Science fictionis a vast playground that allows a skilled writer or director to be able to tackle many themes of grief, addiction, and even the meaning of life. It is a genre that often reflects who we are and where we are culturally. Whether it be sci-fi-horror or sci-fi-action, there is something out there for everyone. FromThe Matrix, andBack to the Future, toStar Wars, there are so many great sci-fi films that end perfectly that have stuck with us for years. This is a list of 10 sci-fi movies in recent memory that have perfect endings.
10Children of Men (2006)
Alfonso Cuarón’sChildren of Menis one of the most dower and depressing movies, yet it is alsoone of the best sci-fi movies ever made. Set in a dystopian 2027, where there are no more children being born in the world, Theo Faron is told about a young woman, Kee (Clare-Hope Ashitey), who is with child. Theo, played by Clive Owen, has understandably so decided to throw the car into neutral, as it were, and cruise through life. He’s an alcoholic with a job that he hates, however, when he is called upon to protect this young girl, he is given hope for the first time in a long time.
He is reluctant to be the hero that everyone wants him to be, but by the end of the movie, we have seen Theo go through hell and back to protect this woman and get her and her baby to safety.Children of Menworks so well because Theo sacrifices himself to protect Kee, and you realize that the movie was never about him, it was actually about her being the key (wink) to humanity’s survival. Cuarón’sChildren of Menis an incredibly subtle sci-fi film that has one of the mosthauntingly beautiful endings of all time.
9Men in Black (1997)
Much more of a hard sci-fi movie,Men in Blackworks so well, and it’s not just because of Vincent D’Onofrio’s god-tier performance as a giant bug inside a human skin suit. Instead, it is because of the relationship that is developed between Agents Jay and Kay. Played by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones, respectively, they get to know each other and bond throughout the movie, which is why the ending is so effective. When Kay hands Jay his neuralizer to wipe his memory, Jay protests, and Kay (Jones giving an especially emotional performance) tells him he hasn’t “been training a partner, he’s been training a replacement.”
Jay neuralizes him and it is a genuinely powerful moment between the two characters who have developed a bond, however, the more iconic ending is the camera pulling out and revealing that the Milky Way galaxy (and several other galaxies) is just inside of a marble, and is part of a game of marbles for a much bigger alien. A terrifying way to end a movie that will send anyone with even a modicum of anxiety spiraling for at least a week.
8Total Recall (1990)
One of the most impressive practical effects movies ever made, Paul Verhoeven’sTotal Recallis a technical marvel that can be upsettingly visceral, but has a very emotionally intelligent ending. With a conclusion similar to Christopher Nolan’sInception, both of these movies ask “Is this real or is this a dream?” Though different movies,InceptionandTotal Recalldo have similar themes in that the endings work because they are not concerned with the answer to this question, rather, they are interested in the main character’s happiness. Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is able to get back to his kids and Quaid (Arnold Schwarzenegger) gives air to the people of Mars, be with his true love, and figure out who he is.
The movie never concretely answers the question as to whether or not all the previous events in the film were real because all that matters is that at this very moment, Quaid is finally free and happy.Total Recallis a classic Verhoeven satirical take on America and American violence, but the eyes popping out of Schwarzenegger’s head is a very fun practical effect.
7Upgrade (2018)
In a world where AI is progressing more and more,Leigh Whannell’s hyper-violent, hyper-stylizedUpgradefeels extremely topical. Set in the future where AI is being used for medical purposes, Grey (Logan Marshall-Green) is given a procedure through an implant in his brain called Stem (Simon Maiden) which allows him to walk again and gives him hope in getting revenge for the attack that left his wife dead and him a quadriplegic. Grey quickly learns that Stem can take full control of his body to kill anyone who gets in the way of his mission for revenge.
The ending of the movie reveals that Stem was the one who was behind the inciting incident and that all of it was for Stem to get a body to take over. Stem then shuts Grey out completely and gives him a fantasy of how he wanted to live his life with his wife, while Stem has unmitigated control of his body to roam the world freely. Grey is ostensibly put into a coma against his will, totally unaware that he is no longer in control of his body. It is one of the more upsetting and bleaker endings of a sci-fi movie in recent memory, which is what makes this one so unique.Upgradeis the perfect movie for anyone who loves action sequences that rival Timo Tjahjanto’sThe Night Comes for Uswith a sci-fi, horror twist.
Related:Blumhouse’s Upgrade TV Show Is Happening with Original Director Leigh Whannell
6The Old Guard (2020)
The second Chiwetel Ejiofor sci-fi movie on this list, Gina Prince-Bythewood’sThe Old Guardwas released in 2020 at the start of the pandemic. At a time that was hard on all of us, and we continue to feel the effects of the pandemic, as well as the political turmoil going on in this country, it is nice to be reminded why we get up every morning and keep fighting for things that matter most to us. A shockingly human film about a group of immortals wandering the Earth trying to set the world on the right path. Andy (Charlize Theron) is the leader of the immortals, who has been immortal longer than any of them, is becoming more and more disillusioned by the world and no longer wants to fight for humanity.
Andy meets Nile (KiKi Lane), who discovers that she is immortal as well, reminds Andy that humanity is worth fighting for, they were given a gift to use for good, and try to make the world a better place. Though this is a movie that has an after-credits sequence that sets up sequels, the main characters have complete arcs as well as a self-contained story, so it does not feel like one long setup for the next movie. For a film with a fantastic yet simple premise, it is surprisingly emotional and touching, while having inventive action throughout to keep anyone entertained.
Related:Charlize Theron Says The Old Guard 2 Has Been Wrapped
5The World’s End (2013)
The last movie in theCornetto Trilogy,The World’s Endis much more than a sci-fi romp where Simon Pegg and Nick Frost fight aliens in their hometown; it is a movie about addiction, friendship, and letting go of the past. Gary King (Simon Pegg) is an alcoholic who brings his childhood friends together again to go back to their hometown of Newton Haven and complete “The Golden Mile”, which is a pub crawl through all 12 pubs in town. They tried to complete it when they were teenagers but got too drunk and went home about halfway through, and Gary has been obsessed with finishing it ever since. While back in Newton Haven, they very quickly realize that everyone that they once knew has been replaced by alien robots, and they are humanity’s only hope to stop the aliens from taking over the world.
Andy Knightley (Nick Frost) and Gary had a falling out years ago because of Gary’s drinking, and become close again because of the situation that they find themselves in. The twelfth bar in the pub crawl, aptly called The World’s End, is where Gary and Andy finally have their big fight where all of their anger for one another is addressed. They realize their situations are very similar because Gary hates the man that he has become, which is why he has put everything into this pub crawl, and Andy’s wife recently left him. They are both miserable men who need to let go of the past and focus on what is ahead of them: stopping aliens from taking over the world. It’s arguably Edgar Wright’s most moving film to date, with his classic editing, comedic, and action styles to boot.
4Interstellar (2014)
Much more of an intellectual sci-fi film, Christopher Nolan’sInterstellaris set in the near future where Earth is dying, so NASA decides it’s time to find a new planet to live on. NASA chooses Joseph Cooper (Matthew McConaughey) who is a former NASA pilot, but since the Earth has been slowly deteriorating there was no longer any need for this job until now. Cooper must go with a team of scientists to enter a black hole, where time moves differently, and explore the other side in search of a new, livable planet. This is a classic Nolan movie in which a man has to embark on a journey, but ultimately just wants to get back home to his kids.
Although this is a three-hour science fiction epic with Nolan and Hans Zimmer at their absolute best,Interstellar(likeThe Fast and the Furiousfranchise) is about family. Cooper is eventually able to get back home to see his daughter after traveling through space for what was a few months for him was decades for her. When he meets her again, he is the same age as when he left, but she is now a 99-year-old woman. He reunited with his daughter but is tragically unable to see her grow up, and instead he meets her on her deathbed. Easily one of Nolan’s darker and more heartbreaking endings, which is what makes thisone of the best and more effective endings to a sci-fi movie.
3Arrival (2016)
A triumph in film, Denis Villeneuve’sArrivalis about 12 oddly-shaped, dormant spaceships showing up around the world and how we would react. The U.S. military enlists the help of linguistics professor Louis Banks (Amy Adams) to try to communicate with the aliens within the spaceships. Banks soon discovers that the aliens do not just communicate non-linearly, they see time non-linearly as well. The reason they come to Earth is that they are going to need our help in 3,000 years, so they give us their language so that we may one day have the technology to help them when the time comes.
Since they mainly communicate with Banks, they are showing her the future to allow them to keep the world from harming them, but within those visions, they are also showing her personal future. In her personal future, she sees that she falls in love with Ian Donnely (Jeremy Renner), a theoretical physicist who is working with Banks, and they will then have a daughter that they will eventually lose to cancer not long after.
This is, of course, a devastating thing to learn about your future, but Louis still goes through with what she has seen because she knows that even though she is going to be crushed, for a while she will be truly happy. They are going to love their daughter Hannah (a palindrome) more than anyone and give her the best life possible for as long as they have her. This ending and her decision are what make this movie a compassionate and vulnerable science fiction film that is a real tear-jerker.
2Timecrimes (2007)
This sci-fi horror film, written and directed by Nacho Vigalondo, is a weird one.Timecrimesis a spine-chilling Spanish film that will have you on the edge of your seat, following Hector (Karra Elejalde) who at the beginning appears to be a normal guy. He spots something strange in the woods behind his house, while investigating he is attacked by a man with bandages all over his face and is chased into a laboratory with a time machine in it.
What happens next is a terrifying, literal race against the clock, in which Hector has to fight two other versions of himself that have also gone through the time machine. This is a tight and self-contained hour and half science fiction movie that has a perfectly ambiguous ending that will leave you salivating for more and thinking about it for weeks afterward.
1Looper (2012)
If you can get past Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s distracting makeup to make him look like a young Bruce Willis, you will find Rian Johnson’sLooperto be a terrific entry into the pantheon of science fiction. Set in the future, when the mob wants to “close the loop” on someone, they send them back to the past to be executed by a contract killer. Joe (Levitt) is one of these contract killers and one day the mob sends the older version of himself (Willis) to be killed by Young Joe, but Young Joe hesitates and Old Joe gets away to attempt to murder the young version of the man that sent him back in time in the first place.
Old Joe finds Cid (Pierce Gagnon), the child version of the man who set everything in motion, he is going to kill him but his mother jumps in front of him so that he won’t kill her son. Young Joe sees this and realizes that Old Joe killing Cid’s mother in front of him is what sets him on the path to becoming the person that sends Old Joe back in the first place. Young Joe then turns his gun on himself, thus closing the loop on himself, allowing Cid to live and be with his mother, and Old Joe never comes after them. A tragic yet very effective ending, showing us that we are in control of our own destiny and that there is nothing more powerful than a mother’s love.
