Here is a comprehensive ranking of every science-fiction movie in Tom Hanks’ film career, ranked from worst to best. Hanks has been making movies for more than 40 years, appearing in a staggering 60 feature films during that time. His indisputable acting prowess paired with his general good nature both on and off camera has made him one of America’s most beloved actors.
Tom Hanks’ movie roles have been instrumental in the success of numerous genre-defining films, earning him four Golden Globes and two Academy Awards throughout the years. However, in his long and illustrious career, Hanks has, believe it or not, only appeared in three science-fiction films. Granted, he's certainly performed in many movies adjacent to the genre, such as the science-nonfiction movie Apollo 13 (1995) and the somewhat fantastical Big (1988); yet, his official "sci-fi" filmography remains sparse.
Having said that, with the much-anticipated release of his third sci-fi film, Finch, now seems like a good time to take a look back at Hanks’ history in science-fiction thus far. Here's all three of Hanks' sci-fi movies, ranked worst to best.
3. The Circle (2017)
The Circle is a cautionary tale of the potential long-term trajectory of social media. Hanks plays the shady CEO of a multimedia information-sharing conglomerate, The Circle. The company introduces SeeChange, a new service that surveys users at all times with a series of drones and small cameras, which predictably raises some ethical concerns. Although it has a relevant and interesting premise, The Circle was not particularly well-received by audiences and critics. The Circle is rated at a 5.4 on IMDb, making it one of the worst rated movies in Tom Hanks’ career. The film was relatively flat and uneventful, and the choice to cast one of the most beloved faces in the industry as its villain put it at something of a disadvantage from the start.
2. Finch (2021)
Finch is a touching post-apocalyptic film that bears more than a few similarities to I Am Legend. Ten years after a solar flare destroyed the Earth’s ozone layer, Finch Weinberg (Hanks) is one of the planet’s few remaining survivors. Finch lives underground with his dog, Goodyear, and is dying of cancer, so he builds a robot to take care of his dog after his death. After a complication uploading the robot’s memory, Finch has to manually teach it all of the necessary skills to be a caretaker. The story is heartbreaking and emotional, and Finch’s fate in the ending is as upsetting as it is uplifting. Hanks’ performance is complex and captivating, and with a 7.0 IMDb rating, it is a far more memorable installment in his sci-fi catalog than the previous title.
1. Cloud Atlas (2012)
Cloud Atlas is a complex series of interwoven stories that take place at different points over a roughly 500-year span of time. The film’s principal actors all play more than one role, with the majority of them appearing in each of the six individual stories in some capacity. From an American lawyer witnessing racism abroad in 1849 to a tribe of post-apocalyptic Hawaiians fighting for their survival in 2321, the stories and characters in Cloud Atlas are varied and distinct but still manage to overlap one another in some way, be it a recurring character or a recognizable set piece. The film is based on David Mitchell’s book of the same name and was adapted and directed by the Wachowskis, the creative force behind the iconic science-fiction trilogy The Matrix. Cloud Atlas’ constantly changing landscapes and dynamic performances make the film stand out from other films in the genre, and its 7.4 IMDb rating earns it a spot at the top of Tom Hanks’ short sci-fi list.