If You're A REAL Sci-Fi Fan, You Better Know These Movies
- by Ben Sherlock
- – on
- in Movies and TV
Science fiction is a fascinating genre. It’s not all about aliens and robots and far away planets. Those elements are simply used as the backdrop for a serious allegory. Science fiction stories can be used to tackle difficult subjects like immigration, segregation, racism, homophobia, civil rights, slavery, or anything brutal that happens in the real world, simply projected through the lens of sci-fi stuff. Early on, the literary science fiction genre was pioneered by authors like Ray Bradbury and Philip K. Dick, who evolved the style from the early pulp fiction to the truly human science fiction that we know and love today. Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles, for example, tells the story of a human colonization of Mars. The people of Earth head to Mars to escape their problems, only to find that they have the same problems once they get there – they’re just on Mars now! It’s really great stuff. And then it was Gene Roddenberry and Rod Serling who brought these themes to the screen with their shows Star Trek and The Twilight Zone, where they would tell devastating human stories that we could all relate to, but through the lens of the end of the world or an intergalactic voyage. Science fiction can really mess with your head and freak you out, or it can simply have the capacity to make you think. It’s brilliant. Can you match these screenshots to the science fiction movies they come from? Take the quiz!
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Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones fight aliens who are seeking refuge on Earth, and some of whom plan to take over the world. It’s a high concept premise that could’ve been easily pitched in thirty seconds and gotten funding instantly. This movie is a little rough around the edges and it is by no means perfect, but it’s still a brilliant, funny, beloved sci-fi action comedy classic that has spawned sequels (as they all do) with mixed results (as they all do). What movie is it?
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Ridley Scott revolutionized cinema with this movie, as he took the iconography and typical plots of the film noir genre and transplanted them into a futuristic sci-fi setting. In Los Angeles in 2019 (which actually isn’t that far away now), a detective is hired to track down some rogue androids. The movie is a lot weirder and less action packed than that description makes it sound, but it’s still very good. It was pretty much the first ever neo noir. Which one is it?
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Every film genre that Stanley Kubrick touched, he turned into cinematic gold. Some directors try at a genre for their entire careers in the hopes of one of them being considered a classic of that genre, but Kubrick created a genre in almost every genre – war, dystopian, crime, swords and sandals, historical... and science fiction. He created many elements of the sci-fi genre that are still shamelessly ripped off to this day with this undeniable classic that shows us the entire evolution of humankind (and its penchant for violence). What movie is it?
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This timeless time travel classic has equal parts humor, drama, excitement, action, romance, and just about everything else you want a movie to be. It’s amazing. It makes use of the time travel plot device more brilliantly than any other movie ever. Everything that gets mentioned in the first half of the movie plays some part in the second half. Nothing is throwaway. Everything is important, and it all pays off in the end. What science fiction movie is this screenshot from?
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Leonardo DiCaprio infiltrates people’s dreams in order to get useful information, all the while being tormented by his dead wife, played by Marion Cotillard. Christopher Nolan sure loved screwing with everybody’s heads back in 2010 when he gave us this mind-bending thriller. For the summer, this was everyone’s favorite movie, and then they sort of moved on, but it was a box office hit and it continues to be popular to this day, albeit not as much as it was half a decade ago. Which one is it?
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Alien is an interesting movie franchise, because it is constantly evolving. The first Alien was Ridley Scott perfectly blending the science fiction and horror genres. The second one, Aliens, was James Cameron creating a perfect blend of the science fiction and action genres. Alien 3 and Alien: Resurrection can be mostly ignored, but then came the existential Prometheus and the balance of all of these different style, this year’s Alien: Covenant. Which Alien movie is this cool screenshot taken from?
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This movie exists entirely within its own style, tone, and genre. Well, science fiction, obviously, but that’s too board a label to describe this movie. It’s like a combination of action thriller, Japanese kung fu movies, neo noir, Alice in Wonderland homage, and something else entirely. It’s about what our world really is and how we’re just in vats, hooked up to wires and imagining all of the things around us. It’s a real head trip. What movie is it?
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The cultural influence of Star Wars knows no bounds. Everyone of all ages loves it. They’ve been making Star Wars movies for four decades now and they’re not stopping any time soon, because people are still coming out to see them. They’re pure escapism. You can leave your boring, average, normal life and go to a galaxy far, far away, where anything is possible and there’s lasers and lightsabers and Jedi Knights. Which Star Wars movie is this screenshot from?
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At the point in his career when he made this movie, Christopher Nolan had revolutionized the comic book movie, the mystery movie, the science fiction movie, the thriller movie, and the action movie. He was still yet to revolutionize the war movie. But this movie is quite possibly the least acclaimed and revolutionary of all of his movies. It was his attempt at a mind-bending, 2001-style sci-fi movie. Still, it is beloved by many viewers. Which of these is it?
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This lovable, family friendly science fiction tale evolved from a much darker idea that Steven Spielberg had for a movie that would essentially be, as he described it, “Straw Dogs with aliens.” It was titled Night Skies and it revolved around a family in Kentucky who were being terrorized by a bunch of sadistic aliens. Oh, what could’ve been. Instead, Spielberg treaded familiar territory with a sweet, family friendly alien story. Which one of these science fiction movies is it?
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Fritz Lang revolutionized not only the science fiction film genre, but all of film when he created this ground-breaking epic. Lang transplanted the German expressionist style of art into film, and film started moving closer and closer toward being a true art form. It would’ve been hard for Metropolis not to have been ground-breaking in the science fiction genre, given how it was one of the first ever feature length films produced in the genre. Which one of these movies is it?
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Neill Blomkamp is a South African director and writer who has been making some really great science fiction movies that play on the idea of the Apartheid in South Africa and the overall themes that come alone with that, like racism and segregation and the class divide. He’s had mixed rates of success by combining these heavy ideas with his gritty sci-fi concepts, but in this, his Peter Jackson produced feature debut, the two combine perfectly to make a masterpiece. What movie is it?
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This movie is a dramatic and iconic tale of cinematic science fiction. Richard Dreyfuss from Jaws goes crazy after witnessing a UFO and getting a sunburn from its bright lights. He goes to the insane lengths of crafting a mountain out of mashed potatoes. Everyone thinks he’s gone mad, but in the end, they see that he was right the whole time. It’s a realist approach to an alien movie. This is one of Steven Spielberg’s greatest movies ever. Which movie is it?
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George Miller graced the silver screen with two of the greatest science fiction action movies of all time when he created the original Mad Max and its first sequel, The Road Warrior. The movies revolutionized cinema by providing it with a template for a post apocalyptic wasteland, making Mel Gibson a movie star, and using practical effects and stunts over CGI to create a more authentic feel. These two were followed by the inferior Beyond Thunderdome, but Miller redeemed himself in 2015 with a fourth movie called Fury Road that blew everyone's minds. Which Mad Max movie is this screenshot taken from?
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Arnold Schwarzenegger was, for a brief time in the '80s and early '90s, the most bankable movie star in Hollywood. He's certainly still bankable and highly recgonized, beloved far and wide, but he's not at the level of those glory days. Very few people have ever been that famous. In the '80s, he made this sci-fi action thriller about an alien stalking a bunch of soldiers out in the jungle. He co-starred with fellow muscle men Carl Weathers and Jesse "The Body" Ventura in what is a dumb, fun, stone cold classic. What movie is it?
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This infamous little piece of work is known for being one of the biggest box office bombs of all time and also being derided by most critics as being the worst movie ever made. It is based on the writings of L. Ron Hubbard and it's essentially Scientology: The Movie. This may have been the reason that audiences didn't respond to it, but it just generally is bad. Even without the so called "religious" aspect, the character development, plot, acting, editing, and direction are all very weak. It's a movie that will go down in history, but not for good reasons. What movie is it?
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This movie is a brilliantly biting satire commenting on the American military. It uses a science fiction setting and premise to convey these themes, which is something that director Paul Verhoeven did with a lot of his early science fiction movies. This movie uses sci fi iconography and an intergalactic battle with gigantic bugs as a platform to comment on the U.S. Army. It also features a young Neil Patrick Harris in its cast, which is pretty neat. What movie is it?
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A cop is shot to pieces by a bunch of criminals and left for dead, only to be rebuilt as a half man half robot killing machine by the scientific powers that be in Detroit (with a little help from big business) so that he can wage a one man/machine war against crime and wreak his vengeance on the gangsters that ruined his life. This would be a pretty forgettable movie if it wasn't for the hilarious satire of corporate America and trigger happy law enforcement. What movie is it?
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His name is James Cameron, the greatest pioneer! As we all know, director James Cameron is not averse to deep sea diving. In fact, he only made Titanic (which went on to become the highest grossing movie ever made and won a raft of Oscars) so that 20th Century Fox would pay for him to explore the wreckage of the ship. He made this science fiction epic about deep sea explorers being tormented by water aliens as another way of delving into his passion for deep sea exploration. What movie is it?
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Based on a story by Philip K. Dick, this Steven Spielberg sci fi action thriller classic starring Tom Cruise is set in a world where the police department can detect crimes before they have even taken place. Isn’t that a terrific premise? And then a cop played by Cruise is predicted to commit a murder a day or two in the future, so he goes on the run to figure out why he does it. It’s a ride. What movie is it?
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The Jurassic Park movies take place in a world where we have managed to bring dinosaurs back to life, and the message is that we shouldn’t play God because all hell breaks loose four times (a fifth time next year, when Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom will be released in theaters). There’s Jurassic Park (which was the highest grossing movie ever made at the time), The Lost World, Jurassic Park III, and Jurassic World. Which one is this screenshot taken from?
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You’re not a true sci-fi nerd if you don’t know the universe of Star Trek through and through. You don’t have to like Discovery because we can all admit that’s a polarizing addition to the franchise, but as long as you know The Original Series, The Next Generation, and the first handful of movies, you’re in the clear as a genuine nerd. There have been a bunch of Star Trek movies. Which one of them is this screenshot taken from?
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This movie is a real mind bender. It’s from the same writer and director who will be blessing us with the next chapter of the Star Wars saga next month, The Last Jedi. If this wonderfully trippy sci fi odyssey is anything to go by, we’re in for a real treat. Rian Johnson’s his name. We’re in good hands. With this movie, he managed to find a fresh angle on the overdone time travel plot device. What movie is it?
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This classic sci fi movie came at the height of paranoid science fiction that was emerging in the 1960s. It stars Charlton Heston as a human astronaut who lands on a seemingly foreign planet and becomes imprisoned by the strange alien species that rules it. He eventually falls in love with one of them and manages to escape to a beach, only to find the Statue of Liberty where it is revealed that the planet was Earth the whole time!! What movie is it?
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This French produced science fiction thriller stars Bruce Willis, Milla Jovovich, Gary Oldman, and Chris Tucker (yes, the cast is that varied) in a futuristic vision of the world where Willis plays a taxi driver, except his taxi flies. It’s a lot like Blade Runner mixed with The Last Airbender. The bad guy is literally called the Great Evil. Empire magazine called this film “a movie like no other,” saying that it was “genre defying stuff.” What movie is it?
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M. Night Shyamalan is famous for the twists at the end of his movies. The twist in this one doesn’t exactly make you gasp and start applauding M. Night. This movie stars Mel Gibson as a preacher whose farm starts to show crop circles. Then aliens land and torment his family. The big twist is that the aliens’ main weakness is water, yet for some reason, they decided to come to Earth, a planet that’s mostly water, filled with billions of organisms that are mostly water. What movie is it?
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You’ll be hard pressed to find a movie that feels bigger in scale and production value than this one. It’s a gigantic blockbuster monster movie about humungous kaiju creatures who have come from another dimension and taken over the world, and the massive biomechanical robot suits that humans have created in order to combat them. Charlie Hunnam and Ron Perlman from Sons of Anarchy star in it and Guillermo del Toro filled the movie with an intense passion for the subject matter. What movie is it?
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This Arnold Schwarzenegger movie was adapted from a story by the master of science fiction, Mr. Philip K. Dick. Within its world, we have colonized Mars, and Arnie plays a construction worker who dreams of visiting. Then there’s some complicated scientific experiments involving his memories that really screw things up and he does get to visit Mars, but for all the wrong reasons. The movie also features a woman with three breasts, which is neat. What sci-fi movie is it?
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This movie was adapted from a novel by Michael Crichton, the guy who conceived the world of the Jurassic Park series. This one is also set in a futuristic theme park, except this one is where you can immerse yourself into the world of the Old West by engaging with robotic cowboys and robotic prostitutes. These robots become sentient and turn on the guests. It’s a thrilling and engaging science fiction movie that warns about the dangers of robotics while it entertains. Hint: it’s just been adapted into a series on HBO. What movie is it?
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Kurt Russell gave us one of the most iconic characters in all of cinema history when he portrayed Snake Plissken in this iconic John Carpenter science fiction classic. It was followed by a sequel over a decade later, which proved to be far too late as the sequel failed at the box office and the critics derided it as being really inferior to the original. But the first one still stands as an untarnished classic of the genre. What movie is it?
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If you can follow the plot of this twisted science fiction nightmare directed by former Monty Python member Terry Gilliam, then you are a greater person than I, because it’s kind of a jumbled La Jetee-inspired mess. But the performances by Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt are strong, and visually, it’s a feast for the eyes. It’s about time travel and death and identity and all sorts. It’s also been adapted as a TV series for Syfy. What movie is it?
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Jeff Goldblum, the guy from Independence Day, is a budding young scientist in love who finds himself merged with a creature that managed to get into his teleportation device while he’s experimenting with it. As the days go by, he slowly transforms into a monster. He has superpowers at first, and it’s great, but then he starts to turn disgusting and he is cast out from society. It’s a tragic, Kafkaesque (you know that word from Breaking Bad) tale. What movie is it?
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The human race is facing extinction as all women have become infertile. But then one woman becomes pregnant and everyone in the world is after her baby. It’s up to Clive Owen to protect her in this thrilling piece directed by Alfonso Cuaron that the Rotten Tomatoes critical consensus says “works on every level: as a violent chase thriller, a fantastical cautionary tale, and a sophisticated human drama about societies struggling to live.” But what science fiction movie is it?
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The Terminator movies have taken us on a wild ride. Cyborgs have been sent from the future to kill people, humans have been sent from the future to protect them, and then more cyborgs who look like the killer cyborgs have been sent from the future to protect those very same people, and then there was a prequel except it was set decades into the future because of confusing time travel narratives and timelines and stuff. Anyway, which Terminator movie is this particular screenshot taken from?
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This dark science fiction movie is the directorial debut of Alex Garland, who learned from the best as he provided the screenplays for many Danny Boyle movies, including the seminal zombie thriller 28 Days Later. As the critical consensus on Rotten Tomatoes put it, this movie “leans heavier on ideas than effects, but it’s still a visually polished piece of work – and an uncommonly engaging sci-fi feature.” It received unexpected Oscar nominations, and rightly so. Which of these movies is it?