. Taking a lot of queues from The Legend of Zelda franchise with its giant Home tree in the middle, the planet of Pandora was a mysterious green planet with a variety of alien creatures that inhabited it alongside the Na’vi.
2 Knowhere
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Guardians of the Galaxy brought a little-known comic to the hearts of audiences worldwide. The movie starring Chris Pratt as Starlord told the story of these space misfits thrown together through ridiculous circumstances and Marvel hasn’t looked back since.
Out of all the planets we see in the Guardians movies none stand out quite as much as Knowhere does. Home to space pirates, bandits and wrongdoers, Knowhere is the decapitated head of a celestial that was turned into a space station/spaceship. The most fascinating part of Knowhere has to be the Collectors Museum which is home to rare and forbidden artificers from all corners of the galaxy. Strange creatures and fantastical objects are in every corner of this crazy unique space station.
1 The Matrix
The Matrix was and still is a phenomenon, a 1999 blockbuster that rightfully makes its way onto most top Sci-Fi movies of all time lists. Created by the Wachowskis, the matrix has since spanned several sequels, an anime spin-off, videogames and even comics. A cultural phenomenon is the only way to describe this movie and its world. In the future shown by the Matrix, humans are now grown in the fields by machines.
Used as batteries to fuel the machine hive mind, humankind now exists only within an advanced program known as the Matrix. Keanu Reeves's character Neo is an anomaly and exists outside the rules most humans still jacked in have to abide by. Neo and his resistance companions can break the laws of physics by running up and on walls, performing gravity-defying leaps and uploading any known skill set to their brains. Ignorance may indeed be bliss as Cypher famously stated in the original movie as the abilities shown by Neo seem far cooler than what regular humans can accomplish.