Over the last few years, Netflix has evolved a lot, being now one of the most popular services of its kind on the market. Because the latest Star Wars has just hit theaters a few weeks ago and because a new Star Wars movie will probably not be released in the next few years, here are some of the best Sci-Fi movies and series available on Netflix in 2020.
1. Top 5 SF MOVIES to watch on Netflix in 2020
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey is a masterpiece science fiction movie created by Stanley Kubrick in 1968. This film was praised at the time of its release especially for the impressive special effects, which are still relevant today, but also for the interesting topic it addresses. Whether you’ve seen it in the past, or it’s the first time you discovered it, you shouldn’t miss 2001: A Space Odyssey.
- Interstellar
One of the most popular science fiction films of the last decade, Interstellar, addresses a difficult topic: the extinction of the human species. The earth is drained of resources and people look to the stars to ensure continuity of the human species. Cristopher Nolan, also responsible for other successful films such as The Dark Knight, Inception and more recently Dunkirk, has tried to create an SF movie that respects as much science as possible and has largely succeeded. Interstellar was helped to reach the heights of success not only by its director, but also by a very good script, first-hand actors, and an excellent soundtrack made by the famous Hans Zimmer. (Dark Knight and Inception movies are also available on Netflix)
- Blade Runner 2049
Riddley Scott’s original vision of the future of Blade Runner is continued by Denis Villeneuve in Blade Runner 2049, a film released more than 30 years away from the original. This one, on one hand, continues the events of the original movie, which featured Harrison Ford in Deckard, but also presents a new part of the dystopian SF universe, from the perspective of K (Ryan Gossling), a replicant (man) who works for the Los Angeles Police to hunt down other replicants. This is one of the SF movies trying to ask philosophical questions about what it means to be truly human. (The original Blade Runner from 1982 is also available on Netflix)
- Elysium
Neil Blomkamp is one of the best known SF movie directors of recent years, being responsible for several visually impressive movies. He uses elements inspired by his country of origin, South Africa, to present stories from the near future. In such a perspective, society is divided into two camps: the poor and the rich. In the movie Elysium, the poor are those who have remained on Earth, where resources are scarce and pollution levels very high, while the rich have moved to an orbital station called Elysium, where they have everything, including access to free medical services. The film features actors such as Matt Damon and Jodie Foster. (Chappie, another Neil Blomkamp movie with a similar subject is also available on Netflix)
- Edge of Tomorrow
Tom Cruise has starred in many SF movies, but none of them are as well-executed as Edge of Tomorrow. The earth is invaded by an alien species, and Cruise’s character, William Cage, is trapped in a temporal anomaly that causes him to relive one day. The movie works in a similar way to “Groundhog’s Day”, but in an SF universe. Indeed, the rehearsal also reminds of video games, something that their fans will certainly appreciate. (Minority Report, another SF movie with Tom Cruise is also available on Netflix)
2. Top 5 SF SERIES to watch on Netflix in 2020
- Altered Carbon
Based on the book series of the same name, Altered Carbon is one of the best original series produced to date by Netflix. It presents the distant future when people have attained immortality: the entire identity of a person can be recorded on a kind of disc implanted in the spine, and the bodies of people are thus interchangeable. The series follows Takeshi Kovacs, a former mercenary, in Bay City, who was brought back to life after hundreds of years of hibernation to solve an impossible crime. Netflix has not announced when it will launch a new season of Altered Carbon, but given that production started last year, we can expect to see it sometime in 2020.
- Star Trek Discovery
In the absence of CBS All-Access services in Europe, Netflix is the service that most Star Trek series are officially distributed. The latest CBS-produced series is Star Trek Discovery, which tells the story of the crew on the Discovery, some time before the Enterprise was led by the famous Captain Kirk. The main character is Michael Burnham, Spock’s adoptive sister, and the Discovery crew plays as important a role as the crews in the older series. Moreover, it adopts a different structure, offering each season a unitary story, with continuity between episodes and much more action. Those who prefer older series have on Netflix both the original Star Trek series from 1966 and the more recent series such as The Next Generation, Deep Space 9,
- Better Than Us
Unlike the other series on this list, Better than Us is the only one in Russian. This Russian series proposes the existence of robots that look and behave almost like humans. The story involves conspiracies, evil corporations, police, and terrorists, in a high-quality SF production. There is currently only one season of Better Than Us.
- Lost in Space
Netflix brought to life one of the classic SF series of the 60s: Lost in Space. This series follows the adventures of the Robinson family in a reinvented version, better adapted to our times, with modern special effects. Netflix has already released two seasons of Lost in Space and is currently working on the third.
- Another Life
SF fans know Katee Sackhoff from another famous series from the early 2000s: Battlestar Galactica. In Another Life, Katee plays the role of Niko Breckinridge, responsible for making the first contact with an alien race in space, after an unidentified object visits Earth. Even though the first season of Another Life was not well received by critics, Netflix has promised that it will release season 2 in the near future. Production for it will begin sometime later this year in Vancouver, Canada.
