Over the years, the sci-fi genre has delivered countless memorable movies to audiences around the world. For generations, it has been one of the most popular genres in fiction, and it has been present on the big screen practically since the advent of film. Many of the best sci-fi movies have earned themselves a lasting place in audiences’ hearts and minds, weaving themselves into the fabric of modern pop culture as a result of their quality and continued popularity. The broad scope of science fiction also means that the genre can appeal to an incredibly wide audience, with many of its subgenres also becoming hugely successful in their own right.
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Whether a sci-fi movie is full of plot twists or packed with action, the genre’s movies are often considered incredibly watchable. Many sci-fi movies have almost endless rewatch potential, meaning that they can be viewed again and again and still retain their entertainment factor. There are many such movies in the genre, but only a select few sci-fi movies can truly claim to be the most rewatchable of all.
10) Predator (1987)
Commonly considered one of the best sci-fi action movies of all time, 1987’s Predator has so many facets that contribute to its greatness. With a muscle-bound cast led by Arnold Schwarzenegger, and featuring the likes of Carl Weathers, Jesse Ventura, Bill Duke, and Shane Black, it follows a group of highly-trained operatives who land in a Central American rainforest under the pretense of rescuing hostages. However, once there, they learn that the jungle is actually the hunting ground of the titular technologically-advanced alien and that they are his prey.
Predator‘s delicate blend of sci-fi, action, and horror elements is seamless, and it features some of the most iconic movie moments of the 1980s. Its juxtaposition of action-hero soldiers against the seemingly insurmountable might of the alien predator makes for interesting thematic storytelling, while it still works perfectly as a surface-level action flick. This allows 1987’s Predator to work on multiple levels, delivering endless entertainment to fans of the genre thanks to its truly unique qualities.
9) Dune: Part Two (2024)
There are only a handful of sci-fi sequels better than the originals, and Dune: Part Two is one of the most recent noteworthy examples of the phenomenon. While 2021’s Dune was excellent, its sequel stands out as better in almost every way. It replaces the worldbuilding of the first movie with action spectacle, high-concept sci-fi, and truly epic moments that are beautifully crafted by director Denis Villeneuve.
Dune: Part Two only works alongside its predecessor, which lays the foundation for its story, but it’s a far more rewatchable film than the first movie. It’s faster-paced and features far more action, which is a key element in its entertainment factor. It also boasts multiple incredible scenes that are exhilarating every time they’re watched, and that truly establish it as one of the most awe-inspiring sci-fi epics in modern cinema.
8) Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Everything Everywhere All at Once is a movie that doesn’t delve too deeply into the nuts and bolts of its sci-fi, but its entire premise places it squarely within the genre. It follows a Chinese-American family whose lives come under scrutiny when they are audited by the IRS, launching them on a journey across the Multiverse that features martial arts, mind-bending moments, and touching emotional drama. It won the Academy Award for Best Picture alongside several other Oscars, highlighting its status as a sci-fi movie masterpiece.
There are many things that make Everything Everywhere All at Once such a rewatchable movie. One is the depth of its story, which features many minor details and Easter eggs for eagle-eyed viewers. Perhaps the biggest, though, is the exceptional work done by its cast to deliver a powerful, heartwarming story that is likely to strike an emotional chord with almost anyone. Though it’s not the movie’s sci-fi elements that make it such an incredible watch, it’s undoubtedly one of the genre’s best entries from recent years.
7) Blade Runner (1982)
Often remembered for introducing one of the best sci-fi movie villains of all time, 1982’s Blade Runner is one of the sci-fi genre’s most iconic movies. It stars Harrison Ford as Rick Deckard, a detective in a futuristic LA tasked with hunting down rogue Replicants, sophisticated AI-powered androids. Its cyberpunk visuals and hard-boiled noir narrative angle have made Blade Runner one of the most stylish and beloved sci-fi movies ever made.
As well as being an exceptional movie, Blade Runner is hugely rewatchable. Its visuals have come to define an entire subgenre, and its thought-provoking narrative themes — thanks to the source material penned by Philip K. Dick — keep Blade Runner every bit as relevant and interesting today as it was upon release. There’s very little about Blade Runner that doesn’t feel stylish and engrossing, which is especially impressive considering it was released more than 40 years ago.
6) Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day is widely thought to be one of the best sci-fi movie sequels ever made, as it improves upon its predecessor in almost every conceivable way. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 returns, this time reprogrammed to protect young John Connor against the advanced T-1000 sent back to terminate him. It takes all the high-stakes sci-fi action of the first movie and dials it up to the max, delivering a non-stop thrill ride that continues to stand out as one of the genre’s best movies.
Considering its quality, it’s not hard to see what makes Terminator 2 such a rewatchable movie. Its action holds up brilliantly, and its core sci-fi premise, which involves predicting an eerie dystopian future where humanity is at war with machines powered by a sentient rogue AI, feels more frightening than ever. It’s a truly great sci-fi action movie that brilliantly executes its premise, making it one of the most rewatchable movies in the genre.
5) Aliens (1986)
Saying that Aliens is one of the most awesome sci-fi movies of the 1980s isn’t at all controversial, as it’s commonly held as one of the best movies in an exceptional franchise. Following up on the success of Ridley Scott’s 1979 movie Alien, James Cameron’s sequel doubled down on its extra-terrestrial premise, swapping out the original’s claustrophobic setting for one that afforded more opportunity for action. The result is a flawless movie with an outstanding cast, and it’s considered one of the most popular sci-fi sequels of all time.
Aliens is a perfect blend of sci-fi and action, with plenty of horror thrown in for good measure. It’s such a finely crafted movie that it holds up perfectly even decades after its release, which only furthers its rewatchability. It’s a rare movie that can be visited again and again without ever losing its charm, and it stands out as one of the most enjoyable sci-fi movies ever made.
4) Back To The Future (1985)
There are many movies like Back to the Future, but none can claim to be quite as good as the 1985 original. The movie that spawned the beloved sci-fi trilogy might not be everyone’s favorite of the three-film arc, but it is the most rewatchable. It famously follows young Marty McFly as he accidentally travels back 30 years into his past, meeting his own teenage parents in 1955 and jeopardizing his own existence in the process.
Back to the Future‘s time-travel is a great cinematic introduction to the concept, without ever becoming too entangled in the weight of its own sci-fi elements. It’s the only movie in the trilogy that successfully stands alone, and its story has become truly iconic in the years since its release. It’s one of the few sci-fi movies that has made a genuine lasting impression on pop culture, and it has been inspiring other sci-fi movies for decades, which goes some way toward explaining why it’s such a beloved and rewatchable movie.
3) Star Wars (1977)
When it was first released in 1977, there was no chance that anyone could have conceived how influential Star Wars would be. The first movie in the now-expansive franchise established several characters in the most famous cinematic space opera ever written, and took its imaginative action out among the stars in a galaxy far, far away. The franchise may still be going strong decades later, and has seen the release of several other great movies, but the original continues to be one of the most rewatchable.
What makes the original Star Wars so rewatchable is the seeds it plants for the franchise’s future. Going back to where it all began is always an enticing prospect, and the movie holds up so remarkably well even when viewed through a modern lens. Its story about a young man setting out to fight a tyrannical empire against impossible odds feels timeless and universal, helping it remain every bit as watchable years after its original release.
2) Jurassic Park (1993)
In the past three decades, there have been many Jurassic Park movies, but none have quite recaptured the charm of the original movie. Steven Spielberg’s 1993 original adapted Michael Crichton’s novel of the same name for the big screen, bringing prehistoric beasts to life in live-action in an awe-inspiring fashion. Its story, which follows a dinosaur theme park in which all the security measures begin to fail, was one of the biggest blockbuster events of the 1990s.
What makes Jurassic Park so rewatchable is its quality, especially as it holds up so well. It’s science fiction at its finest, with an imaginative story brought to life using breathtaking visual effects that still look great more than three decades later. There’s little not to love about Jurassic Park, which is perhaps why it can be rewatched so often without ever seeming to lose its shine.
1) The Matrix (1999)
1999’s The Matrix is one of the most nostalgic sci-fi movies of the 1990s, but it’s also so much more. Its story follows Neo (Keanu Reeves), a computer hacker who learns that his reality is actually a simulation run by machines in a dystopian future. Breaking free with the help of Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne) and Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss), Neo learns that he is the one fated to save humanity from their robotic overlords, taking the fight to them both inside and out of the titular simulation.
The Matrix boasts some great action sequences and well-crafted sci-fi set pieces, but that isn’t the only thing that makes it rewatchable. It’s one of those rare movies that has effectively transcended itself to become a much bigger part of pop culture, with references to the movie’s red and blue pills now accepted parlance for internet users and conspiracy theorists alike. Looking back on The Matrix today, it’s as much a cultural phenomenon as it is a movie, and revisiting where it all started is every bit as enjoyable as it was in 1999.
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