Most Intelligent Sci-fi Movies

The fact that this was a huge hit for director Steven Spielberg and star Tom Cruise tends to overshadow how smart this movie is�"not just in its main themes about predestination and free will but in the details of its portrayal of a surveillance society that doesn't look too far from now. It's gritty and sophisticated stuff

Contact offers probably the most realistic depiction to date of what might actually happen when we get our first signal from an alien civilization.

Many of the smartest sci-fi films tackle bigger themes than just "will E.T. be friendly or nasty when he finally shows up? " This little independent gem is both a rugged, realistic look at a near-future space mission...

Based on the short French film La Jetee, 12 Monkeys is a tragic romance wrapped in an elegant paradox

The motivations behind Close Encounters of the Third Kind have been debated countless times since it landed on screens in 1977, but no matter which angle you view it from, what can't be argued is the gentle-yet-overwhelming optimism of its message.

It's simultaneously inspiring and depressing, but it's touched a nerve with people for almost 60 years.

It's either three separate stories or three strands of the same doomed love story that spans all of time and space, posing questions about immortality, the existence of God and the search for meaning along the way.

Dream within a dream within a dream... Just breathtaking!

A film full of philosophical themes as well as great special effects for the the time and a brilliant story with some great acting.

Dark City is a perfect example of a movie that might have seemed "too smart" when it first came out but later picked up a following and is widely considered a work of near-brilliance.

Its lack of pyrotechnics is more than balanced by its rich, thought-provoking exploration of human bio-engineering and the dangerous ethical and social cans of worms that could open up.