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The Best Sci-Fi and Fantasy Movies of the 21st Century So Far, Ranked
1. Donnie Darko: The Director's Cut (2004)
Ranking the 21st century's best sci-fi and fantasy movies isn't easy. There are cold, hard numbers to consider, such as Metacritic scores. But there's also the intangible feeling that a movie gives an audience–the surprise and delight of seeing an old genre in a new way. For our ranking, we took critical reception into account, but we also went with our hearts.
At No. 1: Donnie Darko.
The original release of this smartly crafted, moving portrait of a gifted but disturbed kid (Jake Gyllenhaal) became a cult favorite. And the director's cut adds extra depth to the subversive teen's time travels through alternative universes, as he manipulates his fate in this surreal, mind-bending cult film. See it again for the first time.
(Metacritic score: 88)
Photo by: Newmarket Films
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Jim Carrey does his best serious acting job ever as a man who wants to forget a painful love and then fights to regain it. This twisted romance is charmingly sincere in its comedic and dramatic vision of love and loss, combined with a mind-bending take on how to move forward and start anew. Eccentric but accessible, it's a memorable masterwork of the fantasy genre.
(Metacritic score: 89)
Photo by: Focus Features
3. WALL-E (2008)
Robot charmer WALL-E was built to serve as a cleaner for a filthy, decimated Earth (so humans can one day return to our trashed planet). Our eco-warrior hero basks in the loneliness of his toil, but the story morphs into a refreshingly comic romance that effortlessly delves into what it means to be truly human.
(Metacritic score: 94)
(Photo by: Pixar)
4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
It's the wirework – sequence after sequence of sublimely exaggerated martial arts fights – and the magical sword that technically make this movie a fantasy. But it's everything else – the production design, the romance, the intrigue, the choreography, the supremely confident acting – that makes it a must-see.
(Metacritic score: 93)
(Photo by: Sony Pictures Classics)
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Often (and rightly) described as the best movie in the Harry Potter series, this is also the only film directed by the incomparable Alfonso Cuarón. Mysterious escaped con Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) and a canny score add even more magic.
(Metacritic score: 82)
(Photo by: Warner Bros.)
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
If we had to pick one entry in the Lord of the Rings series (and we should), it would have to be this one. The picture fleshes out Tolkien's often two-dimensional world of heroes and villains, adding gritty footage of refugees and other elements that elevate this story beyond mere fantasy. The Two Towers also happens to be a darned capable war picture; the Battle of Helm's Deep (or the Hornburg, if you prefer) gets better with each viewing.
(Metacritic score: 88)
(Photo by: New Line Cinema)
7. Spirited Away (2001)
Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki has had a hand in many 21st-century films beyond this one, including The Wind Rises, The Cat Returns and the adorable Ponyo. But this film, with its unique cast of bad-news spirits taking their ease at a supernatural spa, has a heft and a creative confidence that goes beyond most animated movies of any century.
(Metacritic score: 94)
(Photo by: Toho/Studio Ghibli)
8. Let the Right One In (2008)
Don't mix up this one with the American remake that bowed in 2010. Top critics call this Swedish flick one of the greatest supernatural films of the new millennium, and they're right. We won't give anything away, except to say this: If it's at all possible to feel sorry for a bully, this film will bring out that sympathy.
(Metacritic score: 82)
(Photo by: Magnolia Pictures)
9. Gravity (2013)
After debris wrecks their shuttle, astronauts must find a way to return to earth in this beautiful look into humanity's attempt to survive the catastrophic abyss of space. The tension is sky high, the visual effects are amazing and the acting is superb from Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in this state-of-the-art sci-fi tale from Alfonso Cuarón.
(Metacritic score: 96)
(Photo by: Warner Bros.)
10. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
The very real aftermath of the Spanish Civil War blends with a dark mythology about a mysterious faun in a tale that's hauntingly gorgeous–if not a little melodrama-prone toward the end. Doug Jones, who plays the faun, rivals Andy Serkis as one of the greatest creature actors of his time, and his work here is superb.
(Metacritic score: 98)
(Photo by: Picturehouse)
11. Children of Men (2006)
Yes, really: Again with the Cuarón. But when a director is a genius, he's a genius.
A fertility crisis finds the human race on the brink of extinction, with terrorism running rampant. Clive Owen stars as the world-weary man smuggling an expectant mother to a safe zone. Though there's plenty of action and intrigue, the most dramatic moments come from the simple primal moments we take for granted, like a mother giving birth, or the cry of a newborn baby.
(Metacritic score: 84)
(Photo by: Universal Pictures)
12. Battle Royale (2000)
Teens taken to an island and forced to fight to the death might stir Hunger Games comparisons, but this Japanese dystopian thriller is a grittier, more gruesome take on the child-gladiator theme. (It also happens to have come years before the Suzanne Collins novel.) Ain't no Katniss all up in here, so be prepared for gore galore and a more realistic take on police state brutality.
(Metacritic score: 81)
(Photo by: Toei Co.)
13. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
A movie about a castle, a wizard, a prince and a witch's curse could be all kinds of trite, but this is Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli we're dealing with. Nothing is ever dull. If you're not yet familiar with the animated works of Japan's answer to Walt Disney, this movie is a great way to get introduced.
(Metacritic score: 80)
(Photo by: Studio Ghibli)
14: How to Train Your Dragon
A certain class of animated fantasy films (including a series that will not be named here) tends to rely on lazy pop culture references and glib one-liners instead of character observation or a compelling story.
This is not one of those films. Anyone who has owned (and adored) a house cat will recognize the great care that the filmmakers took to develop their main dragon, Toothless, and the voice talent is top-notch.
(Photo by: DreamWorks)
(Metacritic score: 74)
15. Looper (2012)
A time-traveling assassin must murder himself in this loopy bit of sci-fi co-starring Bruce Willis and an awkwardly-made-up Joseph Gordon-Levitt. A bit like Inception without the WTF overload, Looper explores youth, old age, morality and time travel paradoxes in an action-packed ball of excitement.
(Metacritic score: 84)
16. Paprika (2006)
Dream intervention becomes a nightmare in this cautionary tale of cyberpunk psychiatry from Japanese animator Kon. Paprika is the alter ego of Dr. Atsuko Chiba, who gets inside patient's dreams to help them, though of course, other dark forces also are breaking and entering. It's wild and worrisome brand of psychedelia interwoven with a compelling detective story. Definitely worth the trip.
(Metacritic score: 81)
(Photo by: SPE Japan)
17. District 9 (2009)
Space aliens meet apartheid in this faux documentary-style fantasy, where crustacean-like creatures are derided as Prawns and shunted off to their own shabby "homeland" in South Africa. Man's inhumanity to, well, inhumanity, gets even weirder when a human becomes an accidental hybrid with the ability to control alien weapons. Quirky-cool and creative, District 9 is a space film that's a chase film and a whole lotta thoughtful fun.
(Metacritic score: 81)
(Photo by: TriStar Pictures)
18. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
This is not an epic fantasy, or a smart fantasy, or even a particularly good fantasy. But it is a fantasy that, for the first time, gave us Johnny Depp in a role that would make him even more ridiculously famous than he already was. Depp's genius interpretation of Jack Sparrow, a mix between Blackbeard and Keith Richards, is a heady mug o' grog. The movie is worth seeing for his performance alone.
(Metacritic score: 63)
(Photo by: Buena Vista Pictures)
More...
Ranking the 21st century's best sci-fi and fantasy movies isn't easy. There are cold, hard numbers to consider, such as Metacritic scores. But there's also the intangible feeling that a movie gives an audience–the surprise and delight of seeing an old genre in a new way. For our ranking, we took critical reception into account, but we also went with our hearts.
At No. 1: Donnie Darko.
The original release of this smartly crafted, moving portrait of a gifted but disturbed kid (Jake Gyllenhaal) became a cult favorite. And the director's cut adds extra depth to the subversive teen's time travels through alternative universes, as he manipulates his fate in this surreal, mind-bending cult film. See it again for the first time.
(Metacritic score: 88)
Photo by: Newmarket Films
2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
Jim Carrey does his best serious acting job ever as a man who wants to forget a painful love and then fights to regain it. This twisted romance is charmingly sincere in its comedic and dramatic vision of love and loss, combined with a mind-bending take on how to move forward and start anew. Eccentric but accessible, it's a memorable masterwork of the fantasy genre.
(Metacritic score: 89)
Photo by: Focus Features
3. WALL-E (2008)
Robot charmer WALL-E was built to serve as a cleaner for a filthy, decimated Earth (so humans can one day return to our trashed planet). Our eco-warrior hero basks in the loneliness of his toil, but the story morphs into a refreshingly comic romance that effortlessly delves into what it means to be truly human.
(Metacritic score: 94)
(Photo by: Pixar)
4. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
It's the wirework – sequence after sequence of sublimely exaggerated martial arts fights – and the magical sword that technically make this movie a fantasy. But it's everything else – the production design, the romance, the intrigue, the choreography, the supremely confident acting – that makes it a must-see.
(Metacritic score: 93)
(Photo by: Sony Pictures Classics)
5. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)
Often (and rightly) described as the best movie in the Harry Potter series, this is also the only film directed by the incomparable Alfonso Cuarón. Mysterious escaped con Sirius Black (Gary Oldman) and a canny score add even more magic.
(Metacritic score: 82)
(Photo by: Warner Bros.)
6. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
If we had to pick one entry in the Lord of the Rings series (and we should), it would have to be this one. The picture fleshes out Tolkien's often two-dimensional world of heroes and villains, adding gritty footage of refugees and other elements that elevate this story beyond mere fantasy. The Two Towers also happens to be a darned capable war picture; the Battle of Helm's Deep (or the Hornburg, if you prefer) gets better with each viewing.
(Metacritic score: 88)
(Photo by: New Line Cinema)
7. Spirited Away (2001)
Japanese master Hayao Miyazaki has had a hand in many 21st-century films beyond this one, including The Wind Rises, The Cat Returns and the adorable Ponyo. But this film, with its unique cast of bad-news spirits taking their ease at a supernatural spa, has a heft and a creative confidence that goes beyond most animated movies of any century.
(Metacritic score: 94)
(Photo by: Toho/Studio Ghibli)
8. Let the Right One In (2008)
Don't mix up this one with the American remake that bowed in 2010. Top critics call this Swedish flick one of the greatest supernatural films of the new millennium, and they're right. We won't give anything away, except to say this: If it's at all possible to feel sorry for a bully, this film will bring out that sympathy.
(Metacritic score: 82)
(Photo by: Magnolia Pictures)
9. Gravity (2013)
After debris wrecks their shuttle, astronauts must find a way to return to earth in this beautiful look into humanity's attempt to survive the catastrophic abyss of space. The tension is sky high, the visual effects are amazing and the acting is superb from Sandra Bullock and George Clooney in this state-of-the-art sci-fi tale from Alfonso Cuarón.
(Metacritic score: 96)
(Photo by: Warner Bros.)
10. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
The very real aftermath of the Spanish Civil War blends with a dark mythology about a mysterious faun in a tale that's hauntingly gorgeous–if not a little melodrama-prone toward the end. Doug Jones, who plays the faun, rivals Andy Serkis as one of the greatest creature actors of his time, and his work here is superb.
(Metacritic score: 98)
(Photo by: Picturehouse)
11. Children of Men (2006)
Yes, really: Again with the Cuarón. But when a director is a genius, he's a genius.
A fertility crisis finds the human race on the brink of extinction, with terrorism running rampant. Clive Owen stars as the world-weary man smuggling an expectant mother to a safe zone. Though there's plenty of action and intrigue, the most dramatic moments come from the simple primal moments we take for granted, like a mother giving birth, or the cry of a newborn baby.
(Metacritic score: 84)
(Photo by: Universal Pictures)
12. Battle Royale (2000)
Teens taken to an island and forced to fight to the death might stir Hunger Games comparisons, but this Japanese dystopian thriller is a grittier, more gruesome take on the child-gladiator theme. (It also happens to have come years before the Suzanne Collins novel.) Ain't no Katniss all up in here, so be prepared for gore galore and a more realistic take on police state brutality.
(Metacritic score: 81)
(Photo by: Toei Co.)
13. Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
A movie about a castle, a wizard, a prince and a witch's curse could be all kinds of trite, but this is Miyazaki's Studio Ghibli we're dealing with. Nothing is ever dull. If you're not yet familiar with the animated works of Japan's answer to Walt Disney, this movie is a great way to get introduced.
(Metacritic score: 80)
(Photo by: Studio Ghibli)
14: How to Train Your Dragon
A certain class of animated fantasy films (including a series that will not be named here) tends to rely on lazy pop culture references and glib one-liners instead of character observation or a compelling story.
This is not one of those films. Anyone who has owned (and adored) a house cat will recognize the great care that the filmmakers took to develop their main dragon, Toothless, and the voice talent is top-notch.
(Photo by: DreamWorks)
(Metacritic score: 74)
15. Looper (2012)
A time-traveling assassin must murder himself in this loopy bit of sci-fi co-starring Bruce Willis and an awkwardly-made-up Joseph Gordon-Levitt. A bit like Inception without the WTF overload, Looper explores youth, old age, morality and time travel paradoxes in an action-packed ball of excitement.
(Metacritic score: 84)
16. Paprika (2006)
Dream intervention becomes a nightmare in this cautionary tale of cyberpunk psychiatry from Japanese animator Kon. Paprika is the alter ego of Dr. Atsuko Chiba, who gets inside patient's dreams to help them, though of course, other dark forces also are breaking and entering. It's wild and worrisome brand of psychedelia interwoven with a compelling detective story. Definitely worth the trip.
(Metacritic score: 81)
(Photo by: SPE Japan)
17. District 9 (2009)
Space aliens meet apartheid in this faux documentary-style fantasy, where crustacean-like creatures are derided as Prawns and shunted off to their own shabby "homeland" in South Africa. Man's inhumanity to, well, inhumanity, gets even weirder when a human becomes an accidental hybrid with the ability to control alien weapons. Quirky-cool and creative, District 9 is a space film that's a chase film and a whole lotta thoughtful fun.
(Metacritic score: 81)
(Photo by: TriStar Pictures)
18. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
This is not an epic fantasy, or a smart fantasy, or even a particularly good fantasy. But it is a fantasy that, for the first time, gave us Johnny Depp in a role that would make him even more ridiculously famous than he already was. Depp's genius interpretation of Jack Sparrow, a mix between Blackbeard and Keith Richards, is a heady mug o' grog. The movie is worth seeing for his performance alone.
(Metacritic score: 63)
(Photo by: Buena Vista Pictures)
More...