Tubi is one of the larger free streaming services, and in the US it has a surprisingly good movie selection. While the offerings in other territories such as the UK, where it recently launched with over 20,000 movies and shows at the start of July, aren’t so great, the US catalog has some of our very favorite movies, including some of the best sci-fi movies.
So, if you’re looking for some futuristic action and adventure but don’t want to pay for one of the best streaming services to view it, Tubi is a very good choice – if of course you can put up with some ads. Here are three must-see sci-fi movies you can stream on Tubi for free.
Source Code
It’s rather fitting that a repeating loop of a movie rewards multiple viewings. Source Code is a kind of sci-fi Groundhog Day, the story of a heroic helicopter pilot played by Jake Gyllenhaal who dies again and again and again in a train-bound terror attack. His mission is to discover the identity of the bomber and prevent the tragedy from occurring, and it’s tremendous, edge of the seat fun. According to Empire “it’s brilliantly constructed, going over an eight-minute cycle again and again with variations, each time advancing the plot… [it is] an exciting, intellectually stimulating science-fiction thriller which also connects emotionally.”
Snowpiercer
In a post-apocalyptic ice age, the remnants of the human race are on a globe-trotting super-train, the Snowpiercer of the title, as they battle for survival. According to Flick Feast it’s “a blend of science fiction and social commentary that plays out like a videogame… With it comes Chris Evans’ finest performance.” Sky Cinema says “it’s literally a hell of a ride – Brazil meets Murder on the Orient Express.” According to the Patriot Ledger “there’s no easy way to pigeonhole this English-language movie from Korean writer-director Joon-ho Bong, except to say that it’s a true original.” The Wall Street Journal loved it: “Once Mr. Bong sets his monorail in motion the movie assumes an irresistible momentum, accelerated by nonstop mayhem, gallows humor and an immersive visual style that possesses a heady sense of the steam-punk Apocalypse.”
The Terminator
I rewatched this just the other week and was struck by how well it still stands up today: the effects work is very dated – it feels very Clash of the Titans compared to today’s slick CGI – but the movie is a tense, taut horror story about a killer that will never give up and that apparently can’t be stopped. As The Boston Globe said, the acting is terrible and the whole thing is very silly but that doesn’t matter because director James Cameron “has the formula down pat”. As Flavorwire put it: “Much of Terminator’s greatness is due to its low-budget aesthetic and lo-fi energy; perhaps out of necessity, Cameron’s sense of storytelling has a lean efficiency that both he and the series have long since abandoned.”
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