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After Earth poster

Movies that feel likeAfter Earth (2013)

One thousand years after cataclysmic events forced humanity's escape from Earth, Nova Prime has become mankind's new home. Legendary General Cypher Raige returns from an extended tour of duty to his estranged family, ready to be a father to his 13-year-old son, Kitai. When an asteroid storm damages Cypher and Kitai's craft, they crash-land on a now unfamiliar and dangerous Earth. As his father lies dying in the cockpit, Kitai must trek across the hostile terrain to recover their rescue beacon. His whole life, Kitai has wanted nothing more than to be a soldier like his father. Today, he gets his chance.

If you loved After Earth, the closest films we have are Ready Player One (2018), Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024) and TRON: Legacy (2010). All three share After Earth's cerebral and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024).

πŸ… 12% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 4.8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. M. Night Shyamalancerebralkineticepicbleakwistful
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video

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If After Earth hit the spot, these will too

Ready Player One poster
Ready Player One
2018 Β· dir. Steven Spielberg
πŸ… 71%β˜… 7.4adventure Β· action Β· science fictionMax

Common ground: dystopia

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

When the creator of a popular video game system dies, a virtual contest is created to compete for his fortune.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes poster
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
2024 Β· dir. Wes Ball
πŸ… 80%β˜… 6.8science fiction Β· adventure Β· actionPrime Video

Both are built on the same subject: life after the end

The difference: Easier on the wistfulness than After Earth

Several generations following Caesar's reign, apes – now the dominant species – live harmoniously while humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all he's known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.

TRON: Legacy poster
TRON: Legacy
2010 Β· dir. Joseph Kosinski
πŸ… 51%β˜… 6.8adventure Β· action Β· science fictionDisney+

The same preoccupation in both: dystopia

Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy and daring son of Kevin Flynn, investigates his father's disappearance and is pulled into The Grid. With the help of a mysterious program named Quorra, Sam quests to stop evil dictator Clu from crossing into the real world.

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 poster
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
2015 Β· dir. Francis Lawrence
πŸ… 70%β˜… 6.6action Β· adventure Β· science fictionNetflix

The same mix in both: ideas, then momentum

As the war between the Capitol and the districts reaches its peak, Katniss Everdeen embarks on a perilous mission to liberate Panem and confront President Snow. Joined by a team of trusted allies, she navigates deadly traps, shifting loyalties, and the heavy cost of rebellion, determined to bring freedom to her people and end the Hunger Games once and for all.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga poster
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
2024 Β· dir. George Miller
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.4action Β· science fiction Β· adventureMax

One thread runs through both: life after the end

As the world falls, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the wasteland, they encounter the citadel presided over by Immortan Joe. The two tyrants wage war for dominance, and Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

Pacific Rim poster
Pacific Rim
2013 Β· dir. Guillermo del Toro
πŸ… 72%β˜… 6.9action Β· science fiction Β· adventure

Epic where it counts, bleak underneath

Using massive piloted robots to combat the alien threat, Earth's survivors take the fight to the invading alien force lurking in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless enemy, the forces of mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes who now stand as Earth's final hope against the mounting apocalypse.

The 5th Wave poster
The 5th Wave
2016 Β· dir. J Blakeson
πŸ… 16%β˜… 5.2science fiction Β· adventure Β· actionNetflix

Both keep coming back to the same thing: alien

16-year-old Cassie Sullivan tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of an alien invasion that has already decimated the population and knocked mankind back to the Stone Age.

JUNG_E poster
JUNG_E
2023 Β· dir. Yeon Sang-ho
πŸ… 52%β˜… 5.5science fiction Β· action Β· adventureNetflix

Cerebral science fiction, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into drama than After Earth does

On an uninhabitable 22nd-century Earth, the outcome of a civil war hinges on cloning the brain of an elite soldier to create a robot mercenary.

The Host poster
The Host
2013 Β· dir. Andrew Niccol
πŸ… 10%β˜… 5.8action Β· adventure Β· science fiction

Action with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

A parasitic alien soul is injected into the body of Melanie Stryder. Instead of carrying out her race's mission of taking over the Earth, "Wanda" (as she comes to be called) forms a bond with her host and sets out to aid other free humans.

Divergent poster
Divergent
2014 Β· dir. Neil Burger
πŸ… 41%β˜… 6.6action Β· adventure Β· science fiction

Both lean on scale more than on adventure

In a world divided into factions based on personality types, Tris learns that she's been classified as Divergent and won't fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it's too late.

Alita: Battle Angel poster
Alita: Battle Angel
2019 Β· dir. Robert Rodriguez
πŸ… 61%β˜… 7.3action Β· science fiction Β· adventureRent or buy

Bleak science fiction in both cases

When Alita awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido, a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past.

Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials poster
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials
2015 Β· dir. Wes Ball
πŸ… 47%β˜… 6.3science fiction Β· action Β· thriller

Action built on ideas, twice over

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than After Earth does

Thomas and his fellow Gladers face their greatest challenge yet: searching for clues about the mysterious and powerful organization known as WCKD. Their journey takes them to the Scorch, a desolate landscape filled with unimaginable obstacles. Teaming up with resistance fighters, the Gladers take on WCKD’s vastly superior forces and uncover its shocking plans for them all.

In the mood for more cerebral?

all cerebral movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share After Earth’s defining feeling.