20 Best Sci-Fi Movies of All Time, Ranked According to IMDb

The film feels as though it was directly taken from a real campaign that was played, with many love-letter moments to fans of the tabletop game, while still holding up on its own as an entertaining fantasy blockbuster. King imbues Wonka with the same style of undeniable whimsy and charm that is ever present in his Paddington films, making the fantasy film one that is overwhelming in wholesomeness and comedic wit. It also significantly helps the film that its references and callbacks to the previous installments of the franchise are kept to a minimum, instead opting to use the character of Wonka as a jumping-off point for its own wild, candy-coated adventure. The fantasy genre has continued its acclaim and notoriety throughout the 2020s, with blockbusters and independent films alike continuing to take the genre to new heights and possibilities with the latest filmmaking capabilities. Even though the decade is only about halfway done, the amount of exceptional fantasy films that have been released has been staggering, making it difficult to decide exactly which fantasy films could be considered the best offerings of the 2020s so far. Few film genres have been as effective at bringing to life wildly colorful and creative concepts quite like the fantasy genre, limited only by the confines of imagination to make for an array of exceptional, otherworldly fables.

Director Matt Reeves Transcends the Genre

There is “historical fantasy,” which generally adds fantastical elements to a more grounded historical story. Historical fantasy is often combined with the sub-genre of “romance fantasy.” The least common sub-genre is “Bangsian fantasy,” which features fantasy stories about the afterlife. This list scififantasynetwork.com will feature fantasy from all of these sub-genres and films from directors like Tim Burton, Terry Gilliam, Jim Henson, George Lucas and Guillermo Del Toro.

The Wizard of Oz has all the bells and whistles of the genre—munchkins, witches, and genuinely terrifying flying monkeys. The 1939 musical classic follows Dorothy on her tornado-spurred adventure to the magical land of Oz. While she heads down the Yellow Brick Road on her way to the Wizard, whom she hopes will help her get back home, she makes friends with the Cowardly Lion, Tinman, and Scarecrow, who all have asks of their own for the wizard. While it’s no doubt a trip to a fantasy land, it’ll leave you certain that there’s no place like home. Young farm girl Dorothy Gale dreams of world a little more vibrant than her humble Kansas dust bowl.

‘Voyage of the Rock Aliens’ (

It comes from the same company behind “Chicken Run” and the “Wallace and Gromit” franchise. Despite its title, this solemn drama is a far cry from traditional ghost stories. After dying prematurely, a deceased man, played by Casey Affleck, drifts through time as a passive observer. The Beatles were apparently too busy to perform speaking roles in this visual tour de force, which still incorporates plenty of their signature tunes.

Nearly 75 years later, the thought of a unified front and nuclear disarmament remains as elusive as ever. Science fiction is inherently speculative, an imagination’s attempt to make sense of the vast, unmapped territories of outer space, technology, and human consciousness. Curiosity is ironed into the fabric of its stories, an earnest desire to wrestle with philosophical questions about man’s relationship to God, artificial intelligence, and the unknown. As computers and AI thrust themselves ever deeper into our daily routines, it’s perhaps more vital than ever that we ask the weightier questions about what it means for humanity. Often enough, these films could just as well pass as Westerns or World War II films if the science fiction props were removed.citation needed Common motifs also include voyages and expeditions to other planets, and dystopias, while utopias are rare.

A co-production between Wild Bunch and Studio Ghibli, it won Un Certain Regard—Special Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival. The Harry Potter film franchise soared to new heights in its third installment, with Alfonso Cuarón at the helm. Upon returning to Hogwarts, the titular wizard uncovers buried secrets and tinkers with time travel. Moving well beyond the sound stage, Cuarón made expert use of various outdoor locations for the shoot.

The film also used the first real chroma key process (a.k.a. blue screen), which has made it a notable work in the history of special effects. The film follows a governor’s daughter, a blacksmith and the pirate Captain Jack Sparrow as they must break a powerful curse and steal a remarkable ship. Pirates of the Caribbean stars Keira Knightley, Orlando Bloom, Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush.

In a dystopian future (but not too far off—this takes place in 2027), the human race has lost the ability to reproduce. When a woman (Julianne Moore) somehow gets pregnant, it is up to a troubled bureaucrat (Clive Owen) to protect her and her unborn child in this film directed by Alfonso Cuarón. I prefer the 1950s original to the 2008 remake because the message of peace resonates so deeply within the Cold War era.

The film is based on the 1973 novel of the same name, and stars Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant, Peter Falk and Christopher Guest. A boatload of Oscars would arrive with the next film, ‘The Return of the King’, but here’s where Peter Jackson’s trilogy cohered as a triumph of cutting-edge technology and emotional impact. Andy Serkis’s Gollum – a fully fleshed digital creation – stole the show, yet this film also digs deep to depict the rallying redemption of King Théoden, from weeping at the grave of his son to leading the armies of Rohan into battle. Sylvester Stallone’s new film ‘Armor’ features the actor in a rare villainous role, which did not go well. While fashion and technology change, classics from the 1980s prove that great entertainment never goes out of style. Kraven the Hunter was poorly received, but it had the potential to be a great film if Sony had drawn on the classic Spider-Man parallels more.