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Gattaca poster

Movies that feel likeGattaca (1997)

Vincent is an all-too-human man who dares to defy a system obsessed with genetic perfection. He is an "In-Valid" who assumes the identity of a member of the genetic elite to pursue his goal of traveling into space with the Gattaca Aerospace Corporation.

If you loved Gattaca, the closest films we have are Aniara (2019), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) and Silent Running (1972). All three share Gattaca's cerebral and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Planet of the Apes (1968).

🍅 82% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Andrew Niccolcerebralcontemplativebleakawemelancholy
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium

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If Gattaca hit the spot, these will too

Aniara poster
Aniara
2019 · dir. Hugo Lilja
🍅 70%★ 6.3science fiction · drama

Both are working the same pair: dystopia, space travel

The difference: Takes it somewhere less melancholy than Gattaca does

A ship carrying settlers to a new home on Mars after Earth is rendered uninhabitable is knocked off-course, causing the passengers to consider their place in the universe.

A.I. Artificial Intelligence poster
A.I. Artificial Intelligence
2001 · dir. Steven Spielberg
🍅 76%★ 7.2drama · science fiction · adventureParamount+Peacock

The same preoccupation in both: dystopia

The difference: Trades the awe of Gattaca for an angle of its own

David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for David.

Silent Running poster
Silent Running
1972 · dir. Douglas Trumbull
🍅 71%★ 6.6science fiction · adventure · drama

One thread runs through both: space travel

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than Gattaca does

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.

Total Recall poster
Total Recall
1990 · dir. Paul Verhoeven
🍅 80%★ 7.5action · adventure · science fictionPrime VideoParamount+

The same mix in both: ideas, then bleakness

Construction worker Douglas Quaid's obsession with the planet Mars leads him to visit Rekall, a virtual vacation company that manufactures memories. When something goes wrong during Quaid's memory implant procedure, his life turns upside down, leading him to question what is reality and what isn't.

War for the Planet of the Apes poster
War for the Planet of the Apes
2017 · dir. Matt Reeves
🍅 94%★ 7.4drama · science fiction · warMax

Contemplative and melancholy in the same breath

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

Caesar and his apes are forced into a deadly conflict with an army of humans led by a ruthless Colonel. After the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. As the journey finally brings them face to face, Caesar and the Colonel are pitted against each other in an epic battle that will determine the fate of both their species and the future of the planet.

The Fifth Element poster
The Fifth Element
1997 · dir. Luc Besson
🍅 70%★ 7.6science fiction · action · adventure

Awestruck science fiction in both cases

In 2257, a taxi driver is unintentionally given the task of saving a young girl who is part of the key that will ensure the survival of humanity.

The Chronicles of Riddick poster
The Chronicles of Riddick
2004 · dir. David Twohy
🍅 29%★ 6.6action · science fiction

Drama with a pulse of ideas, in both cases

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

After years of outrunning ruthless bounty hunters, escaped convict Riddick suddenly finds himself caught between opposing forces in a fight for the future of the human race. Now, waging incredible battles on fantastic and deadly worlds, this lone, reluctant hero will emerge as humanity's champion - and the last hope for a universe on the edge of annihilation.

Stargate poster
Stargate
1994 · dir. Roland Emmerich
🍅 53%★ 7action · adventure · science fiction

Both lean on awe more than on science fiction

An interstellar teleportation device, found in Egypt, leads to a planet with humans resembling ancient Egyptians who worship the god Ra.

Planet of the Apes poster
Planet of the Apes
1968 · dir. Franklin J. Schaffner
🍅 86%★ 8science fiction · adventure · drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

Astronaut Taylor crash lands on a distant planet ruled by apes who use a primitive race of humans for experimentation and sport. Soon Taylor finds himself among the hunted, his life in the hands of a benevolent chimpanzee scientist.

Elysium poster
Elysium
2013 · dir. Neill Blomkamp
🍅 64%★ 6.6science fiction · action · dramaNetflix

Bleak science fiction, and it commits to that

In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes, a hard line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that, if successful, will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.

Cloud Atlas poster
Cloud Atlas
2012 · dir. Lilly Wachowski
🍅 65%★ 7.3drama · science fiction

Cerebral drama, and it commits to that

A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Based on the award winning novel by David Mitchell. Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.

Deep Impact poster
Deep Impact
1998 · dir. Mimi Leder
🍅 45%★ 6.3action · drama · science fictionParamount+

Both sit in the same contemplative register

A seven-mile-wide space rock is hurtling toward Earth, threatening to obliterate the planet. Now, it's up to the president of the United States to save the world. He appoints a tough-as-nails veteran astronaut to lead a joint American-Russian crew into space to destroy the comet before impact. Meanwhile, an enterprising reporter uses her smarts to uncover the scoop of the century.

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