5 Of The Best Sci-Fi Movies On Netflix In June 2023

One of the greatest aspects of streaming services, besides the company-specific offerings that justify increasingly high subscription prices, is the often rotating selection of movies. This means that the movies that are available for streaming can sometimes change from month to month, but luckily it looks like Netflix has an impressive retinue of some beloved science fiction movies available as of June 2023.

Some of Netflix's current lineup of sci-fi films are a bit more grounded like "Hanna" and "Hardcore Henry," while others revel in theoretical futures, like "Pitch Black" and "Starship Troopers." Needless to say, most of these films are considered classics in their own right in some circles, and if you haven't seen these, perhaps now is the time to do so. Here are five movies available to stream on Netflix that should scratch your science fiction itch, whether you're looking for frenzied action or a more subdued affair.

Probably one of the most notable science fiction movies currently on Netflix is none other than 1991's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." Starring the prolific Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edward Furlong, Linda Hamilton, and Robert Patrick, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" flips the script from the original film and instead of the fearsome Terminator (Schwarzenegger) hunting Sarah Connor (Hamilton), the murderous robot instead is sent to protect the young John Connor (Furlong) from the shape-shifting liquid metal robot known as the T-1000 (Patrick).

Completely blowing the socks off critics and box office returns alike, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" maintains an exceptionally impressive 91% on Rotten Tomatoes to this day, and the movie made over $500 billion during its initial run — a truly staggering number at that point in time. "Terminator 2" proved to be such a hit that when it was remastered in 4K resolution, the collector's Blu-ray edition came with a robotic arm.

Another sci-fi gem on Netflix is 2011's "Hanna." Slightly more grounded in reality than time-traveling killer robots, "Hanna" follows the titular character, played by Saoirse Ronan, who is a young and isolated girl living with her adoptive father Eric (Eric Bana) far out in the wilderness. At first, audiences might just assume that this father and daughter combo simply wants to stay away from civilization, but it is soon revealed that Hanna is actually the result of a clandestine government program to create super soldiers through genetic manipulation and engineering.

This means that when Hanna decides to enter the greater world in search of her mother, she is pursued by the ruthless Marissa Wiegler (Cate Blanchett). Wiegler wants to make sure that any evidence of the government's illegal efforts is cleaned up, which translates into the execution of anybody that has interacted with Hanna or knows of her obfuscated origin. For those interested in a more realistic science fiction film, "Hanna" is a tense thriller with a lot of heart on account of Hanna's relative naivety combined with her lethal skills and greatly enhanced physical abilities.  

Of course, when one hears the phrase, "Would you like to know more" pop up, there is only one movie that comes to mind, and luckily 1997's "Starship Troopers" currently calls Netflix home. Unlike the previous movies, "Starship Troopers" leans into the more futuristic elements of science fiction, and instead of being set in contemporary times, this film sees humanity having made the transition to a space-faring species that seeks to colonize planets. Unfortunately, the current Earth government has a distinct militaristic vibe, and their solution to any problems that humankind might come up against is unbridled violence and zealotry.

In other words, "Starship Troopers" sees Johnny Rico (Casper Van Dien), Dizzy Flores (Dina Meyer), Carmen Ibanez (Denise Richards), and Carl Jenkins (Neil Patrick Harris) span the galaxy as they fight back against a highly evolved and specialist species of insectoid. Featuring intense action sequences and decent enough special effects for the late 1990s, "Starship Troopers" has become somewhat of a cult classic these days, with several publications giving glowing modern-day re-reviews of the film that was initially met by critical and financial failure. 

Shifting gears from organized military actions against a formidable and intelligent foe, the 2000 film "Pitch Black" is also available on Netflix. Whereas "Starship Trooper" is all about a combined human effort to push back against aliens, "Pitch Black" is much more focused and personal by zeroing in on a small group of survivors of varying backgrounds and motivations. This group is forced to stay alive against a bloodthirsty and bestial alien species after a crash landing on a seemingly abandoned planet.

"Pitch Black" didn't make much of a splash when it was originally released, but a fandom soon sprung up around one of the main characters in "Pitch Black," a criminal known as Riddick (Vin Diesel). Besides Diesel, "Pitch Black" also stars Cole Hauser, Keith David, and Radha Mitchell, so for those that are looking for a science fiction movie with some horror elements, "Pitch Black" might be a good movie to check out. 

Netflix's collection of science fiction movies definitely contains many different kinds of sci-fi films, but one in particular is unique in its presentation and choice of cinematography. Released in 2015, "Hardcore Henry" is chock full of nonstop action as the unseen main character Henry carves a violent path in an effort to rescue his girlfriend. However, what makes "Hardcore Henry" so unique is that it is shot entirely in first-person perspective. For anybody who has played any kind of shooter video game, this view should be quite familiar. 

Considering this, the action scenes of "Hardcore Henry" are absolutely bonkers, and include jumping from moving cars, running through stores, and even fighting off a legion of super soldiers — all while the camera remains fixed from Henry's point of view. Starring Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Tim Roth, and Haley Bennet, "Hardcore Henry" hits sci-fi notes like cybernetic augmentations and psychic warriors while still taking place on a recognizable Earth, albeit with some rather fantastic technologies.