feelsalike.comSign in
Men in Black poster

Movies that feel likeMen in Black (1997)

After a police chase with an otherworldly being, a New York City cop is recruited as an agent in a top-secret organization established to monitor and police alien activity on Earth: the Men in Black. Agent K and new recruit Agent J find themselves in the middle of a deadly plot by an intergalactic terrorist who has arrived on Earth to assassinate two ambassadors from opposing galaxies.

If you loved Men in Black, the closest films we have are Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Back to the Future Part III (1990) and X-Men (2000). All three share Men in Black's epic and cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The World's End (2013).

πŸ… 91% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.3 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Barry Sonnenfeldkineticepicwittyplayfulcerebral
9 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video Β· Disney Plus Β· Paramount Plus Premium

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

See it on the Mood Map

When is Men in Black streaming? β†’

If Men in Black hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Men in Black II (2002) Β· Men in Black 3 (2012)

Thor: Ragnarok poster
Thor: Ragnarok
2017 Β· dir. Taika Waititi
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.9action Β· adventure Β· comedyDisney+

Comic timing carrying cosmic scale that never takes itself seriously

The difference: Mythic tragedy under the jokes, and far bigger in scope

Thor is imprisoned on the other side of the universe and finds himself in a race against time to get back to Asgard to stop Ragnarok, the destruction of his home-world and the end of Asgardian civilization, at the hands of a powerful new threat, the ruthless Hela.

Back to the Future Part III poster
Back to the Future Part III
1990 Β· dir. Robert Zemeckis
πŸ… 79%β˜… 7.5adventure Β· comedy Β· science fiction

The same mix in both: scale, then wit

The difference: Takes it somewhere less kinetic than Men in Black does

The final installment finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.

X-Men poster
X-Men
2000 Β· dir. Bryan Singer
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.3adventure Β· action Β· science fictionDisney+

The same preoccupation in both: superhero

Two mutants, Rogue and Wolverine, come to a private academy for their kind whose resident superhero team, the X-Men, must oppose a terrorist organization with similar powers.

Paul poster
Paul
2011 Β· dir. Greg Mottola
πŸ… 70%β˜… 6.9adventure Β· comedy Β· science fictionPeacock

Aliens hiding among us with a foulmouthed shrug instead of wonder

The difference: Crude and road-trip loose, none of the shadowy agency polish

For the past 60 years, a space-traveling smart-ass named Paul has been locked up in a top-secret military base, advising world leaders about his kind. But when he worries he’s outlived his usefulness and the dissection table is drawing uncomfortably close, Paul escapes on the first RV that passes by his compound in Area 51. Fortunately, it contains the two earthlings who are most likely to rescue and harbor an alien on the run.

Ant-Man poster
Ant-Man
2015 Β· dir. Peyton Reed
πŸ… 83%β˜… 7.2science fiction Β· adventure Β· actionDisney+Starz

A rookie learns the ropes from a dry veteran as the world turns stranger

The difference: A proper origin arc with real stakes, not throwaway cosmic gags

Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, master thief Scott Lang must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Doctor Hank Pym, protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world.

Hot Tub Time Machine poster
Hot Tub Time Machine
2010 Β· dir. Steve Pink
πŸ… 64%β˜… 6.4science fiction Β· comedy Β· adventure

Playful and cerebral in the same breath

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Four pals are stuck in a rut in adulthood: Adam has just been dumped, Lou is a hopeless party animal, Nick is a henpecked husband, and Jacob does nothing but play video games in his basement. But they get a chance to brighten their future by changing their past after a night of heavy drinking in a ski-resort hot tub results in their waking up in 1986.

Wild Wild West poster
Wild Wild West
1999 Β· dir. Barry Sonnenfeld
πŸ… 16%β˜… 5action Β· adventure Β· comedyParamount+

Sonnenfeld reteams the gadget-heavy buddy formula in the Old West

The difference: The chemistry never sparks β€” a famously misfiring blockbuster

Legless Southern inventor Dr. Arliss Loveless plans to rekindle the Civil War by assassinating President Ulysses S. Grant. Only two men can stop him: gunfighter James West and master-of-disguise and inventor Artemus Gordon. The two must team up to thwart Loveless' plans.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles poster
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
2014 Β· dir. Jonathan Liebesman
πŸ… 20%β˜… 5.8science fiction Β· action Β· adventureParamount+

New York hiding weirdness in plain sight, played for kicks and quips

The difference: Louder and blunter β€” CGI brawling over deadpan comic timing

When a kingpin threatens New York City, a group of mutated turtle warriors must emerge from the shadows to protect their home.

Men in Black: International poster
Men in Black: International
2019 Β· dir. F. Gary Gray
πŸ… 23%β˜… 5.6comedy Β· science fiction Β· actionParamount+Starz

Action with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

The difference: 22 years apart, and the 2010s show

The Men in Black have always protected the Earth from the scum of the universe. In this new adventure, they tackle their biggest, most global threat to date: a mole in the Men in Black organization.

Small Soldiers poster
Small Soldiers
1998 Β· dir. Joe Dante
πŸ… 51%β˜… 6.3comedy Β· adventure Β· fantasyPrime Video

Kinetic adventure, and it commits to that

The difference: Leans harder into fantasy than Men in Black does

When missile technology is used to enhance toy action figures, the toys soon begin to take their battle programming too seriously.

Evolution poster
Evolution
2001 Β· dir. Ivan Reitman
πŸ… 44%β˜… 6.1comedy Β· science fiction Β· action

Both lean on wit more than on comedy

A comedy that follows the chaos that ensues when a meteor hits the Earth carrying alien life forms that give new meaning to the term "survival of the fittest." David Duchovny, Orlando Jones, Seann William Scott, and Julianne Moore are the only people standing between the aliens and world domination... which could be bad news for the Earth.

The World's End poster
The World's End
2013 Β· dir. Edgar Wright
πŸ… 89%β˜… 6.9comedy Β· action Β· science fictionPeacock

Ordinary people finding something inhuman under a familiar town

The difference: Boozy midlife sadness under the laughs, sharper and sourer

Five friends who reunite in an attempt to top their epic pub crawl from 20 years earlier unwittingly become humankind's only hope for survival.

In the mood for more kinetic?

all kinetic movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share Men in Black’s defining feeling.