It’s not an easy feat to craft a completely original sci-fi story. The genre has been around for years, after all, arguably since British author Mary Shelley published Frankenstein back in 1818. A lot of great sci-fi movies, books, and TV shows that have come out since then have left their mark, so much so that their echoes can be found in every corner of this particular genre still to this day.
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Still, the fact that a sci-fi TV show or movie isn’t exactly as original as it could be doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not high quality, or that it doesn’t have anything to add to the larger sci-fi scene. There have been plenty of great stories that have taken their inspiration from pre-existing properties and added their own twist to it, amassing accolades and dedicated fans in the process.
10 Pacific Rim (2013)
Directed By Guillermo del Toro
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6/10 7.9/10 Pacific Rim PG-13
In a post-apocalyptic future, Earth battles a deadly race of alien monsters called the Kaiju, who have begun arriving on the planet through an interdimensional portal in the Pacific Ocean. In an attempt to combat the Kaiju, humanity has created Jaegers, giant robot suits powered by at least two pilots that can match their enemy for size and strength. When the Kaiju begin to become too strong, however, a washed-up Jaeger pilot must return to the program to participate in one final mission to save Earth for good.
Release Date July 12, 2013 Runtime 131 minutes Cast Charlie Hunnam , Idris Elba , Charlie Day , Ron Perlman , Rinko Kikuchi , Clifton Collins Jr. Director Guillermo del Toro
Pacific Rim is a love letter to a specific sub-genre of the larger sci-fi scene, and that is the kaiju-and-mecha niche. The story is set in a not-so-distant future where humanity is under attack by gigantic kaiju popping up from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. To fight them, humanity created jaegers—massive mechas that are driven by two pilots connected by a neural link known as “the Drift”.
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The Japanese word
kaiju
literally translates to “strange beast,” and it’s used as an umbrella term to indicate movies that deal with giant monsters. The mechas being named
jaeger
, the German word for “hunter,” is something that is instead unique to the
Pacific Rim
narrative universe.
Pacific Rim owes much to staples of its sub-genre, like Godzilla and Neon Genesis: Evangelion, and yet it doesn’t feel like an uninspired carbon copy. Its callbacks to previous works come from director Del Toro’s deep love for this particular undercurrent of sci-fi. Building off of that scaffolding, Pacific Rim manages to deliver an engaging and still unique story that has become a niche classic in its own right.
9 Avatar (2009)
Directed By James Cameron
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7/10 8.3/10 Avatar PG-13
Avatar is a sci-fi action/adventure film created by James Cameron and released in 2009. Set in the fictional world of Pandora in the distant future, humans seek a rare mineral found on the planet but find a race of highly-intelligent beings directly in their mining path. To attempt to communicate and work with them, scientists create body replicas called “avatars,” and one man will change the destiny of both races using an avatar of his own.
Release Date December 18, 2009 Runtime 162 minutes Cast Sam Worthington , Zoe Saldana , Sigourney Weaver , Stephen Lang , Joel David Moore , Giovanni Ribisi Director James Cameron
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Avatar possibly fits the textbook definition of “derivative”. At its core, Avatar’s storyline is nothing new—a (white) man arrives in a strange, supposedly “savage” place and slowly blends in with the local culture, ultimately saving the community he has been accepted in while also possibly falling in love with the woman who introduced him to said culture in the first place.
The world in which it’s set and the special effects that were needed to bring it to life are what made it the highest-grossing movie of all time.
Avatar’s appeal, though, was never its story. The world in which it’s set and the special effects that were needed to bring it to life are what made it the highest-grossing movie of all time. The moon Pandora, its people, and its creatures are what sets Cameron’s passion project aside from all the similar stories that came before it, from Dances with Wolves to Lawrence of Arabia to FernGully.
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8 Prometheus (2012)
Directed By Ridley Scott
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9/10 60 8.1/10 Prometheus R
2012’s Prometheus is the fifth installment in the Alien franchise and was directed by Ridley Scott. Starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Idris Elba, and Guy Pearce, the film acts as a direct prequel to 1979’s Alien.
Release Date June 8, 2012 Runtime 124 Minutes Cast Charlize Theron , Noomi Rapace , Idris Elba , Guy Pearce , Michael Fassbender Director Ridley Scott
Prometheus is set within the same universe of the Alien franchise, a true staple of the sci-fi genre, and yet it’s not exactly connected to it. It’s a prequel that branches off in its own direction, even though it’s still, of course, inspired by Alien and other sci-fi pillars like Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey. Prometheus also looks back into literature and myth to create its storyline, from the eponymous Greek Titan who defies his gods for the sake of humanity to John Milton’s Paradise Lost.
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All of these different inspirations make Prometheus an undoubtedly derivative work that still manages to carve out its own space and make itself unique even when placed inside such a popular franchise as Alien. Its themes of humanity and divinity, hubris, and creation are what set it apart from the rest.
7 Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)
Directed By George Miller
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9/10 21 9.3/10 Mad Max: Fury Road R
Mad Max: Fury Road is the fourth film in George Miller’s long-running sci-fi franchise, with Tom Hardy starring as Max Rockstansky, a vagabond who lives on the road in an apocalyptic wasteland. When Max comes across a cult group that keeps its people in fear and under control with a monopoly on water and other crucial supplies, he joins up with Imperator Furiosa, a warrior woman leading a rebellion against the cult’s leader, Immortan Joe.
Release Date May 14, 2015 Runtime 120 Minutes Cast Tom Hardy , Charlize Theron , Nicholas Hoult , Zoë Kravitz , Hugh Keays-Byrne , Riley Keough , Courtney Eaton , Abbey Lee , Rosie Huntington-Whiteley Director George Miller
Mad Max: Fury Road is the fourth installment of Miller’s Mad Max franchise, which came out thirty years after its predecessor with a complete change of cast. Even though Tom Hardy took up the mantle of Max Rockatansky that had belonged to Mel Gibson, the movie still echoes the themes of folk heroes and civilization collapse that have been staples of the Mad Max saga ever since its beginning in 1979.
Mad Max: Fury Road
has a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
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What sets Fury Road apart and made sure it became one of the best and most successful movies of its release year, though, is the switch it made when it came to its protagonist. While Hardy’s Max is a pivotal part of the movie, the story revolves around Charlize Theron’s Imperator Furiosa, a character so iconic that it spawned its own prequel and ensured Fury Road a place of honor within its franchise.
6 The Wandering Earth (2019)
Directed By Frant Gwo
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The Wandering Earth PG-13
In “The Wandering Earth,” humanity faces an apocalyptic threat as the sun begins its transformation into a red giant, which will eventually consume Earth. To avert total annihilation, the world’s nations unite in a monumental effort to move the entire planet out of the solar system. This ambitious project involves building massive thrusters to propel Earth toward a safer star system. The story centers on Liu Qi, his sister Han Duoduo, and their grandfather Han Zi’ang, who become key players in the struggle for survival. As catastrophic natural events and technical malfunctions threaten their mission, the trio must overcome immense challenges and personal sacrifices.
Release Date February 5, 2019 Runtime 125 Minutes Cast Jing Wu , Guangjie Li , Chuxiao Qu Director Frant Gwo
The Wandering Earth is a Chinese movie loosely based on Liu Cixin’s short story of the same name, which he published some fifteen years before his Hugo Award-winning novel The Three-Body Problem. Everything about The Wandering Earth is as sci-fi as they come—a cataclysmic astronomical event threatens to destroy Earth, and humanity endeavors to save it like it has done in so many movies before, from Armageddon to Independence Day.
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Frant Gwo was a sci-fi lover before he started actually directing sci-fi movies, and his genuine enthusiasm for this genre shines through every frame of this movie.
That is because director Frant Gwo was a sci-fi lover before he started actually directing sci-fi movies, and his genuine enthusiasm for this genre shines through every frame of this movie. That’s something that can make or break a movie’s reception, regardless of originality, and it certainly paid off in the case of The Wandering Earth. The movie is to date the fifth-grossing non-English film of all time.
5 The Hunger Games (2012)
Directed By Gary Ross
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8/10 9.4/10 The Hunger Games PG-13
The Hunger Games is the first of four in the action-drama movie series based on the novels by Suzanne Collins. Set in a dystopian world where people are separated into twelve districts to maintain order, this first film in the franchise focuses on Katniss Everdeen as she is forced to participate in The Hunger Games: a draconian gladiatorial survival event where there can be only one winner.
Release Date March 12, 2012 Runtime 142 minutes Cast Liam Hemsworth , Jeffrey Wright , Natalie Dormer , Josh Hutcherson , Julianne Moore , Elizabeth Banks , Robert Knepper , Donald Sutherland , Woody Harrelson , Jennifer Lawrence , Jena Malone , Philip Seymour Hoffman Director Gary Ross Expand
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It’s not just the fact that The Hunger Games franchise is the movie adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ incredibly fortunate—and rightly so—book saga. It’s the fact that the book saga itself draws on previously existing works, like Shakespeare’s Ancient Rome tragedies like Julius Caesar and Coriolanus but especially like other dystopian novels like Koushun Takami’s Battle Royale and William Golding’s Lord of the Flies.
At the same time, The Hunger Games put its particular spin on the tropes in these works and created a long-lasting story whose themes of rebellion, sacrifice, dictatorship, and the power of propaganda remain incredibly poignant to this day. Funnily enough, The Hunger Games also inspired its own deluge of derivative works, even though none ever came close to its level of complexity and relevancy and focused simply on the romantic aspects of The Hunger Games’ story.
4 Us (2019)
Directed By Jordan Peele
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9/10 Us R
Written and directed by Jordan Peele, Us follows the Wilson family; Adelaide (Lupita Nyong’o) and her husband Gabe (Winston Duke), and their children, Zora (Shahadi Wright Joseph) and Jason (Evan Alex). When visiting a remote lakeside cabin, the Wilson family is beset by exact doppelgangers of themselves, who quickly disclose that they mean their counterparts harm. The Wilson family is forced to fight for their lives against twisted mirror images of themselves, not realizing that there are more doppelgangers out there.
Release Date March 22, 2019 Runtime 116 Minutes Cast Lupita Nyong’o , Winston Duke , Elisabeth Moss , Tim Heidecker , Shahadi Wright Joseph , Evan Alex , Yahya Abdul-Mateen II , Anna Diop Director Jordan Peele
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Jordan Peele’s sophomore movie Us, which came out two years after Get Out, toys the line between sci-fi and psychological horror. Peele mentioned several horror classics as his inspirations for this movie, from Hitchcock’s The Birds to Kubrick’s Shining to Romero’s Night of the Living Dead. Us’s biggest inspiration, though, comes from the 1960 episode of The Twilight Zone “Mirror Image,” which features döppelgangers exactly like the movie does.
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Still, Us manages to be its own unique thing, creating the menacing group of döppelgangers known as “Tethered” and being overall chilling and terrifying. Its great performances—Lupita Nyong’o’s first and foremost— and haunting score all contributed to making Us one of the most watched and talked about movies of 2019, as well as one of the best horrors of the 21st century.
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3 Ex Machina (2014)
Directed By Alex Garland
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9/10 8.6/10 Ex Machina R
Young computer programmer Caleb is selected to participate in a groundbreaking experiment by evaluating the human qualities in a new and improved female artificial intelligence. But in the luxurious, isolated mansion of the man who created this technology, all may not be as it seems.
Release Date April 10, 2015 Runtime 108 minutes Cast Alicia Vikander , Domhnall Gleeson , Oscar Isaac , Sonoya Mizuno , Gana Bayarsaikhan , Corey Johnson Director Alex Garland
Blending sci-fi and thriller, Ex Machina is the story of a programmer and the CEO of the company he works for who spend a week in the latter’s mansion to administer the Turing test to his humanoid robot named Ava. It has all the hallmarks of other android-centric movies, from Blade Runner to I, Robot, as well as the inescapable 2001: A Space Odyssey and William Shakespeare’s The Tempest.
Building off of these well-known themes that most audiences are familiar with when it comes to stories about robots developing a human-like consciousness, Ex Machina tells its own story of humanity, manipulation, and search for freedom. The entire plot happening inside a single house also helps in creating a sense of anxiety and dread, which grows and grows until it explodes during the movie’s final scene.
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2 Space Sweepers (2021)
Directed By Jo Sung-hee
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Space Sweepers
Space Sweepers, set in the year 2092, follows a crew of misfit space scavengers aboard the spaceship Victory. When they discover a humanoid robot named Dorothy with the potential for mass destruction, they find themselves entangled in a dangerous business deal. The South Korean space opera explores themes of survival and morality amidst high-stakes interstellar adventures. Directed by Jo Sung-hee, the film stars Song Joong-ki, Kim Tae-ri, and Jin Seon-kyu.
Release Date February 5, 2021 Runtime 2h 16m Cast Song Joong-ki , Kim Tae-ri Director Sung-hee Jo
Space Sweepers is considered the first South Korean space blockbuster, and it climbed up to the top spot in several countries as soon as it was released worldwide via Netflix. Its ragtag group of protagonists—the titular crew of space sweepers who work around a space station created after Earth has become inhabitable in a not-so-distant future—is what makes the movie enjoyable, and also what ties it to several of its predecessors within the genre.
The crew of likable scoundrels who are more than happy to live on the fringes of society but who instead find themselves thrust into the center of much larger machinations has been a sure-fire way to get to audiences’ heart from Cowboy Bebop to Guardians of the Galaxy, passing by The Expanse. In this sense, Space Sweepers might not be incredibly original, and yet it remains very entertaining.
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1 The Last Jedi (2017)
Directed By Rian Johnson
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9/10 36 5.1/10 Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi PG-13
In the second installment of the Star Wars sequel trilogy, General Leia Organa leads the Resistance forces against the First Order. Meanwhile, Luke Skywalker struggles to come to terms with his past failures, while Rey urges him to train her in the Force and join the resistance. Culminating in a massive battle between the two armies, The Last Jedi raises the stakes of this intergalactic war, and sees the final fight of one beloved character.
Release Date December 15, 2017 Runtime 152 Minutes Cast Daisy Ridley , Oscar Isaac , Mark Hamill , Carrie Fisher , John Boyega , Adam Driver , Andy Serkis , Lupita Nyong’o , Anthony Daniels , Gwendoline Christie , Kelly Marie Tran , Laura Dern Director Rian Johnson
The Last Jedi caused quite the stir in the Star Wars fandom when it was released back in 2017, and while opinions on the movie are still as polarized as ever it’s become clearer and clearer that it’s one of the franchise’s best products of the new Disney era. Johnson himself revealed the influences that went into his writing process for The Last Jedi, which include Twelve O’Clock High, Three Outlaw Samurai, and The Bridge on the River Kwai.
The Last Jedi is also where the characters of Rey and Kylo Ren begin to grow closer and explore their connection in the Force, so there are also glimpses of some gothic romances to be found in the movie, from Jane Eyre to Wuthering Heights. Yet The Last Jedi remains a quintessential Star Wars movie down to its very last shot, which promised great things ahead for the franchise—promises that were somehow disappointed by The Rise of Skywalker.
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