There are so many streamers that have cool science fiction but for epic sci-fi movies, Prime Video is where it’s at.
Sci-fi fans love this genre because there are so many tones and flavors that come with the territory. From silly to bleak, action-packed to dystopian, every mood can be accounted for. Prime Video has a title that fits the bill, no matter what you’re looking for.
The next step is actually scrolling through the pages of content to find the title you want to watch. Well, I went ahead and did the heavy lifting for you and put together the movie guide below. This roundup merely scratches the surface of what you can find on the streamer, but it’s a great starting point.
From an iconic cyberpunk anime classic to the return of an iconic movie monster and a terrifying alien invasion, the choices are epic. The only challenge now is to figure out which title you’re going to click play on first.
Read more: 20 of the Best Sci-Fi TV Shows to Stream on Netflix
I’m not a big anime fan but certain titles transcend the genre. Ghost in the Shell is one of them. This is a cyberpunk thriller that explores concepts of identity and what it means to be human amid the backdrop of a techno-future world. Many consider this movie to be the best of its kind, and when filmmakers like the Wachowskis and James Cameron point to it as a huge influence for their movies, it’s hard not to argue.
Sure, Transformers is filled with tropes that tend to come with any of Michael Bay’s films but I can’t ignore the childhood joy this movie sparks. The cast does a decent enough job bringing emotional stakes to the story but let’s be honest: This is a Transformers movie, which means you’re watching it because you want to see giant robots fight. And on that front, this movie delivers tenfold.
Before Chris Evans donned the Captain America shield, he appeared in a lesser-known superhero movie: Push. The story follows a guy named Nick (Evans) who uses his psychic abilities to take down a government agency that’s trying to turn folks with superpowers into super soldiers. Dakota Fanning, Camilla Bell, Ming-Na Wen and Djimon Hounsou star in this thoroughly enjoyable cult flick.
What if there were a pill that could turn any person into a hyperintelligent super genius? Limitless aims to answer that question. The movie stars Bradley Cooper as Eddie Morra, a down-on-his-luck writer who takes the untested drug and uses it to massively level up his life. Of course, what goes up must come down, and Eddie soon finds out that sometimes, it’s best to leave mysterious meds alone.
Mad Max, the first entry in the hit franchise, takes place in a not-so-distant future where oil becomes a hard-to-find commodity. With the world in chaos, a local police officer named Max Rockatansky (Mel Gibson) pursues a dangerous mission to take revenge against a violent biker gang, following the murder of his wife and child.
Chris Pratt stars in this action movie that follows a group of soldiers who travel back in time to warn of a future where humanity is losing the war against an army of alien invaders. Mankind’s only hope lies in a group of would-be heroes who are tapped to travel to the future in order to save the present.
Is 2014’s Godzilla the best movie in the monster’s long-running canon? The answer to that question can be debated for days. I’m not going to rank this release but Gareth Edwards’s take on the iconic kaiji does a great job of reintroducing audiences to this universe while also delivering a whole new set of story circumstances and characters. Unlike 1999’s big screen adaptation, this one ain’t goofy and the cast (Bryan Cranston, Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Ken Watanabe, Elizabeth Olsen, etc.) is pretty great.
Molli and Max in the Future
Molli and Max in the Future is a delightfully fresh sci-fi mashup. It stars Zozia Mamet as Molli and Aristotle Athari as Max, two characters who, over the course of many years, dimensions and planets, continue running into each other. I suppose you can say it’s like if When Harry Met Sally and Bladerunner had a baby. And that’s meant as a compliment.
Jason Pargin released John Dies at the End, under the pseudonym David Wong, as a collection of stories he put online for fun — and then they gained popularity, leading to a fruitful career for the author. It probably helps that horror icon Don Coscarelli chose to adapt the first book in the series into a movie. Chase Williamson plays Dave, the guy plagued with supernatural visions, who teams up with his slacker buddy John (Rob Mayes) to investigate all sorts of weird phenomena. And boy, does this movie get weird. It’s bolstered by a superb cameo by Paul Giamatti and it solidified itself as a cult fave. Too bad it never got a sequel.
A Quiet Place: Day One takes audiences back to the very beginning of the alien invasion. While it may not be a necessary entry in the franchise — like, say, 10 Cloverfield Lane — the movie digs its heels into the human experience amid an otherworldly cataclysmic disaster. Come for the disaster, stay for the cute cat.
In John Carpenter’s postapocalyptic cult classic, it’s 1997 in New York and the city has been ravaged by war. Manhattan has been turned into a giant walled-in prison. After the president is taken hostage, former Special Forces officer (and current prisoner) Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is recruited to save the day in return for his own freedom.
This mind-bending cult classic stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a misunderstood high schooler who, after seemingly surviving a horrific accident, begins traveling through time. In the process, he discovers the joy of being alive and in love. Themes of depression, repression and alternative universes fill this delightfully bizarre film. Also, let’s not forget that giant demon bunny named Frank.
