It doesn't matter if a person lives under a rock, in the outer sectors of the galaxy, or in some far-flung fifth dimension accessible through a phone booth— they would have heard some of the most famous sci-fi movie taglines and catchphrases. Some of them transcend generations of sci-fi fans and have become common household utterances.
From space monks and their eternal war with pruney old despots to post-apocalyptic humans struggling against their machine overlords, there's no shortage of ideas in sci-fi cinema. To make them more memorable, the people behind these films have introduced some truly unforgettable sci-fi movie taglines and catchphrases that might just travel through the space-time continuum with their relevance.
10 Star Trek: "Live Long and Prosper"
There are tons of choices from Star Trek, but Spock's legendary line is one of the most endearing and iconic of the bunch. It's usually a matured Spock who imparts this Vulcan salutation to his dearest comrades and partly to the audience as well; it certainly hits harder during an exit or farewell.
It's so respectful and positive that fans can easily use it as a greeting to one another or as some kind of welcoming gesture, for which it was first intended in the Star Trek mythos. Interestingly enough, it had its roots in Judaism, thanks to Leonard Nimoy's improvisation.
9 Star Wars: "May The Force Be With You"
Like Trekkies, Star Trek fans also have their own salutation. This one came in the form of the Jedi good luck or farewell gesture, "May the Force be with you." It's also one of the most iconic lines in cinema history due to its positive message while still retaining a nerd culture or even spiritual subtext.
But even those who have never seen any Star Wars media will still understand the underlying meaning and the implications of the "force" without knowing exactly what that is. That's proof enough of how widespread Star Wars has become in pop culture.
8 The Terminator: "I'll Be Back"
To this day, "I'll be back" remains Arnold Schwarzenegger's most iconic line thanks to his heavy Austrian accent and deadpan delivery of the line in the first Terminator film. Back then, he was the villain and was hell-bent on erasing Sarah Connor from the timeline so that her unborn son wouldn't spark a revolution in the near future.
To say that Arnold Schwarzenegger chose his role well would be an understatement; he played to his strengths (and his acting inexperience) as an actor in portraying the most wooden and stiff robot in sci-fi history. Apart from that, "I'll be back" was a prelude or warning to the disastrous carnage that followed.
7 Toy Story/Lightyear: "To Infinity, And Beyond!"
Before Lightyear even formally introduced Buzz Lightyear's status as a sci-fi character of his own, he was already spitting some unforgettable catchphrases as a brainwashed toy in Toy Story. Buzz's "To infinity, and beyond!" was a cheeky callback to the sci-fi salutations of old from Star Trek and Star Wars.
More than anything, it portrays Buzz's persistence and will in his overwhelming profession as a space ranger against the forces of Zerg and the perils of the unknown universe. It might have started out as a random semi-serious joke from Pixar, but it quickly became an inspiring mantra for a lot of kids and nerds.
6 E.T.: "E.T. Phone Home"
To depict that even aliens can have emotions and can feel lonely instead of just being hungry, man-eating bugs, Steven Spielberg's E.T. introduced the titular character. And his most famous line in the film was some of the first few English words he learned, which is practically him saying he wants off Earth.
Can't blame him though, too many judgmental blabbermouths on Earth. However, this small conversation bridged the miscommunication gap between some curious children and a lone alien. It was the pinnacle of equal parts cuteness and sadness in 1980s cinema.
5 Alien: "In Space, No One Can Hear You Scream"
Speaking of movie aliens, the one from Alien is the polar opposite of E.T. The Xenomorph doesn't speak much, but its language is as clear as day: it wants to chew faces. Such a premise might sound standard these days, but back in 1979, Ridley Scott's horror masterpiece was the start of many things.
For one, it was the scariest and most fresh horror film back in its release. The idea of getting stuck in an isolated rust bucket of a vessel in the void of space with a murderous giant roach on board was nothing short of horrendous. The film's tagline emphasized the feeling of trapped helplessness that the crew found themselves in, hunted by this creature.
4 Jurassic Park: "Hold Onto Your Butts"
Samuel Jackson wasn't exactly a main character in the original Jurassic Park, but even so, he still managed to steal the show with one of his line of dialogue, "Hold on to your butts." He specifically said that as a facility operator right before introducing the guests to a sample tour of the Jurassic Park.
Granted, just about anything that comes out of Samuel Jackson's mouth is gospel material for any film buff (profanity included). The comically disastrous undertones of his line in Jurassic Park — especially further on in the film's story — made his line a lot more poetic.
3 Apollo 13: "Houston, We Have A Problem"
Airline pilots love this line during April Fools, but the passengers? Not so much. They owe it all to Tom Hanks and his stellar performance as NASA Commander Jim Lovell in Apollo 13. It's a retelling of the catastrophic failure of the titular lunar landing mission.
"Houston, we have a problem" was Hanks' character's official call for help after an explosion crippled their flight mid-space. Yet, despite the lethality of the situation, Hanks' character remained collected and professional amid the fear and the distress.
2 The Thing: "Man Is The Warmest Place To Hide"
If Alien made an argument for why space is the scariest setting for horror, The Thing argued that it's the Antarctic region. This film's titular sci-fi horror creature keeps stealing the skins and bodies of poor human scientists in the cold of the Antarctic.
Thus, The Thing came up with a new and creative tagline to unsettle its potential viewers. It's both harrowing and disgusting to imagine a horror creature that embeds itself inside the human body both to survive and to toy with equally desperate prey.
1 The Matrix: "There Is No Spoon"
The Matrix was no stranger to toying with philosophical ideas about existentialism and reality, and this was at its most comprehensive yet simplest during the "there is no spoon" scene. It was when Neo realized that the reality he sees in front of him doesn't exist.
He couldn't change the outside world, and he could only change his perception and himself. Only through this truth, he was able to gain control of his reality. Thus, "there is no spoon" can easily become a mantra for consoling oneself in the face of a stubborn and disheartening reality.