Rolling Stone Top 150 Sci-Fi, a list by smccrack

8.3

/773565/

79

/19245/

81

/12255/

4.3

/1264917/

90

/164/

88

/17084/

84

/25/

4.0

age 12+

Humanity finds a mysterious object buried beneath the lunar surface and sets off to find its origins with the help of HAL 9000, the world's most advanced super computer.

86

8.0

/155019/

78

/3229/

81

/2409/

4.4

/333199/

100

/47/

92

/1589/

85

/17/

Near a gray and unnamed city is the Zone, a place guarded by barbed wire and soldiers, and where the normal laws of physics are victim to frequent anomalies. A stalker guides two men into the Zone, specifically to an area in which deep-seated desires are granted.

83

7.6

/230730/

75

/7261/

73

/4489/

3.8

/284536/

91

/116/

85

/4860/

90

/10/

4.0

age 8+

After an encounter with UFOs, an electricity linesman feels undeniably drawn to an isolated area in the wilderness where something spectacular is about to happen.

82

8.1

/873048/

80

/31617/

79

/14595/

4.1

/1311084/

89

/132/

91

/25115/

84

/15/

3.0

age 16+

In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.

88

8.5

/1050883/

83

/33745/

81

/15889/

4.2

/1656240/

93

/207/

94

/22400/

89

/34/

4.0

age 15+

During its return to the earth, commercial spaceship Nostromo intercepts a distress signal from a distant planet. When a three-member team of the crew discovers a chamber containing thousands of eggs on the planet, a creature inside one of the eggs attacks an explorer. The entire crew is unaware of the impending nightmare set to descend upon them when the alien parasite planted inside its unfortunate host is birthed.

72

6.3

/168807/

60

/6426/

61

/3691/

3.6

/354468/

83

/259/

55

/2644/

83

/49/

4.0

age 18+

A seductive stranger prowls the streets of Glasgow in search of prey: unsuspecting men who fall under her spell.

85

7.9

/560147/

78

/17316/

76

/7599/

4.3

/722386/

92

/253/

85

/39082/

84

/38/

4.0

age 15+

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

89

8.2

/199198/

79

/3692/

81

/2996/

4.2

/240888/

97

/140/

92

/3874/

98

/14/

4.0

age 12+

In a futuristic city sharply divided between the rich and the poor, the son of the city's mastermind meets a prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.

89

8.6

/1551904/

84

/47173/

82

/21816/

4.2

/2308678/

94

/206/

96

/34703/

90

/24/

4.0

age 8+

Princess Leia is captured and held hostage by the evil Imperial forces in their effort to take over the galactic Empire. Venturesome Luke Skywalker and dashing captain Han Solo team together with the loveable robot duo R2-D2 and C-3PO to rescue the beautiful princess and restore peace and justice in the Empire.

82

8.7

/2219155/

87

/72958/

82

/27205/

4.2

/2521036/

83

/209/

85

/1307885/

73

/36/

3.0

age 15+

Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.

67

7.3

/342644/

75

/12924/

70

/5280/

3.8

/307903/

72

/82/

70

/10101/

52

/20/

2.0

age 17+

Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."

81

7.7

/89328/

75

/2168/

75

/1195/

3.8

/46922/

95

/59/

87

/2450/

83

/15/

age 9+

An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.

69

6.6

/30768/

65

/974/

64

/571/

3.5

/55033/

79

/70/

69

/960/

81

/9/

2.5

age 16+

Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who has come to Earth in search of water to save his home planet. Aided by lawyer Oliver Farnsworth, Thomas uses his knowledge of advanced technology to create profitable inventions. While developing a method to transport water, Thomas meets Mary-Lou, a quiet hotel clerk, and begins to fall in love with her. Just as he is ready to leave Earth, Thomas is intercepted by the U.S. government, and his entire plan is threatened.

81

7.9

/848057/

78

/65069/

76

/18856/

4.1

/2244913/

94

/441/

83

/6109/

81

/52/

3.0

age 11+

Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.

81

7.9

/795259/

79

/44959/

76

/14681/

3.8

/751159/

91

/338/

90

/8665/

71

/43/

3.5

age 14+

Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again... and again - as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.

85

8.6

/1269306/

84

/30730/

81

/13839/

4.3

/885501/

91

/154/

95

/25650/

75

/22/

3.5

age 15+

Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.

86

8.3

/1167299/

82

/27832/

80

/15923/

4.2

/3080915/

93

/256/

94

/46680/

89

/41/

3.5

age 16+

Joel Barish, heartbroken that his girlfriend underwent a procedure to erase him from her memory, decides to do the same. However, as he watches his memories of her fade away, he realises that he still loves her, and may be too late to correct his mistake.

78

7.4

/80117/

73

/2528/

72

/1257/

3.9

/157114/

93

/75/

82

/1379/

75

/15/

age 14+

The residents of San Francisco are becoming drone-like shadows of their former selves, and as the phenomenon spreads, two Department of Health workers uncover the horrifying truth.

80

8.0

/208954/

76

/6844/

76

/3812/

4.0

/224998/

86

/96/

88

/4200/

79

/14/

3.0

age 12+

Astronaut Taylor crash lands on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds himself among the hunted, his life in the hands of a benevolent chimpanzee scientist.

86

7.9

/104105/

77

/2238/

77

/1755/

4.2

/189247/

92

/66/

89

/1488/

93

/8/

4.0

A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor and the mental problems of cosmonauts on the station. He soon discovers that the water on the planet is a type of brain which brings out repressed memories and obsessions.

78

8.2

/518182/

81

/15670/

80

/7639/

4.3

/1160121/

85

/92/

92

/9668/

57

/13/

2.5

age 17+

A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.

89

8.7

/1486250/

86

/41552/

84

/17951/

4.4

/1968733/

93

/174/

97

/42486/

82

/25/

4.0

age 9+

The epic saga continues as Luke Skywalker, in hopes of defeating the evil Galactic Empire, learns the ways of the Jedi from aging master Yoda. But Darth Vader is more determined than ever to capture Luke. Meanwhile, rebel leader Princess Leia, cocky Han Solo, Chewbacca, and droids C-3PO and R2-D2 are thrown into various stages of capture, betrayal and despair.

77

7.1

/416328/

70

/22988/

69

/10151/

3.7

/813732/

94

/266/

72

/4161/

84

/38/

3.5

age 16+

In a future where a failed global-warming experiment kills off most life on the planet, a class system evolves aboard the Snowpiercer; a train that travels around the globe via a perpetual-motion engine.

81

7.6

/615556/

76

/21820/

73

/9330/

3.8

/493497/

89

/262/

80

/16815/

80

/37/

4.0

age 15+

John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.

72

71

7.0

/12470/

69

/361/

66

/265/

3.5

/9994/

88

/16/

74

/232/

A mysterious artifact unearthed below a London Underground station proves to have powerful psychic effects on the people around.

80

7.6

/221427/

75

/7548/

74

/4793/

4.0

/496745/

94

/78/

83

/3630/

81

/12/

age 16+

When Seth Brundle makes a huge scientific and technological breakthrough in teleportation, he decides to test it on himself. Unbeknownst to him, a common housefly manages to get inside the device and the two become one.

79

7.0

/29788/

69

/676/

69

/591/

3.7

/63170/

92

/52/

81

/709/

92

/7/

3.5

Lemmy Caution is on a mission to eliminate Professor Von Braun, the creator of a malevolent computer that rules the city of Alphaville. Befriended by the scientist’s daughter Natasha, Lemmy must unravel the mysteries of the strictly logical Alpha 60 and teach Natasha the meaning of the word “love.”

79

7.8

/220772/

78

/5431/

76

/3563/

4.1

/250950/

98

/62/

90

/7405/

84

/18/

2.0

age 17+

Low-level bureaucrat Sam Lowry escapes the monotony of his day-to-day life through a recurring daydream of himself as a virtuous hero saving a beautiful damsel. Investigating a case that led to the wrongful arrest and eventual death of an innocent man instead of wanted terrorist Harry Tuttle, he meets the woman from his daydream, and in trying to help her gets caught in a web of mistaken identities, mindless bureaucracy and lies.

83

7.7

/630871/

77

/35696/

75

/13922/

4.0

/1208155/

92

/289/

86

/4641/

78

/42/

4.0

age 17+

Caleb, a coder at the world's largest internet company, wins a competition to spend a week at a private mountain retreat belonging to Nathan, the reclusive CEO of the company. But when Caleb arrives at the remote location he finds that he will have to participate in a strange and fascinating experiment in which he must interact with the world's first true artificial intelligence, housed in the body of a beautiful robot girl.

86

8.1

/1194315/

79

/53705/

76

/23650/

4.2

/1983078/

97

/439/

86

/11208/

90

/51/

4.0

age 16+

An apocalyptic story set in the furthest reaches of our planet, in a stark desert landscape where humanity is broken, and most everyone is crazed fighting for the necessities of life. Within this world exist two rebels on the run who just might be able to restore order.

84

8.2

/39469/

79

/1186/

78

/962/

4.3

/137138/

90

/29/

93

/732/

A man confronts his past during an experiment that attempts to find a solution to the problems of a post-apocalyptic world caused by a world war.

82

8.0

/222997/

81

/10739/

79

/4598/

4.3

/743812/

91

/55/

90

/8614/

68

/22/

MAL

8.1

/554418/

age 16+

A secret military project endangers Neo-Tokyo when it turns a biker gang member into a rampaging psychic psychopath that only two teenagers and a group of psychics can stop.

82

7.7

/59055/

74

/1615/

74

/1153/

3.8

/76088/

97

/58/

85

/957/

92

/16/

age 11+

A small-town doctor learns that the population of his community is being replaced by emotionless alien duplicates.

85

8.4

/832656/

82

/24827/

80

/10519/

4.1

/835346/

94

/143/

94

/22899/

84

/23/

3.5

age 15+

Ripley, the sole survivor of the Nostromo's deadly encounter with the monstrous Alien, returns to Earth after drifting through space in hypersleep for 57 years. Although her story is initially met with skepticism, she agrees to accompany a team of Colonial Marines back to LV-426.

84

8.0

/719649/

79

/27500/

78

/14960/

4.0

/2024158/

95

/294/

82

/5916/

91

/49/

3.5

age 16+

In the not so distant future, Theodore, a lonely writer, purchases a newly developed operating system designed to meet the user's every need. To Theodore's surprise, a romantic relationship develops between him and his operating system. This unconventional love story blends science fiction and romance in a sweet tale that explores the nature of love and the ways that technology isolates and connects us all.

78

7.5

/56659/

75

/1864/

72

/1019/

3.6

/39955/

92

/51/

85

/1430/

80

/15/

age 6+

Starship C57D travels to planet Altair 4 in search of the crew of spaceship "Bellerophon," a scientific expedition that has been missing for twenty years. They find themselves unwelcome by the expedition's lone survivor and warned of destruction by an invisible force if they don't turn back immediately.

81

7.6

/44670/

75

/1610/

76

/1066/

4.1

/148405/

94

/78/

89

/1072/

79

/20/

Japan is thrown into a panic after several ships are sunk near Odo Island. An expedition to the island led by Dr. Kyohei Yamane soon discover something far more devastating than imagined in the form of a 50 meter tall monster whom the natives call Gojira. Now the monster begins a rampage that threatens to destroy not only Japan, but the rest of the world as well.

86

IMDb 82

8.8

/2773250/

86

/84168/

83

/38473/

4.2

/3561441/

87

/363/

91

/41621/

74

/42/

4.0

age 14+

Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.

87

8.4

/1301974/

84

/47716/

81

/19785/

4.2

/2362408/

95

/258/

90

/50436/

95

/39/

3.5

age 5+

What if mankind had to leave Earth and somebody forgot to turn the last robot off? After hundreds of years doing what he was built for, WALL•E discovers a new purpose in life when he meets a sleek search robot named EVE. EVE comes to realize that WALL•E has inadvertently stumbled upon the key to the planet's future, and races back to space to report to the humans. Meanwhile, WALL•E chases EVE across the galaxy and sets into motion one of the most imaginative adventures ever brought to the big screen.

82

8.1

/991418/

80

/28303/

76

/14171/

3.9

/892563/

90

/130/

89

/19864/

84

/21/

age 15+

In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

73

7.2

/111591/

71

/3684/

72

/2385/

3.9

/342287/

83

/60/

80

/2714/

58

/6/

As the president of a trashy TV channel, Max Renn is desperate for new programming to attract viewers. When he happens upon "Videodrome," a TV show dedicated to gratuitous torture and punishment, Max sees a potential hit and broadcasts the show on his channel. However, after his girlfriend auditions for the show and never returns, Max investigates the truth behind Videodrome and discovers that the graphic violence may not be as fake as he thought.

87

8.5

/1430885/

85

/47175/

83

/21262/

4.2

/2405392/

92

/118/

95

/40116/

88

/27/

3.5

age 10+

Eighties teenager Marty McFly is accidentally sent back in time to 1955, inadvertently disrupting his parents' first meeting and attracting his mother's romantic interest. Marty must repair the damage to history by rekindling his parents' romance and - with the help of his eccentric inventor friend Doc Brown - return to 1985.

73

7.2

/161263/

73

/6275/

72

/3313/

3.8

/305531/

86

/76/

80

/3245/

55

/22/

age 16+

A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.

82

7.7

/893668/

74

/32983/

72

/16008/

3.5

/820239/

96

/361/

79

/16215/

96

/49/

4.0

age 14+

Dr. Ryan Stone, a brilliant medical engineer, is on her first Shuttle mission, with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski in command of his last flight before retiring. But on a seemingly routine spacewalk, disaster strikes. The Shuttle is destroyed, leaving Stone and Kowalski completely alone-tethered to nothing but each other and spiraling out into the blackness of space. The deafening silence tells them they have lost any link to Earth and any chance for rescue. As fear turns to panic, every gulp of air eats away at what little oxygen is left. But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.

84

8.1

/60089/

77

/2406/

79

/1924/

4.0

/250986/

100

/14/

90

/650/

Professor Barbenfouillis and five of his colleagues from the Academy of Astronomy travel to the Moon aboard a rocket propelled by a giant cannon. Once on the lunar surface, the bold explorers face the many perils hidden in the caves of the mysterious planet.

74

6.8

/6990/

66

/190/

66

/91/

3.6

/7182/

89

/28/

75

/191/

70

/16/

3.5

A mute alien with the appearance of a black human is chased by outer-space bounty hunters through the streets of Harlem.

79

7.4

/624874/

73

/24717/

69

/10627/

3.6

/443966/

93

/274/

82

/12127/

84

/44/

3.5

age 16+

In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.

80

7.6

/211415/

74

/8245/

73

/4033/

3.9

/233614/

93

/61/

86

/3474/

77

/15/