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'Minority Report' (2002)

A conversation about the sci-fi genre can never be complete without talking about at least one Steven Spielberg movie; and in the case of sci-fi crime thrillers, Spielberg's Minority Report is right up there as one of the greatest. Loosely based on another Philip K. Dick novella titled The Minority Report, it's one of the best sci-fi neo-noir movies of all time, and it deserves to be more often praised as one of Spielberg's best 21st-century works.

The film blends elements from several genres brilliantly. It's a techno-paranoid thriller, a whodunnit, an action movie, and—of course—one of the best sci-fi crime thrillers of all time. The film's thematic commentary on the ethical dilemma of a society that sacrifices civil liberties in the name of security has unfortunately aged terrifyingly well, too, making Minority Report just as much of an essential watch today as it was back in 2002. Thrilling, fast-paced, and complete with one of Tom Cruise's best performances to date, it's one of Spielberg's most underappreciated cinematic marvels.

'Strange Days' (1995)

Written by James Cameron and Jay Cocks and directed by Kathryn Bigelow, the neo-noir masterpiece Strange Days was such a huge commercial failure upon release that it nearly derailed Bigelow's career. In the years since, however, it has become a bona fide cult classic, and cinephiles' love for it only keeps growing—deservedly so. As far as forgotten sci-fi movies that deserve to be essentials go, it doesn't get much better than this.