Science-fiction movies allow filmmakers to tell stories that seem fantastical and beyond what is possible. These big ideas are often exciting, but they can also be hard to follow at times. With such huge concepts as time travel, other dimensions, and space travel, audiences can sometimes get lost in the journey.
From the biggest sci-fi movies of all time to some that never quite connected with the public, fans on Reddit have highlighted some of the ones that confused them the most. In some cases, it made for a frustrating experience while in other cases, the fans just went along for the ride.
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey is not only seen as one of the greatest sci-fi movies of all time but simply one of the best movies ever made. From master director Stanley Kubrick, it is a centuries-spanning exploration of humanity's beginning, space exploration, artificial intelligence, and higher powers.
The movie has been praised for predicting a number of technological advances and its accurate depiction of space for its time. But the larger story has some profound ideas and Redditor Cmac12286 insisted that "anyone who says they understood that movie after watching it once is a liar."
Primer (2004)
Time travel has always been a favorite subject of sci-fi movies and it always introduces some head-scratching paradoxes. Even a movie like Avengers: Endgame didn't give clear answers to the concept and Primer explored it in some much deeper ways.
The movie follows a group of friends who are struggling entrepreneurs who discover their new device may have bigger capabilities than they thought. Redditor WutsUp found that the plot can be followed up to a point but eventually "you just completely lose it."
Dark City (1998)
Though it failed to gain much attention when it was initially released, Dark City has gained a cult following over the years. The movie follows a man who wakes up in a motel room with no memories and discovers the city is being controlled by mysterious figures while its citizens sleep.
Though the interesting visuals and mix of sci-fi and noir seem to be what interests fans, the story is a hard one to wrap their heads around. Redditor SecretCatPolicy admitted while watching the movie they "spent a good bit of time waiting for things to make sense."
The Prestige (2006)
Christopher Nolan creates huge blockbusters and event movies, but he also likes to play around with the narrative of a story in some challenging ways. The Prestige is a great example of this in the story of two magicians in the 1800s whose rivalry turns deadly.
The movie jumps back and forth through time as it tells this mystery story while also introducing some unexpected sci-fi elements into the last act. Redditor eatlearndestroy admitted The Prestige "definitely requires multiple viewings" in order to figure it all out.
Prometheus (2012)
While Alien was a rather straightforward and brilliant sci-fi horror movie, Ridley Scott wanted to explore some bigger themes when he returned to the franchise with Prometheus. The movie takes place before the events of Alien and follows a scientific expedition to a planet linked to the creation of humans.
While there are plenty of horror, gory kills, and terrifying monsters, there are also a lot more twists and turns than fans might have expected. In the end, some fans like Redditor BARGORGAURAWR were left frustrated as they complained it "made no god*** sense."
Transformers: The Last Knight (2017)
Though the first of the Transformers movies was well-received by fans, the rest of Michael Bay's movies started to lose the audience with their wild stories. But the fifth movie which saw the return of Mark Wahlberg as Cade Yaeger seemed to be the last straw for many fans.
The movie continued to connect the Transformers to various aspects of Earth's past, including the legends of King Arthur. Unfortunately, this wild storyline was not a hit with fans with Redditor Gon_Snow saying "nothing made sense on any level."
The Congress (2013)
Sometimes audiences are able to forgive a movie's bizarre and confusing story if the experience is unique and exciting. The Congress is a small sci-fi movie that stars Robin Wright as a fictional version of herself who accepts one last job in which she is digitally copied to appear in future projects. But the decision ends up having unexpected consequences.
With a mix of styles, from live-action to animation, the movie is a wild ride through all kinds of different realities. Redditor magimack admitted to being lost by the whole thing but insisted it "was a ride unlike any I‘ve ever been on."
Southland Tales (2006)
The dystopian concept is often a great way for sci-fi movies to comment on the current society and where it might be heading. Southland Tales attempts to do that with a number of concepts in a strange and complex look at Los Angeles in 2008.
Despite a large cast that includes Dwayne Johnson and Justin Timberlake, the movie was a critical and financial failure due to what many felt was an incomprehensible plot. One Redditor simply stated, "that movie was bonkers."
Under The Skin (2013)
Though Scarlett Johansson has been in some huge sci-fi blockbusters in her career, Under the Skin was a very different project. Johansson plays an alien disguised as a woman who visits earth to look for male prey only to go on a journey of self-discovery.
The movie is light on dialogue, allowing its provocative visuals to tell the story for the most part. Given this unique approach, Redditor BiggDope expressed that they "literally had no idea what I had watched once the credits rolled."
Donnie Darko (2001)
Jake Gyllenhaal earned his breakout role in the small sci-fi coming-of-age story Donnie Darko which became a huge cult hit. Gyllenhaal plays the titular character, a high school student who begins having visions of a mysterious being telling him that the world is going to end in a matter of days.
The movie served as the directorial debut of writer-director Richard Kelly who many found had a unique filmmaking voice even if the overall story was not quite clear. However, one Redditor theorized that Kelly himself "didn't really know what he was doing with that story."