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Terminator Salvation poster

Movies that feel likeTerminator Salvation (2009)

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.

If you loved Terminator Salvation, the closest films we have are The Book of Eli (2010), District B13 (2004) and eXistenZ (1999). All three share Terminator Salvation's kinetic and cerebral feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Equilibrium (2002).

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If Terminator Salvation hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: The Terminator (1984) · Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) · Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) · Terminator Genisys (2015) · Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

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

A lone figure trekking through a scorched, lawless post-apocalyptic America

The difference: A single wanderer's spiritual quest, not an organized resistance war

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.

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

A walled-off, lawless zone where one mission means defusing disaster

The difference: A parkour-driven heist thriller, smaller scale than a machine war

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.

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

A paranoid, tech-warped reality where nothing is quite what it seems

The difference: A body-horror virtual-reality puzzle, stranger and more surreal

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.

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

The same preoccupation in both: dystopia

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.

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

One thread runs through both: dystopia

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

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.

RoboCop poster
RoboCop
1987 · dir. Paul Verhoeven
🍅 84%★ 7.6action · thriller · science fiction

A ruined American city where a corporation's machines rule the streets

The difference: A satirical corporate-crime story, sharper-edged than Salvation's war epic

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.

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

A half-human enforcer wrestling with a corporation that treats him as hardware

The difference: A city-cop remake, not a full post-apocalyptic war against machines

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.

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

A near-future where humanity's dependence on machines turns dangerous

The difference: A robot-body murder mystery, smaller-scale than Salvation's full war

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.

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

A brutal, corporation-run dystopia where survival means constant combat

The difference: A gladiatorial car-combat spectacle, not a resistance-versus-machines war

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.

Gamer poster
Gamer
2009 · dir. Brian Taylor
🍅 29%★ 5.7action · thriller · science fiction

A near-future where technology strips away a person's free will

The difference: A mind-control game-show conspiracy, not a machine uprising's aftermath

Mind-control technology has taken society by a storm, a multiplayer on-line game called "Slayers" allows players to control human prisoners in mass-scale. Simon controls Kable, the online champion of the game. Kable's ultimate challenge becomes regaining his identity and independence by defeating the game's mastermind.

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

A resistance fighter caught between memory, identity, and an oppressive regime

The difference: A memory-implant identity mystery, not a war-torn robot apocalypse

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.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes poster
Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
2014 · dir. Matt Reeves
🍅 91%★ 7.6science fiction · action · dramaHulu

Survivors in a ravaged San Francisco trying to broker peace before all-out war

The difference: Apes-versus-humans drama carries more emotional weight and craft

A group of scientists in San Francisco struggle to stay alive in the aftermath of a plague that is wiping out humanity, while Caesar tries to maintain dominance over his community of intelligent apes.

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