Labor Day is a great time for a barbeque to culminate the end of a long and fruitful summer. For some, though, it’s also a great excuse to catch up on some movies, or watch ones you love again. If you’re someone who loves to explore the intricate, imaginative worlds of science fiction, then this is the list for you.
We’ve selected five sci-fi movies that are all worth watching over this Labor Day weekend. These movies come from a wide array of different streaming services, and they represent the best of what sci-fi has to offer today.
Need more recommendations? We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, and the best movies on Max.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Sadly, most people missed Furiosa when it was in theaters. The movie, which is a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road, focuses on the character of Furiosa before she tries to rescue Immortan Joe’s wives in that film. And, while it doesn’t have the same virtuosic action sequences as Fury Road, Furiosa is great for other reasons.
The movie is told more as an epic, complete with chapters, and through those chapters we come to understand how far back Furiosa’s losses and trauma extend. Thanks to a ferocious and nearly silent performance from Anya Taylor-Joy, Furiosa is every bit a worthy successor to Fury Road, and it has plenty of audacious set pieces in its own right.
You can watch Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on Max.
No One Will Save You (2023)
A small-scale character piece with a sci-fi bent, No One Will Save You is a nearly wordless film that tells the story of an isolated young woman who is ostracized by those she lives near, and eventually finds that she must battle an alien invasion that threatens to destroy her town.
The movie is a tense survival thriller that mixes in a healthy dose of horror, and its wordlessness is barely noticeable in part because of how compelling the action on-screen is. None of this would work without Kaitlyn Dever’s fearless central performance, and she more than meets what the movie demands of her.
You can watch No One Will Save You on Hulu.
The Platform (2019)
A Spanish-language thriller with a shockingly simple concept, The Platform is set in a prison in which prisoners wake up on a different floor every day. Every day, food is lowered from the top floor down to the bottom, so those who find themselves at the top eat like kings, while those at the bottom don’t eat at all.
It’s an admittedly tidy metaphor for capitalism run amok, but the movie’s brilliance is in recognizing how quickly the people in this prison turn against one another and prioritize their own needs. You never know where you might wake up, so you might as well eat while you can.
You can watch The Platform on Netflix.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014)
The middle chapter in the newest Planet of the Apes trilogy (that’s complete, anyway), Dawn of the Planet of the Apes tells the story of Caesar now that he has settled down with a family outside of San Francisco. When his flourishing tribe is discovered by the remnants of humanity, he comes to understand just how deep the resentment against humanity goes.
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes is a brilliant movie about the nature of peace, and one that refuses to paint any side of a war as all good or all bad. Andy Serkis is brilliant as Caesear, and director Matt Reeves brings incredible confidence behind the camera.
You can watch Dawn of the Planet of the Apes on Disney+.
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)
Everyone thought that no one cared about Avatar anymore, but The Way of Water proved them wrong. If you missed it in theaters or just want to rewatch it, The Way of Water is the kind of epic that’s worth spending three hours with.
Following Jake Sully and his family a decade after the events of the first film, Sully discovers that he’s still being hunted by humanity, and realizes that he has to hide himself away to protect his tribe. The movie’s story of vengeance and the battle to protect the wonders of Pandora are worthy in and of themselves, but honestly, this movie looks so good it’ll make you forget that most of the things it depicts don’t actually exist.
You can watch Avatar: The Way of Water on Max.