When we started compiling this list, we thought there’d be a tonne of sci-fi movies on Amazon Prime Video, so many that it was going to be hard to cull them all down into a ‘best’ list. To our surprise, that isn’t the case, but there are still a bunch of hidden science fiction gems on the shopping giant’s video streaming platform.
We’ve found you 14 sci-fi movies on Prime Video that we think you should watch if you’re a fan of the genre.
Best sci-fi movies on Prime Video
In no particular order, here are the best sci-fi movies on Prime Video worth your time, according to Gizmodo Australia.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
There’s no denying Everything Everywhere All at Once as the best sci-fi film of 2022. Everything Everywhere All at Once — starring Michelle Yeoh as Evelyn Wang, the matriarch of a Chinese-American family navigating the stresses of tax season for their struggling laundromat and, oh, a sinister entity carving a bloody path across the entire multiverse to erase every version of her in existence – is not a subtle film, and it demands that when you watch it, you suspend all your disbelief at the door.
The Matrix
The Matrix movie was the best one from the entire Matrix franchise, focusing the least on the leather-clad sci-fi aesthetics and the most on what really is reality. Though the original Matrix movie did have its fair share of leather, action and bullet-time (including the famous bullet-dodging scene), it also went the hardest on how we perceive reality (blue pills, red pills, black cat deja vu, all of it). But, compared to the second and third movies, it’s also the least energetic (despite being high action). While action-focused watchers may be more interested in the intense kung-fu and robot war scenes of Reloaded and Revolutions, The Matrix is the king.
Assassin’s Creed
Merging sci-fi with historical fiction, Assassin’s Creed is an adaption of the video game series of the same name, set during the Spanish Inquisition and following a modern-day assassin reliving the memories of his ancestor. Fans of the game might feel a bit underwhelmed by the movie, but it’s a good science-history adventure.
65
65 takes place, shockingly, 65 million years ago, but in the future. There’s a bit on. Adam Driver, playing Mills, is the pilot of a ship, the only person awake on it (as in, not in stasis) as it is hit by an asteroid and crash lands onto a mysterious planet. He’s joined by a passenger that wakes up shortly after, in what looks to be a lone wolf and cub plot. After this catastrophic crash the pair make their way across an unknown terrain riddled with dangerous prehistoric creatures in an epic fight to survive. It’s better than the Jurassic World series.
The Hunger Games
All four Hunger Games movies are on Prime Video, following Katniss Everdeen, a talented archer and resident of District 12, as she’s entered into the annual Hunger Games, which pits young people from all districts against each other in a brutal deathmatch. It’s a brilliant sci-fi action series of movies.
The Mist
The Mist comes recommended by a few people in the office. It’s the 2007 movie version of Stephen King’s novella, not the TV series that then followed. The synopsis is pretty easy to follow, “David and his son are trapped in a supermarket along with some other townsfolk, when suddenly a mist engulfs the entire city, bringing along bloodthirsty creatures that devour anyone in their path”, but it’s not for the easily scared.
Samaritan
More superhero than sci-fi, in Samaritan, a young boy suspects that his mysterious and reclusive neighbour Mr Smith is actually a legend hiding in plain sight. We’ve got a lot of thoughts on this Sylvester Stallone flick that only debuted this year, mostly that it does well enough in the genre, despite not having the history many other superhero flicks do. It’s worth a watch, at the very least.
Divergent
In Divergent, Tris Prior lives in a futuristic world in which society is divided into five factions. As each person enters adulthood, he or she must choose a faction and commit to it for life. Tris chooses Dauntless — those who pursue bravery above all else. However, her initiation leads to the discovery that she is a Divergent and will never be able to fit into just one faction. Warned that she must conceal her status, Tris uncovers a looming war which threatens everyone she loves. This is more a rite-of-passage film that also includes action (with the obvious romance and self-realisation parts, too).
The Tomorrow War
Between its iffy concept of time travel, predictable plot points, and rather shoddy sense of internal logic, The Tomorrow War was a movie that left you feeling as if Amazon insisted on letting one of its algorithms make tweaks to the final product before launching it online. Instead of improving on the many similar films it clearly borrowed notes from like Edge of Tomorrow and Independence Day, The Tomorrow War instead phoned it in by merely invoking the general tones of those classics when it easily could have tried to one-up or reimagine them. That being said, it’s a satisfying story and has plenty of entertaining action.
Last Survivors
Last Survivors is a mystery/sci-fi movie about a father and son who live off-grid and battle to survive against that which lies beyond the barriers of the woodland Utopia they have built together. It’s a typical survivalist film, but it deals with how best to endure a crisis and it’s actually quite an engaging watch.
Back to the Future
It’s shocking how few truly great science fiction comedy films there are, but BTTF would still tower above the rest even if there were tonnes. It’s clever and yet never stops being about Marty McFly and his family. It manages to come up with a coherent theory of time travel, in which you can rewrite the past and the effects are seen nearly instantaneously (luckily, Marty is only missing like an arm and a leg before the timestream rights itself) and never becomes inconsistent. And it’s surprisingly daring, jumping feet first into the tricky waters of time-travelling incest. Plus, it’s one of those science fiction movies that everybody, even genre-hating snobs, will admit to loving.
The Blackout
The Blackout packs sci-fi tropes in the first half and flat-out action in the second. The plot for this one is quite simple: life on Earth is rapidly destroyed except for a small area in Eastern Europe. Contact between most towns in Europe has been severed, yet there’s one place with electricity. And aliens.
Edge of Tomorrow
Edge of Tomorrow, starring Emily Blunt and Tom Cruise, takes place five years after a race of nearly invincible aliens called Mimics invaded Earth, turning 2020 into a futuristic hellscape where soldiers of the newly minted United Defence Force have to don bulky mech-suits just to stand a chance against them. It shows how quickly society can adapt when faced with an unprecedented threat, though in this case, it was by creating a massive military-industrial complex. A little different from the 2020 hell that actually was.
Totally Killer
OK this is a little bit of a cheat, but look at it as your Halloween treat. Totally Killer tells the tale of the infamous “Sweet Sixteen Killer” when he returns 35 years after his first murder spree.
There you go, 14 of the best sci-fi movies to binge on Amazon Prime Video. Head over to Prime Video to sign up.
Want more suggestions across the other streaming services? Check out our guide to the best sci-fi movies on Stan, the best sci-fi movies to watch on Netflix the best sci-fi movies on Binge, the best sci-fi movies on Disney+, the best sci-fi movies on Paramount+, and the best sci-fi movies on Apple TV+. This article has been updated since it was first published.
Image: Prime Video/Gizmodo Australia