What are the best movies with a vision of the future?

When I say "best," I’m talking about what’s most original or genuinely captivating.

The post-human world depicted in AI is actually pretty fascinating, even if the ending feels a bit forced. Children of Men earns major points for its sheer realism, whereas Blade Runner gets all the credit for its incredible aesthetic.

Honestly, those futuristic cities packed with endless skyscrapers have become such a tired cliché. Fritz Lang did it first, and he did it best in New York City.

I was honestly blown away by Children of Men...

It really captures the vibe of where we're headed—just this total apocalyptic mess that doesn't look particularly bright...

Blade Runner was actually based on the book "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?".🙂 Apparently, Scott admitted he couldn't even finish reading it; he tried, but just couldn't wrap his head around it, despite making a movie from the material...🙂 Just some trivia for you. As for the best depiction of the future? Hmm... let me think... it’ll probably have Schwarzenegger in it. Cloning, robots, androids... Terminator...🙂 Or maybe Bicentennial Man starring Robin Williams.🙂

That guy from Fahrenheit 451... some number...😁

Nicholas Sullivan49 said:That guy from Fahrenheit 451... some number...😁

Truffaut 😉

...The Wolf's Time...
...because the future is actually brighter than this gloomy present—even if we haven't quite figured out how to get there yet 😍

Mad Max.

Kate Torres said:Truffaut 😉

And yeah... I always forget the exact spelling, and there are always people nitpicking over nothing, so I just wrote it like that...👍

2001: A Space Odyssey (computers are going to take over the world)

Gattaca. I mean, it’s basically a psychic glimpse into the kind of future we might actually be heading toward.

quietdriver3 said:Gattaca. I mean, it’s basically a psychic glimpse into the kind of future we might actually be heading toward.

Agreed.👍

Totally. Blade Runner. A straight-up masterpiece.

Predictable answer, but I’m going with The Matrix. Beyond just having a killer vision of the future, it offers this whole alternative take on our current reality and history—it feels like it did for the Internet age what Metropolis did for the industrial era, or what Blade Runner did for the post-industrial age. Even if the sequels aren't all that great.

As for the older classics, I'd say La Jetée.

I try to force myself to get into Kubrick because, let's be honest, the guy basically elevated the genre from cheap thrills to actual philosophy, but I just can't make it work. His cynicism is just too much for me to stomach. ☕

Larry Martin11 said:...The Wolf's Time...
...because the future is actually brighter than this gloomy present—even if we haven't quite figured out how to get there yet 😍

Haneke, but who else 😉

Nobody brought up the Alien movies. You know, those sprawling space voyages, colonies scattered across hundreds of planets, massive corporations owning entire worlds. It’s a pretty likely trajectory, assuming we don't wipe ourselves out first.

I honestly think "The Terminator" is one of those movies that feels less like sci-fi and more like a terrifyingly plausible roadmap. The whole concept of AI waging war against humanity? It’s such a brilliant, dark premise, especially considering it laid the groundwork for stuff like The Matrix a good fifteen years later.

The fifth element is absolute perfection, purely because of that insanely futuristic aesthetic. I’m talking skyscrapers stretching miles into the sky and that whole vibe of flying traffic weaving between buildings. It’s just iconic.

The most realistic vision of our future? Honestly, it’s probably Mad Max—just endless gangs and absolute lawlessness in a post-apocalyptic wasteland.

An alien future isn't just some sci-fi trope; it’s a very real possibility. We're looking at massive deep-space voyages and full-scale colonization. Honestly, it feels like we're just waiting for the technology to catch up to the ambition.

quietdriver3 said:Gattaca. I mean, it’s basically a psychic glimpse into the kind of future we might actually be heading toward.

I'm right there with you on that one. The Last Battle is also incredibly powerful and stays with you.

Terminator🙏

Escape from New York🙂

Friday the 13th: Jason X 🤣

Lately, I’ve been spiraling down this rabbit hole thinking about how, in the near future, massive multinational corporations might actually end up running the whole show. I know, I know—they already pull most of the strings in some capacity—but I mean literally replacing governments entirely. Instead of nations fighting wars, we’d have these transnational corporate systems clashing. And they wouldn't even bother with traditional weapons; it would be much cleaner... just refined methods of economic coercion, using financial warfare to redistribute global wealth on a massive scale.
In that light, certain movies feel eerily prophetic: Westworld, Robocop, Soylent Green, The Stepford Wives, Total Recall...
But honestly, nothing hits quite as dark as the 1975 film "Rollerball."
In the world of Rollerball, following a series of corporate wars, every single decision rests in the hands of these all-powerful, monolithic conglomerates. Their entire philosophy is built on the idea that the individual must always be subservient to the collective. It’s like an ant colony... once you strip away individuality, people become incredibly easy to manipulate.
That principle is baked right into the game itself—this brutal, collective sport that feels like a twisted descendant of basketball mixed with rugby rules.
The problem starts when the star player of the top-tier team (played by James Caan) begins to overshadow the rest of the squad. As his popularity grows, he becomes a dangerous outlier to the totalitarian structure the companies rely on to maintain control. And that's exactly where things start to fall apart for the corporations...

Terminator!