10 Powerful Sci-Fi Movies that Touch on Theology

THE GIVER is a science fiction movie about a young man who defies a tyrannical society that forces people to get rid of their painful and happy memories. THE GIVER is an absorbing, inspiring fable with no crude content and a pro-life message, with a strong Christian, moral worldview attacking authoritarian humanist governments, mixed slightly with some light Romantic, pagan elements.

THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE, based on C. S. Lewis’s popular Christian fable, tells the story of four English children, who enter the land of Narnia, where they meet Aslan, the son of the Emperor-Beyond-the-Sea, who rescues the land from the evil White Witch. Despite some minor changes from the book, THE LION, THE WITCH AND THE WARDROBE retains most of its Christian focus and is tremendously exciting, thrilling and redemptive.

THE WILD ROBOT is an incredibly heartfelt, entertaining, humorous animated story about a robot falling in a storm from a plane and eventually having to take care of a young, orphaned gosling on an isolated island. WILD ROBOT is a very strong, adorable affirmation of a mother’s love and of kindness being a virtue, with strong elements of a Christological allegory.

THE SHIFT is a science fiction movie with a fantasy twist where a righteous, but troubled man meets a mysterious, menacing stranger who sends the man to a dark, totalitarian world with no hope and no faith, where the man tries to find a way to escape and return to his wife. THE SHIFT is one of the most moving, inventive, compelling, and powerful faith-based movies ever made, but there is some action violence of people being shot and references to alcohol, so caution is advised for pre-teenage children and other impressionable, sensitive viewers.

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, THE BOOK OF ELI, is the captivating story of a man on a quest westward across the wasteland of America to bring a sacred book to safety. Along the way, he is aided by a young girl who desires to learn more about the book but is opposed by evil men who want to use the book for their own personal gain. THE BOOK OF ELI is an absorbing, gratifying, and well acted movie with very strong Christian, biblical references, but there is much, sometimes brutal violence and some crude references, so extreme caution is required.

WALL*E, the latest animated feature from Pixar and Walt Disney Pictures, is about a lonely, lovelorn robot who has the key to the future of the human race and earth. If you’ve been waiting for entertainment that would lift you up, carry you to the outer reaches of imagination, inspire you, fill you with love, joy and happiness, and leave you with a great fantastic crescendo, you might want to see WALL*E.

UNLIMITED is about a brilliant MIT student who is being chased by bad guys in Mexico because of his involvement in creating a machine that produces unlimited energy. UNLIMITED is a fun, exciting adventure with good performances, a great Christian message, and little to no bad content.

INTERSTELLAR is a riveting science fiction adventure set on an ecologically devastated earth about a widower who pilots a spaceship into another galaxy looking for a habitable planet that can save his family and all mankind. INTERSTELLAR is highly entertaining with incredible visuals, but the worldview is mixed, with both humanist worldviews and moral, redemptive values, along with some foul language, so extreme caution is advised for younger viewers.

DUNE is part one of a futuristic science fiction epic about the male heir of a powerful nobleman, who decides to unite a band of nomadic natives, living on a desert planet containing a valuable natural resource, against their oppressors, the rival family that murdered his father. Based on the classic novel, DUNE is a powerful, exciting, satisfying epic with Christological themes, excellent good dialogue, and statements about freedom and individualism, but caution is advised for older children and young teenagers because of intense action violence and references to the hallucinogenic properties of the natural resource.

UNIDENTIFIED is a science fiction movie that follows two young reporters as they investigate a rash of UFO sightings in Texas. UNIDENTIFIED has good production values, despite its low budget, and a very strong Christian insight into a controversial issue.