The best sci-fi movies to watch on Netflix in March 2024

Greetings, Polygon readers!

Dune: Part Two has finally arrived and swallowed box office expectations like a mighty sandworm across the plains of Arrakis. For viewers who haven’t had a chance to go to the cinema to see this year’s sci-fi epic du jour, there are plenty of other exciting films on the horizon to look forward to, like Bertrand’s Bonello The beast, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagaand more.

For those looking for a great movie to enjoy at home, don’t worry: we’ve put together our picks for the best sci-fi films to watch on Netflix this month, including an explosive double feature with starring cousins ​​Robbie and Stephen Amell, a wacky space drama starring Adam Sandler, and a multiverse mashup that offers a little bit of everything and everywhere… all at once.

Let’s take a look at what this month has to offer!

---

Editor’s tip: Code 8 and Code 8 Part II

Director: Jeff Chan
Pour: Robbie Amell, Stephen Amell

In 2020, a small Canadian science fiction film, backed by more than 30,000 Indiegogo contributors, was released on Netflix. Code 8produced by and starring his real-life cousin Robbie Amell (Upload) and Stephen Amell (Arrow) became a breakout hit on the platform and helped spawn a direct-to-Netflix sequel a few years later. It’s easy to see why they became hits – their commitment to building interesting worlds and the clear passion behind the projects make them a joy to watch, warts aside.

In the world of Code 8People with superpowers have existed since the early 20th century. These people became a working class who used their powers to perform dangerous jobs. But as the Industrial Revolution progressed and automation became more commonplace, society concluded that the dangers of superpowered workers outweighed the benefits, turning these former workers into a closely monitored, marginalized class of people. When a young man with electricity looks for a job to pay his mother’s medical bills, he falls into a gang of electrical criminals looking for a big win.

The Code 8 films are not the most polished projects – the version of Code 8 Part II The film uploaded to Netflix has several obvious editing errors that result in out-of-sync shooting for a single frame. But in a way, that works to the films’ advantage, along with the “low-budget, passion-indie” vibe of the projects. (You can also see how good the evil robot cops in the series look – some are reminiscent of Automatons in Helldivers 2while others are pure variations of Boston Dynamics’ fearsome robot dogs).

Part heist film, part science fiction, part tale of power and who wields it, the Code 8 films aren’t always of a high standard, but they work with some interesting ideas and are determined to execute on them. Sometimes that’s what you expect from low-budget sci-fi. —Pete Volk

---

Spaceman

Director: Johan Renck
Pour: Adam Sandler, Carey Mulligan, Paul Dano

Adam Sandler doesn’t get nearly as much credit as he deserves. While his roles in films like Blow drunk love And Unpolished gemstones may seem like an outlier compared to his more comedic work, the sheer contrast of these roles speaks to his extraordinary range as a performer. His role in Spacemanthe new sci-fi drama from director Johan Renck, is a perfect fit for the aforementioned roles and showcases Sandler’s talent for dramatic acting at the highest level.

Sandler plays Jakub, a Czech cosmonaut sent on a solo mission to investigate a mysterious particle cloud that has appeared at the edge of the solar system. Separated from his wife Lenka (Carey Mulligan), who no longer seems to be sending or receiving messages to him, Jakub begins to feel the effects of his prolonged isolation from humanity… until he finds an unexpected new “friend” in the world in the form of a telepathic arachnid-like one Creature that wants to better understand humanity.

Is this creature real or just a hallucination born of Jakub’s failing sanity and the anomalous effects of the particle cloud? Even though this question remains unanswered for most of the film, it’s certain that Sandler delivers one hell of a performance against the style, capturing the nuances of a man grappling with his regrets, his hopes and fears for the future and the eternal Question fights over humanity’s place in the universe. Spaceman is a moving, unconventional science fiction drama about the redemptive power of connection and the will to change. –Toussaint Egan

Everything everywhere at once

Director: The Daniels
Pour: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan

Multiverses are like that In at the moment. There is perhaps no better proof of this than Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert’s sci-fi spectacle, which took home the Oscar for Best Picture in 2023 and earned Michelle Yeoh her first Oscar for Best Actress, among several other awards. If you somehow haven’t experienced it yet Everything everywhere at once If you haven’t seen it yet, or haven’t seen it since it first hit theaters, now that it’s on Netflix is ​​the perfect time to watch it.

The film combines the directing duo’s anarchic, offbeat sense of humor with a compelling drama about intergenerational regret, forgiveness and personal growth. Michelle Yeoh delivers an award-winning performance, as does Jamie Lee Curtis as the insufferable IRS auditor-turned-nemesis. But the real MVP of EEAAO is none other than Ke Huy Quan, who bursts onto the screen with a performance that encapsulates the full range of the film’s strengths through its jaw-dropping fight sequences, goofy humor and captivating vulnerability. As popular as multiverse stories may be right now, there’s nothing else that feels like it quite How Everything everywhere at once. -THE