Disney Plus: The Best Sci-Fi Movies to Watch in 2022 – CNET

Avatar occupies such a strange place in our collective imagination. Not too long ago, it was the highest-grossing movie in history, yet somehow the cultural footprint it left behind feels surprisingly shallow.

Avatar

Say what you like about Tron Legacy, but it looks amazing.

WALL-E is far from my favorite Pixar movie, but it’s probably the most sci-fi of the bunch.

Disney
2. It’s probably my favorite Pixar movie.
Honey, I Shrunk the Kids is sci-fi, right? It involves fiction and science.

Tron: Legacy

Disney
The Last Jedi is easily the best Star Wars movie of the most recent trilogy and, arguably, one of the best Star Wars movies ever made. Its legacy has been somewhat tarnished by the truly abominable The Rise of Skywalker, but The Last Jedi is as good and as bold as franchise movies get. I love it.Many of the most iconic Star Wars moments take place in this movie. It rules.

I’m really stretching the bounds of science fiction with this entry, but Thor: Ragnarok is — for my money — the best Marvel movie.

Lucasfilm Ltd.

Thor: Ragnarok

Still, we’re going to list the best ones. In the spirit of not just listing every Star Wars movie, I’ve limited myself to what I feel is the best of the best.

The Last Jedi

Disney
It’s also clearly the best Avengers movie, and one of the best flicks in the extensive MCU. Great ending, great stakes, great characters. They nailed it.It’s also quite good. It has ham-fisted things to say about the environment and our overreliance on technology, but it’s still good.

WALL-E

Disney/Pixar
The Empire Strikes Back is your default choice for best Star Wars movie for a reason: It’s good! Very good, in fact.
With those disclaimers out of the way, here are our picks for the best science fiction movies on Disney Plus.

Buena Vista Pictures
1. It uses a beautiful, well considered sci-fi aesthetic.Sadly Disney Plus, unlike Netflix and Prime Video, doesn’t have the best library of science fiction movies. Being frank, it’s slim pickings out there. That goes double if you don’t want to count franchise movies set in the Marvel or Star Wars universes.

Marvel Studios
It receives bog standard praise for being “dark” or “gritty,” but The Empire Strikes Back is simply a tight, well-structured flick that makes great use of its iconic character set. It’s also beautifully shot. Every frame of this movie is glorious to look at.

I rewatched it recently with my kids, and everyone had a blast. The 1989-era special effects haven’t aged well, but for the most part, it’s hilarious and fun. Perfect for a low-key family movie night.

Marvel

The Empire Strikes Back

OK, here we go again…

Tron: Legacy is hardly a classic by any stretch of the imagination, but it’s fun. Much like many of the films on this list, it’s objectively… not very good but enjoyable for reasons of nostalgia and the place Tron holds in our cultural imagination.