The Best Space Movies of All Time

By Emily Lemon On Mar 9, 2022

Various

Before we begin ranking space movies and incurring the wrath of correctional comments—because, invariably, we will exclude the one film you have on VHS, which is really a banger but doesn’t get enough love and so, of course, is ignored from yet another list by yet another incompetent writer who has the film taste of a child, etc., etc.—we should get definitional.

We’re going to be strict with this list. Movies just involving beings from space, either invading or just sort of hovering there—think Arrival or District 9—we’re excluding. So, too, are we ignoring movies set on futuristic Earths, which have technically achieved deep space travel, but where the central plot takes place only on our familiar terrestrial plane. So movies like Blade Runner or the Fifth Element are also absent.

We’re talking about movies set in space. Movies where the central action involves characters who exist in space. Movies where space is the antagonist or the frontier or the battlefield—not simply the highway between other more interesting worlds. We’re talking about movies where space is so much a part of the film that without space the movie is simply incoherent nonsense. Could 2001: A Space Odyssey take place on a school bus? No. Then it’s a “space movie.”

Sure, we’ll probably skew a bit more modern with these picks, if only to make it easier to stream our choices (we’ll provide links). But space may be that cinematic genre which only gets better with time.

Here are the best space movies of all time.

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Alien (1979)

Ridley Scott taught us something about space we didn’t learn in science class: it is terrifying. Frickin’ terrifying. All the nights we spent lying awake as kids wanting to be astronauts—gone. We say, leave us the hell on this planet.

STREAM IT HERE

Dune (2021)

Dune is more political fantasy (the term, we think, is “space opera”) than straight space exploration. And we dig it. Predating and inspiring Star Wars (that other space opera), Dune‘s depiction of outerwordly hegemony and planetary colonization feels more real than any work of cinematic realism.

STREAM IT HERE

The Martian (2015)

If planetary colonization was real, The Martian may be the most accurate depiction of this future enterprise. Unlike other very serious films on this list, The Martian also maintains a welcome sense of levity, giving the film just the right ratio of botany humor to existential terror.

STREAM IT HERE

Spaceballs (1987)

Parodying just about every film that predates it on this list, Spaceballs is an absolute delight. It’s also exceedingly dumb. It’s perfect.

STREAM IT HERE

Solaris (1972)

Your film studies friends cannot stop talking about Andrei Tarkovsky and this is why. The Russian director’s adaptation of the 1961 novel of the same name brought something new to the genre of science fiction: grounded emotionality. We take this for granted in contemporary science fiction. Tarkovsky was one of the first to really pull it off.

STREAM IT HERE

Star Trek (2009)

As early as 1968, the creators of the popular TV series were already wondering how to turn the story into a film, a prequel. And while there had already been ten films in the franchise, 2009’s iteration finally found the winning formula. It’s truly a blast.

STREAM IT HERE

Interstellar (2014)

One of director Christopher Nolan’s more divisive films, Interstellar really goes there. The team consulted with actual astrophysicists and remains one of the few films to actually depict relativity theory in a plausible way. It’s not a short movie, nor one that can be appreciated on the first viewing. But it is epic.

STREAM IT HERE

Apollo 13 (1995)

Entering historical realism are three films we think best capture actual space exploration. The first (and maybe the best) is Ron Howard’s docudrama.

STREAM IT HERE

First Man (2018)

While it will be compared to others in the genre of historic space exploration, First Man finds a way to stand out from the space race competition—if only for its IMAX cinematography during one of the most awe-inspiring moments of any film on this list. You’ll know it when you see it.

STREAM IT HERE

The Right Stuff (1983)

Based on the book by Tom Wolfe which chronicled NASA’s first team of astronauts, The Right Stuff captures all the terrifying, inspiring, maddening moments of early space exploration. It remains a near-perfect blend of Hollywood and history.

STREAM IT HERE

Moon (2009)

Moon is perfect science fiction. Filmed on a small budget and and depicting just one character (well, kind of) in one location (kind of), the movie manages to do more, say more, and affect you more than probably any other on this list. Read nothing about it. Just watch.

STREAM IT HERE

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)

We know, we know. There are many Marvel films that could be considered “space movies” insofar as they involve intergalactic wars. But Guardians of the Galaxy really is Marvel’s space movie, and maybe the most fun and free-wheeling film in the entire MCU—and the moment when Marvel realized they could sell us anything.

STREAM IT HERE

Sunshine (2007)

Danny Boyle’s trip through space to save a dying sun by dropping a nuclear bomb on it may be one of the more outlandish plots on this this list, but the film delivers. What begins as conventional science fiction turns into something more horrifying and existential and strangely beautiful.

STREAM IT HERE

Gravity (2013)

Gravity is probably the most space movie of any space movie, in that it takes place entirely in space with its characters floating (for most of the film) entirely in space. Director Alfonso Cuarón delivers an absolute masterclass in tension, pacing, and visual language. The man deserved that Oscar.

STREAM IT HERE

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

It takes about 20 minutes of apes grunting and throwing bones before we arrive in space, but once we get there, oh boy. Is it the greatest space movie of all time? Will flying into a monolith transport you across space-time and reincarnate you as the star child? Um, yes.

STREAM IT HERE

Star Wars: A New Hope (1977)

This one’s a bit of a deeper cut. We’re not sure if you’ve heard of it, but try and give it a watch if you can. We think it had some kind of impact on space cinema. It’s pretty good.

STREAM IT HERE

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