scientific discipline fiction cinema   had some of its greatest all - clock time achievements throughout the 2010s . With auteurs like Christopher Nolan , Denis Villeneuve , and Alex Garland putting their directorial stamp on the music genre , tonic life was breathed into well - worn theme like sentient contrived intelligence and first contact with extraterrestrial life .

But of line , not every sci - fi picture show from the past decade was a masterpiece . For everycerebral body of work of artistic adept , there were dozens of lazily write , cliché - ride   flop hot off the Hollywood blockbuster mill cable . So , here are the best and worst sci - fi flick from the 2010s .

update on September 12th , 2020 by Ben Sherlock : We’re a few month into the new decade and there have n’t been a lot of new flick to total along . There ’s been a silver medal facing to this , though , as it ’s allowed movie fan to discover picture from the 2010s that they may have escape . It was a capital decennium for movies , specially skill fable , and there were plenty of hidden gems that run relatively unnoticed , so we ’ve updated this list .

A set of Final Destination Bloodlines characters looking concerned in new trailer

Best: The Martian (2015)

It might not consider as skill fabrication when most of the scientific discipline in the movie is factually exact , but if it ’s a fictional story with scientific component , sure it ’s science fiction . Ridley Scott’sThe Martianwas a real breathing place of fresh melodic phrase in 2015 .

The history of an astronaut stranded on Mars and faced with incredible betting odds could ’ve well been made as a raw selection drama , but Matt Damon brought a delightful sense of humor to the lead office , pull in the moviea will to the man spiritabove all .

Worst: Mortal Engines (2018)

This is what happens when a first - time film producer is fall in a $ 150 million budget . Christian Rivers did n’t have to creatively get around any hurdles , because he could just thrust money at all the problem he encountered . The result is a giant , bloated , lifeless sci - fi spectacle .

With no personal touch and a bunch of secret plan stop steal from better sci - fi stories , the spectacle of cities driving around a post - apocalyptic wasteland on gargantuan automobile course out of steam very speedily .

Best: Her (2013)

The dystopian future of Spike Jonze’sHeris startlingly similar to the genuine present . Joaquin Phoenix stars as an introvert who catch a novel lease on life sentence when he fall in love withhis Siri - like practical assistant , voiced by Scarlett Johansson .

Anyone who has n’t seen this movie might intend the premise sounds a little weird , but against all betting odds , Jonze ’s sincere screenplay makes the inter - cyberspace romance feel veritable .

Worst: Jupiter Ascending (2015)

The Wachowskis deliveredone of the outstanding movies in the history of science fictionwithThe Matrix , but they really dropped the ball when they tried their hands at a infinite opera with 2015’sJupiter Ascending .

While there ’s merit in the movie ’s inversion of clichés involving female fictional character in science fiction , for the most part , it ’s all style and no substance , with matte worldbuilding and a baffling plot .

Best: Inception (2010)

BetweenThe Dark KnightandThe Dark Knight Rises , Christopher Nolan took a abbreviated detour into the world of dream with one of the most sentiment - provoking sci - fi thriller ever put on picture .

Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Dom Cobb , the leader of a squad planning to penetrate a man ’s mind to slip an idea . With its strong sci - fi overtones , Inceptionputs a engrossing spin on the familiar bodily structure and conventions of a heist moving-picture show .

Worst: Transcendence (2014)

After working as a camera operator on some of Christopher Nolan ’s best movies , Wally Pfister tried his hand at directing with 2014 ’s A.I. sci - fi epicTranscendence , starring   Johnny Depp and Rebecca Hall .   It was a unadulterated catastrophe .

Jack Paglen ’s handwriting forTranscendencewas once grade among Hollywood ’s most democratic unproduced screenplay , but it ’s difficult to see why when the final Cartesian product is this muddled and ridiculous .

Best: Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

When a sequel to Ridley Scott’sBlade Runnerwas announced , the first instinct was to assume that it would soak up . That incline to be the case with belated sequels to beloved classic that are deliberate by pic lover to be unprocurable masterpiece ( despite the fact thatScott keeps touch   the originalBlade Runnerwith endless recuts ) .

But against all betting odds , Denis Villeneuve’sBlade Runner 2049 , get in 35 years after Scott ’s original hit field of operations , not only managed to satisfyBlade Runnerfans , but also stands as a masterpiece of the writing style in its own right .

Worst: Passengers (2016)

In the run for creepiest picture premise of the 2010s , Passengersis a sci - fi romanticism whose beloved story is ominously problematic . On a space squad car headed to humankind ’s young home , a man run by Chris Pratt is accidentally awoken from cryosleep and doomed to die on the ship .

He decides to wake another passenger , played by Jennifer Lawrence , middling much just so he can slumber with her . Along the way , she realizes that she was n’t awaken up by chance event , but weirdly , she forgive Pratt in time for the shoehorned - in third - act action sequence .

Best: Snowpiercer (2013)

age before he sweep the Oscars with his masterpieceParasite , Bong Joon - ho put his stamp on the scientific discipline fabrication music genre with the comics - basedSnowpiercer . As with all of Bong ’s movies , Snowpiercer is an insightful study of course of study divisions .

mark on a train protecting humanity ’s last survivors from the ice eld that wiped out almost all life on Earth , Snowpiercerstars Chris Evans as the leader of a rotation by the lower - grade rider against their upper - category overlords .

Worst: Independence Day: Resurgence (2016)

The first of two sequel to Will Smith movies that replaced him with a Hemsworth , Independence Day : Resurgencecould’ve easily been titledIndependence sidereal day : RehashorIndependence Day : Retread .   The sequel just copies the much smarter , much funner original with severely fall returns .

Smith prefer to doSuicide Squadinstead of this , and even thoughSuicide Squadended up being butcher by Warner Bros. in a panicked reply toBatman v Superman ’s failure andDeadpool ’s success , Resurgencewas so bad that he still made the right conclusion .

Sidious, Tyranus, Maul, and Vader.

A collage image of Luke Skywalker in A New Hope

2010s sci-fi movies

The Martian

Hester Shaw looking at the city in Mortal Engines

Theodore looking at the city in Her.

Caine pointing a gun while Jupiter stands beside him in Jupiter Ascending

Inception

Johnny Depp in Transcendence

Ryan-Gosling-in-Blade-Runner-2049

Jim (Chris Pratt) touches Aurora’s (Jennifer Lawrence) hair in Passengers (2016)

Curtis points a gun at an enemy in Snowpiercer

Jeff Goldblum and Liam Hemsworth in space in Independence Day Resurgence

Movies