Uglies: 7 Better Sci-Fi Movies on Netflix You Should Watch Instead

Great movies like Edge of Tomorrow provide solid alternative's to Netflix's latest hit.

By Charlie Ridgely - September 20, 2024 07:00 pm EDT

In case you haven't noticed, there's a new movie called Uglies that's been sitting atop Netflix's daily movie charts all week. It has a young cast led by popular Netflix stars, a unique premise about a future built around beauty standards, and by all accounts it's just not very good. Uglies has been largely dismissed by both critics and fans as a movie not worth seeing, yet it somehow continues to do well on the charts.

A big reason for that is the Netflix algorithm, which continues to suggest its new sci-fi movie, especially if you've watched the genre in the past. A lot of people probably just logged onto Netflix, saw Uglies near the top, and hit play. If you spend just a few extra minutes looking at the streamer's catalogue, though, you'll find several sci-fi films that will leave you with a much better experience than Uglies.

From fan-favorites like Edge of Tomorrow to stone cold classics like Terminator 2, there are quite a few great sci-fi adventures on Netflix that are worth your time. If you're on the fence about Uglies after seeing some of the reviews and reactions, give one of these seven films a shot instead.

Edge of Tomorrow

If you saw Uglies in the Netflix Top 10 Movies list, you probably saw Edge of Tomorrow just a few spots below it. There's a reason it's been hanging around on the list for a couple of weeks, despite being more than a decade old. Edge of Tomorrow kicks ass.

This movie is a stone-cold sci-fi classic, complete with some of the best action to come out of the genre in years. Tom Cruise and Emily Blunt are both at the top of their games. The Groundhog Day story works wonderfully in the film's dystopian setting. Every bit of this thing is great.

Seriously, if you haven't seen Edge of Tomorrow before, it should be the very next thing you watch on Netflix.

Ender's Game

If the coming-of-age element in Uglies is calling to you, you'll likely be able to scratch that itch with the film adaptation of Ender's Game, by Orson Scott Card.

In addition to bringing the beloved sci-fi story to the screen, Ender's Game also contains some great performances from Asa Butterfield, Hailee Steinfeld, Viola Davis, Ben Kingsley, and Harrison Ford.

Upgrade

The story of Uglies has a lot to do with human enhancement and what the future could hold when it comes to the limits of our bodies. Few movies in the last decade or so have tackled that type of story as well as Upgrade.

From Saw writer Leigh Whannell, Upgrade is about a man who hates technology getting a chip implanted in his brain that can control his body while he's out on a mission for revenge. It's both incredibly fun and incredibly violent, putting you on the edge of your seat for just about its entire runtime.

Godzilla Minus One

Okay, so Uglies and Godzilla Minus One don't have a whole lot in common. It's just on this list because it's a phenomenal sci-fi movie that no one should miss.

There's also the black and white version of the film available on Netflix that you could argue makes the film look even better than it already does. Regardless of which version you put on, it's one of the best movies on the service right now.

65

65 is another movie that has a pretty unique premise, even in the realm of sci-fi, though the film itself doesn't quite live up to the heights that premise might tease.

It's about a man and a young girl who are the only two survivors of a futuristic ship that crashes 65 million years in the past, pitting them against a plant of wild dinosaurs. It may not be as good as you'd hope, but 65 is still a fun, breezy ride.

See You Yesterday

Produced by Spike Lee, See You Yesterday is a Netflix original film that didn't get nearly enough love or attention when it was first released a few years ago.

This movie does a great job blending current societal issues with interesting sci-fi ideas, as a pair of genius teenagers from Brooklyn build a time machine to go back and stop a lethal police shooting from taking place.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day

There aren't many movies currently on Netflix that you might consider among the very best of their genre. Terminator 2: Judgement Day is the exception.

Just one of the true all-timers, sci-fi action films don't get better than James Cameron's Terminator sequel (well, except maybe James Cameron's Alien sequel). It's also responsible for building one of the best dystopian realities on film, pinning the downfall of all society on the greed of a giant corporation.

Terminator 2 is truly one of the very best movies currently available on Netflix, regardless of the genre.