Lewis Wallace
Culture

Your Favorite Sci-Fi Movies, 2000 and Beyond

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You don’t need to set the time machine very far back for these movies, ranked by Wired.com readers as some of the finest science fiction cinema of all time.

Several 2009 releases made the cut, including two films from first-time directors: Duncan Jones’ masterful Moon and Neill Blomkamp’s gritty District 9 . (J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek reboot also earned accolades.)

While these movies did not make our original lists (“Wired’s Favorite Sci-Fi Flicks of All Time — Pre– Star Wars ” and “Wired’s Favorite Sci-Fi Flicks of All Time — Star Wars and After“), they bubbled up in the comments on those pieces. Read on for a look at Wired.com readers’ favorite sci-fi movies of the ’00s.

Above:

Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (2001)

What about A.I.? You got to be kidding me. — gabrielvillahermosa

Scripter/director Steven Spielberg’s realization of a long-in-the-works Stanley Kubrick project is set in a future where robots are used as workers and for human companionship. A couple adopts David, the first “mecha” designed to love, as a replacement for their cryogenically frozen son. But when the boy recovers, David is abandoned and undertakes a perilous quest to become “a real boy.” Haley Joel Osment, Jude Law, Frances O’Connor and William Hurt star. — GO

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Donnie Darko (2001)

Time-travel is sci-fi. — alec1241

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Minority Report (2002)

It may have inspired (or furthered development of) some of the technology that we use currently — such as multitouch. — membari

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Equilibrium (2002)

I recently saw it and thought it was pretty awesome. It has all the ingredients for a pretty good sci-fi film: a dark, fascist future world, deep (to a point) philosophical questions and some serious ass-kicking. — Kernit

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Solaris (2002)

I’d vote for the George Clooney Solaris remake. — queenofthejungle

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Primer (2004)

Where is Primer? 2004 low-budget, brilliant plot, deep sci fiction. — enriquesoriano

Was I the only man who saw Primer? It was made for $7,000 and wipes some of those films out. — st8vdk

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The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)

You guys/gals at Wired have not seen Chronicles of Riddick, have you? So sad. — userguy

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Serenity (2005)

Serenity has all of the things I like in a movie. Sci-fi/fantasy/horror/Western with hot women kicking butt. River Tam kicks butt with elegance and grace. You can tell I am a fan of Firefly. — franklin

I cannot believe Serenity isn’t on this list. Wow. — syeve

Utterly stunning for a film with a $40 million budget, with the best new universe since Star Wars. — thorgrey

One word: reavers. — membari

How did you miss Serenity? Great plot, great acting, great effects with a dash of comedy. — warpedme

I’m also surprised that Wall-E, Aliens, The Day the Earth Stood Still and Akira aren’t on here, but I think I’m most disappointed that Serenity isn’t on the list. I mean, come on, Serenity is a testament to the power of fans. — Styrophoamicus

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4 (2005)

By Ilya Khrjanovsky: A Russian movie about a dystopian world only slightly removed from our own. Unsettling, unnerving and funny, too! — CaptainBill

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The Island (2005)

Ooo…. What about The Island with Ewan MacGregor? — astanhope

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The Prestige (2006)

Teleportation is sci-fi. — alec1241

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Sunshine (2007)

What about Sunshine by Danny Boyle (at least the first half is worth it) and Ghost in the Shell? — slann303

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Wall-E (2008)

How could you leave Wall-E off the list? A lot of the movies on here aren’t even science fiction (e.g., Strangelove, Children of Men), but Wall-E was not only sci-fi, but a masterpiece of cinema. — Goppy79

Wall-E was an instant classic. –nclined

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District 9 (2009)

Dystopia again, this time in South Africa. Riveting, disturbing and, when I saw it, there was not a single walkout, not even from the blue-hair set. — CaptainBill

Is it too early to add District 9 to the list? –Styrophoamicus

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Star Trek (2009)

Pretty soon, I think people are going to want to add this year’s Star Trek. It was great and did a good job of revitalizing the franchise. — Vic_De_Zen

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Moon (2009)

For something super hot off the cutting-room floor, I totally got into Moon this summer. — queenofthejungle

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See Also:

<p> <strer Faves:</ststrd Picks:</st>

<img<

Favorite Sci-Fi Flicks, From Metropolis Through the ’50s</a>

<img<d’s Favorite Sci-Fi Flicks of All Time — Pre– Star Wars </a>

| <srcr

-Fi Flicks of the ’60s, ’70s, According to You</a></p>

srcrFavorite Sci-Fi Flicks of All Time — Star Wars and After</a></p>

<img ="ht"

80s Sci-Fi Flicks, Recalled by Wired Readers</a></p> |

<img src=tps:p

: Your Fave ’90s Sci-Fi Flicks</a></p> |