Netflix continues to boast one of the best content libraries of all the streaming services. Their selection of sci-fi films ranges from well-known classics to a string of recent hits. They Cloned Tyrone, Spiderhead, and The Adam Project were all Netflix original films that debuted on the streamer’s 10 most popular movies list.
Are you looking for more sci-films on Netflix? For January, we selected five sci-films to stream on Netflix. Our selections include an innovative blockbuster involving dinosaurs, a visually stunning space thriller, and the first film in a big-budget Netflix franchise.
Jurassic Park (1993)
It feels appropriate that Steven Spielberg, the premier blockbuster filmmaker of the last 50 years, would helm Jurassic Park, a groundbreaking movie that influenced Hollywood’s reliance on CGI. Thanks to revolutionary breakthroughs in DNA extraction, industry titan John Hammond (Richard Attenborough) created Jurassic Park, a theme park on an isolated island populated by cloned dinosaurs.
Before opening to the public, Hammond invites mathematician Ian Grant (Jeff Goldblum), paleontologist Alan Grant (Sam Neill), and paleontologist Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern) to explore the park and evaluate its safety. While on a tour, the park’s power shuts down, allowing dinosaurs to roam freely, including beyond the electrical fence. With these unpredictable creatures on the prowl, the visitors become the prey as they fight for their lives and survive this nightmare.
Stream Jurassic Park on Netflix.
Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire (2023)
After spending nearly a decade in the DCEU, Zack Snyder is now making tentpole blockbusters for Netflix. His latest offering was pitched as his version of Star Wars. The resulting project became Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire. In a distant world, the galaxy is ruled by the tyrannical Motherworld and its military, the Imperium. The residents of Veldt, a peaceful moon in the galaxy, are threatened by the arrival of Imperium’s soldiers.
Kora (Sofia Boutella), a former Imperium soldier, fights back and kills a group of soldiers taking advantage of a villager. Knowing Imperium will destroy the village, Kora sets out to find a group of warriors to join her fight against Motherworld and save her home. The sequel, Rebel Moon – Part Two: The Scargiver, arrives later this year on April 19.
Stream Rebel Moon – Part One: A Child of Fire on Netflix.
Meg 2: The Trench (2023)
If you thought one megalodon shark was tough, try facing three in Meg 2: The Trench. Several years after the events of The Meg, Jonas Taylor (Jason Statham) is still helping Mana One protect and explore the ocean. On an expedition to the Mariana Trench, Jonas and his team discover an illegal mining operation on the ocean floor. A group of mercenaries plans to mine the trench’s minerals and sell them for billions.
However, the trench remains as dangerous as ever due to the unpredictable species that occupy the area. Escaping the trench was only the beginning. Stopping the creatures – three Megs, vicious lizards, and a giant octopus – from wreaking havoc on the surface quickly becomes the top priority.
Stream Meg 2: The Trench on Netflix.
Gravity (2013)
To this day, no film has ever captured the beauty and sheer magnitude of space better than Gravity. Directed by Alfonso Cuarón, Gravity stars Sandra Bullock as Dr. Ryan Stone, a medical engineer on her first space mission. Accompanying Stone is Lieutenant Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), a veteran astronaut on his last mission before retirement. Stone and Kowalski are tasked with making upgrades to the Hubble Space Telescope.
While conducting a space walk, debris rocks the duo’s shuttle and launches Stone into orbit, where she tumbles uncontrollably. Kowalski successfully rescues Stone, but their shuttle is destroyed, stranding them in space. The only chance for survival is to travel further into space and reach another space station. Traveling 900 miles through space is the first of their problems. Figuring out a way back to Earth will be the real challenge.
Stream Gravity on Netflix.
Don’t Look Up (2021)
For his first Netflix film, Adam McKay cast seemingly every A-list movie star in Hollywood in Don’t Look Up, an apocalyptic black comedy serving as an allegory for climate change while reflecting on how the media covers the environmental crisis. Leonardo DiCaprio and Jennifer Lawrence star as Dr. Randall Mindy and Kate Dibiasky, two scientists who discover a deadly comet heading toward Earth. Dr. Mindy calculates the comet will collide with Earth in six months and could lead to a global extinction.
The duo present their findings to President Orlean (Meryl Streep), but the White House does not take these warnings seriously. When Mindy and Dibiasky leak their discoveries to a popular morning show, the media also dismisses the science, electing to focus more on scandals and celebrity gossip since they drive ratings. Can the powers that be realize the severity of the comet before it’s too late?
Stream Don’t Look Up on Netflix.
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