All 6 Steven Spielberg Sci-Fi Movies of the 21st Century

Few directors command as much respect from critics or awaken such reverence from audiences as Steven Spielberg. Perhaps the best director working in Hollywood today, Spielberg is a cinematic institution, a bona fide genius whose name has become synonymous with the seventh art itself. In a career spanning over sixty years, Spielberg has directed many of cinema’s biggest masterpieces, from adventure classics like Raiders of the Lost Ark to harrowing war epics like Saving Private Ryan to deeply humanistic portrayals of artistic ambition like The Fabelmans. No director has mastered the delicate balance between artistry and commercialism as perfectly as Spielberg, whose Jaws set the blueprint that every summer blockbuster has followed since.

Perhaps Spielberg’s greatest contributions have been in the sci-fi genre. Starting with his seminal Close Encounters of the Third Kind all the way to today, with Disclosure Day, the director has continuously offered thoughtful, cerebral, and deeply humanistic takes on the genre, pushing visual and technological boundaries while grounding his narratives in profound, optimistic tales of empathy. In the 21st century, Spielberg has directed six sci-fi movies, most of which are fairly strong; one might just be his worst effort since Hook, while three rank among his all-time best. Which of these movies is the greatest and why? This list will attempt to answer that question. Everyone will, of course, have a different opinion, but I think we can at least all agree on the bottom choice. From there, though, things aren’t quite as straightforward.

6

‘Ready Player One’ (2018)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

The first half of this list features three movies that are low-tier Spielberg, and we’ll start with the worst. Based on Ernest Cline‘s 2011 novel of the same name, Ready Player One is set in a futuristic world where most people escape into the virtual world OASIS to avoid the gloominess of the real world. A contest promises ownership of OASIS to the winner, prompting many desperate competitors to go against an evil corporation. The film stars an ensemble led by Tye Sheridan and Olivia Cooke.

There really is no other way around it: Ready Player One is not great. Overproduced yet somehow devoid of life, the film is the sci-fi equivalent of a boy smashing toys together, Spielberg on autopilot and at his most commercial. It’s relentless in the worst possible way, with one-note characters that waste a talented cast. The pop culture references are also surprisingly flat, missing the self-aware and charming nature of something like Who Framed Roger Rabbit; here, the references just feel like checks on a long list, thrown together without any rhyme or reason. It’s also surprisingly unappealing to look at, which is a shocker considering who was behind the camera. Unfortunately, a sequel is in development.

5

‘War of the Worlds’ (2005)

Image via Paramount Pictures

Spielberg’s second collaboration with Tom Cruise was 2005’s War of the Worlds, based on H.G. Wells‘ totemic 1898 novel. Like the source material, the film sees Earth invaded by an alien race that uses giant machines to rampage across the globe. The story centers on Ray Ferrier (Cruise), a dock worker who must reunite his estranged children, Rachel (Dakota Fanning) and Robbie (Justin Chatwin), with their mother.

War of the Worlds is a bizarre movie. The action is quite impressive, and Spielberg perfectly captures the chaos and desperation that the alien invasion provokes in the woefully unprepared humans. He also ramps up the paranoia that has become intrinsically tied to the story, largely thanks to a scene-stealing Tim Robbins, who outright dominates the second act. However, the central family story considerably drags the picture down. Cruise is doing his best Bruce Willis impression as an everyman thrust into an intergalactic conflict, but the dynamic he has with his children is not entirely convincing. It doesn’t help that the two child characters are kind of annoying, with Dakota Fanning doing little more than scream her heart out every two seconds. Then there’s that infamous ending, but that’s really on Wells rather than Spielberg.

4

‘Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull’ (2008)

Image via Paramount Pictures

The Indiana Jones franchise has seen its legacy somewhat tarnished in the 21st century. The original trilogy is pretty much flawless, with all three movies ranking among Spielberg’s most beloved and highly regarded efforts. In 2008, nearly twenty years after Indy’s last crusade, the fedora-wearing explorer returned for a fourth adventure, this time pitting him against a KGB agent (Cate Blanchett) looking for a mysterious crystal skull located in Peru.

Today, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull has a notorious reputation as the film that made Indy jump the shark — or in this case, nuke the fridge. Harrison Ford is still game in the role that made him an icon, and Blanchett is having the time of her life hamming it up as a wicked Soviet with a killer bob and a thick accent. Yet, nearly every other choice made in the narrative is… odd. Hardly anyone wanted to see Indy as a father, especially if his son was played by Shia LaBeouf, of all people. Moreover, Indiana Jones is a franchise more related to adventure and pulp rather than science fiction; introducing literal aliens to this lore seemed incredibly out of place. Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is not bad per se; it’s just kind of average.

3

‘Minority Report’ (2002)

From this point on, every film is top-tier Spielberg, and we’re starting with his first collaboration with Tom Cruise, Minority Report. The film is set in a future where crime can be stopped before it even happens by using the predictions of three psychics known as “precogs.” Chief John Anderton (Cruise), the commanding officer in charge of Precrime, finds himself chased by his own team when the precogs predict he’ll murder a man he doesn’t even know.

Minority Report finds Spielberg in fine form, effortlessly blending cerebral, weighty ideas with pure, unadulterated action and a heavy dose of pulp. Cruise is the perfect leading man here, embodying Anderton’s determination and desperation and never shying away from the character’s thornier aspects. Colin Farrell is a perfect foil as the equally determined Danny Witwer, while the criminally underappreciated Samantha Morton nearly steals the whole thing as the precog Agatha. Spielberg takes Philip K. Dick‘s novella and enhances the themes at its core without losing sight of his duty as an entertainer. The result is a brilliant sci-fi thriller that’s as fast-paced and exhilarating as it’s emotional and genuinely thought-provoking. It also features several eerie scenes, some of which border on literal horror, making it an even more original entry in Spielberg’s filmography.

2

‘Disclosure Day’ (2026)

Image via Universal Pictures

Disclosure Day is Spielberg’s first sci-fi in eight years and, as it turns out, it’s also one of his best; in fact, it’s the director’s best sci-fi effort in twenty years. Emily Blunt and Josh O’Connor lead an impressive ensemble cast in this tale that revisits many of Spielberg’s most common interests in the sci-fi genre. The story follows meteorologist Margaret Fairchild (Blunt) and cybersecurity expert Daniel Kellner (O’Connor) as they lead a movement to uncover a conspiracy regarding the government’s cover-up of alien secrets.

In typical Spielberg fashion, Disclosure Day offers a thrilling surface covering a humane, emotional-to-a-fault core that may or may not necessarily work for you. Yet, it’s hard to argue with the approach, considering the man behind the camera. The film is far from perfect — it’s about twenty minutes too long — and the ending does seem to go on forever, ultimately leading to a rather abrupt but not necessarily unsatisfying conclusion. Behind the camera, Spielberg remains untouchable, injecting so much panache into every visual choice; a simple camera movement becomes an entire experience. In the acting department, Emily Blunt delivers a career-best performance in a deeply empathetic role that might just be the best female character in the director’s filmography. If you come into this movie expecting the hard sci-fi of something like Interstellar or the visceral thrills of Inception, you won’t find them here; Disclosure Day is something far more intimate, fantastical, and ultimately powerful.

1

‘A.I. Artificial Intelligence’ (2001)

Image via Warner Bros. Pictures

Finally, we find ourselves talking about A.I. Artificial Intelligence, perhaps Spielberg’s most misunderstood gem. (Very) loosely based on the short story “Supertoys Last All Summer Long,” the film stars Haley Joel Osment as David, a childlike android programmed with the ability to feel genuine love. Adopted by a Cybertronics employee and his wife whose child is in suspended animation, David develops a powerful, one-sided bond with her and, inspired by Pinocchio, goes on a quest to become a real boy.

A.I. might just be Spielberg’s most fascinating movie. Unlike most of his other efforts, there is a rather bleak feeling permeating the whole narrative. The director opts for a chilly, detached look that starkly contrasts with David’s hopeful, relentless optimism and will. Speaking of David, the character largely works because of Osment’s outstanding, Oscar-worthy performance, embodying the childlike innocence and hope of someone who longs for love above all else. A.I. has several interesting ideas regarding what it means to be human; it’s philosophical and poetic at once, a blend of the styles and concerns of Spielberg and the project’s original director, Stanley Kubrick. The result is a haunting, sobering look into the future, a lyrical sci-fi that still finds the light even among all-consuming darkness.