10 Best Science Fiction Movies (Not Set In Space)

Set in a dystopian Los Angeles whose rain, overbearing darkness and shabby underworld aesthetic do a better job of evoking present-day Detroit, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner follows Rick Deckard (a gruff, no-nonsense Harrison Ford, playing to type), a blade runner charged with hunting down a gang of rogue Nexus-6 replicants (androids).

Though it thrives on an undeniably spacey feel, Blade Runner keeps itself grounded in the far future of... 2019, dealing out large-scale neon sci-fi visuals in its supercity, monolithic advertisements, flying cars and empty-eyed replicants.

Loosely based on Philip K Dick's 1968 novel, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?, the film mines it sense of spectacle and deeper meaning equally, building to a much-edited and even much more discussed climax that, depending on who you ask or which version you've seen, leaves behind more questions than it answers.

Either way, the plot moulds itself around similar concepts of what it means to be human (and thus deserving of life and freedom) as Ex Machina, utilising Sean Young's femme fatale, Rachael, a replicant who believes she is human, to help turn Deckard's world upside down.

Its sequel, Blade Runner 2049, brings Ford back for another bash and constructs a further layer, providing a worthy companion piece; though, for all its glamour, few films have done AI better than Blade Runner - and many have tried.