20 of the best sci-fi action movies of all time

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Lifehacker has collected the most vivid and dynamic stories about the future, battles with aliens and machines.

1. Beginning

• USA, UK, 2010.
• Science fiction, detective, action.
• Duration: 148 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 8.

Dominic Cobb knows how to penetrate the subconscious of sleeping people and steal their thoughts. But one day Cobb and his team are hired for exactly the opposite task: they should not steal, but implant a thought in the head of another person. To do this, they have to penetrate dreams in dreams. But during the operation, unforeseen circumstances arise, and Cobb has a chance to never return to reality.

Christopher Nolan's gorgeous film quickly fell in love with all fans of fantastic action. There is an ambiguous plot and a lot of driving scenes: even in the snow-capped mountains, even in a hotel room. In addition, the ending makes you think about the very nature of reality.

2. Matrix

• USA, Australia, 1999.
• Science fiction, cyberpunk, action.
• Duration: 136 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 7.

Thomas Anderson works in the most ordinary office during the day, and at night turns into a legendary hacker named Neo. But one day he learns that the whole familiar world is just a computer simulation and that he will become the chosen one who will save people from the power of machines.

After its release, the film of the Wachowski sisters instantly became a legend: a theme close to cyberpunk, combined with a fundamentally new presentation of action scenes, captivated the audience. And soon the authors released two more sequels.

3. Star Wars. Episode 4: A New Hope

• USA, 1977.
• Space opera, fantasy, adventure.
• Duration: 121 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 6.

A distant galaxy is enslaved by the cruel emperor and his companion Darth Vader. The resistance is almost crushed, but the rebels have a new hope - a young Jedi named Luke Skywalker.

The film by aspiring director George Lucas once revolutionized cinema. The master made fantastic stories easier and attracted a teenage audience to the screens. The famous franchise stretched out for many years, and only in 2019 the story of the Skywalker family should end with the film Star Wars: Skywalker. Sunrise.

4. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

• USA, 1991.
• Science fiction, action movie.
• Duration: 137 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 5.

Years after Sarah Connor managed to defeat the Terminator, the machines make another attempt: they send a robot into the past that can change its appearance and copy any person it meets. He must destroy Sarah Connor's son. But the old model of the Terminator, familiar to the audience from the first part, stands up for that.

The success story of James Cameron began back in 1984 after the release of the first film. But still the second part has become a real legend, and to this day it is considered one of the reference examples of fantastic action films.

5. Strangers

• USA, 1986.
• Science fiction, action, horror.
• Duration: 137 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

Ellen Ripley is the only survivor after a dangerous xenomorph hit the Nostromo spacecraft. After many years of wandering in space, the capsule with Ellen is picked up, and the woman learns that the planet where they met the monster has already been colonized. Now Ripley must go back with a squad of Space Marines to rescue the colonists.

Another sequel from James Cameron. The first part was directed by Ridley Scott, and it was more like a dark fantasy thriller. But in the sequel, large-scale battles with hordes of Aliens and the military have already been added.

6. "V" for Vendetta

• USA, UK, Germany, 2005.
• Science fiction, action, dystopia.
• Duration: 132 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 2.

A fascist regime reigned in Great Britain. All people unwanted by the state are mercilessly destroyed. But a mysterious anarchist appears in the mask of Guy Fawkes under the pseudonym V, who enters into a fight with the system.

The adaptation of the legendary comic strip by Alan Moore turned out to be much simpler than the original: the authors changed the motives of most of the heroes and removed almost all the ambiguity of V. But the film came out great: it has an unusual visual series, a dark atmosphere, and V is great with knives.

7. Mad Max: Fury Road

• USA, Australia, 2015.
• Post-apocalyptic, action, dieselpunk.
• Duration: 120 minutes.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

In a post-apocalyptic future, former police officer Max (Tom Hardy) is captured by the tyrant Immortal Joe. After escaping, he teams up with the warrior Furiosa, who hijacked the battle wagon where Joe's brides were hiding.

Fury Road is a rare occasion when a sequel, released many years later, did not turn out to be a pale play on nostalgia. This film is literally filled with action, and a significant part of it was filmed on location: the creators of the picture really built many huge and strange machines, and then they all crashed.

8. Edge of the future

• USA, 2014.
• Science fiction, thriller.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 9.

In the future, humanity will have to fight an aggressive race of aliens. People are defeated, but Major William Cage gets the blood of one of the aliens. From that moment on, he constantly returns to the day he died in battle. As a result, he, with the support of an experienced fighter Rita Vrataska, needs to somehow survive this battle. At the same time, William can use his new knowledge to help humanity defeat enemies.

The plot of one of the brightest stories about the time loop comes from a Japanese light novel (a book with a lot of illustrations) called All you need is kill. Despite the strong differences from the original, the picture came out really interesting: Tom Cruise, battles with aliens and time travel, what else is needed?

9. Avatar

• USA, 2009.
• Science fiction, action, adventure.
• Duration: 162 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

Former Marine Jake Sully, confined to a wheelchair, becomes a member of the Avatar project on the planet Pandora. Earthlings want to colonize it in order to extract a rare and very valuable mineral. As part of the project, Jake learns to transfer his consciousness into an artificially created avatar - a creature that looks like the natives of Na'vi. But the actions of people turn into a disaster both for the population and for the planet itself, and then a war begins.

Another legendary work of Cameron needs no introduction. This is the highest grossing film of all time, taking special effects to the next level. The large-scale landscapes and battles of Na'vi with people are impressive to this day. And Cameron plans to release three more sequels.

10. Fifth element

• USA, France, 1997.
• Science fiction, adventure, thriller.
• Duration: 126 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 7.

Every 5,000 years, the dark forces return to destroy the world. Corben Dallas - a taxi driver from New York of the XXIII century - will have to become a real hero in order to save all that exists. He has to collect four important elements, and then add to them the main, fifth element - the fragile girl Leela.

The famous film by Luc Besson is the author's declaration of love for French comics, in particular for Valerian and Laureline. Everything fit perfectly in the picture: futuristic surroundings, great actors, as well as a lot of humor and dynamic scenes.

11. Dissenting opinion

• USA, 2002.
• Science fiction, action, thriller.
• Duration: 145 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

In the future, with the help of three seers, a special crime prediction department was created. The police find out the circumstances of the violation and the name of the offender even before the event itself occurs, and arrest people in advance, thereby saving the victims. But one day the head of the pre-crime department himself is accused of a murder that has not yet been committed.

The adaptation of the famous work of Philip Dick lost a little in the depth of the idea (the author assumed that knowing the future was already changing it), but the plot became more dynamic. And Tom Cruise, as always, plays the tough hero.

12. Robocop

• USA, 1987.
• Science fiction, thriller.
• Duration: 103 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 6.

During a clash with a criminal gang, one of the best police officers, Alex Murphy, dies. But scientists find a way to turn him into a cyborg by combining Alex's brain and remaining body parts with metal parts. He turns into a real crime storm, while trying to preserve his human memories.

Director Paul Verhoeven created one of the most recognizable fantasy crime fighters: Robocop's design, movement and manner of speaking captivated the audience. The story was repeatedly tried to continue or restart, but the first part remained the best.

13. Total recall

• USA, 1990.
• Science fiction, thriller.
• Duration: 113 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 5.

Builder Douglas Quaid often dreams of Mars. One day the hero decides to go to the "Total Recall" company and implant fake memories in himself, as if he had really been there. But it is suddenly revealed that he is a secret agent with an erased memory. And now Douglas must go to Mars to sort out his past.

After the success of RoboCop, Paul Verhoeven decided to screen a short story by Philip Dick. In the film adaptation, only the outset remained from the original, but Arnold Schwarzenegger turned the action into a real action movie.

14. Starship Troopers

• USA, 1997.
• Science fiction, action, adventure.
• Duration: 128 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 2.

In a militaristic future, everyone must complete military service in order to become a full citizen. The main character as part of the Starship Troopers faces a mortal danger for all mankind - hordes of giant alien beetles.

And another film by the master of fantastic action films, Paul Verhoeven. This time based on the work of the legendary science fiction writer Robert Heinlein.

15. Transformers

• USA, 2007.
• Science fiction, thriller.
• Duration: 143 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

Two races of robots from the planet Cybertron have been at war for centuries. The Autobots and Decepticons find themselves on Earth, where the decisive battle will unfold. But by coincidence, the center of events is an ordinary young guy Sam Whitwicky and his brave girlfriend Michaela Baines.

Director Michael Bay is often criticized for his excessive love of special effects and pointless action. But when it came to the history of the confrontation between huge robots, everything turned out to be in its place. This franchise is a triumph of computer graphics, gunfights and explosions.

16. I, a robot

• USA, 2004.
• Science fiction, detective, thriller.
• Duration: 115 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

By the middle of the 21st century, robots have become commonplace: they help people in literally all areas of life. The main character, conservative police officer Del Spooner, has to investigate a crime involving a robot.

The film is based in part on the classics of Isaac Asimov. In particular, he refers to the "Three Laws of Robotics", according to which a robot cannot harm a person.

17. Stargate

• USA, France, 1994.
• Science fiction, action, adventure.
• Duration: 121 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 1.

In the middle of the 20th century, an archaeologist finds a mysterious structure in Egypt. Many years later, his daughter and young specialist Jackson learn that this is a portal to other worlds. Jackson, along with the military, is sent through the stargate towards the unknown.

This classic of science fiction has grown over time into a huge franchise. There have already been two full-length sequels and four series expanding the Stargate universe.

18. Independence Day

• USA, 1996.
• Science fiction, action, disaster film.
• Duration: 145 minutes.
• IMDb: 7, 0.

Earth receives a signal from another civilization, and soon many alien ships arrive on the planet. But it turns out that they do not plan to make contact, but want to take over the planet and destroy its inhabitants. Now the military needs to mobilize all the remaining forces to defend freedom.

One of the clearest examples of an alien invasion story made Will Smith a real star. And soon he began to fight the aliens as part of the Men in Black franchise.

19. Island

• USA, 2005.
• Science fiction, dystopia, action movie.
• Duration: 136 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 9.

Lincoln Six Echo and Jordan Two Delta are among the few people who survived the global catastrophe. In an isolated bunker, they are engaged in useless work. All the inhabitants of the bunker dream of winning the lottery and going to the "Island" - the only place on earth suitable for life. But Lincoln Six Echo discovers that the reality is much more complicated.

Oddly enough, this work by Michael Bay contains not only chases and shootings, but also a well-twisted script in the spirit of dystopia. Unfortunately, some of the plot twists are shown right in the trailer.

20. Resident Evil

• Germany, Great Britain, France, 2002.
• Science fiction, horror, thriller.
• Duration: 100 minutes.
• IMDb: 6, 7.

A dangerous virus has escaped from a huge laboratory and turns people into zombies. To eliminate the threat, the military sends a special forces group there. She is joined by a police officer and Alice, a girl who has lost her memory.

The film adaptation of the video game of the same name was very popular with viewers, which allowed the authors to turn the story into a long six-part franchise. True, the audience took each next film more and more coolly.