At the beginning of the 21st century, science fiction became the genre that benefited most from the rapid development of visual effects and computer graphics. Directors used the new opportunities to create a number of large-scale and truly innovative films between 2000 and 2009. We have collected for you the 10 best science fiction films of the 2000s that still capture the imagination and deserve to be refreshed in your memory or finally watched for the first time.
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Year of release: 2005
Director: Steven Spielberg
IMDb rating: 6.6
Although science fiction began with the story of the conquest of the Earth by Martians. The plot about aliens who for some reason desperately need to search every basement in the vicinity of New Jersey nowadays looks like an outdated cliché. But Steven Spielberg is called the king of blockbusters for a reason. He was able to turn the classic of the century before last into a real fantastic hit, from which it is simply impossible to take your eyes off.
H.G. Wells’s novel has been adapted into films many times, but «The War of the Worlds» 2005 leaves a unique mark on the memory. The reason is that the authors set the horrific family drama of a single father, played by Tom Cruise, against the backdrop of a catastrophic alien invasion. The mass hysteria it caused, and the staggering scale of the battles against giant alien machines.
Year of release: 2004
Director: David Tooey
IMDb rating: 6.6
In 1999, almost simultaneously with George Lucas’s «The Imminent Threat», the sci-fi horror «The Black Hole» based on the story by Isaac Asimov «The Coming of Night» was released. It was in this film that we first saw the then little-known actor Vin Diesel in the role of charismatic space criminal and one of the few surviving Furians, Richard Riddick. The story of a spaceship crew’s attempts to survive on a remote planet received mixed reviews from critics. However, the mysterious figure of Riddick, about whose origins we receive only a smattering of information, became the highlight of the film and contributed to its popularity.
The 2004 sequel makes the franchise universe larger, adding several new planets and a race of ruthless conquerors, the Necromongers, with a sinister religion of death worship. Their leader, the sixth Lord Marshal Zhilo, made a pilgrimage to the Death Universe, where he gained superhuman abilities. It seems that this makes his power over the hordes of necromongers unshakable. But an ancient prophecy tells of an inhabitant of the planet Furia who must kill the tyrant. As you may have already realized, this Furyan is Riddick. And so the paths of the hero Vin Diesel and the «Saint Half-Dead» must necessarily cross.
I have to admit that «The Chronicles of Riddick» is not often included in the top 10 sci-fi films of the 2000s. Indeed, unlike, for example, the Oscar-winning «Gravity», the film did not receive any special awards. But I’ll try to give you a few of my subjective «for». First, it’s the stunning visuals. While watching «Chronicles», not a minute passes without seeing something very strange and at the same time hypnotically alluring on the screen, like ominous starships in the form of the Lord Marshal’s figure.
Secondly, the film is full of dynamic and violent action scenes that continue to impress even twenty years after the premiere. Thirdly, the film’s bizarre world raises many questions that I would like to find an answer to: what is the secret of the Necromongers, what does the Death Universe look like, will we find Riddick’s other tribesmen and what other hidden abilities do they have? And most importantly, Riddick will be back soon with a new portion of adventures. After all, the filming of the fourth installment of the «Riddick: Fury» officially started in August 2024.
It is also worth adding that the cinematic year of 2004 was extremely fruitful for science fiction. Many films were released that year, which, unfortunately, were not included in our article. These include the sci-fi thriller «The Butterfly Effect», which explores the consequences of time travel, the sensational disaster movie «The Day After Tomorrow», the cult mix of sci-fi and melodrama «Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind», and the Oscar-nominated «I, Robot», based on the stories of Isaac Asimov.
Year of release: 2007
Director: Danny Boyle
IMDb rating: 7.2
This sci-fi thriller takes place in 2057, when global warming has ceased to be a problem. Instead, the climate crisis has crept up from a completely different direction: as a result of a decrease in solar activity, the Earth has begun to receive less heat and is covered with glaciers. And the only hope for saving humanity was the expedition of the «Icarus II» ship, which is supposed to deliver a thermonuclear bomb the size of Manhattan to the heart of the dying Sun.
According to scientists, a powerful explosion should breathe new life into our world. However, flying close to a hot star is not easy, even when hiding behind a giant mirror shield. In addition, the previous team on the ship «Icarus I» disappeared without a trace seven years ago and is presumed dead. And there will be no other chance to «restart» the Sun, as the developers of the bomb, led by Cillian Murphy’s character (he loves playing physicists), have spent all the Earth’s radioactive materials on it.
When the team receives a distress call in Mercury’s orbit, they face a dilemma: take a step into the unknown and solve the mystery «Icarus I» or continue on the planned course. The first option wins, because two bombs will double the chances of success. But the maneuver damages the shield and now the saviors of humanity will have to save themselves.
What makes Danny Boyle’s film special is the combination of visual effects that allow you to feel the unbearable heat of the sun even through the screen and complex philosophical dilemmas. Despite the antagonist’s inappropriate appearance in the third act, they make us think about the place of man in the universe and the dual role of the sun. The sun is the only source of life on Earth and can destroy it at any time.
Year of release: 2001
Director: Steven Spielberg
IMDb rating: 7.2
At the time of the film’s release, Steven Spielberg was already at the height of his powers, having been recognized for such sci-fi masterpieces as E.T.» (1982) and Jurassic Park» (1993). In «Artificial Intelligence», he is ahead of his time, expressing both his excitement at the prospect of AI and his concern about the possible consequences of its use.
The twenty-second century. After a global environmental disaster, the ocean level has risen, destroying thousands of cities and killing millions of people. Against the backdrop of strict birth control, humanoid androids capable of emulating the thoughts and simplest emotions of people are becoming an important part of the world economy. And the «Cybertronics» Corporation goes a step further and creates the world’s first android boy, David, who is capable of love.
The family of one of the company’s employees, whose son Martin has been in cryogenic sleep for 5 years due to a serious illness, decides to test the promising product. But the boy’s mother does not really understand how to respond to the android’s sincere feelings. So she decides to get rid of him as soon as her son recovers. David blames himself and sets off on a trip to the hope of becoming a real boy. He is sure that after that his mother will love him.
Year of release: 2009
Director: Duncan Jones
IMDb rating: 7.8
Despite a ridiculous $5 million budget by modern standards, Duncan Jones’ directorial debut has gained cult status among science fiction fans. The film introduces us to Sam Bell, a worker at a lunar mining base, who spends his few days periodically checking the health of mining equipment and playing chess with the intelligent robot GERTY.
Shortly before the end of his three-year contract, Sam gets into an accident, after which incredible things start happening to him. With each new plot twist, he becomes more and more unsure of his own reality and is forced to unravel the web of lies woven around his mission by Lunar Industries. And the mystery that keeps growing throughout the film rewards the audience with an unexpected ending that has led to several film award nominations.
Year of release: 2005
Director: Joss Whedon
IMDb rating: 7.8
The sequel to the unfairly canceled «Firefly» series brings us back to the crew of an old interplanetary ship called «Serenity», who take on board a girl with extraordinary telepathic powers. They face the pursuit of the totalitarian Alliance when they accidentally reveal its terrible secret.
«Mission: Serenity» was only able to appear thanks to a dedicated group of fans of the original series. And the movie mostly met their expectations, bringing all the storylines to a logical conclusion. It combines an old-fashioned space opera, a number of energetic special effects, a lot of humor and a bit of political satire, bringing back the lamp-light energy of a good sci-fi story to the fans.
Year of release: 2006
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
IMDb rating: 7.9
Alfonso Cuarón’s post-apocalyptic drama depicts the year 2027, in which humanity is threatened with extinction, as women can no longer bear children. In addition, various natural disasters, numerous wars (in this sense, 2025 almost justified the authors’ prediction) and terrorist attacks have made most of the world uninhabitable.
Britain has turned into a police state, closed its borders, and is at war with radical insurgents who support the rights of immigrants. One of these groups kidnaps the protagonist, a civil servant and former activist Theo Faron. The leader of the group makes him an unexpected offer: to take a young refugee named Ki abroad. On the way, the man learns that Ki is the last pregnant woman on the planet and is forced to protect her from numerous threats.
In fact, the question of why children have stopped being born is not even a secondary issue in Cuarón’s film. It has gained its cult status thanks to its gloomy warnings about the world of the 21st century, which, despite the predictions of philosophers of the past, is moving further and further away from civilization and sustainable norms of coexistence.
Year of release: 2009
Director: J.J. Abrams
IMDb rating: 7.9
For «Star Trek» fans, watching a J.J. Abrams movie is like looking at childhood photos of your loved ones or traveling back in time to meet your parents when they were young. Speaking of time travel. It was they who allowed the authors to relaunch the cult franchise.
The film solves the problem of canceling the canonical story of everyone’s favorite characters by using an alternative timeline. This allowed the fans to enjoy new adventures without abandoning the classic heritage and to meet Leonard Nimoy as the old Spock again.
Year of release: 2009
Director: James Cameron
IMDb rating: 7.9
James Cameron’s film «Avatar» revolutionized 3D cinema, becoming synonymous with box office success and a stunning audience experience. In addition to technological advances, he created the world of the planet Pandora with unprecedented detail, lush vegetation, hundreds of exotic animals and the indigenous Na’vi race.
At the same time, the plot of the movie can hardly be called original. The story of a soldier switching sides is very reminiscent of «Dances with Wolves» by Kevin Costner. We have seen the conflict between technologically backward indigenous people and human aliens in Ursula Le Guin’s «environmentalist» fiction («A Word for the World — The Forest»). The animated «Fern Valley» became a manifesto against the predatory destruction of rainforests by corporations long before «Avatar». And the theory of «living and intelligent planet» was put forward by the English scientist James Lovelock back in 1979.
Year of release: 2009
Director: Neill Blomkamp
IMDb rating: 7.9
In his feature debut, South African director Neill Blomkamp fulfills the dream of millions of science fiction fans by documenting the arrival of aliens and simultaneously turning the conventional idea of invasion on its head. Although we’ve seen hundreds of similar stories before, aliens have never been so painfully real.
«Ninth District» is a follow-up to Blomkamp’s short film «Surviving Joburg» and tells the story of a giant alien ship hovering over Johannesburg. Contrary to the plots of most sci-fi action movies, the aliens didn’t kidnap people or destroy houses with energy beams. For three months, they did nothing at all, forcing Earth scientists to take matters into their hands and cut a hole in the ship’s hull.
Inside, the research team found more than a million emaciated insect-like aliens dying of starvation. In a humanitarian move, the authorities relocate the «shrimp» — they look like a cross between a lobster and a huge grasshopper — to Earth. But the locals are not very happy about their new neighbors. Human hospitality in general is somewhat exaggerated. Just think of the alien in the movie «The Man from the Star» who couldn’t understand why the golden disk of «Voyager» said «Welcome», and they were always trying to kill him.
Fearing alien attacks, people demand that they be moved from the «Ninth District» to a concentration camp outside the city. A helpless bureaucrat named Wikus van de Merwe is in charge of the operation. To encourage the creatures who do not want to move, he uses flamethrowers to destroy houses filled with their eggs. But suddenly, after coming into contact with a mysterious substance, he himself begins to mutate into a shrimp and is forced to hide among the aliens.
No one actually mentions the word «apartheid», but there are many coincidences. The aliens face a system of oppression that resembles the brutality of the South African police state. And the whole story becomes a mirror in which humanity can see its xenophobia and unwillingness to contact representatives of extraterrestrial intelligence.