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The 5th Wave poster

Movies that feel likeThe 5th Wave (2016)

16-year-old Cassie Sullivan tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of an alien invasion that has already decimated the population and knocked mankind back to the Stone Age.

If you loved The 5th Wave, the closest films we have are The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 (2015), Pacific Rim (2013) and Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024). All three share The 5th Wave's cerebral and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024).

πŸ… 16% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 5.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. J Blakesoncerebralepickineticbleak
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video

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If The 5th Wave hit the spot, these will too

The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2 poster
The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 2
2015 Β· dir. Francis Lawrence
πŸ… 70%β˜… 6.6action Β· adventure Β· science fictionNetflix

One thread runs through both: dystopia

The difference: Reviewed even better

As the war between the Capitol and the districts reaches its peak, Katniss Everdeen embarks on a perilous mission to liberate Panem and confront President Snow. Joined by a team of trusted allies, she navigates deadly traps, shifting loyalties, and the heavy cost of rebellion, determined to bring freedom to her people and end the Hunger Games once and for all.

Pacific Rim poster
Pacific Rim
2013 Β· dir. Guillermo del Toro
πŸ… 72%β˜… 6.9action Β· science fiction Β· adventure

The same preoccupation in both: alien invasion

Using massive piloted robots to combat the alien threat, Earth's survivors take the fight to the invading alien force lurking in the depths of the Pacific Ocean. Nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless enemy, the forces of mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes who now stand as Earth's final hope against the mounting apocalypse.

Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes poster
Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes
2024 Β· dir. Wes Ball
πŸ… 80%β˜… 6.8science fiction Β· adventure Β· actionPrime Video

Common ground: dystopia

Several generations following Caesar's reign, apes – now the dominant species – live harmoniously while humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all he's known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.

TRON: Legacy poster
TRON: Legacy
2010 Β· dir. Joseph Kosinski
πŸ… 51%β˜… 6.8adventure Β· action Β· science fictionDisney+

The same mix in both: ideas, then scale

Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy and daring son of Kevin Flynn, investigates his father's disappearance and is pulled into The Grid. With the help of a mysterious program named Quorra, Sam quests to stop evil dictator Clu from crossing into the real world.

Alita: Battle Angel poster
Alita: Battle Angel
2019 Β· dir. Robert Rodriguez
πŸ… 61%β˜… 7.3action Β· science fiction Β· adventureHulu

Kinetic where it counts, bleak underneath

When Alita awakens with no memory of who she is in a future world she does not recognize, she is taken in by Ido, a compassionate doctor who realizes that somewhere in this abandoned cyborg shell is the heart and soul of a young woman with an extraordinary past.

Terminator: Dark Fate poster
Terminator: Dark Fate
2019 Β· dir. Tim Miller
πŸ… 70%β˜… 6.2science fiction Β· action Β· adventureParamount+

Cerebral science fiction, and it commits to that

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than The 5th Wave does

Decades after Sarah Connor prevented Judgment Day, a lethal new Terminator is sent to eliminate the future leader of the resistance. In a fight to save mankind, battle-hardened Sarah Connor teams up with an unexpected ally and an enhanced super soldier to stop the deadliest Terminator yet.

The Host poster
The Host
2013 Β· dir. Andrew Niccol
πŸ… 10%β˜… 5.8action Β· adventure Β· science fiction

Both are built on the same subject: alien invasion

A parasitic alien soul is injected into the body of Melanie Stryder. Instead of carrying out her race's mission of taking over the Earth, "Wanda" (as she comes to be called) forms a bond with her host and sets out to aid other free humans.

Independence Day: Resurgence poster
Independence Day: Resurgence
2016 Β· dir. Roland Emmerich
πŸ… 29%β˜… 5.2action Β· adventure Β· science fiction

Both keep coming back to the same thing: alien

The difference: Takes it somewhere less bleak than The 5th Wave does

We always knew they were coming back. Using recovered alien technology, the nations of Earth have collaborated on an immense defense program to protect the planet. But nothing can prepare us for the aliens’ advanced and unprecedented force. Only the ingenuity of a few brave men and women can bring our world back from the brink of extinction.

JUNG_E poster
JUNG_E
2023 Β· dir. Yeon Sang-ho
πŸ… 52%β˜… 5.5science fiction Β· action Β· adventureNetflix

Epic adventure in both cases

The difference: Leans harder into drama than The 5th Wave does

On an uninhabitable 22nd-century Earth, the outcome of a civil war hinges on cloning the brain of an elite soldier to create a robot mercenary.

Divergent poster
Divergent
2014 Β· dir. Neil Burger
πŸ… 41%β˜… 6.6action Β· adventure Β· science fiction

Action with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

In a world divided into factions based on personality types, Tris learns that she's been classified as Divergent and won't fit in. When she discovers a plot to destroy Divergents, Tris and the mysterious Four must find out what makes Divergents dangerous before it's too late.

The Darkest Minds poster
The Darkest Minds
2018 Β· dir. Jennifer Yuh Nelson
πŸ… 15%β˜… 5.7action Β· adventure Β· drama

Both lean on bleakness more than on adventure

After a disease kills 98% of America's children, the surviving 2% develop superpowers and are placed in internment camps. A 16-year-old girl escapes her camp and joins a group of other teens on the run from the government.

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga poster
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga
2024 Β· dir. George Miller
πŸ… 90%β˜… 7.5action Β· science fiction Β· adventureMax

Science fiction built on ideas, twice over

As the world falls, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers into the hands of a great biker horde led by the warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the wasteland, they encounter the citadel presided over by Immortan Joe. The two tyrants wage war for dominance, and Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

In the mood for more cerebral?

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The best-reviewed films that share The 5th Wave’s defining feeling.