[jackothy]

First some that I don't see mentioned here yet:

Edge of Tomorrow (2014)

Limitless (2011)

Looper (2012)

Upgrade (2018)

Source Code (2011)

District 9 (2009)

Black Mirror S3E2: "Playtest", S4E1: "USS Callister"

The 7 minute YouTube video "Slaughterbots"[1]

The YouTube series The Backrooms[2]

If you are worried about your son hearing swear words and seeing blood, and not just whether or not he will be able to understand/appreciate the movie, then you probably want to wait with a couple of those.

And then I would also agree with those here that mention Inception, Interstellar, Back to the Future, The Martian, Men in Black, Minority Report, The Terminator, Terminator 2, and The Expanse. I also don't think he should have much of a problem following along with The Matrix.

[1]: https://youtu.be/O-2tpwW0kmU [2]: https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVAh-MgDVqvDUEq6qDXqORBio...

[hairofadog]

This is a list of really good movies! But if OP thinks The Matrix is too spicy I think a lot of these will be too much for sure.

[jackothy]

Very true. I can see that Edge of Tomorrow, Limitless, and Source Code are all PG-13, so he might want to start with those.

Edit: At the same time I feel like these suggestions (including the R-rated ones) are all wonderfully simple, understandable, yet though-provoking and constantly entertaining. Perfect for anyone that finds 2001 to be a slow and tedious movie. I would really want to trust that it's safe for anyone to watch these as long as they have an adult next to them, and someone they can talk about the movie with after.

[kyriakos]

Edge of tomorrow has some gore scenes if I remember correctly.

[Zurrrrr]

Limitless is more fantasy than sci-fi IMO.

[jackothy]

The details aren't really fleshed out scientifically, I will certainly grant you that. However, I think just the very concept of a drug/medicine/some sort of thing that can make you very smart is very relevant to real life. We are approaching breakthroughs in gene editing, brain-computer interfaces, and simulated people (AIs) that will lead to a scenario in some ways similar to Limitless. Sudden leaps in human intelligence will happen. I find Limitless to be a fairly interesting exploration of "What would I do if I suddenly could make myself a lot smarter?".

One of the main traits of good Sci-Fi in my opinion is that it leaves you with questions like these to ponder.

[Zurrrrr]

It's specifically the idea that it is based on the idea that we only use 10% of our brains, which is utter bunk. I can't see it as anything but fantasy because of that.

I agree the idea of a drug that could turn us into super intelligent beings is an interest concept to ponder, and agree with you about good sci-fi and what it leaves you with. For Limitless I just can't get past the specific premise they wanted to use.

[jackothy]

Oh yes I forgot they mentioned that 10% thing, and yes it does make me cringe a bit too. I remember thinking when I was 12 that it sounded quite cool, though. Anyways, a huge chunk of Sci-Fi stories (good ones too) have these little kernels of BS that you just have to get past.

[Zurrrrr]

I'm older I guess because I saw that in my 20s and couldn't take it seriously. Agree a lot of sci-fi might have something like that though and I would have been more forgiving of stuff when I was younger, and was for stuff I did like when I was younger also.