Science fiction offers so many areas to explore. So many ideas. And one of the most probing and pervasive topics, usually always rich with creativity and concern, is time travel. It’s a subject we can only theorize about, but it’s one that has led to some of the best sci-fi movies of all time. Ones that stretch the boundaries of the imagination and often lead us down some very cool rabbit holes.
Whether it’s the story of a murderous cyborg sent back in time to eliminate the next leader of a rebellion, the story of a poor soul forced to relive the same day over and over again, or the fable of an investigator playing against time to solve a mystery, this particular sci-fi terrain is always fruitful. Here are the 15 best time travel movies!
15. Palm Springs (2020)
Where to watch: Hulu
We kick things off with an upbeat and fun “period” movie from 2020 starring Andy Samberg and Cristin Milioti. Palm Springs features the lead pair as strangers who attend a wedding in the California desert and get stuck on a day they can’t escape. It’s a quirky and fresh spin on the format that features two characters running the gamut of emotions and experiences associated with being able to live forever but never being able to move forward in time. JK Simmons co-stars.
Look IGN’s review of Palm Springs.
14. Predestination (2014)
Where to watch: Roku Channel (with ads), or rent on most platforms
Ethan Hawke joins Succession’s Sarah Snook and Preacher’s Noah Taylor in this thriller from The Spierig Brothers (Daybreakers, Jigsaw. It’s about a temporary agent (Hawke) who embarks on one last time-traveling mission to prevent the launch of an elusive criminal on an attack that kills thousands of people.Predestination is a twisting, time-turning treat that keeps you guessing until the end.
Look IGN’s review of Default.
13. Looper (2012)
Where to watch: Hulu, Peacock, Fubo, or rent on most platforms
Rian Johnson’s Looper stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis as the same character from different times. As young Joe, Gordon-Levitt is a mob hitman who kills victims who return in time for him to dispose of them, while Willis’ Joe is old Joe, who, fulfilling a “Looper” contract, is supposed to return and killed by the younger himself. But old Joe, upon his arrival in the past, has other things on his mind – namely stopping the destruction of the future by an entity known only as The Rainmaker. Looper is an exciting, fascinating ride. Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels and Paul Dano also star.
Look IGN’s review of Looper.
12. Happy Death Day (2017)
Where to watch: It can be rented on most platforms
Happy Death Day takes the concept of the “time loop” and wickedly delves into gory horror as Jessica Rothe’s Pema finds herself being killed again and again by the same masked maniac. After realizing she only has a few “deaths” left, she takes matters into her own hands and tries to figure out who is behind the mask. Happy Death Day is dark and hilarious…and there just so happens to be a sequel, Happy Death Day 2U, that delves wildly into science fiction!
Look IGN’s review of Happy Death Day.
11. The Time Machine (1960)
Where to watch: It can be rented on most platforms
The classic 1960 film adaptation of HG Wells’ 1865 historical novel tells the time-honored tale of a Victorian-era inventor, here actually named H. George Wells (and played by Rod Taylor), who uses a machine of his own design to travel to the distant future, discovering that humanity has now become two new species – the enlightened Eloi and the monstrous subterranean Morlocks. The Time Machine is a dazzling, familiar piece of pioneering imagination.
10. Source Code (2011)
Where to watch: It can be rented on most platforms
Sleeper hit Source Code, from Moon’s Duncan Jones, unfolds a unique spin on the “time loop,” following a US Army captain, played by Jake Gyllenhaal, who is sent, over and over again, into the digital recreation of a train explosion in real life. his mission is to find out who is the terrorist culprit. It’s a clever and devious mystery that also stars Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga and Jeffrey Wright.
Look IGN’s review of Source Code.
9. Time After Time (1979)
Where to watch: It can be rented on most platforms
Time after Times is an HG Wells of Malcolm McDowell using his time machine to track down Jack the Ripper (the late David Warner) in 1979 San Fransisco – it actually makes for a fun, often emotional film. This juxtaposition of science fiction and reality forms a fun, irresistible yarn that has to be seen to be believed. Wrath of Khan’s Nicholas Meyer directs while Mary Steenburgen stars.
8. The Terminator (1984)
Where to watch: Prime Video, Fubo, Showtime, AMC+ or rentals on most platforms
This entry is a little misleading since we’re also throwing T2: Judgment Day into the mix. Hey, same ongoing story, same director! That being said, James Cameron’s gritty, big sci-fi blockbuster The Terminator widely popularized the idea of going back in time and killing someone to change the present (along with the larger, dystopian concepts of an insurgency of AI ending in the world). Arnold Schwarzenegger’s T-800 and Michael Biehn’s exhausted future freedom fighter use our current era (okay, 1984) as a battlefield in this sci-fi romp.
Check out our guide on how watch the Terminator movies in order.
7. About Time (2013)
Where to watch: Starz add-on, or rent on most platforms.
Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams star in this wonderful time-consuming rom-com from Love, Actually’s Richard Curtis, as Gleeson plays a young man with the ability to travel through time who tries to change his past repeatedly for improve his life. and also win the girl of his dreams. Bill Nighy stars in this beautifully honest film that features phenomenal chemistry and an intriguing look at the inherited skills of passing time that make About Time worth watching.
6. Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Where to watch: It can be rented on most platforms
The “time loop” concept went big with the alien apocalypse movie Edge of Tomorrow (so confused with the label of the movie “Live, Die Repeat” that the Blu-ray box art was highlighted with the latter). Doug Liman of Mr. and Mrs. Smith directs this wonderful Tom Cruise vehicle about humanity losing its war against an invading alien army that always seems to be a few steps ahead. After Cruz’s Army Public Affairs officer, over his head, gets a taste of their cosmic cognitive power, he finds himself dying repeatedly in battle, unable to save the day. Emily Blunt and Bill Paxton star together in this ridiculously well-crafted alien actioner.
Look IGN’s Edge of Tomorrow review.
5. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)
Where to watch: Prime Video, Cinemax Go, Fubo, Roku Channel (with ads), Pluto TV (with ads), Tubi (with ads) or rentals on most platforms
Two teenage metalheads from San Dimas, California carelessly and hilariously go through time, collecting (okay, mostly kidnapping) famous historical figures to make a crucial test in one of the most entertaining films of the years. 80, Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure. The smart and the dumb collide in fabulous ways on this rollercoaster of sublime idiocy. Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter embodied these dense but sweet rockers to a T, quickly forming an iconic comedy duo.
Check out our guide to the best Keanu Reeves movies of all time for more.
4. Primer (2004)
Where to watch: It can be rented on Amazon, Apple and YouTube
Shoestring budget indie film Primer, which acts as a no-strings-attached psychological thought experiment about the accidental discovery of time travel, is one of the most cerebral interpretations of temporal manipulation ever. It is a stimulating, challenging chronicle of two engineers who dabble in time travel, testing its limits, only to discover the dire consequences and consequences of fourth-dimensional interference. It’s twisted, mathematical, and full-tilt fascinating.
Look IGN’s review of Primer.
3. Groundhog Day (1993)
Where to watch: Prime Video, Fubo, AMC+ or rentals on most platforms.
Of course there were “time” stories — in film, TV, and literature — before Harold Ramis’s Groundhog Day , but this early ’90s hit popularized the concept to the point that it’s considered the “Granddaddy” of the subgenre. Relentlessly funny and surprisingly endearing, Groundhog Day pushed the format in new directions. All of this is highlighted by Bill Murray’s outstanding performance as a shallow TV meteorologist, Phil Connors, who gets stuck in a recurring nightmare of February 2nd with no real explanation (except maybe the universe forces him to become a better man). Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott and Scooter the Groundhog co-star.
2. 12 Monkeys (1995)
Where to watch: Cinemax Go, or rent on most platforms
Director Terry Gilliam’s crazy, lavish visuals stuck to the usual dirt with the inventive, star-studded 12 Monkeys (which also became a pretty awesome TV series 20 years later, by the way). Bruce Willis and Brad Pitt (who received an Oscar nomination) lead this twisted, serpentine tale of a future prisoner from a wasteland world wiped out by a virus, sent back in time to trace the plague’s origins. “Science is not an exact science,” Willis Cole is told as he clumsily and harshly arrives at both the right and the wrong time, piecing together the puzzle, thinking that the disease may have started as an idea of a mental patient (Pitt) from a wealthy family. 12 Monkeys is scary, funky and full of surprises.
1. Back to the Future
Where to watch: Fubo, AMC+ or for rent on most platforms
Robert Zemeckis’ Back to the Future is not only considered one of the greatest films of all time, but it laid the groundwork for time travel in a way that has influenced nearly every sci-fi property since. And yes, we’re cheating again here, as we did with Terminator, and also including the two sequels to this entry (same story, same director!).
All the ingredients came together in all the right ways for this major pop culture milestone, following the adventures of young Marty McFly through time as he tries to make things right for himself and his family (he and his brothers of his sisters not to be hidden or his future children end up delinquent). Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd create a time-traveling team for the ages (inspiring the grisly pranks of Rick & Morty) as Marty and disgraced local inventor (every town has one, right?) Doc Brown. Back to the Future is the pinnacle of clever and exciting science fiction.
Matt Fowler is a writer for IGN, a member of the Television Critics Association, and co-host of We enjoy wrestling. Follow him on Twitter at @TheMattFowler and Facebook at Facebook.com/MattBFowler.
