Netflix isn’t always the first streaming service you think of scrolling through when you’re in the mood for a world-hopping, alien-hunting, or even Earth-based sci-fi movie. But while a Tyler Perry dramedy and Puss in Boots currently dominate the top three, we’re here to launch you out of your brain and into something good.
The five science fiction movies below offer just that—from a dystopian class struggle in Earth’s orbit and one of the cheesiest, culty-est alien-bug battle movies ever (with a young Denise Richards!) to a diabolical AI doll and, my top pick here, a more emotional, character-driven Godzilla movie that, if you haven’t seen it, should be at the top of your watchlist.
5
Elysium
A desperate man fights for his life and has to get off-planet to do it
If you loved South African filmmaker Neill Blomkamp’s dusty, dystopian alien thriller District 9, then his 2013 action sci-fi epic Elysium will equally impress you. Here, Blomkamp takes another social commentary shot at concepts of inequality and greed, as we follow Max Da Costa (Matt Damon), a struggling laborer on a 2154 Earth that’s overpopulated and polluted, while those with wealth and status float in orbit on Elysium, a utopian space station.
Damon does his best action work when he’s a man on a mission, so when Max’s life is on the line after a fatal dose of radiation rips through his body, the only way to cure himself is to get to Elysium, where its wondrous healing pods can fix him in an instant. However, to infiltrate the station, Max must get past the defenses of its ruthless protector, Jessica Delacourt (Jodie Foster), who is determined to keep the lower-class “riff-raff” out.
Elysium
Release Date
August 9, 2013
Runtime
109 minutes
Director
Neill Blomkamp
4
War Machine
If anyone can take down a fierce alien killer robot, it’s Alan Ritchson
With some excellently explosive and intense action vibes reminiscent of Predator and War of the Worlds, this 2026 Netflix alien sci-fi thriller starring Reacher’s muscle-bound star Alan Ritchson is a ride from start to finish. War Machine follows an Army Ranger trainee known only as the numerical 81 (Ritchson), who sets out on a training exercise into the woods with his fellow recruits to test their mettle.
But what they find is a devastating war robot, an extraterrestrial killing machine that wakes up and is hell-bent on hunting them down. It’s an R-rated, man vs. machine fight for survival full of exploding limbs, harrowing near-escapes over waterfalls, and some cool cinematography. Not a bad next step for Jack Reacher (whose spinoff, Neagley, just arrived on Prime Video).
War Machine
Release Date
March 6, 2026
Runtime
107 minutes
Director
Patrick Hughes
3
Starship Troopers
The cult-classic interstellar bug hunt
A word of advice before pressing play on Paul Verhoeven’s gleefully over-the-top, teenybopper, alien sci-fi cult hit—don’t think too hard about it. Based on Robert A. Heinlein’s 1959 young-adult novel of the same name, Starship Troopers follows a group of young and sexy new recruits of Earth’s Mobile Infantry as they go to war against the Bugs, a deadly race of gigantic alien insects that are colonizing the galaxy.
The story centers around Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien, Sleepy Hollow), his girlfriend Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards, Wild Things), and Carl Jenkins (Neil Patrick Harris, How I Met Your Mother), who are all swept into the war, starting with a disastrous invasion of the Bugs’ homeworld. That’s it, that’s all you need to know. The Bugs are big, they’re filled with goo, and they must be stopped.
Starship Troopers
Release Date
November 7, 1997
Runtime
129 minutes
Director
Paul Verhoeven
2
Megan
Chucky’s got nothing on this killer AI doll
In a world where we’re all on edge about the AIs putting an end to humans, may I return your attention to this horror-sci-fi hit from 2022 about M3gan (Model 3 Generative Android), a companion doll that takes its core objective way, way too far.
M3gan follows brilliant roboticist Gemma (Get Out’s Allison Williams), who suddenly becomes the legal guardian of her young niece Cady (Violet McGraw, The Haunting of Hill House), whose parents have both been killed. To help Cady cope, Gemma gives her M3gan, who starts off as nurturing and helpful, but soon takes its protocol of protecting Cady to extremes, as it becomes self-aware and starts eliminating any threat to Cady’s well-being. The creepy film is full of weird, iconic scenes (the arm-swinging dance scene that became a global meme, for one), and has so far spawned a sequel, M3gan 2.0, plus a spinoff, Soulm8te.
M3GAN
Release Date
January 6, 2023
Runtime
102 minutes
Director
Gerard Johnstone
1
Godzilla Minus One
A modern, more emotional take on the kaiju classic
I don’t think anyone had “Godzilla movie wins Oscar” on their bingo card for the 2024 Academy Awards, but here we are. And still, Godzilla Minus One remains the only film in the classic kaiju franchise’s history to do so. OK, the award was for Best Visual Effects, which are absolutely incredible, but Minus One stands above the others for its emotional angle, and not just its giant, lizard-like star.
Set in postwar Japan, the film follows kamikaze pilot Kōichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki), who returns home guilt-ridden after a cowardly encounter with Godzilla during the war. Kōichi settles down with Noriko Ōishi (Minami Hamabe) as they raise an orphaned baby together, but when the nightmarish kaiju returns, Kōichi gets his chance for redemption, joining a civilian team that sets out to stop the monster before it decimates the nation.
Godzilla Minus One
Release Date
November 3, 2023
Runtime
124 minutes
Director
Takashi Yamazaki
Time to blast off with some Netflix sci-fi
Whether you’re into killer robots, giant bugs, creepy AI dolls, or kaiju-sized destruction, there’s plenty here to keep your sci-fi appetite happy. Check out last week’s roundup of sci-fi movies too, or hop over to our other streaming recommendations on How-To Geek.
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Simultaneous streams
Two or four
Live TV
No
Price
Starting at $8/month
Stream licensed and original programming with a monthly Netflix subscription.