7 Best Amblin Sci-Fi Movies Of All Time, Ranked

Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy, and Frank Marshall came together in 1980 to found Amblin Entertainment, a choice that would eventually lead to seven of the best sci-fi movies of all time being made. These three figures are some of the most consequential in movie history, being behind franchises like Indiana Jones, Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, Star Wars, and more. However, only some of their movies are released under the Amblin Entertainment banner, and here are Amblin’s seven best sci-fi movies, ranked from worst to best.

Amblin’s filmography is far from solely focused on sci-fi, with it containing all kinds of iconic movies. Franchises like Gremlins, The Goonies, The Land Before Time, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Twister, The Mask of Zorro, and more came from Amblin, showing how diverse their catalogue is. However, Amblin does have an unusually high amount of iconic sci-fi movies, and here are the best ones.

7) War of the Worlds

2005’s War of the Worlds remake is arguably the best adaptation of the classic story, and that’s thanks to director Steven Spielberg. Tom Cruise stars in the thrilling alien invasion story, with the film taking a more grounded approach than anything that had been seen before. It is a stark contrast to previous invasion thrillers like Independence Day, and even though its a sci-fi film, it could be Spielberg’s scariest movie.

6) Minority Report

Spielberg proved that he could still do sci-fi with 2002’s Minority Report, the Tom Cruise movie that led him to do War of the Worlds. Outside of Blade Runner, it is the best Philip K. Dick adaptation, exploring an incredibly complex moral question through the use of sci-fi. Cruise is fantastic here as well, with it only being better than War of the Worlds due to how unique the premise is.

5) Men in Black

The Men in Black trilogy is the only franchise that has successfully captured what makes Ghostbusters successful, and the first film is nearly as good. The 1997 original is quintessential ’90s, and it is a ton of fun. Will Smith is at his funniest here, the alien designs are incredibly memorable, the dynamic between Smith and Tommy Lee Jones is fantastic, and the action is a ton of fun. On top of that, Vincent D’Onofrio gives a shockingly incredible performance, one that has haunted viewers for years.

4) E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial

Spielberg has made a lot of iconic films, but 1982’s E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is easily one of his most well-known. The family-friendly alien film has incredible special effects, has some of the best child actor performances of all time, and has a beautifully unique style of cinematography that no other film has been able to parrot. Plus, it turned what is admittedly a pretty freaky alien into one of the cutest alien designs of all time, and I’m still not sure how they pulled that off.

3) Back to the Future Part II

1989’s Back to the Future Part II may not be quite as good as its predecessor, but it is still one of the best sci-fi movies of all time. It brilliantly expands on the first film’s premise, this time taking Marty to the future instead of the past. It is a sequel so good that the first film basically feels incomplete without it. It is a masterclass in how to write a sequel, a time travel movie, and a comedy, all rolled into one.

2) Jurassic Park

1993’s Jurassic Park uses sci-fi not to explore the future, but to bring the past to us, and that’s why it’s so unique. The concept of a dinosaur theme park is a ton of fun, and it is executed perfectly by director Steven Spielberg and writers Michael Crichton. David Koepp. The film is one of the best examples of an interesting concept being used to explore a profound theme, and it has some of the best cinematography is Spielberg’s filmography.

1) Back to the Future

Even though Spielberg founded Amblin, the studio’s best sci-fi movie actually comes from a different director: Robert Zemeckis. 1985’s Back to the Future is basically a perfect film. It is both a time capsule and timeless, endlessly hilarious, immensely clever, and incredibly iconic. The film launched a massive franchise and has remained the most well-known time travel movie of all time, showing how much of a cultural impact it had.

Back to the Future takes a simple sci-fi concept and uses it to explore an incredibly interesting topic of children meeting their parents in high school. The film is maybe the most well-cast film of all time, it has incredible makeup effects, and it has some of the most impressive production design of the 1980s. Amblin has a lot of great movies, but none of them come close to being as good as Back to the Future.

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