The thing that makes sci-fi movies so great is how unique and creative they can be. From imagining an alternate reality to painting a potential distant future, it's no wonder so many people love this genre, due to the way it makes us all dream.
There are tons of incredible franchises out there from Star Wars to Alien, which year after year grace us with spectacular new titles. However, as the 2010s draw to a close, we want to appreciate the best standalone movies that have come out in the last decade.
10 Ready Player One (2018) - 7.5
Video games have been equally as good as movies at predicting a potential future, namely through the concept of virtual reality worlds. In Ready Player One, we enter Oasis, a world much more beautiful and interesting than the present one, which is riddled with poverty and filth.
When the creator of this virtual paradise dies, teenager Wade Watts/Parzival (Tye Sherdian), along with the help of Samantha Cook/Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), set out on a wild hunt to find out the Easter Egg he supposedly left behind, with a promise that its founder would inherit Oasis.
9 Upgrade (2018) - 7.5
Sci-fi often explores the potential that new technology has, and Upgrade is no different. The premise follows Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green), who witnesses his wife killed by a gang of four after their car malfunctions. Guy is beaten by the same assailants, leaving him permanently crippled. But he's given another chance at life, with a STEM chip inserted into his body, allowing a computer to control him.
With the ability to walk again, STEM assists Grey in avenging his dead wife in an action-packed sci-fi flick laced with casual humor and a sleek sci-fi coating. However, as Guy finds out, accepting an intelligent AI into one's body has dire consequences.
8 Ex Machina (2014) - 7.7
There's no greater dream for a scientist than creating life and intelligence from scratch. In Ex Machina, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) earns a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet Nathan (Oscar Isaac), the CEO of the company he works for. In Nathan's remote and secluded luxury home, he introduces Caleb to Ava (Alicia Vikander), the humanoid AI Nathan has devoted his career to.
However, discovery and curiosity always come with a price. As Caleb gets further acquainted with Ava and grows fascinated with her, he begins to doubt Nathan's intentions towards him and the entire project.
7 Gravity (2013) - 7.7
Space has often been the subject of fear and uncertainty, due to its harsh temperatures and zero gravity that make life in space almost impossible. Gravity showcases this well, as two astronauts, Kowalski (George Clooney) and Stone (Sandra Bullock) are left stranded in space in the aftermath of a Russian missile strike on one of its operation satellites.
What ensues is the survival story of the century, as they attempts to reach the ISS and find a way back to the surface of Earth. Peppered in between tense survival and action scenes are emotional confessions about the survivors' lives, making their struggle even more heartbreaking.
6 Edge Of Tomorrow (2014) - 7.9
Time is a construct, one that is surprisingly easy to manipulate to one's needs. In Edge of Tomorrow, when an alien species dubbed as Mimics invade Earth, William Cage (Tom Cruise) is one of the fighters sent against them. However, as the operation he participates in fails, he finds himself sent back in time before it ever took place.
As Cage tries to make sense of what he's experiencing, he eventually meets Rita Vrataski (Emily Blunt), who seems to be aware of what's happening just as he is, loop after loop. Together, they fight to find a way out of the living nightmare in order to win a devastating war.
5 Arrival (2016) - 7.9
Language helps us view the world; it's how we construct reality from nothing. In Arrival, the importance of language is shown when an alien species lands in a cocoon-shaped vessel and Louise Banks (Amy Adams) is tasked with finding a way to communicate with them.
As Banks begins her research into the odd and circular alien language, she soon discovers that it is more than words and letters: it's a power, a special ability that can be harnessed by those who learn it.
4 Her (2013) - 8.0
Not all sci-fi is about space, action or aliens. Some movies choose to explore sci-fi themes in a more recognizable environment, making us relate to the characters more strongly. Her is the story of Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix), an introverted man still suffering from the aftermath of a break-up, who buys a brand new AI system capable of learning and adapting.
Samantha (Scarlett Johansson), becomes a central part of Theodore's life, despite her non-physical nature. The two form a strong bond, which allows both of them to learn something incredibly valuable about life.
3 The Martian (2015) - 8.0
The ultimate story of survival in space is on full display in The Martian. The movie tells the tale of astronaut Mark Watney's (Matt Damon), battle against the harsh environment of Mars after he was left behind by his crew, who believed he died in a sandstorm. As Mark waits for the next Mars mission crew set to arrive four years later, he does whatever he can to survive with what he has.
The Martian is a classic tale of being stranded on a desert island, except this one is incredibly large and suspended in space, with very little oxygen. Through ingenuity, Mark begins to set up a functional camp by starting a farm to produce his own food and oxygen.
2 Interstellar (2014) - 8.6
Space and time are incredibly interesting topics to explore, and Interstellar did it perfectly with one of the most awe-inspiring movie soundtracks released to this day. As mankind is threatened by a bleak future, alternative options are being researched. When Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) stumbles into a research facility where his former boss is working, he's taken onboard a mission to traverse through a wormhole.
What ensues is an adventure across several planets to determine which one is most fit for mankind. As time and space are bent, Cooper must find a way to pass on the information he finds back to Earth to ensure humanity's survival.
1 Inception (2010) - 8.8
The mind is a complex thing, and certainly not the first place a professional spy and thief would go looking for information. However, in Inception, specialized technology allows Dominick Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) to infiltrate a person's dreams to find out their deepest secrets and manipulate them.
Unfortunately, it's not all smooth sailing for Cobb and his team, as he's haunted by a dark guilt from his past that further challenges his capabilities to extract what information he needs in one of the biggest heists he's done to date.
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