February is not off to the most auspicious start for Netflix‘s sci-fi library. At the end of the month, Gravity, Love and Monsters, Lucy, Prometheus, Real Steel, Dune, Dredd, and Snowpiercer will all be departing. That’s a lot of titles to lose in any single category, much less all at once.
Fortunately, the arrivals of Looper, Pacific Rim, Ready Player One, and Cowboys & Aliens somewhat mitigate that loss. That’s a fun selection of sci-fi flicks, but we have no idea what next month’s lineup will look like. Once we do, we’ll have another update of our selections for the best sci-fi movies on Netflix. In the meantime, our current list is below.
In need of a few more suggestions? We’ve curated guides to the best sci-fi movies on Amazon Prime Video and the best sci-fi movies on Hulu, too.
-
Looper2012
-
Ready Player One2018
-
Cowboys & Aliens2011
-
Pacific Rim2013
Looper (2012) new
Murder’s a messy business in Looper, and that’s why the future is sending its dirty work back in time. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a contract killer known as a Looper because he kills targets sent to the present on behalf of criminals from the future. At the end of his contract, Joe is supposed to murder his older self to close the loop on his life.
Old Joe (Bruce Willis) has other ideas when it’s his turn to be sent back. After overpowering the younger Joe and changing the timeline, Old Joe begins looking for a kid who will grow up to be a feared crime boss. But thanks to Old Joe’s actions, Joe becomes a target in the present and his future is no longer in his control.
Ready Player One (2018) new
Whoever controls the virtual world of OASIS controls the future in Ready Player One. In this timeline, Earth is in such rough shape that the vast majority of the population spends all of their time in the OASIS living out their virtual dreams. That’s not what James Halliday (Mark Rylance) had in mind when he created OASIS.
Years after Halliday’s death, Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) and players around the world learn that Halliday left behind a contest for complete control of OASIS to the winner who can solve all of his puzzles. It’s a race that extends to the real world as well, because there are no lengths that IOI executive Nolan Sorrento (Ben Mendelsohn) won’t go through to ensure that his company controls OASIS.
Cowboys & Aliens (2011) new
In between James Bond movies, Daniel Craig headlined the comic book movie that no one realized was from a comic book: Cowboys & Aliens. This film shares so little in common with the comic that spawned it that it’s more of its own thing than an adaptation. Craig plays Jake Lonergan, a man who is clearly suffering from the aftereffects of an alien abduction the first time we meet him. Of course, the alien weapon attached to Jake’s arm is also a dead giveaway.
Whatever Jake went through wiped his identity, and he has no idea who he was or how he managed to anger Col. Dolarhyde (Harrison Ford). But there’s not enough time for Jake to figure it out before aliens arrive in force, and old rivals will have to team up to save the world.
Pacific Rim (2013) new
Are you drift compatible? In the world of Guillermo del Toro’s Pacific Rim, only two people whose thoughts can become one can be drift-compatible pilots of giant robots called Jaegers, which are humanity’s last line of defense against giant monsters called Kaiju.
Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) was once one of the best Jaeger pilots, but he hasn’t been the same since his brother and co-pilot died while they were fighting a Kaiju. After years away, Raleigh is brought back into the fold because the Kaiju incursions are increasing. But unless Raleigh can find another person he can truly connect with, he’ll never pilot a Jaeger again.
Jurassic Park (1993)
The titular theme park of Jurassic Park was a dream given form by Dr. John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), a man who not only wanted to bring the dinosaurs back to life, but wanted to make a profit by essentially putting them in an island zoo so the world could see them firsthand.
What Hammond couldn’t foresee is that his competitors had even fewer scruples than he did. During an attempt to smuggle out dinosaur DNA samples, the park’s security system goes down, leaving Dr. Alan Grant (Sam Neill), Dr. Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), Dr. Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum), and the remaining survivors trapped between a voracious T. rex and some absolutely vicious velociraptors.
Rebel Moon - Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
Zack Snyder’s space opera, Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire, should be familiar to fans of Star Wars and other sci-fi epics. It takes place in a universe that is ruled by Motherworld and its intergalactic army, the Imperium. Kora (Sofia Boutella), an ex-member of the Imperium, sought to redeem herself by starting a new life out of Motherworld’s reach on a moon called Veldt.
When the Imperium finally arrives on Veldt, Kora can’t run anymore. To defend her adopted homeworld, Kora recruits a former Imperium general, Titus (Djimon Hounsou), as well as Kai (Charlie Hunnam), Gunnar (Michiel Huisman), Tarak (Staz Nair), Nemesis (Doona Bae), and more. But even this assortment of warriors may not be enough to withstand a full assault by the Imperium.
Elysium (2013)
Neill Blomkamp’s second film, Elysium, envisions a future where the Earth is dying and the rich and powerful live in luxury on the orbital space station Elysium. Matt Damon stars as Max Da Costa, an ex-criminal-turned-day laborer on Earth who is exposed to a fatal level of radiation. Since the cure for his condition can only be found on Elysium, Max accepts a risky job to attack Armadyne Corp CRO John Carlyle (William Fichtner).
What Max doesn’t know is that the info he stole from Carlyle’s head is proof that Defense Secretary Jessica Delacourt (Jodie Foster) is attempting to pull off a coup and assume control of Elysium. That’s why she sent a psychotic killer, Agent M. Kruger (Sharlto Copley), to retrieve the info at any cost.
They Cloned Tyrone (2023)
Very early on in They Cloned Tyrone, a drug dealer named Fontaine (John Boyega) is brutally murdered in front of one of his clients, Slick Charles (Foxx), and one of his Slick’s girls, Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris). But much to the surprise of Slick Charles and Yo-Yo, Fontaine shows up the next day without any memory of what happened to him.
While investigating the mystery of Fontaine’s apparent resurrection, the trio uncover a clone conspiracy that has very troubling implications for their lives and their future. And if they want to save themselves, Fontaine, Slick Charles, and Yo-Yo need to fight back.
65 (2023)
65 doesn’t try to hide its sci-fi premise. It’s about a pilot named Mills (Adam Driver), a man who accepts a long-term gig as a pilot to provide for his family. But when his starship crash lands on Earth 65 million years ago, Mills is left with no way to reunite with his wife, Nevine (Chloe Coleman), and their daughter, Alya (Nika King).
The only thing that gives Mills the will to live is Koa (Ariana Greenblatt), a young girl who is the only other survivor. When Mills discovers a potential escape from prehistoric Earth, he escorts Koa across a landscape that is filled with very ravenous and very dangerous dinosaurs.
Captain Nova (2021)
Captain Nova (Anniek Pheifer) has come from the future to save the past in the Dutch sci-fi movie that shares her name. Unfortunately, for Nova, the trip back in time has also changed her into a 12-year-old child. And young Nova (Kika van de Vijver) soon realizes that her mission is now nearly impossible because of this unforeseen side effect.
With few other viable options, Nova teams up with a kid named Nas (Marouane Meftah) as she attempts to rewrite the future by taking on a greedy corporation. And if Nova fails, her future is destined to unfold in the same way that it did before.
Rim of the World (2019)
McG’s Rim of the World takes its inspiration from the kid-centric sci-fi films that Steven Spielberg produced and directed in the 1980s. At the Rim of the World summer camp in California, Alex (Jack Gore) is a boy who is still grieving the loss of his father when he starts bonding with his fellow social rejects, ZhenZhen (Miya Cech), Dariush (Benjamin Flores Jr.), and Gabriel (Alessio Scalzotto).
Much to their collective surprise, Alex and his new friends discover that they are in the midst of an alien invasion. And they may be the only ones left who can deliver the key to victory to NASA … if they can live long enough to escape.
What Happened to Monday (2017)
Warriors of Future (2022)
Spiderhead (2022)
The Adam Project (2022)
Stowaway (2021)
Synchronic (2020)
The Mitchells vs. the Machines (2021)
The Swarm (2020)
Army of the Dead (2021)
Oxygen (2021)
Spectral (2016)
The Midnight Sky (2020)
Outside the Wire (2021)
The Discovery (2017)
The Wandering Earth (2019)
Mirage (2018)
Black Mirror: Bandersnatch (2018)
Advantageous (2015)
Project Power (2020)
Bird Box (2018)
See You Yesterday (2019)
Beyond Skyline (2017)
Okja (2017)
I Am Mother (2019)
Editors' Recommendations
- The 10 most popular movies on Netflix right now
- The best British TV shows on Netflix
- The best anime on Amazon Prime Video right now
- The 50 best movies on Netflix right now (February 2024)
- The 50 best shows on Netflix in February 2024