The Wachowski siblings’ The Matrix took the world by storm when it was first released back in 1999. This was more than just your average, run-of-the-mill sci-fi actioner. This was a groundbreaking masterpiece that challenged moviegoers’ conception of their own reality. It combined influences from William Gibson’s cyberpunk novels, Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, and Japanese kung fu cinema to deliver a movie unlike any we’d ever seen before.
But it was not the first or last science fiction film to capture the hearts and minds of the moviegoing public like that. So, here are 10 Mind-Boggling Sci-Fi Movies To Watch If You Like The Matrix.
Updated on May 22nd, 2020 by Ben Sherlock: The Matrix remains one of the most beloved science fiction movies ever made. Its worldbuilding, set pieces, and themes make it a high benchmark for the genre. A fourth film in The Matrix saga had been in production before the outbreak of the coronavirus; now, filming has been delayed indefinitely. So, as long as the wait for The Matrix 4 is going to be even longer, we’ve updated this list with a handful of entries.
Minority Report
Adapted from a Philip K. Dick story, Steven Spielberg’s Minority Report is a rare science fiction film with an incredibly rich premise that actually explores that premise in the depth it deserves. Tom Cruise plays a cop in a future where law enforcement agencies can predict crimes before they take place – and he’s found guilty of the murder of a man he’s never met that’s set to take place in a few days.
On the surface, it’s a fun sci-fi twist on the fugitive-tries-to-clear-his-name thriller, but going deeper than that, it’s an exploration of how time works and the ethics of this crimefighting concept.
Snowpiercer
Set in a world ravaged by a new ice age where the last surviving humans live on a constantly moving train, Snowpiercer is a poignant study of class struggle. Chris Evans stars as the leader of a revolution by the poorer classes against their rich, gun-toting overlords.
From director Bong Joon-ho, who recently won a boatload of Oscars for his film Parasite, Snowpiercer is a sci-fi epic that realizes the full potential of its ripe premise.
Arrival
Movies about humankind’s first with alien life are Arrival come in peace, and they’re trying to communicate with us.
Amy Adams plays a linguistics expert who’s recruited to decipher the aliens’ language and figure out what they’re trying to say. Arrival’s greatest asset is its poignant twist ending, which touches on what it really means to be human.
The Terminator
Inspired by a fever dream James Cameron had in which a relentless flaming android was coming toward him, The Terminator masterfully blends contemplative sci-fi concepts and visceral thrills by way of a slickly constructed neo-noir.
Arnold Schwarzenegger stars as the titular cyborg, while Linda Hamilton plays the soon-to-be mother of the Resistance that he’s sent back in time to ruthlessly hunt down. Once the movie gets going, it doesn’t let up – sort of like its eponymous antagonist.
Children Of Men
In a world where all women are infertile and the last human beings are quickly aging towards death, Clive Owen is tasked with protecting the only pregnant woman from swarms of post-apocalyptic crazies who want to get their hands on her baby.
Alfonso Cuarón’s direction brings an intense realism to every scene – particularly one long tracking shot, which was nailed by cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki. Amid wannabes like The Hunger Games, this movie represents dystopian fiction at its best.
Inception
Let’s get the most obvious one out of the way right off the bat. As soon as Christopher Nolan’s Inception was released, parallels were drawn with The Matrix. But aside from its combination of lofty sci-fi concepts and breathtaking action sequences, the two really don’t have much in common.
Inception is a heist movie, but instead of stealing money or jewels, Dom Cobb and his team are plotting to steal an idea by entering a man’s dreams. The film gets very complicated when it delves into dreams within dreams within dreams, but much like The Matrix, it is a viewing experience unlike any other.
Annihilation
The best thing about Annihilation is that its premise is never fully explained. There’s nothing scarier in the real world than unexplained scientific phenomena, and as it turns out, there’s nothing scarier than that in the movie world, too.
Alex Garland’s follow-up to his fantastic directorial debut Ex Machina stars Natalie Portman as the leader of an all-female group of scientists heading into “the Shimmer,” a quarantined zone filled with plants and animals that are mutating to become distorted, disturbing versions of themselves. It’s a visual delight, and as with all the best sci-fi movies, there’s an overriding human theme: grief.
Ghost In The Shell
Not the whitewashed, CGI-laden live-action remake starring Scarlett Johansson – the 1995 anime original. With the deceptively simplistic premise of a security agent hunting down a hacker, Ghost in the Shell explores the philosophical reflections of a world dominated by advanced technology.
Director Mamoru Oshii masterfully uses the world of the future to hold a mirror up to the world of the present, all with beautiful animation and an impeccable score by Kenji Kawai. Ghost in the Shell actually had a tremendous influence on the Wachowskis when they were mapping out The Matrix trilogy and visualizing how it was going to look.
Total Recall
This is the 1990 original, not the 2012 remake. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as a blue-collar guy in a near-future world who hears about a new company that implants memories of vacations in your head, which is cheaper than actually going on the vacations.
So, he goes to their offices, asks for the memories of a spy mission to Mars, and midway through the simulation, he comes to and thinks he is actually a spy who went to Mars. The movie is a mind-bending tapestry of plot twists. Just when you think you know what’s going on, someone comes along to tell you that you’re wrong. It’s a real head-trip.
The Thing
John Carpenter’s The Thing is probably closer to a horror movie than a sci-fi movie, but there are sci-fi elements and it is mind-boggling, so it earns its inclusion on this list. It stars Kurt Russell as one of a group of American scientists at a remote Arctic outpost who are faced with a malicious alien creature that can take the form of anything – including any of them.
This leads to all the scientists becoming paranoid and not trusting each other. Ennio Morricone provided the tense musical score, which helps to create a sense of claustrophobic terror, while Carpenter’s typically sharp direction carries the whole thing.
