Another month, another batch of exciting new releases in theaters to look forward to! Gladiator II, Wicked Part I, Moana 2, and more all slated to be released by the end of November. But what about a new sci-fi flick, or at the very least a good one to watch from the comfort of your own home? Don’t worry: We’ve got just the list of options for you to choose from!
Every month, we pull together a list of the best sci-fi movies available to stream on Netflix. For this month, we’ve curated a trio of sci-fi films that each touch on the subject of deja vu in their own peculiar way. We’ve got a neo-noir thriller starring Ethan Hawke (Moon Knight) and Sarah Snook (Succession), a legacy sequel to one of the most important sci-fi franchises of the early 2000s, and a “so bad it’s good” superhero movie starring Dakota Johnson.
Let’s take a look at what this month has to offer!
Editor’s pick: Predestination
Directors: Peter Spierig, Michael Spierig
Cast: Ethan Hawke, Sarah Snook, Noah Taylor
Ethan Hawke stars opposite then-future Succession star Sarah Snook in this mind-bending sci-fi caper. Adapted from Robert A. Heinlein’s short story “All You Zombies,” Predestination stars Hawke as an agent of a clandestine organization on a mission to apprehend a notorious terrorist known as the “Fizzle Bomber.” As part of his mission, the agent is tasked with recruiting a forlorn writer (Snook) with an extraordinary life story.
I can’t go much further into the details of the story without risk of spoiling its many twists and turns, but what I can say is that Hawke and Snook deliver terrific performances as two lonely people brought together through truly extraordinary circumstances. If you’re looking for an unconventional and deeply affecting sci-fi story with a compelling mystery and a provocative ending, Predestination is this month’s sci-fi movie to watch. —Toussaint Egan
Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: Lana Wachowski
Cast: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II
In the almost three years since its release, The Matrix Resurrections has aged into one of the most interesting and incisive movies of the legacyquels era. It masterfully treads the line between engaging with the legacy of the original Matrix movies while also questioning the entire industry that could make it possible, or even necessary, to return to a franchise a decade after it ended. The movie dares to ask what kind of cultural stagnation studios might have tried to force us into that we haven’t developed new heroes in all this time.
Of course, it’s also more than just its metaphors. And in keeping with Matrix series tradition, Resurrections is also just an absolutely kick-ass action movie. And for all the movie’s clever industry-wide criticisms, it is hard to argue with the pure cinematic joy of seeing Keanu Reeves and Carrie-Anne Moss back on screen together. For the conflict of those two feelings alone, Resurrections is well worth your time now that it’s on Netflix. —Austen Goslin
Image: Sony Pictures
Director: S. J. Clarkson
Cast: Dakota Johnson, Sydney Sweeney, Isabela Merced
This one is not so much a recommendation of a movie as it is a recommendation of an experience. I’m certainly on the record of thinking Madame Web is a bad movie. But that doesn’t mean there’s no fun to be had with its particular brand of bad. That being said, you probably won’t have a great time with the movie just watching it on your couch alone on a Saturday night. But if you can organize the right group of friends, the right refreshments, and the right attitude, Madame Web is a near perfect movie to throw on Netflix and make jokes about.
If for some reason you want a more serious reason to watch this, then consider that maybe its plot will have some kind of relevance for the Kraven the Hunter, a movie that’s supposedly coming out on Dec. 13. —AG