2023 turned out to be a pretty good year for those of us who enjoy science fiction and fantasy movies. Here’s my list of the top 10 best science fiction movies of the past year.
10. Robots. A somewhat surprisingly good movie about a near-future in which robot dopplegangers are commonplace. Gold-digger Elaine (Shailene Woodley) and womanizer Charles (Jake Whitehall) have each illegally commissioned robot replacements of themselves so that they can avoid the hassles of dating and the boredom of work. But then their robot doubles meet and fall in love. An unexpectedly funny and heartwarming story follows that is part comedic heist and part rom com, but fully entertaining. The movie is available on Hulu.
9. The Marvels. An exciting and fun romp around the universe follows Carol Danvers Brie Larson), Kamala Khan (Iman Vellani) and Monica Rambeau (Teyonah Parris) as they try to save the universe despite instantly swapping places everytime they try to use their powers. The movie doesn’t let itself get too bogged down in an overcomplicated story–a refreshing change from most modern superhero movies–and provides a lot of genuine humor, primarily thanks to Vellani’s wonderful performance as a star-struck fan of Danvers. The movie is available on Disney+.
8. Totally Killer. I never thought to answer the question, “what if you did a mash-up of Back to the Future and Scream?” but maybe that’s why I don’t work in Hollywood. On paper, that probably shouldn’t work, but on film it completely does. 35 years after a killing spree in a small town, the serial killer returns, but when young Jamie (Keirnan Shipka) is accidentally sent back in time, she’s determined to stop the killer before he ever begins. Funny and sweet, which just enough slasher-film mixed in, it’s definitely worth your time to check out. The movie is available on Amazon Prime Video.
7. M3GAN. On the surface, a child’s toy goes rogue and bad things happen. But this is as much an exploration of the dangers of AI as anything; earlier in the year, when the movie irst debuted, I don’t think many predicted that we’d spend so much time in 2023 discussing the real-world implications of AI. While we’re (thankfully) still some way off from sentient killer robots, the movie provides a surprisingly timely tale. M3GAN is available on Amazon Prime Video.
6. Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The world of high fantasy has many more misses than hits, so you had to have one heck of an optimistic outlook to be truly excited about this movie. But thankfully, the creative team came up with a seriously light and funny romp that perfectly captures so much of the game that it’s one of the best game adaptations ever. And thanks to pitch-perfect casting, particularly with Chris Pine and Michelle Rodriguez, that you can’t help but enjoy watching. The movie is available on Amazon Prime Video.
5. If You Were The Last. I’ll admit I stopped this movie about 10 minutes in and needed to do some reading to make sure I wasn’t missing something. The tale of two astronauts who believe they are hopelessly stranded somewhere between Jupiter and Saturn, and so, despite each being married to someone else on Earth, start discussing if they should do it because, really, they’re running out of other ways to entertain themselves and each other. What follows is a sweet rom com that does what all great movies in the genre do: make you laugh and cry at the same time. And that thing that almost made me not watch? Well, you’ll see right away that the movie has a pretty unique visual style. But unlike overwrought films from the likes of Wes Anderson, there’s actually a reason for it, and once it’s revealed, the movie is all the more touching. See for yourself on Peacock.
4. The Creator. Gareth Edwards has directed some of the best sci-fi in the last decade, including Rogue One and Monsters, and he continues that streak with a tale of a future in which AI nearly destroyed humanity, and now the humans seek revenge. But an undercover operative who got a little too undercover has a crisis of conscience and ends up trying to protect the AI’s last hope. Like M3GAN is a timely story of AI and how humanity may someday have to deal with what we create, but it also touches on other current issues like genocide and the nature of the cost of victory in war. The Creator is available on Hulu.
3. Spider-Man: Across the Spiderverse. The last animted Spider-Man was unquestionably one of the best films of 2018, and the follow up delivers on the first film’s promise. It’s rare when Hollywood actually manages to craft a sequel that’s every bit as great as the first, but in these movies they pull it off. And they manage to show that a movie about the multiverse doesn’t have to be as convoluted as what they’re trying to do in the live-action Marvel films. Here’s to hoping that we get many more of these, but in the meantime, you can watch this movie on Netflix.
2. Nimona. After seeing Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, I was convinced the race for best animated film of 2023 was over. But then I saw Nimona. Based on the graphic novel of the same name, Nimona is set in a fantasy world in which knights in shining armor still defend the realm, albiet mounted on levitating speeder bikes. The movie has plenty of action, but at its heart it’s really a story about bigotry, and about how those we trust maybe shouldn’t be trusted quite as much, and those we hate might just be the ones to save one. Gorgeously animation brings the unique world to life, and if you aren’t crying by the end, then you might be dead inside. Nimona is on Netflix.
1. Godzilla Minus One. In the almost 70 years since Godzilla first terrorized Tokyo, it’s had iterations as a terrible monster (terribly rendered with bad FX), a friend to humanity, an alegory for everything from the atomic bomb to war in general, and the subject of more than 30 movies, good and bad. Today, there exist two entirely separate incarnations of the monster: there’s the American series (currently as a TV series on Apple+) that is much more about effects and action, and the Japanese version. With Godzilla Minus One, the Japanese not only reclaim the monster’s original message–nuclear war is bad–but bring forth a character study of the effects of PTSD, government policy that cares little (if at all for life), and the real meaning of honor and sacrfice. And wrapped into all of that is one of the more usual love stories you’ll see this year. The movie is big and loud and at times maybe even a little scary (although I absolutely reject the notion that it should be categorized in way as “horror”) but also small and quiet and beautiful. It’s the first Godzilla movie in years–possibly since the first one–and really seems to get Godzilla, and in that it deserves recognition not just as the best genre movie of 2023, but as one of the best films of the year in any genre. Godzilla Minus One is currently playing in theaters.
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