Sci-fi manages to find a way into Netflix’s batch of most popular movies in December. This week, Subservience is the sci-fi movie shooting up the charts. If M3GAN was a beautiful woman, then it would be the robot in Subservience. Many of the film’s scenes are going viral on social media, including one that involves a shower you’ll have to see to believe.
Beyond the homepage, the streamer’s sci-fi genre page features action movies, blockbusters, indies, thrillers, and comedies. There is something for every sci-fi lover. To make your decision easier, read our guide for the best sci-fi movies to watch this month. Our picks include the sequel to a popular live-action franchise, a family comedy, and a polarizing adaptation of a famous author’s popular novel.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Subservience (2024)
Megan Fox is an attractive AI with an evil side in Subservience, a sci-fi thriller by director S.K. Dale. When his wife, Maggie (Madeline Zima), is hospitalized for a heart condition, Nick (Michele Morrone) must become Mr. Mom and take care of his two kids, Isla (Matilda Firth) and Max (Jude Allen Greenstein). Because of his job in construction, Nick struggles to complete the domestic tasks required at home. Looking for help, Nick purchases Alice (Fox), a womanlike android designed to help around the house.
Alice becomes a godsend for the family at first. Over time, Alice becomes attached to the family, so much so that it leads to violence. When Maggie returns home, Alice is unwilling to relinquish her power as the home’s matriarch. Subservience becomes a fight for survival as humans battle artificial intelligence.
Stream Subservience on Netflix.
Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (2009)
Two years after the events of Transformers, Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf) wants to live a normal life, so he attends college. Unfortunately, things can never be normal because the Autobots and Decepticons remain at war. At least this time, Optimus Prime (Peter Cullen) and the Autobots have an alliance with the U.S. military to protect the world from the Decepticons. After being resurrected, Megatron (Hugo Weaving) summons the original Decepticon, The Fallen (Tony Todd).
Hell-bent on revenge, The Fallen orders the Decepticons to kill Sam and find a new Energon source to replace the AllSpark. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen won’t land on any “best of” list. However, the Transformers sequel is peak Michael Bay — loud, explosive, and a lot of CGI. To his many fans, it’s pure Bayhem bliss.
Stream Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen on Netflix.
Pixels (2015)
Adam Sandler isn’t particularly known for sci-fi. However, he applies a comedic touch to an alien invasion in Pixels. After mistakenly perceiving video games as an act of war, aliens attack and invade Earth. President Will “Chewie” Cooper (Kevin James) turns to his best friend, Sam Brenner (Sandler), for help. Brenner installs electronics for a living, but as a child, he had a reputation as a video game champion. Why is that relevant? The aliens challenge humanity to a best-of-five video game battle, and Brenner is an expert in arcade warfare.
With the help of Lieutenant Colonel Violet van Patten (Michelle Monaghan) and fellow gamer Ludlow “The Wonder Kid” Lamonsoff (Josh Gad), Brenner and Cooper prepare for battle to save the planet. However, there’s one thing missing. Brenner has to swallow his pride and recruit his archrival Eddie “The Fireblaster” Plant (Peter Dinklage) to the team.
Stream Pixels on Netflix.
Stealth (2005)
It was only a matter of time before artificial intelligence reached the military. In Stealth, the U.S. Navy recruits three pilots — Ben Gannon (Josh Lucas), Henry Purcell (Jamie Foxx), and Kara Wade (Jessica Biel) — to train the Extreme Deep Invader (EDI), an unmanned plane controlled by AI. The EDI quickly learns attack maneuvers and proves its value when it helps in a mission to kill terrorists.
After being struck by lightning, the EDI is reprogrammed to become a dangerous weapon. The EDI becomes so powerful that the plane goes rogue, endangering every pilot around it. Instead of fighting their enemies, the trio of pilots must combat the EDI and regain control before it leads to global destruction. It’s not Top Gun, but Stealth has a cool premise and a couple of fun sequences.
Stream Stealth on Netflix.
The Dark Tower (2017)
Admittedly, The Dark Tower is more science fantasy than science fiction. For the sake of variety, we’re putting The Dark Tower on the list to praise Idris Elba’s performance, if nothing else. Based on Stephen King’s novel series, The Dark Tower follows Jake Chambers (Tom Taylor), an 11-year-old boy who has visions of the villainous Walter O’Dim (Matthew McConaughey), aka the Man in Black. Jake’s visions lead him to enter a portal into the Mid-World. It’s in the Mid-World where Jake meets Roland Deschain (Idris Elba), the Gunslinger.
The Man in Black represents evil, while Roland fights for good. Roland teams with Jake to fight the Man in Black for control of the Dark Tower, which holds the key to the universe. The Dark Tower is not a perfect adaptation, but it’s an interesting preview of what could happen if the right creator tackles King’s book. Thankfully, Mike Flanagan plans to make a Dark Tower TV show.
Stream The Dark Tower on Netflix.
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