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Cowboys & Aliens poster

Movies that feel likeCowboys & Aliens (2011)

A stranger stumbles into the desert town of Absolution with no memory of his past and a futuristic shackle around his wrist. With the help of mysterious beauty Ella and the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde, he finds himself leading an unlikely posse of cowboys, outlaws, and Apache warriors against a common enemy from beyond this world in an epic showdown for survival.

If you loved Cowboys & Aliens, the closest films we have are Europa Report (2013), Sunshine (2007) and Zathura: A Space Adventure (2005). All three share Cowboys & Aliens' cerebral and awe feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Star Trek Beyond (2016).

🍅 44% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Jon Favreaucerebralgrittyawe
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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If Cowboys & Aliens hit the spot, these will too

Europa Report poster
Europa Report
2013 · dir. Sebastián Cordero
🍅 81%★ 6.4science fiction · thriller · dramaNetflix

Both are built on the same subject: spacecraft

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

A crew travels to Europa, Jupiter’s icy moon, to investigate signs of life in its subsurface ocean, but disaster cuts them off from Earth, leading to a tense and dangerous exploration.

Sunshine poster
Sunshine
2007 · dir. Danny Boyle
🍅 77%★ 7.2science fiction · thriller

Both land ideas and awe at once

The difference: Takes it somewhere less gritty than Cowboys & Aliens does

Fifty years into the future, the sun is dying, and Earth is threatened by arctic temperatures. A team of astronauts is sent to revive the Sun — but the mission fails. Seven years later, a new team is sent to finish the mission as mankind’s last hope.

Zathura: A Space Adventure poster
Zathura: A Space Adventure
2005 · dir. Jon Favreau
🍅 77%★ 6.3science fiction · adventure · familyNetflix

Jon Favreau working the same nerve twice

The difference: Trades the grit of Cowboys & Aliens for an angle of its own

After their father is called into work, two young boys, Walter and Danny, are left in the care of their teenage sister, Lisa, and told they must stay inside. Walter and Danny, who anticipate a boring day, are shocked when they begin playing Zathura, a space-themed board game, which they realize has mystical powers when their house is shot into space. With the help of an astronaut, the boys attempt to return home.

The Wandering Earth poster
The Wandering Earth
2019 · dir. Frant Gwo
🍅 70%★ 5.9science fiction · action · dramaRent or buy

Cerebral science fiction in both cases

The difference: Easier on the grit than Cowboys & Aliens

When the Sun begins to expand in such a way that it will inevitably engulf and destroy the Earth in a hundred years, united mankind finds a way to avoid extinction by propelling the planet out of the Solar System using gigantic engines, moving it to a new home located four light years away, an epic journey that will last thousands of years.

Star Trek Beyond poster
Star Trek Beyond
2016 · dir. Justin Lin
🍅 86%★ 7action · adventure · science fictionParamount+

The same preoccupation in both: spacecraft

The difference: Leans harder into action than Cowboys & Aliens does

The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

The Marvels poster
The Marvels
2023 · dir. Nia DaCosta
🍅 63%★ 5.5science fiction · adventure · actionDisney+

Both lean on awe more than on western

When her duties send her to an anomalous wormhole linked to a Kree revolutionary, Carol's powers become entangled with that of Jersey City super-fan Kamala Khan, aka Ms. Marvel, and Carol's estranged niece, now S.A.B.E.R. astronaut Captain Monica Rambeau. Together, this unlikely trio must team up and learn to work in concert to save the universe.

The Day the Earth Stood Still poster
The Day the Earth Stood Still
2008 · dir. Scott Derrickson
🍅 21%★ 5.5drama · science fiction · thrillerPrime Video

Both are working the same pair: alien, ufo

A representative of an alien race that went through drastic evolution to survive its own climate change, Klaatu comes to Earth to assess whether humanity can prevent the environmental damage they have inflicted on their own planet. When barred from speaking to the United Nations, he decides humankind shall be exterminated so the planet can survive.

John Carter poster
John Carter
2012 · dir. Andrew Stanton
🍅 52%★ 6.6action · adventure · science fictionDisney+

One thread runs through both: escape

John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who's inexplicably transported to the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars) and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It's a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

Power Rangers poster
Power Rangers
2017 · dir. Dean Israelite
🍅 51%★ 5.9action · adventure · science fictionRent or buy

Science fiction built on ideas, twice over

Five ordinary teens must become something extraordinary when they learn that their small town of Angel Grove — and the world — is on the verge of being obliterated by an alien threat. Chosen by destiny, our heroes quickly discover they are the only ones who can save the planet. But to do so, they will have to overcome their real-life issues and before it’s too late, band together as the Power Rangers.

Venom poster
Venom
2018 · dir. Ruben Fleischer
🍅 31%★ 6.6science fiction · actionDisney+

Awestruck western, and it commits to that

Investigative journalist Eddie Brock attempts a comeback following a scandal, but accidentally becomes the host of Venom, a violent, super powerful alien symbiote. Soon, he must rely on his newfound powers to protect the world from a shadowy organization looking for a symbiote of their own.

Transformers: Dark of the Moon poster
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
2011 · dir. Michael Bay
🍅 35%★ 6.2action · science fiction · adventureParamount+Starz

Cut from the same science fiction cloth

The Autobots continue to work for NEST, now no longer in secret. But after discovering a strange artifact during a mission in Chernobyl, it becomes apparent to Optimus Prime that the United States government has been less than forthright with them.

Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets poster
🍅 47%★ 6.4adventure · science fiction · actionMaxHulu

Both keep coming back to the same thing: alien

In the 28th century, Valerian and Laureline are special operatives charged with keeping order throughout the human territories. On assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two undertake a mission to Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis where species from across the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence, and cultures. At the center of Alpha is a mysterious dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.

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The best-reviewed films that share Cowboys & Aliens’ defining feeling.