Best Sci-Fi & Fantasy Movies 2023

Critics Consensus: An infectiously good-spirited comedy with a solid emotional core, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves offers fun fantasy and adventure even if you don't know your HP from your OP.

Synopsis: A charming thief and a band of unlikely adventurers undertake an epic heist to retrieve a lost relic, but things go dangerously awry when they... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Chris Pine, Michelle Rodriguez, Regé-Jean Page, Justice Smith

Directed By: Jonathan M. Goldstein, John Francis Daley

Critics Consensus: They Cloned Tyrone is provocative, clever sci-fi with an exceptional cast.

Synopsis: A series of eerie events thrusts an unlikely trio (John Boyega, Jamie Foxx and Teyonah Parris) onto the trail of a nefarious government conspiracy in... View Full Synopsis

Starring: John Boyega, Jamie Foxx, Teyonah Parris, Kiefer Sutherland

Directed By: Juel Taylor

Critics Consensus: LOLA stylishly fuses time-travel and found footage elements to craft a clever what-if story that buzzes with timeless ingenuity.

Synopsis: 1941, sisters Thom and Mars have built a machine, LOLA, that can intercept radio and TV broadcasts from the future. This allows them to listen... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Stefanie Martini, Hugh O'Conor, Emma Appleton, Rory Fleck Byrne

Directed By: Andrew Legge

Critics Consensus: An earthbound story with its eyes on the stars, Mars One finds universally resonant themes within one Brazilian family's specific struggles.

Synopsis: The Martins family are optimistic dreamers, quietly leading their lives in the margins of a major Brazilian city following the disappointing inauguration of a far-right... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Rejane Faria, Carlos Francisco, Camilla Damião, Cícero Lucas

Directed By: Gabriel Martins

Critics Consensus: Sensitive and insightful, Plan 75 uses its sci-fi setting to explore our relationship with death -- and what it really means to live.

Synopsis: In a near dystopian future, Japan's government launches PLAN 75, a program encouraging the elderly to terminate their own lives to relieve its rapidly aging... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Chieko Baishô, Hayato Isomura, Stefanie Arianne, Yumi Kawai

Directed By: Chie Hayakawa

Critics Consensus: The Artifice Girl blends timely themes and a sci-fi structure to explore thought-provoking questions surrounding the ethics of artificial intelligence.

Synopsis: A team of special agents discovers a revolutionary new computer program to bait and trap online predators. After teaming up with the program's troubled developer,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tatum Matthews, David Girard, Sinda Nichols, Franklin Ritch

Directed By: Franklin Ritch

Critics Consensus: With a hopeful tune, The Cow Who Sang a Song Into the Future basks in magical realism to deliver a compelling family drama swathed in a powerful environmental fable.

Synopsis: When thousands of fish die in a polluted river in southern Chile, Magdalena, a woman long-deceased, emerges amongst their lifeless bodies. Magdalena encounters her widowed... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Mía Maestro, Enzo Ferrada Rosati, Benjamin Soto, Leonor Varela

Directed By: Francisca Alegría

Critics Consensus: High-concept sci-fi that never loses touch with the human experience, Aporia is an emotionally impactful blend of powerful performances and imaginative themes.

Synopsis: Since losing her husband Mal (Edi Gathegi) in a drunk-driving incident, Sophie (Judy Greer) has struggled to manage crippling grief, a full-time job, and the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Judy Greer, Edi Gathegi, Peyman Moaadi, Faithe Herman

Directed By: Jared Moshe

Critics Consensus: Brought to life by an outstanding ensemble cast, Jules uses its cute concept to grapple with poignant, universally relatable themes.

Synopsis: Jules follows Milton (Ben Kingsley) who lives a quiet life of routine in a small western Pennsylvania town, but finds his day upended when a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ben Kingsley, Harriet Sansom Harris, Zoe Winters, Jane Curtin

Directed By: Marc Turtletaub

Critics Consensus: A home invasion thriller with an extraterrestrial twist, No One Will Save You serves up more genre fun from writer-director Brian Duffield -- and proves Kaitlyn Dever doesn't need much dialogue to command the screen.

Synopsis: "No One Will Save You" introduces Brynn Adams (Kaitlyn Dever), a creative and talented young woman who’s been alienated from her community. Lonely but ever... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kaitlyn Dever, Zack Duhame, Ginger Cressman, Geraldine Singer

Directed By: Brian Duffield