Science fiction comes in a range of styles, such as hard science fiction, soft science fiction, and puzzling science fiction. While each style has its unique attributes, all usually center around the idea of technology or a future world. If you enjoy watching sci-fi and want to broaden your horizons, try out these six puzzling science fiction films and see if you can make sense of their themes.
6. Predestination (2014)
Our sixth selection for puzzling science fiction films is Predestination, full of time travel and action. The movie follows a Temporal Agent who is sent on a series of time-travel journeys to ensure the continuation of his law enforcement career for eternity. For his last assignment, the Agent must prevent a bomb attack in New York in 1975 but instead finds the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time.
–IMDb score: 7.4
5. Solaris (1972)
Next on our list of puzzling science fiction films is Solaris, set on an intelligent planet that will quickly muddy the waters of what is real or not. The Solaris mission has established a base on a planet with intelligence, but the true power of the planet is hazy. After three scientists on base go insane, a psychologist is sent to the planet to figure out what’s wrong. But when he encounters his wife who has been dead for ten years, the psychologist begins to realize the true power of alien intelligence.
–IMDb score: 7.9
4. 12 Monkeys (1995)
Ranking fourth on the most puzzling science fiction films list is 12 Monkeys, a classic piece of science fiction that will leave viewers stunned at the end. It’s 2035, and the world is devastated by disease. James Cole, a prisoner, is chosen to be sent back in time to gather information about the man-made virus to earn parole. As he tries to figure out how the plague happened and if there is a cure, Cole slowly loses his sanity and puts his trust in Goines, a raving “lunatic,” to find the key to the puzzle.
–IMDb score: 8.0
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3. Blade Runner (1982)
The third film on our puzzling science fiction films list is Blade Runner, an action-packed movie that plunges viewers into a completely new world. Deckard is forced by the police Boss to continue his old job as a Replicant Hunter, and eliminate four escaped Replicants from the colonies who have returned to Earth. Along the way, Deckard goes to the Tyrell Corporation to meet with a Replicant girl, Rachel, to try and figure out the reasons behind his assignment.
–IMDb score: 8.1
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
One of the most famous sci-fi movies in the world, 2001: A Space Odyssey ranks second on our puzzling science fiction films list. A story of evolution begins in the distant past, as someone or something placed a monolith on Earth to enable humankind to reach the moon’s surface. When another monolith is found, it sends a signal to the placers that humans have evolved once again. Now, aided by artifical intelligence, humans set course into space to encounter the monolith placers to achieve the next stage in evolution.
–IMDb score: 8.3
1. Inception (2010)
Earning the number one spot on our most puzzling science fiction films list is Inception, the masterpiece directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. Dom Cobb is a skilled thief, but instead of stealing items, he dives deep within the subconscious during the dream state to steal secrets from the human mind. Earning a coveted reputation has also made him an international fugitive who is constantly on the run.
To earn back his life, Cobb must try the impossible by planting an idea in someone’s mind. As Cobb and his team get to work, a dangerous enemy stalks their every move, an enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming.
–IMDb score: 8.8
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