After making three Mad Max movies in the ’80s, George Miller’s iconic dystopian franchise went on a 30-year hiatus. The wait was worth it because the next entry, Mad Max: Fury Road, became one of the best action movies of the 21st century. Thankfully, Miller only waited nine years for his next Mad Max adventure, Furiosa.
Thanks to a licensing agreement, Furiosa is now available to stream on Netflix. It won’t be here forever, though, as it leaves the service at the end of the month. Furiosa is one of our five sci-fi movies to watch this July. Check out all of our picks below.
We also have guides to the best new movies to stream, the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on HBO Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024)
Charlize Theron introduced the world to Imperator Furiosa in Mad Max: Fury Road. Then, the Oscar winner passed the torch to Anya Taylor-Joy, who portrayed the character in the prequel, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. The first third of the movie explores Furiosa as a child (Alyla Browne) when she lived at the Green Place of Many Mothers. After being kidnapped by Dementus (Chris Hemsworth), Furiosa eventually lives at the Citadel with Immortan Joe (Lachy Hulme).
She rises to the rank of Imperator under the guidance of Praetorian Jack (Tom Burke). Furiosa never loses sight of her goal: finding a way home. No one stages chase sequences like Miller, and Furiosa includes a few that rival those in Fury Road. Furiosa is also an effective meditation on trauma and survival, as the iconic heroine receives a riveting backstory.
Stream Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga on Netflix.
Pacific Rim (2013)
Oscar-winning director Guillermo del Toro showcased his affinity for monster movies in Pacific Rim, a cross between a creature feature and an action blockbuster. In the future, humongous sea monsters — Kaiju — emerge from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean and begin attacking major cities. To combat the monsters, humanity builds Jaegers, giant robots piloted by humans. Unfortunately for mankind, the Jaegers cannot defeat the Kaiju, leading to the world leaders decommissioning the robots.
Humans make one last gasp to save the world by trying out the Jaegers with two pilots: the washed-up Raleigh Becket (Charlie Hunnam) and the rookie Mako Mori (Rinko Kikuchi). The action in Pacific Rim is so invigorating that it makes you wish del Toro made more blockbusters.
Stream Pacific Rim on Netflix.
V for Vendetta (2005)
V for Vendetta — a thriller about the dangers of authoritarianism, a preview of how oppression can lead to anarchism, or an eerie preview of the world’s future? I’ll let you be the judge. Let’s start by calling it a thought-provoking adaptation of the graphic novel. In a dystopian future, London is now governed by a fascist regime that eliminates the “undesirable” people — homosexuals, minorities, etc.
A masked vigilante known as V (Hugo Weaving) begins wreaking havoc on the government as he orchestrates terrorist attacks to start a revolution. V eventually takes a young woman named Evey (Natalie Portman) under his wing to hopefully open her eyes to the oppression. Even if you agree or disagree with the politics, some of V for Vendetta’s set pieces are undeniable.
Stream V for Vendetta on Netflix.
Our Times (2025)
Our Times is for the viewers who don’t necessarily care about the rules of time travel. Instead of going back into the past, Our Times heads to the future in this Mexican romance. In 1966, physicists Nora Esquivel (Lucero) and her husband, Héctor (Benny Ibarra), are attempting to build a time machine. Since it’s the ’60s, most of Nora’s male colleagues have little regard for her ideas and opinions.
The time machine works, and the couple travels to 2025. With the improved technology and female-friendly societal standards, Nora finds herself thriving, while Héctor feels sidelined. Our Times is a refreshing take on the time travel trope, with a romance worth rooting for and pertinent ideas about gender roles.
Stream Our Times on Netflix.
Coneheads (1993)
Coneheads isn’t a film many think of when naming sci-fi movies. How can a family about a cone-headed family be categorized in the same genre as The Terminator and 2001: A Space Odyssey? That has to be the only time in history that Coneheads has been mentioned with two of the greatest sci-fi movies ever. Semantics aside, Coneheads is about aliens, so it receives the sci-fi tag.
Based on the SNL skit, Coneheads stars Dan Aykroyd and Jane Curtin as Beldar and Prymaat, married extraterrestrials from the planet Remulak who crash-land in New Jersey after being shot down by the military. Forced to live on Earth, the Coneheads assimilate into humanity and even have a daughter, Connie (Michelle Burke). The Coneheads eventually must choose between Earth and Remulak after facing a crisis of faith. It’s not the smartest nor the funniest movie, but it has its comedic moments, especially if you watched this movie as a child.
Stream Coneheads on Netflix.
