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Serenity poster

Movies that feel likeSerenity (2005)

A group of rebels travel the outskirts of space evading the sinister Alliance regime. Their lives of smuggling and cargo-running are interrupted by a psychic passenger who harbours a dangerous secret. Soon, the crew find themselves being pursued by an Alliance agent who will stop at nothing to find them.

If you loved Serenity, the closest films we have are Pitch Black (2000), Total Recall (1990) and The Creator (2023). All three share Serenity's cerebral 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).

🍅 82% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Joss Whedoncerebralkineticepictensebleakawe
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Hulu

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If Serenity hit the spot, these will too

Pitch Black poster
Pitch Black
2000 · dir. David Twohy
🍅 58%★ 7thriller · science fiction · action

Common ground: dystopia

The difference: Easier on the scale than Serenity

When their ship crash-lands on a remote planet, the marooned passengers soon learn that escaped convict Riddick isn't the only thing they have to fear. Deadly creatures lurk in the shadows, waiting to attack in the dark, and the planet is rapidly plunging into the utter blackness of a total eclipse. With the body count rising, the doomed survivors are forced to turn to Riddick with his eerie eyes to guide them through the darkness to safety. With time running out, there's only one rule: Stay in the light.

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

The same preoccupation in both: telepathy

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.

The Creator poster
The Creator
2023 · dir. Gareth Edwards
🍅 67%★ 6.7science fiction · action · adventureHulu

One thread runs through both: dystopia

Amid a future war between the human race and the forces of artificial intelligence, a hardened ex-special forces agent grieving the disappearance of his wife, is recruited to hunt down and kill the Creator, the elusive architect of advanced AI who has developed a mysterious weapon with the power to end the war—and mankind itself.

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

Cerebral and kinetic in the same breath

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.

Star Trek Beyond poster
Star Trek Beyond
2016 · dir. Justin Lin
🍅 86%★ 7action · adventure · science fictionParamount+

Common ground in both: spacecraft and space opera

The USS Enterprise crew explores the furthest reaches of uncharted space, where they encounter a mysterious new enemy who puts them and everything the Federation stands for to the test.

Solo: A Star Wars Story poster
Solo: A Star Wars Story
2018 · dir. Ron Howard
🍅 69%★ 6.9science fiction · adventure · actionDisney+

Both keep coming back to the same thing: spacecraft

Through a series of daring escapades deep within a dark and dangerous criminal underworld, Han Solo meets his mighty future copilot Chewbacca and encounters the notorious gambler Lando Calrissian.

Planet of the Apes poster
Planet of the Apes
2001 · dir. Tim Burton
🍅 42%★ 5.7thriller · science fiction · actionHulu

Epic where it counts, tense underneath

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

After a spectacular crash-landing on an uncharted planet, brash astronaut Leo Davidson finds himself trapped in a savage world where talking apes dominate the human race. Desperate to find a way home, Leo must evade the invincible gorilla army led by Ruthless General Thade.

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

Both are built on the same subject: martial arts

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.

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

Both land bleakness and awe at once

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Serenity does

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.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker poster
Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker
2019 · dir. J.J. Abrams
🍅 51%★ 6.3adventure · action · science fictionHuluDisney+

The same preoccupation in both: space opera

The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once again as the journey of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle begins.

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

Cerebral science fiction, and it commits to that

The difference: 37 years apart, and the 1960s show

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.

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

One thread runs through both: martial arts

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.

In the mood for more cerebral?

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