What is science fiction? It is difficult to say. Indeed, it is one of the slipperiest genres in film. If you take at face value that anything that features a yet-to-exist technology, then science fiction encompasses a great many films. By that logic, is Jon Favreau’s Iron Man a science fiction film? What about Louis Leterrier’s The Incredible Hulk or Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man? Where does one draw the line between science fiction and fantasy and comic book movie? And what about Star Wars and its many sequels? Those films seem to have one foot comfortably placed in each camp. Same for films like Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and Christopher Nolan‘s Interstellar, which are ostensibly science fiction films with fantastical finales.
These questions do not have simple answers. In fact, it is also important to ask whether this is even a useful exercise. You may not feel it to be something worth doing, and you may not be alone in that sentiment. But we are humans. As such, we like to categorize. It helps make the unrelenting flow of information more easily digestible to our powerful but temperamental minds. In that regard, to validate the existence of genre is undeniably worthwhile. As the 2010s move ever closer to their demise, we saw fit to look back at the films that could be reasonably categorized as science fiction from the past decade and determine which ones we deem to be the most worthwhile, whatever that precisely means to you.
So check out our slideshow below! Did we miss any of your favorites? Be sure to let us know your opinions in the comments section!
science fiction
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5. ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ (2014)
Edge of Tomorrow is frequently likened to Groundhog Day, perhaps rightfully so. An alien race causes a time loop for a futuristic soldiers (Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise) who must die over and over again. In all, it may very well be the funniest film on this list.
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4. ‘Snowpiercer’ (2013)
Bong Joon-ho’s Snowpiercer is a dystopia where the meager remains of the human race are relegated to a train that travels the barren surface of the planet. It is a delicate economy until the underclass—led by John Hurt and Chris Evans—forces a revolution by pushing from the caboose to the front of the train. Its use of space and lateral movement makes it a formally unique film on top of its gripping content.
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3. ‘Mad Max: Fury Road’ (2015)
Like George Miller’s other Mad Max films, the belated sequel Fury Road features a post-nuclear apocalypse where the masses beg for water under the foot of the evil Immortan Joe. Returning to Miller’s fascinating world after decades of technological film advancement is well worth the wait.
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2. ‘Under the Skin’ (2013)
Jonathan Glaser’s haunting film Under the Skin features perhaps the greatest performance of Scarlett Johansson’s career to date. As an extraterrestrial on Earth, her unnamed character lures men to their deaths, all the while feeling more and more like a human. It is as elegant as it is chilling.
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1. ‘Her’ (2013)
Spike Jonze creates a dreamy, moving love story that necessitates a science fiction element. In a near future, a lonely divorcee (Joaquin Phoenix) finds a new lease on life in an artificially intelligent companion named Samantha (voiced by Johansson). It is colorful and moving and unabashedly sentimental.
