Science Fiction Movies Quiz

Question 1

What is the famous opening line that begins every Star Wars film (from Episode IV onwards)?

Accepted Answer

'A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away....'

Answer

'In the beginning, there was nothing, and from nothing came everything...'

Answer

'From the darkness of space came a war that would change everything...'

Answer

'In a time of war, one family's struggle shaped the fate of a galaxy...'

Question 2

In Alien (1979), the famous tagline was what?

Accepted Answer

'In space, no one can hear you scream'

Answer

'In space, no one can hear you breathe'

Answer

'In space, no one survives'

Answer

'In space, terror has no name'

Question 3

In Interstellar (2014), what is 'time dilation' and how does it affect the characters?

Accepted Answer

Time passes more slowly near massive gravitational sources — so astronauts near a black hole age far slower than people on Earth

Answer

Time travel to the past via a wormhole

Answer

A government programme to extend human lifespan

Answer

The effect of travelling faster than light

Question 4

What is the name of HAL 9000's counterpart AI in the film Her (2013)?

Accepted Answer

Samantha

Answer

JARVIS

Answer

AVA

Answer

Ava

Question 5

Which director made both Blade Runner (1982) and its sequel Blade Runner 2049 (2017)?

Accepted Answer

Blade Runner by Ridley Scott; Blade Runner 2049 by Denis Villeneuve

Answer

Both by Ridley Scott

Answer

Both by Denis Villeneuve

Answer

Blade Runner by Ridley Scott; 2049 by Christopher Nolan

Question 6

The 'Turing Test' is referenced in Ex Machina (2014). What does it test?

Accepted Answer

Whether an AI's conversation is indistinguishable from a human's

Answer

Whether a robot can perform physical tasks indistinguishable from humans

Answer

Whether a computer can solve complex mathematical problems

Answer

Whether machines experience pain

Question 7

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) was the highest-grossing film of all time until it was surpassed by what?

Accepted Answer

Jurassic Park

Answer

Return of the Jedi

Answer

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

Answer

Star Wars: A New Hope (re-release)

Question 8

In The Martian (2015), what does astronaut Mark Watney famously 'science the s*** out of' to survive?

Accepted Answer

Growing potatoes in Martian soil using his own waste as fertiliser

Answer

Repairing his spacecraft's engines

Answer

Generating water from rocket fuel

Answer

Communicating with Earth using Morse code in the sand

Question 9

What is the 'Monolith' in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey?

Accepted Answer

A mysterious black rectangle of unknown origin that appears at key moments in human evolution

Answer

The spacecraft Discovery One

Answer

HAL 9000's physical form

Answer

The final scene's location — a black room

Question 10

Which 1984 James Cameron film established the Terminator franchise with a time-travel plot?

Accepted Answer

The Terminator

Answer

Aliens

Answer

True Lies

Answer

The Abyss

Question 11

Denis Villeneuve's Arrival (2016) is based on a short story by Ted Chiang. What is its central premise?

Accepted Answer

A linguist learns to communicate with aliens and discovers their language changes her perception of time

Answer

Alien invasion defeated by a computer virus

Answer

Time travel used to prevent an alien invasion

Answer

First contact through radio signals decoded over 30 years

Question 12

What is the 'Nostromo' in science fiction?

Accepted Answer

The spacecraft in Ridley Scott's Alien (1979)

Answer

A Joseph Conrad novel only

Answer

The AI in 2001: A Space Odyssey

Answer

The spaceship in Event Horizon

Question 13

In Star Wars, what is the Kessel Run and why did Han Solo boast about doing it 'in less than 12 parsecs'?

Accepted Answer

A dangerous spice-smuggling route; the boast actually makes no sense (parsecs measure distance not time) — though later films retconned it

Answer

A standard starship endurance test; parsecs measure time in the Star Wars universe

Answer

A famous asteroid belt race; 12 parsecs is the fastest possible time

Answer

A hyperdrive speed test; parsecs are a unit of speed in Star Wars

Question 14

Which science fiction film features a station orbiting Jupiter with a cast including Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, and Jessica Chastain?

Accepted Answer

Interstellar

Answer

The Martian

Answer

Gravity

Answer

Ad Astra

Question 15

RoboCop (1987), directed by Paul Verhoeven, was a satire of which aspects of 1980s America?

Accepted Answer

Corporate privatisation, media saturation, and urban crime/decay in Reagan-era America

Answer

The space race and military industrial complex

Answer

Nuclear war anxiety and Cold War politics

Answer

Environmental destruction and overpopulation

Question 16

What is 'xenomorph' and which franchise is it from?

Accepted Answer

The alien creature in the Alien franchise, known for its acid blood, parasitic life cycle, and endoparasite reproduction

Answer

A type of warp drive in Star Trek

Answer

The robot villain in Terminator: Salvation

Answer

The alien language in Arrival

Question 17

Metropolis (1927), directed by Fritz Lang, is historically significant because:

Accepted Answer

It is one of the first feature-length science fiction films and established many sci-fi visual tropes still used today

Answer

It was the first film to use sound

Answer

It won the first Academy Award for Best Picture

Answer

It was the first film to be shown on television

Question 18

In Dune (Part One, 2021), the 'spice' (melange) is the most valuable substance in the universe. What does it do?

Accepted Answer

It extends life, enables space navigation, and heightens consciousness — only found on Arrakis

Answer

It powers spacecraft faster than light

Answer

It is a currency used to control planets

Answer

It prevents aging entirely

Question 19

Which science fiction film famously ends with the Statue of Liberty buried in sand on a beach?

Accepted Answer

Planet of the Apes

Answer

Logan's Run

Answer

Soylent Green

Answer

The Omega Man

Question 20

Children of Men (2006), directed by Alfonso Cuarón, is set in a dystopian world where humanity faces what crisis?

Accepted Answer

Global human infertility — no child has been born in 18 years

Answer

A deadly pandemic with no cure

Answer

An alien occupation of Earth

Answer

Climate collapse making food production impossible