When examining the sci-fi genre on HBO Max, the very first thing that stands out is the unusually high level of actual curation. Although the service’s total reach might not be nearly as wide as a service like Netflix, you’ve probably heard of a lot greater number of these movies. This is due to the fact that, in contrast to the picks on Hulu, Netflix, or (particularly) Amazon Prime, the majority of the choices aren’t contemporary, straight-to-VOD, low-budget movies with ambiguous, one-word titles. Instead, practically everything in this article has been widely distributed at a certain point.
Here are some of the best sci-fi movies on HBO Max.
2001: A Space Odyssey
The tale of everything was told by Stanley Kubrick 50 years ago, including the tale of life, the cosmology, pain, and setback, as well as how truth and time change as we, these inconsequential travelers, sail across it all, trying to change it all while unsure of whether we’ve actually changed anything. Published by Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke (whose book, envisioned along with the film script, saw release not long after the film’s debut), 2001: A Space Odyssey starts with the beginning of the human species and ends with what comes after all of us, rotating above our world like a god, a supposedly all-knowing, ideally kind fifth-dimensional spatial fetus, spanning innumerable light years and eons between.
Year: 1968
Director: Stanley Kubrick
IMDb: 8.3/10
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
James Cameron and co-writer William Wisher Jr. created an almost perfect action movie plot that turned the previous on its head and allowed Arnold to be the nice guy, making this one of the rare sequels that outperforms its predecessor. But what makes the movie so noteworthy is Linda Hamilton’s journey from helpless victim to kickass hero. Why must the men get to do all the exciting action movies, right?
Year: 1991
Director: James Cameron
Ex Machina
Recent research in artificial intelligence in the actual world has affirmed something far more murkier about the human expedient: If given the advanced technologies to design reasoning, feeling robots, we would always try to have physical intimacy with them. Popular motion pictures have taught us that no matter what we want to do, robots which become self-aware will inevitably rise up and murder us. Always. The beautifully eerie movie by Alex Garland appears to aim to close that gap. Ex Machina draws inspiration from well-known antecedents like 2001: A Space Odyssey and AI, and some people will even link it to Her. However, it stands by itself as an expressionistic and captivating movie that never overuses CGI and instead relies on the considerable abilities of a tiny cast.
Year: 2015
Director: Alex Garland
IMDb: 7.7/10
Blade Runner 2049
Since Ridley Scott produced one genre work of art after another waffling over the question of what constitutes “reality,” the discussion has evolved into a staple of adult-oriented sci-fi fare. However, Blade Runner 2049 excels in how closely Villeneuve (along with writers Hampton Fancher as well as Michael Green) try to have us feel this realm through the utterly incredible eyes of a Replicant, K. (Ryan Gosling). The best case scenario is when empathy—caring about these robots—is the inevitable outcome of the filmmakers’ narrative, forcing us to consider what “humanity” is.
Year: 2017
Director: Denis Villeneuve
IMDb: 8/10
28 Days Later
After a million shows of The Walking Dead, we’re pretty zombie-ed out these days, however when 28 Days Later originally came out, it seemed like a new take on the genre. The zombies in 28 Days Later are as swift as they’re vicious, making each interaction with them horrifying, as opposed to ponderous, moaning corpses. You can not just slip by these men; you avoid them. When you spot them, you flee.
IMDb: 7.5/10
The Matrix and The Antimatrix
The Matrix’s simulated universe transformed the ordinary world we live in into a haven for rebels wearing trench coats and G Men who appear to be present all at once. This movie manages to make almost every moment unforgettable and quotable. The movies that came after, whilst not quite living up to the hype, are nonetheless worth seeing since they masterfully blend philosophy, science, and cinematography into one grand whole.
The Antimatrix investigates the numerous potential manifestations of the Matrix in the vast world of possibilities. This animated anthology explains the rise of the machines, the methods in which people attempt to resist technology, and the various ways through which the Matrix can malfunction. If you adore The Matrix yet long for more than just Neo and his team, The Antimatrix is what you’re looking for.
The Day After Tomorrow
The name of this film may suggest a romantic comedy, but that couldn’t be any further from the truth. The 2004 movie centers on Jack (Dennis Quaid) and Sam Hall, a father and his son (Jake Gyllenhaal). Sam is merely trying to stay in New York City, whereas Jack believes the globe is poised to undergo a significant, overnight climate change that would usher in a new Ice Age. The Day After Tomorrow is a great catastrophe movie because it is so amusing to watch and because it is so completely detached from reality.
IMDb: 6.4/10
Equilibrium
Finally, somebody dared asking: what if Fahrenheit 451 featured some incredibly amusing gun battles? Christian Bale’s first science fiction movie is Equilibrium.
Bale plays a Tetragrammaton Cleric, an enforcer and researcher trained to put down any incidents of protest against Libria’s emotionless government. The story is set in a future where individuals use drugs to suppress their emotions and, as a result, lose passion for art, entertainment, and anything else that makes us passionate. Gun Kata, which treats handguns more like weapon loadouts than ranged ones, is used by the clerics to combat the revolutionaries. The plot is straightforward; from the very beginning, you are aware of the ending. However, the characters have gravitas thanks to Bale and co-star Sean Bean, and the action scenes are definitely worth the admission fee.
IMDb: 7.3/10
Moon
Our moon has lots of helium, however the Earth is running out. In the coming years, Sam Bell, a single employee of Lunar Industries, will oversee an automated service that harvests helium-3 from the moon’s surface. Sam suspects that not all he’s been informed is real as he starts to hallucinate. The science-fiction director Duncan Jones crafts a personal, stunning film that incorporates issues of capitalism, machine intelligence, and humanity.
IMDb:7.8/10
Pacific Rim
Although Pan’s Labyrinth as well as the Devil’s Backbone are among Guillermo del Toro’s most well-known somber, tense, and spooky movies, Hellboy and Blade II serve as a good refresher that he is simply a big nerd with a keen eye for cinema. While those films drew their influence from comic books, Pacific Rim does the same with Japanese Kaiju creatures like Godzilla and stories about enormous heroes like Ultraman and Power Rangers. Featuring engaging appearances from stars like Charlie Day, Idris Elba, and Ron Perlman, Pacific Rim also features fascinating spectacular effects that display the clashes between the marine monsters that emerge from the depths and the mecha operators who work tirelessly to fend them off.
Rotten Tomatoes: 71%