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Science fiction is one of the most popular movie genres, and as such, it has many variations and options. One of them is hard sci-fi. While the definitions differ, most people believe that a hard sci-fi is the type of story that works with real scientific concepts and theories, that are either being developed or could become a possibility in the not-so-distant future.
In other words, hard sci-fi movies have a basis in reality and when somebody's watching them, they can think to themselves: This could actually happen (in the future). While there are plenty of high-quality hard sci-fi movies, only some of them are realistic, yet not overly complex, which makes them the perfect movies for newcomers to this sci-fi subgenre.
5 Gattaca (1997)
Gattaca is one of the sci-fi movies that take place on Earth, not in space. And it works with a concept that could very well become reality one day. In the movie's society, parents can design the future genetic characteristics and traits of their children in a lab. Those who are born in the usual way are considered imperfect and shunned by society. The main hero, Vincent Freeman (Ethan Hawke), pretends to be one of the children from the lab because that's the only way how to get his dream job and become an astronaut.
However, he's not going to have it easy since a single mistake can give him away and his dream will be over. The movie is full of tension and also asks whether it's ethical to genetically modify babies, something that will most likely be possible in the future.
4 Deep Impact (1998)
Deep Impact isn't the only movie that's dealing with the issue of a comet colliding with Earth and causing a huge catastrophe. What makes this movie different is that it takes a realistic approach when it comes to dealing with the crisis. The government plans to detonate the comet, but just to make sure humanity survives, they also establish bunkers where chosen people will hide.
While everyone's hoping this scenario will never come to pass, NASA has been working on how to deflect dangerous asteroids from Earth, making Deep Impact seem strangely prophetic. Since the movie pays a lot of attention to the relationships between the characters as well, it's understandable even for viewers who don't usually pay much attention to science but would like to learn more about it in an accessible way.
3 Her (2013)
Her could also be considered one of the most unusual romantic movies ever. It takes place in a future very similar to our own, except for the fact that it has artificial intelligence, an operating system named Samantha. Joaquin Phoenix stars as Theodore, a lonely man who falls for Samantha, but eventually discovers Samantha has been keeping a "romantic" relationship with many people and just one human isn't enough for her thanks to her world-encompassing scope.
While the AI has yet a long way to go before it can become as human-like as Samantha, it's a development that could very well happen in the future, and people could one day fall in love with their new version of Siri or Alexa, just like Theodore prefers Samantha to live women.
2 The Martian (2015)
When Andy Weir published his novel The Martian, it became a huge hit since it presented a scientific story in a way that was understandable even for those normally not interested in science. And the movie takes it one step further, becoming one of the best ways how to get into the hard sci-fi movie genre. The Martian focuses on Mark Watney (Matt Damon), an astronaut who's left behind on Mars during a space mission and has to figure out how to survive long enough for people on Earth to rescue him.
NASA worked with the filmmakers on the movie to ensure the equipment and spacecraft would look realistic. What's more, the steps Mark takes to ensure his survival are also mostly based on reality. If that wasn't enough, The Martian is not only intelligent but also funny, and it's easy to cheer on Mark during his quest to survive.
1 Ex Machina (2015)
Just like Theodore in Her, Caleb (Domhnall Gleeson) discovers that just because someone acts human, it doesn't mean they think or feel in the same way. Caleb is chosen to go to his boss's house where he discovers that Nathan (Oscar Isaacs) has created a robot named Ava (Alicia Vikander) and wants Caleb to help him test Ava's responses. As time progresses, Caleb builds a bond with Ava and might even fall in love with her.
Even though Ex Machina had a lower budget, or perhaps because of it, the movie quite realistically captures the advancement in robotics. Once again, robots like Ava don't yet exist, but their potential creation is no longer purely in the realm of science fiction stories like it once was. Not only thanks to the great cast and intelligent, thought-provoking story, Ex Machina is a good introduction to the genre that will keep the audience intrigued, but not puzzled or confused like some other hard sci-fi movies.