The Queue

From “Hall of Fame” films to bottom-tier movies, here’s Spielberg’s best and worst sci-fi motion pictures.

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Steven Spielberg is one of the most important American directors of the last 50 years, if not of all time. In just his first ten years as a Hollywood filmmaker, Spielberg set the template for blockbuster filmmaking with “Jaws” (one of the best Massachusetts movies ever made), made us believe in the otherworldly with “Close Encounters of the Third Kind,” and “E.T.,” and introduced us to the swashbuckling Indiana Jones in “Raiders of the Lost Ark.” 

Spielberg’s canon contains around three dozen feature length films, which is too large a list to rank in this newsletter. But with the release of his new sci-fi film “Disclosure Day” (read my review here), I thought it would be fun to offer a ranked list of just Spielberg’s sci-fi movies.

I’m going to be liberal with my definition of sci-fi. A movie like “Jurassic Park” may be more adventure than sci-fi, but if a movie features 1) human-created futuristic technology or 2) aliens, it’s in.

PS: This is a big list, so we’re skipping the Play and Skip section of the newsletter this week. Consider the top seven movies as the Plays and the bottom three as the Skips for your weekend watchlist.

Every Steven Spielberg sci-fi movie, ranked

Bottom Tier:

10. “Ready Player One” (2018): There are surface-level thrills, but ultimately a soulless brand exercise based on a novel that is itself a vacuous nostalgia trip. (HBO Max)

9. “The War of the Worlds” (2005): I’m lower on this one than most people. There’s some genuinely inspiring action scenes, and I remember the post-9/11 metaphor really hitting back in 2005. But on a recent rewatch, I couldn’t get over Tom Cruise being horribly miscast and Justin Chatwin just being plain annoying. (Paramount+, Pluto TV)

8. “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull” (2008): It’s strange that audiences found (spoiler alert) aliens to be a bridge too far for a franchise that already asks you to believe in a grail of immortality, an ark of invincibility, and a secret cult that rips people’s hearts out of their still-living bodies. Still not a great movie, though. (Disney+, Paramount+, Pluto TV)

Worth a Rewatch:

7. “The Lost World: Jurassic Park” (1997): Trying to replicate the magic of “Jurassic Park” was an impossible task, and “The Lost World” falls well short of its predecessor. But there’s still plenty to like here, including Pete Postlethwaite as a villain with a surprisingly staunch personal moral code. (Peacock)

6. “Disclosure Day” (2026): Much of the Spielberg magic is present, and Emily Blunt gives an incredible lead performance. The central question driving the film forward feels overheated, and the way it wraps things up strains credulity, but it’s nevertheless entertaining. (In theaters)

Near-Classic:

5. “A.I. Artificial Intelligence” (2001): To date, I’m not sure I’ve seen a better child actor performance than Haley Joel Osment as David, a lifelife companion android whose hardwired love for his mother (Frances O’Connor) is both his raison d’être and his undoing. (Hulu, Pluto TV)

5. “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977): Rewatching this after having seen “The Fabelmans,” you realize that Richard Dreyfuss’s blue-collar worker turned alien obsessive is a stand-in for Spielberg himself – ignoring family and friends in order to craft the perfect piece of art in an obsessive pursuit of truth, whether it’s a model of Devils Tower or a feature film. (Peacock)

Hall of Fame:

3. “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982): “Close Encounters” opened audiences up to the possibility of benevolent alien life, but “E.T” made the invaders downright adorable, selling a million toys and reviving Reese’s Pieces in the process. (Available to rent)

2. “Minority Report” (2002): A personal favorite, I saw this at exactly the right age to be hugely influenced by the horrifying possibilities of Philip K. Dick’s “pre-cogs,” drug-addled orphans used as supercomputers by police to prevent crimes before they happen. Tom Cruise gets to do what he does best here: Run. Because in “Minority Report,” everybody runs. (Paramount+, Pluto TV)

1. “Jurassic Park” (1993): The perfect adventure film. Despite numerous advances in film technology in the last three decades, the image (and bone-shaking roar) of the T-Rex is as awe-inspiring today as it was in 1993 at any age. (Peacock)

End Credits

That’s a wrap on this edition of The Queue. If you’re a fan, please consider recommending this newsletter to your friends.

Until next time, good stream hunting, everyone!

— Kevin

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