10 Best Science Fiction Movies (Not Set In Space)

If there is a film to beat when it comes to science fiction cinema, it is undeniably The Matrix.

Drenched in a colour palette of black, green and grey, mirroring the code of the matrix itself, the film follows the hacker Thomas Anderson/Neo on his journey to reach enlightenment by awakening from his simulated reality, furnished with trench-coats, sunglasses and lots of guns by Trinity and Morpheus, leaders of the rebellion against their real world machine oppressors.

The Matrix caught technology at its turning point, the Wackowskis as they found the perfect balance between entertaining and cerebral, and all of its cast at the ideal moments in their respective careers.

With a post-Bill & Ted Keanu Reeves, a pre-LOTR Hugo Weaving and an all-powerful Laurence Fishburne (you know, the guy who really did the Superbowl commercials), The Matrix was the perfect storm of talent, tight scripting and cinematic wizardry.

A turning point in the visual, narrative and technical capability of cinema, The Matrix was a trailblazer on all fronts, paving the way for the likes of Inception. Bullet time (heightened perception and slow motion in 360 degrees) is the breakthrough effect, but any moment in the film can knock out contemporary heavyweights of a similar ilk and still have the strength to dust itself off and deliver a final one-liner.

Sequels and uneven forays into other ambitious territories aside, the Wachowskis did us right with this science fiction cornerstone.