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Rise of the Planet of the Apes poster

Movies that feel likeRise of the Planet of the Apes (2011)

A highly intelligent chimpanzee named Caesar has been living a peaceful suburban life ever since he was born. But when he gets taken to a cruel primate facility, Caesar decides to revolt against those who have harmed him.

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).

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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)

Looper poster
Looper
2012 · dir. Rian Johnson
🍅 93%★ 7.4action · thriller · science fictionStarz

Grimy future tale that keeps turning back into a moral question

The difference: Twisty crime plotting — cold puzzle rather than growing empathy

In the year 2044, time travel has not yet been invented but in 30 years it will have been. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target into the past where a looper, a hired gun, like Joe is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good until the day the mob decides to close the loop, sending back Joe's future self for assassination.

The Book of Eli poster
The Book of Eli
2010 · dir. Allen Hughes
🍅 46%★ 6.8action · thriller · science fiction

Lone-figure resolve in a world that has already broken

The difference: Post-collapse western — no build-up, no institutions to defy

A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.

Children of Men poster
Children of Men
2006 · dir. Alfonso Cuarón
🍅 92%★ 7.9science fiction · thriller · action

A world sliding into collapse, seen at ground level and unblinking

The difference: Documentary-raw despair — heavier, and no origin-story arc

In 2027, in a chaotic world in which humans can no longer procreate, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea, where her child's birth may help scientists save the future of humankind.

District B13 poster
District B13
2004 · dir. Pierre Morel
🍅 81%★ 7.1action · thriller · science fictionPrime Video

An oppressed underclass walled off and left to rot

The difference: Parkour action showcase — the politics are set dressing

Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.

Equilibrium poster
Equilibrium
2002 · dir. Kurt Wimmer
🍅 40%★ 7.3action · science fiction · thrillerParamount+

Feeling itself as the forbidden thing a system tries to crush

The difference: Stylized gunplay fantasy — thinner world, sillier logic

In a dystopian future, a totalitarian regime maintains peace by subduing the populace with a drug, and displays of emotion are punishable by death. A man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system.

Battle Royale poster
Battle Royale
2000 · dir. Kinji Fukasaku
🍅 90%★ 7.5drama · thriller · actionPrime Video

Common ground: dystopia

The difference: Less cerebral, more its own thing

In the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill each other under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.

Terminator Salvation poster
Terminator Salvation
2009 · dir. McG
🍅 33%★ 6.5action · science fiction · thriller

Man-made intelligence slipping past the people who built it

The difference: War-movie scale and noise — little tenderness anywhere in it

All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses the mission as Connor tries to determine whether Wright has come from the future or the past -- and whether he's friend or foe.

Maze Runner: The Death Cure poster
Maze Runner: The Death Cure
2018 · dir. Wes Ball
🍅 43%★ 6.3science fiction · action · adventureMax

The same mix in both: tension, then momentum

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

Thomas leads his group of escaped Gladers on their final and most dangerous mission yet. To save their friends, they must break into the legendary Last City, a WCKD-controlled labyrinth that may turn out to be the deadliest maze of all. Anyone who makes it out alive will get answers to the questions the Gladers have been asking since they first arrived in the maze.

Surrogates poster
Surrogates
2009 · dir. Jonathan Mostow
🍅 37%★ 6.3science fiction · action · thriller

Technology's promise curdling into a dehumanized society

The difference: A midtier cop mystery — ideas thinner, feelings thinnest

Set in a futuristic world where humans live in isolation and interact through surrogate robots, a cop is forced to leave his home for the first time in years in order to investigate the murders of others' surrogates.

RoboCop poster
RoboCop
2014 · dir. José Padilha
🍅 50%★ 6.1action · science fiction · thriller

A being remade by science, fighting for his own self

The difference: Corporate satire without the animal soul or heartbreak

In RoboCop, the year is 2028 and multinational conglomerate OmniCorp is at the center of robot technology. Overseas, their drones have been used by the military for years, but have been forbidden for law enforcement in America. Now OmniCorp wants to bring their controversial technology to the home front, and they see a golden opportunity to do it. When Alex Murphy – a loving husband, father and good cop doing his best to stem the tide of crime and corruption in Detroit – is critically injured, OmniCorp sees their chance to build a part-man, part-robot police officer. OmniCorp envisions a RoboCop in every city and even more billions for their shareholders, but they never counted on one thing: there is still a man inside the machine.

Total Recall poster
Total Recall
2012 · dir. Len Wiseman
🍅 30%★ 6.2action · science fiction · thriller

One person waking up to what has been done to them

The difference: Chase-driven and glossy — spectacle standing in for feeling

Factory worker Doug Quaid takes a virtual mind-trip vacation with the Rekall company, opting for implanted memories of being a spy. When the procedure goes wrong, Quaid becomes a wanted man by the police and joins forces with a rebel fighter to stop the evil Chancellor Cohaagen.

Death Race poster
Death Race
2008 · dir. Paul W. S. Anderson
🍅 41%★ 6.4action · thriller · science fictionStarz

Caged beings brutalized for the amusement of the powerful

The difference: Trashy vehicular carnage — no empathy for anyone caged

Terminal Island, New York: 2020. Overcrowding in the US penal system has reached a breaking point. Prisons have been turned over to a monolithic Weyland Corporation, which sees jails full of thugs as an opportunity for televised sport. Adrenalized inmates, a global audience hungry for violence and a spectacular, enclosed arena come together to form the 'Death Race', the biggest, most brutal event.

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The best-reviewed films that share Rise of the Planet of the Apes’ defining feeling.