20 Best Science Fiction Movies Released Since 2000

These past two and a half decades have been a big time for science fiction cinema. From massive innovations and advancements in CG, through the wholesale adoption of digital film technology, and into a time when many of the traditional subjects of the genre have become a reality – electric cars; AI; touchscreen devices in our pockets; adverts on every surface – the landscape for this kind of filmmaking is so different to what it was back in 1999. 

Of course, that hasn't stopped writers, directors and studios from moving with the times, bringing films to fruition that posit the future of future technology, that seek to entertain in new ways, that rally against societal injustices, and that embrace the full scope and scale of what's possible on the big screen today. And, with so many great sci-fi films to choose from, it's hard to whittle them down to just twenty.

But whittle we must.

Here we take in the best of the genre’s offerings this century, looking at the stories, the stars, the aesthetics, the big ideas, and what makes these films so special. With just one entry from each director (so the big daddies like Christopher Nolan and Denis Villeneuve don’t dominate the list), strap in for a top twenty that will push the boundaries of your excitement for sci-fi cinema. 

The 28 series returned in full glory last year, with Danny Boyle-directed and Alex Garland-written 28 Years Later. The film shows us life three decades on in a Britain quarantined to contain the Rage Virus that has infected and killed the majority of the population – but it also tees up a trilogy of new films, ending on a hefty cliffhanger.

While not as aesthetically accomplished as Danny Boyle's first entry, Nia DaCosta's Bone Temple nonetheless beats 28 Years Later to this spot by going farther with its characters and the actual science of the thing than any film in this series has gone to date. Bone Temple follows Spike (Alfie Williams) as he joins up with Sir Jimmy Crystal (Jack O’Connell) and his gang of Fingers, a sadistic crew of Jimmy Saville-styled sadists who kill and torture anyone – infected or otherwise. Meanwhile, Dr Kelson (Ralph Fiennes), experiments on infected alpha Samson (Chi Lewis-Parry), doping him up and attempting to connect with the humanity he’s convinced is still inside.

While the first film opened up this world and gave us a potent Brexit metaphor in the process, Bone Temple affords us insights into the infected’s mindset. It’s a horrifying piece of cinema, with the absolute worst of humanity on show, and yet it’s one of the first “zombie” movies to show us their perspective, and show that there might be a way back from the brink…