Prime Video: 10 of the Best Sci-Fi Movies to Stream Right Now

Spider-Man: Homecoming is both a big-budget comic book movie and a fun piece of science fiction. Actually, that could be said for many superhero movies. This one takes place after Peter Parker’s first run with the Avengers, and shows his budding relationship with mentor Tony Stark. As is the case with most Spider-Man stories, Parker struggles to find a balance between his school life and his superhero identity. Things get even more complicated when the villain Vulture (played by Michael Keaton) is introduced.

• Director: Jon Watts
• Stars: Tom Holland, Michael Keaton, Robert Downey Jr., Marisa Tomei, Jon Favreau, Gwyneth Paltrow, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon, Donald Glover, Bokeem Woodbine
• Runtime: 133 min

Mickey 17 takes place in a reality where disposable employees are created to perform tasks too dangerous for humans. The story follows Mickey 17 on his mission to help colonize an icy world called Niflheim. A clone of his, Mickey 18, is accidentally brought into being, resulting in an off-beat exploration of humanity, classism and colonialism. What else would you expect from director Bong Joon Ho?

• Director: Bong Joon Ho
• Stars: Robert Pattinson, Anamaria Vartolomei, Naomi Ackie, Mark Ruffalo, Toni Collette, Steven Yeun, Samuel Blenkin, Holliday Grainger, Patsy Ferran
• Runtime: 139 min

Oh, look, it’s another sci-fi movie involving clones — sorta. Edge of Tomorrow takes place in a future world at war against an invincible alien threat. There’s video game logic at play here as we follow Major William Cage (played by Tom Cruise), a military officer who has never seen combat, as he enters the battlefield. Every time he dies, he respawns with new skills and a stronger resolve. Emily Blunt’s a standout here as Sergeant Rita Vrataski.

• Director: Doug Liman
• Stars: Emily Blunt, Tom Cruise, Bill Paxton, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Riley
• Runtime: 113 min

What happens if you find your true love and devote yourself to him, only to learn that it’s not of free will, but your programming? That’s the conundrum Iris finds herself in when she discovers she’s actually a robot companion and not a human. Her owner, Josh, turns out to be quite a piece of work, leading to a fight for survival from her perspective. It’s a funny, dramatic and action-packed movie that explores themes of misogyny, toxic relationships and AI.

• Director: Drew Hancock
• Stars: Sophie Thatcher, Jack Quaid, Lukas Gage, Megan Suri, Rupert Friend, Harvey Guillén
• Runtime: 97 min

There was a lot of secrecy around 10 Cloverfield Lane when it first hit theaters, and rightfully so. Technically, it’s a sequel to Cloverfield — the 2008 found footage giant monster movie — but it doesn’t act like it. At least not until the final act. Instead, 10 Cloverfield Lane plays out like a tight, claustrophobic thriller with solid performances by its cast, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman and John Gallagher Jr. The giant alien invaders are just the icing on the cake.

• Director: Dan Trachtenberg
• Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, John Goodman, John Gallagher Jr.
• Runtime: 103 min

What if there were a pill that could turn any person into a hyperintelligent super genius? Limitless aims to answer that question. The movie stars Bradley Cooper as Eddie Morra, a down-on-his-luck writer who takes the untested drug and uses it to massively level up his life. Of course, what goes up must come down, and Eddie soon finds out that sometimes, it’s best to leave mysterious meds alone.

• Director: Neil Burger
• Stars: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Johnny Whitworth, Andrew Howard, Hill Harper, Richard Bekins, Daniel Breaker, Robert John Burke
• Runtime: 105 min

Chris Pratt stars in this action movie that follows a group of soldiers who travel back in time to warn of a future where humanity is losing the war against an army of alien invaders. Mankind’s only hope lies in a group of would-be heroes who are tapped to travel to the future in order to save the present.

• Director: Chris McKay
• Stars: Chris Pratt, Yvonne Strahovski, Betty Gilpin, Jasmine Mathews, Sam Richardson, J.K. Simmons
• Runtime: 138 min

A Quiet Place: Day One takes audiences back to the very beginning of the alien invasion. While it may not be a necessary entry in the franchise — like, say, 10 Cloverfield Lane — the movie digs its heels into the human experience amid an otherworldly cataclysmic disaster. Come for the disaster, stay for the cute cat.

• Director: Michael Samoski
• Stars: Joseph Quinn, Lupita Nyong’o, Alex Wolff, Djimon Hounsou, Thea Butler, Denis O’Hare 
• Runtime: 99 min

In John Carpenter’s postapocalyptic cult classic, it’s 1997 in New York and the city has been ravaged by war. Manhattan has been turned into a giant walled-in prison. After the president is taken hostage, former Special Forces officer (and current prisoner) Snake Plissken (Kurt Russell) is recruited to save the day in return for his own freedom.

• Director: John Carpenter
• Stars: Kurt Russell, Adrienne Barbeau, Lee Van Cleef, Donald Pleasence, Harry Dean Stanton, Ernest Borgnine, Isaak Hayes, Frank Doubleday
• Runtime: 99 min

This mind-bending cult classic stars Jake Gyllenhaal as a misunderstood high schooler who, after seemingly surviving a horrific accident, begins traveling through time. In the process, he discovers the joy of being alive and in love. Themes of depression, repression and alternative universes fill this delightfully bizarre film. Also, let’s not forget that giant demon bunny named Frank.

• Director: Richard Kelly
• Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Seth Rogen, Jena Malone, Patrick Swayze, Mary McDonnell, Noah Wyle
• Runtime: 113 min