As of this writing, we are twenty days from New Year's Eve. Just twenty days left in December, in the year, in the decade actually. So these "best of" and "summary" lists take on extra importance and extra detail as we count down not just a year we are leaving behind, but ten years we are leaving behind.

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What we are not leaving behind is the ability to enjoy these "best" sci-fi films in our future (thank goodness). So if you really want to review the decade that's been, what better way than to reminisce about the sci-fi movies that were most enjoyed each year in the decade that's coming to an end.

Inception (2010) - 8.8

The new decade began with the cinematic mind-meld that was Inception. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Ellen Page, this is a caper all about access to the minds of others. Stealing secrets from the subconscious is a pretty intimidating prospect. Even more intimidating? The possibility that ideas can be planted as well as stolen. But whose reality is real? And what are we watching that's real anyway? The decade began with more questions than answers for moviegoers.

Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes (2011) - 7.6

Rise Planet of the Apes

In 2011 the movie-going public was slightly less afraid of the end of the world and thus it was still enjoyable to go to the cinema to view all sorts of different ways for society to collapse. James Franco wants to cure Alzheimer's and instead ends up bestowing human-grade intelligence on his chimp subject/friend Caesar.

Going into the movie viewers knew it wasn't going to end well (since this is a prequel to the Planet of the Apes movies to begin with, and everyone has seen how that goes).

The Avengers (2012) - 8.0

Who could have predicted the dominance superheroes would have over the cinematic imagination in this second decade of the millennium? Well, anyone who loved 2008's Iron Man certainly could. The Avengers is only the first of four superhero films that land on this list. It is also the one that is hardest to argue against. Marvel Studios took its time building up a wider movie universe releasing stand-alone hero films like Iron ManThor, and Captain America. That groundwork certainly paid off in this first outing of all the Marvel stars in a single storyline.

Her (2013) - 8.0

Scarlett Johansson has back to back hits with 2012's Avengers and as the voice of a new operating system in Her. Think Siri with more personality. That personality certainly takes over the life and mind of star Joaquin Phoenix, as he uses the new operating system to help him get over the recent breakup of his marriage. Things certainly escalate as Phoenix's, Theodore, doesn't just depend on this lovely and understanding voice but falls in love with her. What were we trying to say about relationships almost seven years ago?

Interstellar (2014) - 8.6

Interstellar did a better job of predicting our situation here, in 2019, than some of the other films on this list. That's not necessarily a good thing. Crops are dying, the land is becoming inhospitable to life, and the human race is looking for a possible future among the stars. Maybe it exists through a wormhole, where Matthew McConaughey's NASA pilot, Cooper, off with a team of researchers to have a first look at three planets on the other side. But what do we give up when we look too far ahead? For Cooper, it's the childhood and life of his daughter. Sometimes little things count just as much as the big picture.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) - 8.1

While Interstellar still offered some hope for the inhabitants of planet earth, Mad Max: Fury Road offered a less than optimistic outlook for the world and made one of the most entertaining and celebrated movies of the last ten years. Civilization has collapsed, largely due to lack of water, and Immortan Joe has enslaved a large part of the population.

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His warrior (and real star of the film) Imperator Furiosa (God bless Charlize Theron) leads Joe's five wives in a daring escape across the parched landscape. They meet Mad Max himself (Tom Hardy) and form an alliance. But it's Furiosa's movie from start to finish.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) - 7.8

This was the decade that saw Disney buy Lucasfilm, so it's only appropriate that at least one Star Wars movie makes the list. It was the first of Disney and Lucasfilm's standalone films, Rogue One, that hit the mark. The best sci-fi movie of 2016 embraced the long and mythological history of the Star Wars sage while setting up a whole new cast of characters. Felicity Jones stars as Jyn Erso, who is one of the rebels fans first heard about in Star Wars: A New Hope, who stole the plans for the Death Star. This movie shows fans exactly how that went down.

Logan (2017) - 8.1

Hi, again superheroes. The only hero title that does not include the Avengers on our list, received praise for its gritty and slightly more down to earth tone upon its release almost three years ago. Mutants are almost extinct and Logan (or Wolverine, for the uninitiated) is just trying to stay alive and under the radar.

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That's until a young mutant, with powers very much like his own (a young Dafne Keen, who continues making star turns in sci-fi as Lyra in the new His Dark Materials series on HBO) stumbles upon his hiding place in need of help.

Avengers: Infinity War (2018) - 8.5

While The Avengers in 2012 was a huge payoff pulling all the Marvel standalone characters together into one movie, Infinity War is where the full weight of the franchise was really on display. With additions including Spider-Man, Doctor Strange, and Black Panther, there were a lot of worries about a script and story that might be spread too thin. That was not the case. All heroes were well used. And all hearts were left broken with a cliffhanger ending to end all cliffhanger endings.

Avengers: Endgame (2019) - 8.5

Who would want to end a year, much less a decade, on a cliffhanger? No one. And once again Marvel Studios deliveredoffering up the final chapter in the epic decade long saga of this original run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Many characters found their conclusions (as did fans) and many more remain to keep the superhero genre alive. It was solid. It was heartbreaking and heartwarming. It was the highest-grossing movie of all time. Not a bad way to end ten years.

NEXT: The 10 Best New Sci-Fi Characters of the Decade, Ranked