Between global pandemics, UFO disclosures, space exploration, human-animal hybridization, and even artificial intelligence, our world is starting to look more and more like the science fiction movies we all grew up watching. While many films from this genre feature plots that are much more realistic than we would like, these flicks also offer us an escape from every daylife. With that in mind, we’ve compiled a list together of the best science fiction films of all time!

1. Aliens (1986)

Although the original 1979 film (which is a wonderful blend of sci-fi and horror) might be the most beloved of the franchise, Aliens is actually (*Ripley’s* believe-it-or-not…) the better “sci-fi” film. It has everything! From rampaging aliens, robo-mech suits, Colonial Marines (lead by Michael Biehn’s Hicks), androids, Alien Queens, and the return of Sigourney Weaver’s talented Ellen Ripley.

Aliens, directed by Terminator creator James Cameron, is the gold standard for science fiction, telling the story of what it means to be human with a frightening intergalactic backdrop.

2. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Okay, so Terminator 2: Judgment Day is not just the greatest action film of all time (that’s a fact), but also one of the best science-fiction flicks there is. Arnold Schwarzenegger (Predator) returns as The Terminator, but this time with an incredible twist. Oh, and if you think Ripley from Aliens is a bad-ass, then wait until you meet Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor, who is a one-woman-army with a sole goal in mind: saving her son.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of those films you cannot miss. If you like stories about humanity, artificial intelligence, and destiny, with a lot of action in between, then this is the film for you.

3. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

This film was Stephen Spielberg’s passion project, the one he wanted to make from the moment he walked on the set of Jaws. Close Encounters of the Third Kind is a story about just that: contact with extra-terrestrial life. The film follows Indiana blue-collar worker Roy Neary (Richard Dreyfuss, Jaws) as he deals with his incredible encounter with a UFO.