Netflix’s sci-fi film library has so many strong options its a daunting prospect to pick one for a night.
For August, the offerings flex a number of things from a top tier Godzilla film, possibly the best Spider-Man movie ever made and a “Hunger Games” prequel that works much better than it has any right to. If you’re in the market for a night with a sci-fi film and you’re overwhelmed by the options then any of these or more are going to do the trick just right.
Here are the seven best sci-fi movies available now to stream on Netflix that you should check out.
Godzilla Minus One
Every modern attempt at a new Godzilla film has consistently fallen short in the same area: the human element. That is, until “Godzilla Minus One” rolled through town. The film is set in Japan shortly after World War II and follows a former soldier who rallies a group to face off against the titan in an effort to redeem himself for an earlier encounter during the war.
The scenes of Godzilla causing mayhem by land and sea are gorgeously rendered and often terrifying, but it’s those human moments in between that make “Godzilla Minus One” a cut above the rest.
They Cloned Tyrone
Netflix does occasionally strike gold with its original movies, and “They Cloned Tyrone” is a testament to that. The film stars Jamie Foxx, John Boyega and Teyonah Parris as an unlikely trio who uncover a shocking conspiracy (hint: reread the film title) in their neighborhood. The film boasts heart and humor, and if it had had a theatrical run rather than being thrown to the wolves on Netflix, more people would be talking about it.
The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes
The first “Hunger Games” prequel after the original adaptations took on the Herculean task of making you care about a young President Snow years before he became a fascist monster. Somehow, they pulled it off, and much of that is likely due to the performances from Tom Blyth and Rachel Zegler, who plays the District 12 tribute Lucy Gray Baird in the 10th annual Games.
The Romeo and Juliet energy crackling between the two as Snow is assigned to mentor Baird propels the film to a height that even the love story of the original films didn’t manage. Everyone knows the tragedy of what’s coming, but it doesn’t keep people from hoping things turn out differently this time.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
You could say that “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” is the best Spider-Man movie ever made, and you’d have a pretty strong claim to being right. The animated film finally brought Miles Morales to the big screen as he grapples with becoming his own wall crawler while dealing with multiple Peter Parker/Spider-Man variants from the multiverse who become trapped in his world.
The film is one of the most beautifully animated movies of the last decade, with each frame dripping with personality and something new to see on every rewatch.
Nope
“Get Out” earned Jordan Peele many of his accolades after he burst onto the scene as a premier horror director, but it’s “Nope” that is his true crowning achievement. The film follows a man who raises horses for use in movies and learns that his home and land are being treated as a hunting ground for an alien. It’s a classic everyman vs. the extraordinary story that has as many genuine scares as it does humor.
“Nope” might get lost in the shadows of “Get Out,” but it represents a creator truly at the top of his game.
Upgrade
In “Upgrade,” a man who is left paralyzed after a mugging is offered an experimental technology to regain control of his body. The new implant, unfortunately, can take control of his body at times and turn him into a killing machine. The man teams up with his semi-sentient implant to get revenge on the people who hurt him. Sci-fi and body horror are two great tastes that taste great together, and “Upgrade” is a testament to that.
“The Invisible Man” filmmaker Leigh Whannell directs the hell out of this film, too, which features a number of kinetic fight scenes to feast on throughout the runtime.
The Adam Project
“The Adam Project” is a time-travel story about a boy who teams up with an older version of himself to stop a company from weaponizing technology built by their father that ends up ruining the world. It was one of the first collaborations between Ryan Reynolds and Shawn Levy, who later reunited for the massive “Deadpool & Wolverine,” and evokes a Spielbergian lightness and heart that makes it a sci-fi flick that’s fun for the whole family.