Top 10 Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies of 2021 (2023)

All artists have to draw on real life experiences to create their stories, but the human imagination is too vast to be satisfied with just the occurrences of daily life. Dreaming of different worlds, different beings, and different essential truths is the central draw of science fiction and fantasy media.

When even the wildest concepts can be animated or created through practical effects and CGI, movies in these genres stumble over each other, trying to be more imaginative and more awe-inspiring. That competition has compounded over the years, and in 2021, the science fiction and fantasy genres have produced some of the most exciting and unorthodox works to date. And some of the most popular movies in these genres have already been selected for the Oscar's shortlist. Here are the top ten science fiction and fantasy movies of 2021.

10/10 Don’t Look Up

Don’t Look Up plays with intriguing satirical ideas, describing a portrait of a society divided by news of an impending comet that will kill everyone. The metaphor is immediately visible, and unfortunately, this film doesn’t necessarily add anything to the conversation of political division, and runs the risk of trivializing it at times. The star-studded ensemble cast features Jennifer Lawrence, Timothee Chalamet, and Leonardo DiCaprio (who also helped write part of the film), and many others. The sprawling talent create many memorable moments of real laughter, but the plot is unable to overcome the weight of too many half-baked metaphors for this ideological divide.

Related: Don't Look Up Review: Netflix's Sledgehammer Satire of America's Political Divisions

9/10 The Tomorrow War

(Video) Top 10 Sci-Fi Movies of 2021

The Tomorrow War begins with one of the most tenuous premises in recent sci-fi history: military personnel in the future return to the past to recruit soldiers for their future war against invading aliens. Despite some interesting designs and an almost coherent aesthetic, the movie presents a set of stakes that is difficult to connect to, uninspiring performances from its cast, and a plot progression that seems to want to sedate the audience rather than entertain or challenge them. There are some action scenes and comedic moments that will produce a momentary rush for the senses, but nothing that separates this film from other C+ sci-fi. With any luck, an already in-development sequel will chart a new course for the story.

8/10 Finch

After a solar flare wipes out most of humanity and turns Earth into an inhospitable hellscape, scientist Finch Weinberg tries to engineer an intelligent robot that will take over as the caretaker of his dog before Weinberg himself succumbs to an illness. Although Finch borrows many elements of other post-apocalyptic science fiction stories, it still creates a memorable and emotional drama about what it means to be human. Tom Hanks’ gives a stellar and charming performance as usual, carrying the weight of a fatal illness and a destitute world with ease. There’s a cynical attitude shared by critics who have seen too many movies with similar elements, but there is a heart to this film that is very difficult to ignore.

7/10 The Green Knight

The Green Knight is an adaptation of an arthurian legend in the form of a poem into a strange, beautiful, but desolate tale about the pitfalls of cowardice. Directed by David Lowery, whose previous works include Pete’s Dragon and A Ghost Story, the film is brimming with his talent for mysterious, visually distinct world-building. Dev Patel, playing the lead, balances the indulgent brashness of youth with a deep sense of duty. There’s a familiar fairy-tale setting and atmosphere that will resonate with many, but the plot’s winding twists and turns may be confusing for some.

Related: The Green Knight First Reviews Praise Dev Patel's Performance in This Arthurian Classic

6/10 Nightbooks

Nightbooks is a wonderful new horror-comedy for kids, but there is still plenty to appreciate for older viewers in its lovely, idealistic world. A young boy named Alex with a penchant for writing scary stories stumbles into a witch’s apartment who demands he produce stories for her every night or meet the same demise as the other kids who have failed her at the same task. The movie’s structure will be familiar to anyone who is captivated by the cinematic task of imparting hope and joy on to young people, but it's also a reminder that these movies are effective and special for the values they celebrate. The performances of the main cast and the special effects make some moments feel genuinely scary. This is a movie that offers a lot of emotional substance, and doesn't rest on the youthful heart that beats behind the screen.

5/10 Ghostbusters: Afterlife

After the women-led Ghostbusters movie released to a generally negative reception, director Jason Reitman decided to produce a sequel to the original movies. Ghostbusters: Afterlife follows the family of Egon Spengler, one of the original ghostbusters played by Harold Ramis, who move to a farm owned by Egon after his death and find it to be a little too haunted for comfort. It’s mostly a movie produced to access the nostalgia of the original, and generally offers enough of its own flavor to appease fans of the original series. As a new iteration in the franchise, it doesn’t offer much new substance to create excitement for the future, though a video game adaptation of the series is in the works.

4/10 Godzilla Vs. Kong

There is a beautiful simplicity to Godzilla vs Kong that’s communicated in full by its title. A follow up to the huge existing canon of Godzilla movies as well as to Kong: Skull Island, the movie deepens the mythology of “hollow earth”, where massive monstrous titans once made their domain that now roam the surface of the earth and occasionally lay waste to entire cities. As expected, Godzilla and Kong fight in one of the most expensive-looking CGI sequences in recent memory, and the question of which titan can claim the earth’s surface as their home is uncertain. Most of the plot details and human characters are generally not memorable, but the novelty of seeing two giant monsters fight on screen is definitely worthwhile.

3/10 Dune

A triumph of production and casting, Dune features some of the most talented minds in Hollywood: Denis Vileneuve, Hans Zimmer, Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson, Oscar Isaac, Zendaya, and many more. The film is the second live-action adaptation of the seminal work of science fiction from 1965 by the same name. Presented as an epic religious text using some of the most colorful ideas in science fiction, the book's vivid imagination translates spectacularly to the screen thanks to the production team's inspired design choices. In the world of Dune, a family of nobility takes over as the caretakers of a harsh desert world (think imperialism in space), and must seek shelter and wisdom from the indigenous people and other forces to partake in a sprawling intergalactic chess game.

Related: Dune Crosses $100 Million at Domestic Box Office

2/10 Titane

The horror of Titane goes further than the shock of seeing a well-created CGI monster or ghost. In this film, a woman with a deeply troubled past turns to murder and has sex with cars to act out the traumas of her past. As silly as the premise may seem, the surreal elements of the story are intended to be metaphors for the imperfections of our bodies and the stifling need for intimacy at all costs. Sex and gender are among these surreal elements, and are treated like fluid and changing qualities to characterize the horrifying but deeply human experience of the protagonist. Deeply weird and unsettling, this is a movie that must be met on the plane of its bizarre ideas.

1/10 Free Guy

What if the horrifying truth the world of The Matrix, that everyone was living in a simulation world, was actually a fun and lighthearted reality? Aimed at gen-z gamers, Free Guy is built on lots of in-jokes to that community, even incorporating cameos from popular gamers from the real world. It's a heartwarming story about deviated programming, the insatiable power hunger of humans, and the power of love. There are plenty of fun action sequences and comedic bits, though some of these moments and references felt a little too derivative of other movies that depict a simulation world. Still, Free Guy is a thrilling theater experience and audiences of all ages will find something to connect with in this upside down world of indulgence and play.