It's rare for a science fiction movie to depict a futuristic setting that's idyllic or some kind of utopia. After all, a good story needs conflict to get most people interested and invested, and so by setting a sci-fi story in a world where all problems have been solved, you run the risk of not having any issues for the heroes to overcome, or any sort of battle that needs fighting.

RELATED: Great, Ambitious Sci-Fi Films That Were Made With Low Budgets

While most science-fiction films will therefore feature futuristic worlds with problems that may be reminiscent of the issues we face today, some remarkable movies go one step further. These films imagine a world - be it decades in the future, or maybe only a year or so - that deals with just as many issues surrounding crime as the present-day world, if not more. As such, they all offer fascinating and thought-provoking blends of the sci-fi and crime genre.

Updated on January 3rd, 2023, by Hannah Saab:

With recent sci-fi flicks like Don't Worry Darling and Spiderhead portraying more instances of futuristic crimes, it's obvious that this niche blend of genres isn't going anywhere. Fans who enjoy the combination have no shortage of well-made films to choose from, most of which are award-winning classics or international blockbusters.

'Crimes of the Future' (2022)

Available to stream on Hulu.

David Cronenberg's latest film is an odd take on the dystopian genre. It's never exactly clear about how far in the future it's set, but does seem a while off. It's initially about a man who can regrow his organs, and puts on exhibitions where he has his organs harvested in front of a live audience.

Crimes of the Future, therefore, doesn't feel like much of a crime film initially, but the way the plot expands after its initial setup to a sprawling narrative filled with intrigue, mysterious individuals and shady organizations feels distinctly like a film-noir; a genre that tends to include crime elements. The audience and protagonist are always a little behind what's really going on, and there's not always obvious heroes or villains. Crimes of the Future portrays a rotten and dying world that seems to chew up and spit out unfortunate souls at random. If it was intended to evoke an old-school film-noir mystery but in a dystopian future, that could explain why the word "crimes" is in the title.

'Minority Report' (2002)

Available to stream on Netflix and Paramount+.

Rather than portraying a crime-ravaged, futuristic society, Minority Report takes the imaginative approach of presenting a future where crimes can be predicted before they happen. This leads to arrests happening before a crime is committed, which saves the victims, but ends up punishing people who technically haven't performed a criminal act yet.

The film then becomes about the morality of such a practice, and going through all the new problems that humanity would have to face if it "fixed" the problem of crime by inventing a way to predict it. It, therefore, makes for a unique sort of sci-fi crime movie, and with fears about internet surveillance ramping up in recent years, Minority Report's themes and story have arguably become even more relevant.

'Repo! The Genetic Opera' (2008)

Available to rent on Apple iTunes.

Not only does Repo! The Genetic Opera combine science fiction with crime elements, it also adds healthy doses of horror and musical elements. In fact, it's so dedicated to being a musical where just about every line of dialogue is sung... still, that shouldn't be too surprising, given the word "opera" is right there in the title.

The plot involves a dark, futuristic world where a violent corporation all but runs the world, thanks to controlling all organ transplants in a dystopian setting where organ failure has become an epidemic. They essentially run their business the same way gangsters would, violently repossessing organs from clients who fail to pay them back in time. Paul Sorvino even plays the head of this corporation, and given he's perhaps best known for playing the captain of a criminal crew in Goodfellas, it makes the crime connection even stronger.

'Strange Days' (1995)

Available to stream on HBO Max.

Released in 1995 and set in 1999, Strange Days was never dramatically futuristic, but there's a definite sci-fi feel to its turn-of-the-millennium setting. The premise also involves disks that hold recorded memories and emotions, with Ralph Fiennes playing an ex-cop who gets wrapped up in a complex plot, after one such disk contains evidence of a possible crime.

It's another example of film-noir influencing sci-fi, and it does it well. The protagonist could have fit right at home in a 1940s or 1950s black-and-white movie about getting pulled into a conspiracy far out of his control. While the heavy 1990s aesthetic does ultimately age Strange Days a little, it still captures recognizably sci-fi concepts, and director Katherine Bigelow does a great job at keeping the main storyline engaging and fast-paced.

'Chappie' (2015)

Available to rent on Apple iTunes.

Released six years after District 9 - a film that director Neil Blomkamp may never top - Chappie is a somewhat underrated blend of action, sci-fi, crime, and even some comedy, even if its attempts at concocting this unique genre cocktail do end up making the end product noticeably messy.

Chappie is about a robotic police officer (no, not that one) breaking free of his programming and learning human emotions, all the while being used by a gang of criminals to assist them in their crimes. It's a unique premise, merging crime and sci-fi well, and features some great scenes, even if it's ultimately quite flawed in certain areas.

'Dogora' (1964)

Available to stream on The Criterion Channel.

There's no way to put it mildly: Dogora is one strange film. The giant monster movies from the 1950s and 1960s that followed in the original Godzilla's wake often were, of course, but Dogora takes things even further than you might expect.

The giant monster of Dogora has an incredibly unique design that's somewhat reminiscent of deep-sea fish, and unlike most monsters from classic kaiju films, who were played by actors in rubber suits. And then instead of a human storyline where the main characters aim to stop or observe the monster, the main characters of Dogora spend much of the film wrapped up in performing a diamond heist. It's worth watching for those who actively seek out deep-cut giant monster movies, but probably won't have much appeal to others.

'Alphaville' (1965)

Available to stream on The Criterion Channel.

Alphaville is an unusual film within Jean-Luc Godard's filmography. Godard usually made movies that combined comedy, drama, and romance, at least in his earlier, (slightly) less experimental years. Alphaville, however, is a futuristic detective story.

The plot doesn't even take place on Earth, as Alphaville - the film's setting - is a city on another planet, and one where love and other deep human emotions have been outlawed. The detective (quite expectedly) uncovers a deep, confounding conspiracy, and struggles to get to the bottom of it. Some viewers may also struggle, too, when it comes to keeping up with the film and what it's trying to say, but its cold tone and unique take on the mystery genre could well make it appealing and intoxicating for others.

'Face/Off' (1997)

Available to rent on Apple iTunes.

A gloriously wild movie that features Nicolas Cage and John Travolta going all out in front of the camera, and John Woo doing the same behind it, Face/Off takes the sci-fi idea of flawless face transplants (that can allow you to effectively steal someone's identity) and spins it into a wild, endlessly fun action movie.

Beyond the face transplants and an unusually high-tech prison, there's not much about it that screams sci-fi, but it's enough. Similarly, the crime elements are a little underplayed, but much of the film does involve the hero (disguised as the villain) infiltrating the villain's criminal gang. First and foremost, it's an action movie, but it's an action movie that's certainly elevated by those sci-fi and crime elements.

'Dark City' (1998)

Available to rent on Apple iTunes.

Dark City takes place in such a distant future that it's often unrecognizable, compared to our present. And given the main character struggles with remembering his past - all the while trying to survive in a city with no sun, run by telekinetic beings who harvest human souls - he too struggles to find things that are familiar.

It takes the basics of a film-noir and pushes them far into the future, to the point where Dark City almost feels like a fantasy film. It's an example of film-noir taken to its logical extreme, and has a haunting, surreal atmosphere that sticks with you long after it's over.

'Blade Runner' (1982)

Available to rent on Amazon Video and Google Play Movies.

Perhaps the quintessential example of a detective/film-noir storyline transplanted to the future is still 1982's Blade Runner. Though its story about one futuristic cop tasked with tracking down a group of escaped replicants is set in 2019, it still manages to feel futuristic when watched in 2022.

It's morally gray and visually dark, but the world it creates is a compelling one, and the questions it raises about human nature, freedom, and societal inequality remain thought-provoking and relevant. It's clear why Blade Runner endures as a classic, and few films meld science-fiction with crime as perfectly as it does.

'Tenet' (2020)

Available to stream on HBO Max.

Director Christopher Nolan's Tenet is among his most divisive films. Starring John David Washington, the film revolves around a secret agent entrusted with stopping World War III by using time-inverting technology. The agent (Washington), only known as "the Protagonist," travels throughout the world and through several time periods in order to prevent a powerful organization from changing the course of history.

Tenet is well-known for its complex (if not overly perplexing) narrative and inventive use of time manipulation in action sequences. It also brings crime and sci-fi together in a way only Nolan could pull off, perhaps not as well as he did with Inception, but one that fans of the genre will undoubtedly enjoy, nevertheless.

'Elysium' (2013)

Available to stream on AMC+.

Neil Blomkamp delivers a commercially successful (but critically disappointing) follow-up to District 9 with Elysium. The film is set in the year 2154, where the rich live on a luxury space station named Elysium, while the remainder of the population lives on a devastated Earth. It follows Max De Costa (Matt Damon), a factory worker on Earth who becomes involved in a scheme to destroy Elysium's government and impose equality between the two worlds.

Max's dangerous attempt at infiltrating the highly-advanced satellite is met with resistance from the Elysian authorities and residents, of course. More crime elements are revealed as Max uncovers details about how the other side lives, and exactly what it takes to provide basic care to his community back home.

'Inception' (2010)

Available to stream on Hulu.

Nolan's Inception is a sci-fi film that needs no introduction – it's also a heist movie where things aren't stolen, as it deals with ideas and memories. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Cobb, a thief with the ability to infiltrate people's dreams and steal their secrets. Cobb is offered the opportunity to have his criminal record expunged in exchange for performing what appears to be an impossible task: putting an idea in someone's head rather than stealing it.

Cobb and his gang must build a "dream within a dream" and pull off a robbery that needs meticulous organization and execution. They must struggle with the perilous and unpredictable nature of the dream world, as well as a rival who is attempting to stop them. While this leans more towards the heist rather than crime genre, there are numerous points where the two overlap.

'Dredd' (2012)

Available to stream on Peacock Premium.

Based on the eponymous comic book character, Dredd is a legendary movie by director Pete Travis. Karl Urban plays Judge Dredd, a law enforcement officer in a bleak future where crime is rampant and the legal system has been replaced by a band of "judges" who serve as both cops and judges. In the film, Dredd is charged with taking down a gang led by a notorious drug lord named Ma-Ma (Lena Headey), who has taken possession of the Peach Trees, a 200-story high-rise building.

Dredd must fight his way through the building, floor by floor, with the help of a rookie judge, in order to find Ma-Ma and bring her to justice. It's a violent, action-packed and surprisingly stylistic film from start to finish, combining dystopian, sci-fi, crime and action elements to create a wholly unique viewing experience.

NEXT: The Best Science-Fiction Movies That Aren't Set in The Future