10 Sci-Fi Dramas To Watch If You Liked Gravity

Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star in this epic Oscar-winning film from acclaimed director Alfonso Cuarón. Gravity tells the story of an engineer’s battle to stay alive and sane after her ship and the entire crew is wiped out by space debris. Alone in outer space, Dr. Ryan Stone struggles to remain pragmatic and in the present.

Demons from her past come back to haunt her at her lowest moments while views of a glittering Earth awe the audience. With incredible cinematography, the film is at its core about human connection and what it means to be without it. Here are ten other sci-fi dramas that explore similar themes.

10 Arrival (2016)

Arrival is another female-led space-themed movie. Amy Adams stars as Louise Banks, a linguistics expert, who is hired to decode the strange language of an alien race that arrives on Earth.

Just like Gravity, this film is all about the way humans – and other creatures – communicate. It untangles the meaning of what it means to use language to connect, and whether any real connection is possible without it. Dennis Villeneuve expertly directs the uniquely structured timeline of this story.

9 Ex Machina (2014)

From Alex Garland comes this cerebral, existential sci-fi film that will have viewers questioning what it means to be human. Much like Ryan Stone, a young programmer named Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) finds himself stranded in the middle of nowhere.

He’s not exactly alone, but he might be the only human around for miles. He’s invited to participate in an experiment where he must interact with an AI (Alicia Vikander) until he forgets that she’s a robot. Oscar Isaac also stars.

8 First Man (2018)

As the title suggests, First Man is all about the first person to walk on the moon. Ryan Gosling plays Neil Armstrong in this dramatization of the history-making Apollo 11 trip to the moon.

Damien Chazelle directs this film in a way that makes it feel both intimate and all-encompassing, much like Gravity. For space buffs, this movie is an essential, as it dives into one of the most important moments in space exploration history.

7 Edge Of Tomorrow (2014)

Another highly-regarded sci-fi movie is Edge Of Tomorrow, starring Emily Blunt, Tom Cruise, Bill Paxton, and Charlotte Riley. The film has been likened to Groundhog Day, Aliens, and The Matrix because it’s a perfect blend of the three.

Major William Cage is tasked with saving Earth from an alien invasion. Luckily, he has the help of a warrior named Rita Vrataski. All of this is happening while the world is stuck in a time loop, which complicates the situation even more.

6 Marooned (1969)

Marooned is very similar to Gravity in its plot and mood. One of the characters even shares Stone’s surname. He, along with Astronauts Pruett and Lloyd, are stranded in space when the engine of their spacecraft fails.

They must find a way to survive until a rescue ship comes, but their oxygen supply is rapidly depleting and will not sustain them until then. Dr. Ryan Stone faces this very same issue in Gravity, except that she can’t rely on anyone to come and save her; she must use her own willpower and skills to save herself.

5 Interstellar (2014)

Interstellar is set in the future at a time when Earth is becoming uninhabitable. Matthew McConaughey stars as Cooper, a farmer and a former NASA pilot. He’s asked to pilot a spacecraft on a mission to find a new planet on which humans can survive. Given the current political climate, the film is very relevant today.

Christopher Nolan’s direction of the film earned him a few awards.  The movie features a rather extensive all-star cast of Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Michael Caine, Matt Damon, Casey Affleck, Wes Bentley, Bill Irwin, Ellen Burstyn, and Timothée Chalamet.

4 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2001: A Space Odyssey is another film considered to be one of the greats of sci-fi (and all of cinema). Stanley Kubrick’s innovative direction results in a compelling if drawn-out viewing experience that goes back to the dawn of humankind.

The Discovery One, along with a revolutionary supercomputer, tries to find a mysterious monolith tied to the appearance of the first signs of human life. Upon its release, Gravity was compared to Kubrick’s space movie.

3 Ad Astra (2019)

Brad Pitt has the leading role in this sci-fi thriller, set thirty years after the disappearance of Clifford McBride’s ship and crew. His son, Roy, embarks on an expedition to Neptune.

Roy hopes to find out what happened to his father, but he also discovers that a mysterious force threatens to disrupt the stability of the entire universe. If the stakes aren’t high enough in Gravity, then Ad Astra is certainly the best choice on this list.

2 Apollo 13 (1995)

Apollo 13 tells the remarkable true story of the Apollo 13 moon mission in 1970. The ship was supposed to land on the moon, but the spacecraft is severely damaged, leaving them stranded in space.

The astronauts, Lovell (Tom Hanks), Haise (Bill Paxton), and Swigert (Kevin Bacon), must now rely on NASA to find a way to bring them home. Ron Howard is the director of this epic, thrilling, and memorable dramatization. Like Dr. Ryan Stone, this crew must find it within themselves to be clever and persistent.

1 The Martian (2015)

Based on Andy Weir’s hit novel of the same name, The Martian adaptation is directed by Ridley Scott and stars Matt Damon. He portrays a botanist named Mark Watney who is left stranded on Mars after his crew believes he’s been killed in a storm.

He is, in fact, not dead – and not happy about being left on Mars alone. Eventually, he manages to get in contact with NASA, and they must find a way to bring him home. “Bring him home” is the tagline for the movie, but Watney himself does half the work to make sure he survives long enough for someone to rescue him.

About The Author

Svetlana Sterlin
(256 Articles Published)

After years of relocation, Svetlana Sterlin (she/her) was raised by her Russian parents in Brisbane, Australia, where she completed a BFA and contributes to ScreenRant and Our Culture Magazine. An avid cinephile and bookworm, Svetlana also writes creatively across multiple forms and genres. Her fiction and poetry appear in several printed and digital publications. Find more from Svetlana here: https://linktr.ee/svetlanasterlin.

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