10 Nearly Perfect Sci-Fi Movies That Don't Get Enough Love

Talking about perfect science fiction movies is tricky business. Some films—2001: A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, The Empire Strikes Back, Metropolis—are essentially untouchable. Suggesting flaws in those classics might earn you some harsh words from passionate fans.

But what about the nearly perfect ones? The films that are great, with flaws so minor they barely register? That's where things get interesting—and contentious. Here are ten sci-fi movies that came tantalizingly close to perfection, even if you're guaranteed to disagree with at least one of these picks.

10. Starman (1984)

The most unlikely John Carpenter sci-fi film lacks the body horror, action, or grit you'd expect from the director. Instead, Starman is a love story—specifically, a love story about a young woman falling for an alien who looks like her recently deceased husband.

On paper, it sounds corny. In execution, it's genuinely engaging and surprisingly moving. Carpenter proves he can handle tender emotion as well as terror, delivering a film that works precisely because it commits fully to its premise without winking at the audience.

9. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)

Mad Max: Fury Road is the kind of movie many consider perfect—at least as far as sci-fi/action films go. Nearly a decade later, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga proved to be almost, but not quite, as good.

The prequel fills narrative gaps while making Furiosa feel more well-rounded. It expands the world of Fury Road in interesting ways and delivers excellent action when needed. Did it equal something perfect? No. But for a prequel to Fury Road, coming close to perfection again might be enough.

8. Pacific Rim (2013)

Guillermo del Toro has made plenty of monster movies where the monsters aren't as monstrous as the humans. Pacific Rim takes a different approach: the monsters are big, undeniably antagonistic, and so destructive that they actually unite humanity.

The solution? Giant pilotable robots to battle giant monsters. It's incredibly simple, maybe even silly, but also charming and difficult to resist. The film follows a desperate last mission by remaining pilots and their robots, delivering entertainment that's pure, straightforward, and completely satisfying.

7. Until the End of the World (1991)

The longest and likely most underrated film on this list, Until the End of the World was designed as the ultimate road movie—traveling various countries instead of towns. It explores technology's impact on people while maintaining its adventurous spirit.

The sci-fi elements intensify in the second half as things slow down and get somber in ways that work without spoiling here. Throughout, the film looks visually stunning and features an all-time iconic soundtrack that's endlessly great.

6. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (2017)

Let's rip the Band-Aid off.

The original Star Wars trilogy is beloved. The prequels were messy, though Revenge of the Sith pushed space opera to its absolute limits. And yes, Star Wars is technically more fantasy than science fiction.

But The Last Jedi is almost perfect. No elaboration. Want to get mad? You're getting no ammunition. Sometimes a hot take needs no defense beyond existing.

5. Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Avatar (2009) could arguably be called perfect—it does everything it needs to as a broadly appealing sci-fi epic. Thirteen years later, The Way of Water arrived as a more sprawling, perhaps messier film that nonetheless improved on the first in certain ways.

The first Avatar is cleaner and more efficient with its narrative. The sequel's sprawl is both strength and weakness—more ambitious with its concepts but less focused. It didn't equal perfection, but for a sequel to something so successful, coming close counts for a lot.

4. Woman in the Moon (1929)

Fritz Lang's 1929 film attempted to depict a moon voyage decades before it actually happened, trying to make everything feel believable within their limitations. There's lovely quaintness in seeing what they got wrong and what they surprisingly got right.

What impresses most is the technical ambition—making this kind of movie 100 years ago about going to the moon was bold. Like Metropolis (which Lang directed two years earlier), Woman in the Moon can be appreciated heartily for what it achieved given its era.

3. Time After Time (1979)

H.G. Wells tracking down Jack the Ripper through time is already playful historical fiction. Then Jack steals Wells' time machine and flees to the future, forcing Wells to pursue him while preventing decades of additional murders.

It accomplishes all this as a goofy yet dark comedy, exploring how 1970s life is rougher than Wells' 19th century experience. Movies this bizarre while feeling this well-made are incredibly rare. The chaos is best discovered yourself.

2. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Steven Spielberg's sci-fi credentials include E.T., Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Jurassic Park. Yet A.I. Artificial Intelligence sometimes gets buried under everything else.

It's an odd watch—famously blending Kubrick's sensibilities with Spielberg's since Kubrick was attached before his death. The result is haunting in multiple ways, with impressive individual scenes, an excellent score, and a challengingly bittersweet ending that's hard to fully process.

The movie is difficult to wrap your head around completely, which is precisely what makes it fascinating.

1. Godzilla: Final Wars (2004)

Made to celebrate 50 years of Godzilla, Final Wars involves aliens using monsters to destroy Earth so they can take over. The solution? Unleash an extremely powerful Godzilla to rampage his way to saving the world.

Saving the world isn't exactly wholesome or heroically done, but it's tremendously fun to watch. The film never stops—it feels like watching three kaiju movies condensed into one. It's a mess, so it can't be considered perfect, but it's easily one of the most glorious messes in cinema.

The Beauty of Nearly Perfect

What makes these films special isn't flawlessness—it's how their imperfections somehow enhance rather than diminish the experience. Starman is corny but moving. Pacific Rim is simple but irresistible. The Last Jedi is... well, The Last Jedi is going to keep starting arguments for years.

The truly perfect sci-fi films have already earned their untouchable status. These nearly perfect ones? They're still fighting for recognition, still sparking debates, still proving that coming close to perfection can be just as interesting as achieving it.

And honestly? That's exactly where the most interesting conversations happen.