3 Sci-Fi Movies to Stream Before You See Project Hail Mary

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Ryan Gosling's Project Hail Mary just hit theaters on March 20, and if you haven't caught it yet, you're missing out on what critics are calling one of the best sci-fi films in years. With a 94% Rotten Tomatoes score, Andy Weir's latest adaptation proved that The Martian wasn't a fluke—this guy knows how to tell a damn good space survival story.

Here's the thing: I absolutely love sci-fi. Always have. There's something about the genre's ability to explore big philosophical questions while throwing in spaceships, aliens, and existential dread that just works for me. But loving sci-fi means I've also sat through my share of disappointments—soulless blockbusters that mistake CGI spectacle for storytelling, derivative plots that recycle the same tired tropes.

Project Hail Mary isn't one of those. It's a genuine treat that understands what makes great science fiction tick: compelling characters facing impossible odds, mind-bending concepts grounded in real science, and emotional stakes that transcend the cosmic scale of the story.

If you're planning to see it this weekend (and you should), I highly recommend prepping with a Netflix marathon. These three films share Project Hail Mary's DNA in different ways—exploring isolation, unlikely partnerships, and what it truly means to fight for survival when everything's on the line.

I Am Mother (2019)

The vibe: Claustrophobic thriller disguised as a hopeful rebuild story

I Am Mother is one of those rare sci-fi films that gets better the less you know going in, but I'll give you the basics: a young woman raised by an AI in an underground facility has her entire worldview shattered when an injured stranger arrives at the door.

What I love about this film is how it weaponizes comfort against you. The bunker feels safe, sterile, controlled. Mother's voice (Rose Byrne) is soothing, rational, reassuring. The routine is predictable. Then slowly, almost imperceptibly, the cracks start showing. Questions you never thought to ask suddenly become urgent. Trust becomes the most dangerous commodity.

Grant Sputore's directorial debut understands that the scariest AI stories aren't about killer robots—they're about systems that believe they're doing the right thing while committing atrocities. Clara Rugaard carries the weight of the film beautifully, playing a young woman who must choose between everything she's ever known and a truth she's terrified to accept.

If Project Hail Mary fascinates you because of its exploration of what humanity will sacrifice for survival, I Am Mother takes that question to its darkest logical conclusion. Both films ask: when extinction is on the line, are there any lines we won't cross?

Okja (2017)

The vibe: Studio Ghibli's beautiful world collides with corporate dystopia

Bong Joon-ho made Okja between Snowpiercer and Parasite, and you can see him perfecting his ability to blend genres until they're unrecognizable. This isn't just a movie about a girl and her giant pig—it's a stealth missile aimed directly at capitalism, genetic modification, and the meat industry, all wrapped in a visually stunning adventure story.

The genius move here is making Okja herself so damn lovable. Through incredible CGI and Ahn Seo-hyun's committed performance as Mija, you become emotionally invested in this creature before the film reveals the horrifying systems designed to exploit her. When the tone shifts from whimsical mountain adventures to corporate boardrooms and slaughterhouse facilities, the tonal whiplash is intentional and devastating.

Tilda Swinton playing twin CEOs with wildly different management styles is somehow both the funniest and most unsettling part of the film. Her performance highlights how corporate evil isn't always mustache-twirling villainy—sometimes it's branding, PR spin, and manufactured sincerity.

What connects Okja to Project Hail Mary isn't the setting but the heart: both films understand that survival stories are most compelling when they're about the bonds we form with beings completely unlike ourselves. Ryland Grace's journey echoes Mija's in surprising ways—both are ordinary people thrust into extraordinary circumstances, fighting systems far bigger than themselves to protect someone they love.

District 9 (2009)

The vibe: Handheld camera alien invasion meets apartheid allegory

Neill Blomkamp's directorial debut remains one of the smartest alien contact films ever made, precisely because it refuses to romanticize the scenario. When a massive alien ship appears over Johannesburg and unleashes refugee aliens stranded without leadership, humanity's response isn't wonder or scientific curiosity—it's bureaucracy, exploitation, and systematic oppression.

The documentary-style opening grounds everything in uncomfortable realism. These aren't the noble, mysterious visitors of Arrival or the terrifying monsters of Alien. They're called "prawns," herded into slums, and treated with casual cruelty by people who've convinced themselves these beings don't really matter. The apartheid parallels aren't subtle, and they shouldn't be.

Sharlto Copley's transformation from sniveling bureaucrat Wikus van de Merwe into a desperate fugitive is phenomenal precisely because he never becomes heroic. He's not trying to save the aliens out of moral awakening—he's trying to save himself. His partnership with Christopher Johnson, the alien determined to get his people home, develops out of pure necessity. It's messy, morally complicated, and far more interesting than typical chosen-one narratives.

The practical effects still look incredible today. The alien technology feels genuinely alien—organic, messy, powerful in ways human engineering isn't. And that final mech suit battle? Still one of the most satisfying sci-fi action sequences committed to film.

Like Project Hail Mary, District 9 understands that the best sci-fi happens when vastly different beings are forced to rely on each other. Both films explore communication barriers, cultural misunderstandings, and what happens when survival depends on cooperation despite profound differences.

Why These Films Matter

What makes great sci-fi isn't the spaceships or the special effects—it's the willingness to ask uncomfortable questions and follow them to their logical conclusions. These three films exemplify that principle in different ways.

I Am Mother interrogates whether good intentions justify horrific means. Okja forces us to confront the systems we participate in daily without thinking. District 9 holds up a mirror to our worst instincts regarding the "other." Each one uses its fantastical premise to explore deeply human concerns.

That's what Project Hail Mary does too. Beneath the interstellar stakes and scientific problem-solving, it's fundamentally about connection, sacrifice, and what we're willing to risk for beings we've come to care about.

So if you haven't seen Gosling's latest yet, spend this weekend with these three Netflix gems first. They'll sharpen your appreciation for what makes Weir's latest adaptation work so well. And if you're a sci-fi fan like me, you'll have discovered (or rediscovered) three films that demonstrate exactly why this genre, when done right, is unlike anything else cinema has to offer.