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5 great sci-fi movies to watch on Prime Video in August

Blair Marnell
By

Summer is in full swing, and the weather is getting even hotter. At this point, even Barbenheimer enthusiasts should be staying at home and streaming in comfort. And for sci-fi fans, it’s going to be a long wait to enjoy your favorite genre on the big screen.

Fortunately for you, Amazon Prime Video has a great selection of science fiction films to tide you over. The following are five great sci-fi movies to watch on Prime Video right now.

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Interstellar (2014)

Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathway curiously stare next to each other in a scene from Interstellar.
Paramount Pictures / Warner Bros. Pictures / Paramount/Warner Bros.

Since Christopher Nolan is once again establishing himself as a top director in Oppenheimer, it’s time to look back at Interstellar, Nolan’s grounded take on a sci-fi story. Matthew McConaughey stars as former NASA pilot turned farmer Joseph Cooper. Unfortunately, a blight on all crops means that humanity is facing starvation unless a new home world can be found.

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Cooper agrees to go on long-term expedition with Dr. Amelia Brand (Anne Hathaway) to discover a new inhabitable planet. But the price that Cooper pays is that his children, Murphy “Murph” Cooper (Mackenzie Foy) and Tom Cooper (Timothée Chalamet), grow up without him, leaving the older Murph (Jessica Chastain) embittered toward her father.

Watch Interstellar on Prime Video.

RoboCop (1987)

Peter Weller in Robocop.
Orion Pictures / Orion Pictures

Both RoboCop and its 2014 remake are on Prime Video, but you should really stick with the original. It’s a 36-year old movie, and it still feels more timely than the reboot film. Director Paul Verhoeven added a lot of dark humor to the story of Alex Murphy (Peter Weller), a dedicated police officer who loses his humanity when he is murdered by criminals and transformed by the OCP corporation into RoboCop.

RoboCop was meant to be the future of law enforcement in Old Detroit, and he is quite effective. However, Murphy’s grasp on his soul allows RoboCop to reclaim his sense of self and hunt down the men who killed him … and their ally within OCP itself.

Watch RoboCop on Prime Video.

Nope (2022)

Keke Palmer in Nope.
Universal Pictures

By now, it’s no secret that Nope deals with aliens. However, writer and director Jordan Peele has cooked up an alien tale like few others. The story follows semi-estranged siblings Otis “OJ” Haywood Jr. (Daniel Kaluuya) and Emerald “Em” Haywood (Keke Palmer) as they clash over the future of their family ranch.

When OJ and Em witness an apparent UFO hanging around their property, they hatch a get-rich-quick scheme by attempting to prove its existence with video and photos. A tech salesman, Angel Torres (Brandon Perea), finds their idea so enticing that he volunteers his help. However, the UFO in question has other plans, and it reacts violently whenever its prey dares to look at it.

Watch Nope on Prime Video.

Attack the Block (2011)

Attack the Block
StudioCanal

Before they had star-making turns in Star Wars: Episode VII — The Force Awakens and Doctor Who, respectively, John Boyega and Jodie Whittaker had breakout roles in Attack the Block. In the film, Moses (Boyega) is a gang leader in South London who is looking to make a name for himself. On the same night that he and his gang rob a nurse named Samantha Adams (Whitaker), Moses and his followers encounter a genuine alien threat.

In the face of this unexpected invasion, Moses and the gang must become the protectors of the block, and they even convince Samantha to help them fight off the alien beasts. Unfortunately for Moses, the aliens aren’t the only ones who want him dead.

Watch Attack the Block on Prime Video.

Men in Black (1997)

Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith in Men in Black.
Sony Pictures / Sony Pictures

In the last 27 years, there have been four Men in Black movies. So how is it that only the first film is incredibly funny and enjoyable? It must be an alien plot! After an alien Bug takes over a human body (as played by Vincent D’Onofrio), New York Police Detective James Darrell Edwards III (Will Smith) is recruited by Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones) to join the secretive Men in Black and protect humans from aliens, while also protecting the aliens who live peacefully on Earth.

Meanwhile, a coroner named Dr. Laurel Weaver (Linda Fiorentino) has stumbled across the key to the Bug’s plan for the Earth, leading J and K on a wild ride to prevent the destruction of the planet.

Watch Men in Black on Prime Video.

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Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell
Blair Marnell has been an entertainment journalist for over 15 years. His bylines have appeared in Wizard Magazine, Geek…
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