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Movies that feel like Forbidden Planet (1956)

If you loved Forbidden Planet, the closest films we have are Ikarie XB 1 (1963), Silent Running (1972) and The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951). All three share Forbidden Planet's cerebral and awe feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 8 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Hulu and Paramount Plus Premium and others, checked against today's data.

Starship C57D travels to planet Altair 4 in search of the crew of spaceship "Bellerophon," a scientific expedition that has been missing for twenty years. They find themselves unwelcome by the expedition's lone survivor and warned of destruction by an invisible force if they don't turn back immediately.

πŸ… 96% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.5 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Fred M. Wilcoxcerebralepicawe

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If Forbidden Planet hit the spot, these will too

Ikarie XB 1 poster
Ikarie XB 1
1963 Β· dir. JindΕ™ich PolΓ‘k
πŸ… 100%β˜… 6.9science fiction

Common ground in both: alien planet and robot

The difference: None of the scale Forbidden Planet is built on

The year is 2163. Starship Ikaria XB-1 embarks on a mission deep into space in search of alien life. During their perilous journey the crew confront the effects of a malignant dark star, the destructive legacy of the 20th century and, ultimately, the limits of their own sanity.

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Silent Running poster
Silent Running
1972 Β· dir. Douglas Trumbull
πŸ… 71%β˜… 6.6adventure Β· science fiction Β· drama

One thread runs through both: space

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

After the entire flora goes extinct, ecologist Lowell maintains a greenhouse aboard a space station for the future with his android companions. However, he rebels after being ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions.

Feels alike?
The Day the Earth Stood Still poster
The Day the Earth Stood Still
1951 Β· dir. Robert Wise
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.7science fiction Β· thriller Β· drama

The same preoccupation in both: flying saucer

The difference: Not nearly as epic as Forbidden Planet

An alien and a robot land on Earth after World War II and tell mankind to be peaceful or face destruction.

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Barbarella poster
Barbarella
1968 Β· dir. Roger Vadim
πŸ… 64%β˜… 5.9science fiction Β· adventure Β· comedy

Both keep coming back to the same thing: alien planet

The difference: Sits closer to comedy than Forbidden Planet does

In the far future, a highly sexual woman is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she encounters various unusual people.

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Prospect poster
Prospect
2018 Β· dir. Zeek Earl
πŸ… 89%β˜… 6.3science fiction

Cerebral and awestruck in the same breath

The difference: 62 years apart, and the 2010s show

A teenage girl and her father travel to a remote alien moon, aiming to strike it rich. They've secured a contract to harvest a large deposit of the elusive gems hidden in the depths of the moon's toxic forest. But there are others roving the wilderness and the job quickly devolves into a fight to survive.

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The Wandering Earth II poster
The Wandering Earth II
2023 Β· dir. Frant Gwo
πŸ… 83%β˜… 6.7science fiction Β· action Β· adventure

Both lean on scale more than on science fiction

The difference: Leans harder into action than Forbidden Planet does

Humans built huge engines on the surface of the earth to find a new home. But the road to the universe is perilous. In order to save earth, young people once again have to step forward to start a race against time for life and death.

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Fantastic Voyage poster
Fantastic Voyage
1966 Β· dir. Richard Fleischer
πŸ… 91%β˜… 6.8science fiction Β· adventure

Cerebral adventure in both cases

In order to save an assassinated scientist, a submarine and its crew are shrunk to microscopic size and injected into his bloodstream.

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Star Trek: The Motion Picture poster
Star Trek: The Motion Picture
1979 Β· dir. Robert Wise
πŸ… 51%β˜… 6.4science fiction Β· adventure Β· mystery

Science fiction built on scale, twice over

When an unidentified alien destroys three powerful Klingon cruisers, Captain James T. Kirk returns to the newly transformed U.S.S. Enterprise to take command.

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The War of the Worlds poster
The War of the Worlds
1953 Β· dir. Byron Haskin
β˜… 7science fiction Β· action

Awestruck adventure, and it commits to that

The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills, until they discover it is the first of many transport devices from Mars bringing an army of invaders invincible to any man-made weapon, even the atomic bomb.

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Transformers: Dark of the Moon poster
Transformers: Dark of the Moon
2011 Β· dir. Michael Bay
πŸ… 35%β˜… 6.2action Β· science fiction Β· adventure

Common ground: sabotage

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.

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Fantastic Planet poster
Fantastic Planet
1973 Β· dir. RenΓ© Laloux
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.7animation Β· science fiction

Science fiction with a pulse of ideas, in both cases

On the planet Ygam, the Draags, extremely technologically and spiritually advanced blue humanoids, consider the tiny Oms, human beings descendants of Terra's inhabitants, as ignorant animals. Those who live in slavery are treated as simple pets and used to entertain Draag children; those who live hidden in the hostile wilderness of the planet are periodically hunted and ruthlessly slaughtered as if they were vermin.

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Dune poster
Dune
1984 Β· dir. David Lynch
πŸ… 36%β˜… 6.3action Β· science fiction Β· adventure

Adventure built on scale, twice over

In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.

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The best-reviewed films that share Forbidden Planet’s defining feeling.