
Movies that feel likeRise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)
If you loved Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the closest films we have are Looper (2012), The Book of Eli (2010) and Children of Men (2006). All three share Rise of the Planet of the Apes' tense and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.
Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is District B13 (2004).
Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.
If Rise of the Planet of the Apes hit the spot, these will too
Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Dawn of the Planet of the Apes (2014) · War for the Planet of the Apes (2017) · Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)

Grimy future tale that keeps turning back into a moral question
The difference: Twisty crime plotting — cold puzzle rather than growing empathy

Lone-figure resolve in a world that has already broken
The difference: Post-collapse western — no build-up, no institutions to defy

A world sliding into collapse, seen at ground level and unblinking
The difference: Documentary-raw despair — heavier, and no origin-story arc

An oppressed underclass walled off and left to rot
The difference: Parkour action showcase — the politics are set dressing

Feeling itself as the forbidden thing a system tries to crush
The difference: Stylized gunplay fantasy — thinner world, sillier logic

Common ground: dystopia
The difference: Less cerebral, more its own thing

Man-made intelligence slipping past the people who built it
The difference: War-movie scale and noise — little tenderness anywhere in it

The same mix in both: tension, then momentum
The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Technology's promise curdling into a dehumanized society
The difference: A midtier cop mystery — ideas thinner, feelings thinnest

A being remade by science, fighting for his own self
The difference: Corporate satire without the animal soul or heartbreak

One person waking up to what has been done to them
The difference: Chase-driven and glossy — spectacle standing in for feeling

Caged beings brutalized for the amusement of the powerful
The difference: Trashy vehicular carnage — no empathy for anyone caged
In the mood for more tense?
all tense movies →The best-reviewed films that share Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ defining feeling.









