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RoboCop poster

Movies that feel likeRoboCop (1987)

In a violent, near-apocalyptic Detroit, evil corporation Omni Consumer Products wins a contract from the city government to privatize the police force. To test their crime-eradicating cyborgs, the company leads street cop Alex Murphy into an armed confrontation with crime lord Boddicker so they can use his body to support their untested RoboCop prototype. But when RoboCop learns of the company's nefarious plans, he turns on his masters.

If you loved RoboCop, the closest films we have are They Live (1988), Mad Max 2 (1981) and Starship Troopers (1997). All three share RoboCop's kinetic and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is District B13 (2004).

🍅 84% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.6 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Paul Verhoevenkinetictensecerebralbleak
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium

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If RoboCop hit the spot, these will too

They Live poster
They Live
1988 · dir. John Carpenter
🍅 86%★ 7.2science fiction · action · thrillerPrime Video

One thread runs through both: dystopia

A lone drifter stumbles upon a unique pair of sunglasses that reveal aliens are systematically gaining control of the Earth by masquerading as humans and lulling the public into submission.

Mad Max 2 poster
Mad Max 2
1981 · dir. George Miller
🍅 93%★ 7.6action · thriller · science fiction

The same preoccupation in both: dystopia

Max Rockatansky returns as the heroic loner who drives the dusty roads of a postapocalyptic Australian Outback in an unending search for gasoline. Arrayed against him and the other scraggly defendants of a fuel-depot encampment are the bizarre warriors commanded by the charismatic Lord Humungus, a violent leader whose scruples are as barren as the surrounding landscape.

Starship Troopers poster
Starship Troopers
1997 · dir. Paul Verhoeven
🍅 72%★ 7.3adventure · action · thrillerNetflix

Paul Verhoeven directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than RoboCop does

Set in the future, the story follows a young soldier named Johnny Rico and his exploits in the Mobile Infantry. Rico's military career progresses from recruit to non-commissioned officer and finally to officer against the backdrop of an interstellar war between mankind and an arachnoid species known as "the Bugs."

Escape from New York poster
Escape from New York
1981 · dir. John Carpenter
🍅 70%★ 7.1action · thriller · science fiction

Both land momentum and tension at once

In a world ravaged by crime, the entire island of Manhattan has been converted into a walled prison where brutal prisoners roam free. After the US president crash-lands inside, war hero Snake Plissken has 24 hours to bring him back.

The Terminator poster
The Terminator
1984 · dir. James Cameron
🍅 90%★ 8.1action · thriller · science fictionPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: cyborg

In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

eXistenZ poster
eXistenZ
1999 · dir. David Cronenberg
🍅 77%★ 6.8action · thriller · science fiction

The same mix in both: ideas, then bleakness

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

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

Common ground: transhumanism

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

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.

Hollow Man poster
Hollow Man
2000 · dir. Paul Verhoeven
🍅 25%★ 5.9action · science fiction · thrillerPrime Video

Paul Verhoeven working the same nerve twice

The difference: Easier on the bleakness than RoboCop

Cocky researcher Sebastian Caine is working on a project to make living creatures invisible. Determined to achieve the ultimate breakthrough, Caine pushes his team to move to the next phase — using himself as the subject. The test is a success, but when the process can't be reversed and Caine seems doomed to future without flesh, he starts to turn increasingly dangerous.

The Running Man poster
The Running Man
1987 · dir. Paul Michael Glaser
🍅 59%★ 6.6action · thriller · science fictionParamount+Starz

Action built on momentum, twice over

By 2017, the global economy has collapsed and U.S. society has become a totalitarian police state, censoring all cultural activity. The government pacifies the populace by broadcasting a number of game shows in which convicted criminals fight for their lives, including the gladiator-style The Running Man, hosted by the ruthless Damon Killian, where “runners” attempt to evade “stalkers” and certain death for a chance to be pardoned and set free.

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

Tense thriller in both cases

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.

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

Cerebral science fiction, and it commits to that

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.

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

Action with a pulse of bleakness, in both cases

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.

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