5 Best Scarlett Johansson Sci-Fi Movies, Ranked

Thanks to her long run in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Scarlett Johansson is one of the highest-grossing actors on the planet. Getting there took a lot of work, much of it coming from her forays into sci-fi, which led to some of her greatest films to date.

No stranger to walking away from explosions or embarking on intellectual journeys that posit what the future could look like, Johansson has delivered in a variety of films (but not "Ghost in the Shell," which we must never talk about). Of course, being the sci-fi nerds that we are, we've compiled a variety of films that Johansson has put her name to in order to find out which is the best of the bunch, of which there are quite a few.

From futuristic utopias with dark futures to taking on do-or-die missions of universe-altering proportions, Johansson has done it all, and in doing so, contributed to some undeniably great films. So why stop now? Get stuck into our ranking of great movies from the blockbuster magnet that is ScarJo, starting with an overlooked Michael Bay movie that gets nowhere near enough attention, probably because critics didn't like their first viewing when it hit theaters way back in 2005.

It might feel a bit dated now, but there's no question there's plenty of spectacle and signature Michael Bay-hem in "The Island," and Scarlett Johansson is integral to it. Starring alongside Ewan McGregor, the film follows two clones who learn their main function in life is to be organ donors for the original versions of themselves living in the real world. Not ones for having their kidneys pinched without their permission, both Johansson and McGregor's doubles make a break for it and get chased down by Djimon Hounsou along the way.

If you need a brain-not-necessary bit of viewing pleasure, "The Island" is the perfect getaway, and the start of Johansson venturing into big blockbusters, where she clearly holds her own. It might not have been met with the best critical reception during release, with the film earning a disappointing 39% on Rotten Tomatoes, but there's still fun to be had.

Film geeks and followers of Bay's work in particular will have fun spotting shots in the high-speed chases that were recycled for "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," clearly cut precisely to sneak in Optimus Prime and take out Johansson and her co-star.

Of all Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow really got the short straw in the MCU. Thankfully, even when some Marvel characters got ruined in the franchise, Natasha Romanoff at least got a superheroic send-off in "Avengers: Endgame," which also housed her best performance in the series.

Like many other essential cast members who signed up for the blockbuster to end all blockbusters, Johansson spent nearly a decade with a character audiences had come to love, making her sacrifice to save the universe all the more impactful. It's the lead-up to her leap of faith and heroism, though, that allows it to hit the right emotional beats. Being among the few who weren't snapped out of existence takes a heavy toll on the SHIELD agent and assassin, as seen in the heartbreaking talk she has with Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) before they decide to turn the tables and time back on Thanos (Josh Brolin).

When she makes the unimaginable choice, it hits hard but doesn't last long in the grand scheme of things (runtime be damned). In the end, the biggest mistake was finally giving Nat her own "Black Widow" movie after her death, not before, since that could've been an exit to match even Tony Stark's.

It's said a magic trick has three parts, but Christopher Nolan's magic movie, "The Prestige," has many more, including the duplicitous assistant Olivia Wenscombe, played by Scarlett Johansson. Now, if this writer had their way, they'd put the movie at the top of the list, but given that this is a supporting role for Johansson, we have to knock it down a bit.

That's not to say that she doesn't deliver here, though. As Wenscombe, she's a scheming piece of this puzzle with one of the all-time great movie twists, and one that causes perhaps the most grief in the whole ordeal. Initially roped into a show by Hugh Jackman's Angier, Wenscombe switches sides and falls for one half of the original Transported Man act.

Admittedly, like a lot of Nolan's films, the women in his earlier movies take a bit of a back seat, but Johansson, in this case, works wonders with what she's given. For one, she earns the rare accolade of an American doing a fairly decent English accent with a character smarter than she lets on. Perhaps the only setback with her character in this near-perfect film is that it's never really revealed what happened to Olivia when men start going into boxes and magicians come back from the dead. She simply disappears. Clearly we weren't watching closely enough.

When considering Johansson's best work in sci-fi, you have to factor in the film where she never appears onscreen. Spike Jonze's 2013 standout "Her" sees soon-to-be divorcee Theodore Twombly (Joaquin Phoenix) get alarmingly close to an AI operating system that calls itself Samantha (Johansson). In no time, Twombly grows attached to Samantha, who seemingly starts to show signs of affection and love for him as well. So begins a testing, questionable relationship that leaves Theodore's friends concerned about his new dating habits and this new chapter in his life.

Winning Oscars for Best Original Screenplay and earning a Best Picture nomination in 2014, "Her" has stood the test of time thanks to Phoenix's fragile, flawed performance, accompanied by Johansson's angelic whispers throughout most of the film. Theodore might be getting seduced by a highly advanced Siri, but Johansson sells it wonderfully, right up until their eventual breakup that sets her off with other AIs and leaves humanity in peace (far better than the Skynet approach).

Admittedly, the further into the age of artificial intelligence we get, the more "Her" starts to move ever closer to reality, what with people confessing to having months-long affairs with their AI, but if these AIs sounded anything remotely like the star in question, then we can't blame them.

There's something bittersweet about Scarlett Johansson's best sci-fi film being the one that absolutely bombed at the box office. Then again, given how much of an unsettling and deeply disturbing sci-fi movie "Under the Skin" is, we're kind of jealous of the people who never saw it.

Released in 2013 and directed by Jonathan Glazer, "Under the Skin" is a callous and cold-hearted tale that sees Johansson as a mysterious being from another world who touches down in Glasgow, Scotland, of all places, where she begins picking up local men like some space-age siren and leading them to their doom when they find themselves trapped in a liquid void they can't escape.

"Under the Skin" creates so much unease with so little. Shot through hidden-camera footage, the movie mainly consists of Johansson wandering the streets of Glasgow and speaking to local men who have little to no acting experience, adding to the realism of this unnerving watch. As The Female, she's a curious, hollow being who observes humanity in all its faults, including the movie's most harrowing scene of a family tragedy that'll chill the bones. It's in watching these dark moments of the world that we get Johansson at her finest. She might've fought aliens and broken men's hearts as an artificial intelligence, but as an alien with little life behind her eyes, we might get her greatest performance to date.