The 15 Best Space Opera Movies, Ranked

"The Fifth Element" is a truly wild film. 

So much so, in fact, that Luc Besson's hyper-stylized, over-the-top vision of the future may not be for everyone. However, for those who enjoy space operas that are unafraid to get weird, "The Fifth Element" is a cult classic. It was a passion project for the idiosyncratic filmmaker, who first conceived of the story when he was a teenager. In Besson's dystopian future, it's unsurprisingly a motley group of heroes who are tasked with saving the universe.

The film is set in the 23rd century, where Earth is ruled by corporate leaders. The wicked Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (Gary Oldman) sends his alien assassins to capture the super-powered warrior Leeloo (Milla Jovovich). Leeloo receives unexpected assistance from the flying taxicab driver Dallas (Bruce Willis). Once a member of Earth's military forces, Dallas must return to his former profession to help Leeloo save the universe.

Space operas originated in comic book strips, and animation is sometimes the best tool for bringing these imaginative stories to life. There are many great animated space operas, but few have left the same lasting legacy as the 1973 avant-garde film "Fantastic Planet." The film tells a metaphorical story about life on the planet Ygam, where humans are kept as pets by the blue alien creatures the Traags. Inspired by Stefan Wul's French science fiction novel "Oms en série," "Fantastic Planet" is one of the most visually stunning animated films ever made.

"Fantastic Planet" explores themes of intolerance, societal constructs, and oppression. The Traags don't think they are treating the humans cruelly, as they believe themselves to be superior. The Traag society has developed advanced technology to control the human population. The humans begin to resist, and the Traags must determine whether they should crush the rebellion or learn to co-exist. The role-reversal was an interesting allegory for animal rights.

"The Black Hole" is an oddity among the space operas of the 1970s. It was the first PG-rated film from Walt Disney Pictures, and took a deeply philosophical approach to the genre. Perhaps it is unsurprising in retrospect that a slowly-paced film was unsuccessful, as audiences may have expected a more exciting space opera adventure along the lines of "Star Wars" or "Superman: The Movie." However, "The Black Hole" is a hidden gem that science fiction fans should check out.

"The Black Hole" takes place in the distant future after interstellar travel has become possible. The crew of the USS Palomino spaceship discovers a black hole. They suspect that the long-lost ship the USS Cygnus was lost in the region 20 years prior. Captain Dan Holland (Robert Forster), First Officer Lieutenant Charlie Pizer (Joseph Bottoms), reporter Harry Booth (Ernest Borgnine), scientist Dr. Kate McCrae (Yvette Mimieux), ambassador Dr. Alex Durant (Anthony Perkins), and the sentient robot, V.I.N.CENT. (Roddy McDowell), search for the Cygnus. They discover that a mysterious extraterrestrial force has been influencing the destiny of both missions.

"Galaxy Quest" is a hilarious spoof of both science fiction franchises and their fans. The film focuses on the cast of the titular sci-fi series (think: "Star Trek"), which has struggled since the show's cancellation and now must make their living by attending fan conventions. The show's leading man, Jason Nesmith (Tim Allen), irritates his cast mates Gwen DeMarco (Sigourney Weaver), Alexander Dane (Alan Rickman), Fred Kwan (Tony Schalhoub), and Tommy Webber (Daryl Mitchell) with his egocentric behavior.

As Jason grows disillusioned with the decline of his career, he's contacted by the real alien race the Thermians. The Thermians' leader, Mathesar (Enrico Colantoni), asks for Jason's help defeating the vicious alien warlord Roth'h'ar Sarris (Robin Sachs), who is searching for a secret weapon called the "Omega 13." The Thermians have watched all of "Galaxy Quest," but mistakenly believe the show is a real, historical document. Jason and his cast mates must become the heroes that they once played on television to ultimately defeat Sarris.

While the adventure serials and comic strips of the 1930s popularized the genre, the sci-fi films of the 1950s proved that space operas could work as long-form stories. Fred M. Wilcox's 1956 classic "Forbidden Planet" set many precedents. It was the first film that ever featured faster-than-light space travel and took place almost entirely on an extraterrestrial planet; these concepts were heavily influential on future popular franchises like "Star Wars," "Star Trek," and "Alien." The film also broke boundaries with the character Robby the Robot. Unlike robots in older sci-fi stories, Robby was a major character who had a sense of humor.

"Forbidden Planet" takes place in the 23rd Century, where the United Planets governmental body is searching for a spaceship lost on the planet Altair IV. Commander John J. Adams (Leslie Nielsen) and his Lieutenants Jerry Farman (Jack Kelly) and Doc Ostrow (Warren Stevens) are dispatched to find the ship's commander, Dr. Edward Morbius (Walter Pidgeon). When Adams' crew reaches the planet's surface, Morbius warns them that they are in danger. He is studying an ancient race known as the Krell, and fears that their technology could be stolen. The story is a loose retelling of William Shakespeare's play "The Tempest."

Denis Villeneuve was hardly the first great director interested in adapting Frank Herbert's science fiction novel "Dune." In the 1970s, the Chilean surrealist filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky began working on an ambitious version of "Dune" that never saw the light of day. David Lynch finally brought "Dune" to the big screen in 1984, but Lynch himself was not satisfied with the version that audiences saw. The filmmaker was not granted final cut on the film, and it became the rare critical and financial failure of his acclaimed career.

Villeneuve was able to avoid these issues and create a new space opera classic. Villeneuve's "Dune" does a great job at explaining the complex political mythology of the source material, but it does not forget that the characters are just as important as the world-building. Central protagonist Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) has a compelling character arc as he grows into a leader: He's overwhelmed by the responsibilities of his heritage, with his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) possessing the mystical powers of the Bene Gesserit, and his father Duke Leto (Oscar Isaac) ruling over House Atreides. The Emperor assigns House Atreides to take control of the desert planet Arrakis, sparking a conflict with the rival clan House Harkonnen.

Although there had been sci-fi horror films before 1979's "Alien," Ridley Scott's terrifying classic was a straight-up slasher movie set in outer space. The beauty of the original "Alien" is its simplicity; while later installments in the franchise got caught up in complex mythology that explained the origins of the Xenomorph creatures, the first film is focused on suspense. Scott created a claustrophobic nightmare that embodied the fear of the unknown.

"Alien" was distinct from the space operas that came before because its heroes were working-class people. The crew of the commercial spaceship "Nostromo" are simply blue-collar laborers on a routine ship. To them, space travel isn't wondrous; it's just a job. The "Nostromo" crew pays the price for venturing into the unknown. After picking up a mysterious egg from a distant moon, they are picked off one by one by a stealthy alien creature.

"Alien" introduced one of the greatest science fiction heroines of all time: Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver). In many ways, Ripley is similar to a "final girl" from a slasher film, and ultimately proves herself to be the bravest member of the crew.

There are few films in cinematic history that have been as influential as 1968's "2001: A Space Odyssey." Stanley Kubrick's game-changing sci-fi epic is a beautiful adventure that continues to fascinate cinephiles to this day. It's also amazing that, over five decades after its release, "2001: A Space Odyssey" continues to inspire different interpretations ... but then, Kubrick was careful about revealing anything specific regarding the film's ending in public.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" is among the most visually stunning movies ever made. A full year before the "Apollo 11" mission took flight, Kubrick and his visual effects team created a realistic depiction of space travel that was unlike anything audiences had ever seen before.

"2001: A Space Odyssey" begins during the dawn of evolution. The film opens with a prehistoric sequence, in which a tribe of apes encounters a mysterious floating object. This monolith inspires them to create their first tools and weapons. Millions of years later, the monolith is rediscovered near a U.S. base on the lunar surface. The astronauts Dr. David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Dr. Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) are dispatched to investigate it. Their ship's navigator, the artificial intelligence HAL 9000 (Douglas Rain), begins to develop his own consciousness. HAL rebels against the ship's human crew.