[ewjt]

These are all generally highly reviewed can lead to interesting discussions:

Gattaca - interesting take on genetics/DNA discrimination

Europa - hard science fiction, maybe a bit slow for a 12 year old

The Net - older movie but the concept of digital exile resonates today

City of Ember - post apocalyptic civilization that lives deep underground

First Man - dramatization of Neil Armstrong and the first moon landing (not realy "fiction")

Arrival - first contact situation, tastefully done

Contact - another first contact situation that explores how politics, skepticism, and fanaticism react

The Martian - easily as fun as the book

The Prestige - competing magicians in an industrial age setting

The Hunger Games - extreme class divide in a future setting

Jurassic Park - the original not the sequels

Stargate - wormhole travel to another planet (be careful with the TV shows though, SG1 on streaming has full frontal nudity and "not ok" scenes which were obviously not on the broadcast version and a total shock when we watched it as a family)

District 9 - has some graphic gore and language, so it might be 14+, but is an interesting look at aliens as refugees

Contagion - a look at how a pandemic could play out. Premiered before COVID.

The Maze Runner - interesting setting and look at group dynamics

Honey, I Shrunk the Kids - fun setting

The Village - scary movie with a sci fi twist

Galaxy Quest - comedy

Short Circuit - old movie that deals with AI sentience

Innerspace - another old one, but has some fun concepts