10 Best Sci-Fi Movies Of 2017

10. Alien: Covenant

Alien: Covenant is by no means perfect, but as a relentlessly entertaining throwback to sci-fi horror - helmed by Ridley Scott himself, who pretty much reinvented the genre in the '70s with the original Alien - it makes for one hell of a ride.

Something of a follow-up to 2012's gorgeously baffling semi-Alien sequel, Prometheus, Covenant shoots for a less ambiguous experience overall, with more hardcore violence and Xenomorph-based stalking in the place of muddled philosophising. That doesn't mean the film lacks ideas, exactly - it's just way more interested in piling on the gruesome deaths and overblown fight sequences.

No, the characters aren't particularly well-developed, and the story isn't anything much to write home about, but this is a film all about the atmosphere. And Scott creates a truly eerie one as the crew of the titular ship find themselves stranded on a seemingly abandoned paradise planet, before slowly succumbing to the infamous Xenomorphs.

Michael Fassbender plays dual roles here, as androids David and Walter, and whilst Katherine Waterston makes for a worthwhile lead, it's Fassbender's presence that really drives the film and keeps the surprises coming.