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Total Recall poster

Movies that feel likeTotal Recall (1990)

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.

If you loved Total Recall, the closest films we have are The Fifth Element (1997), Serenity (2005) and Planet of the Apes (1968). All three share Total Recall's kinetic and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985).

πŸ… 80% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.5 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Paul Verhoevenkineticepiccerebralbleakawe
8 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· Hulu Β· Disney Plus

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If Total Recall hit the spot, these will too

The Fifth Element poster
The Fifth Element
1997 Β· dir. Luc Besson
πŸ… 70%β˜… 7.6science fiction Β· action Β· adventure

Wild, colorful sci-fi spectacle chasing a cosmic stakes-of-humanity plot

The difference: Playful pulp romance tone, not paranoia about your own memories

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.

Serenity poster
Serenity
2005 Β· dir. Joss Whedon
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.8science fiction Β· action Β· adventure

A fugitive fighting an oppressive regime that controls the official story

The difference: Ensemble-crew banter, not one man's fractured sense of self

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.

Planet of the Apes poster
Planet of the Apes
1968 Β· dir. Franklin J. Schaffner
πŸ… 86%β˜… 8science fiction Β· adventure Β· drama

A stranded man uncovering a truth the ruling order has buried

The difference: A grand twist-ending allegory, not an interior memory-implant puzzle

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.

RoboCop poster
RoboCop
1987 Β· dir. Paul Verhoeven
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7.6action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Verhoeven's blunt corporate-dystopia satire wrapped in brutal action

The difference: A cyborg-justice revenge story, not a memory-and-identity mind-bender

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.

Starship Troopers poster
Starship Troopers
1997 Β· dir. Paul Verhoeven
πŸ… 72%β˜… 7.3adventure Β· action Β· thrillerNetflix

Same director's satirical bite buried under gleeful, over-the-top violence

The difference: War-movie propaganda satire, not a reality-questioning identity puzzle

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."

The Creator poster
The Creator
2023 Β· dir. Gareth Edwards
πŸ… 67%β˜… 6.7science fiction Β· action Β· adventureHulu

A grieving operative hunting a shadowy architect behind a hidden war

The difference: Somber future-war elegy, not a paranoid puzzle about your own mind

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 warβ€”and mankind itself.

Planet of the Apes poster
Planet of the Apes
2001 Β· dir. Tim Burton
πŸ… 42%β˜… 5.7thriller Β· science fiction Β· actionHulu

An outsider crash-landed into a hostile world ruled by something inhuman

The difference: Straightforward captivity thriller, not a question of what's even real

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.

The Chronicles of Riddick poster
The Chronicles of Riddick
2004 Β· dir. David Twohy
πŸ… 29%β˜… 6.6action Β· science fiction

A hunted man thrown into escalating stakes across a hostile universe

The difference: Antihero mercenary swagger, not a memory-implant identity crisis

After years of outrunning ruthless bounty hunters, escaped convict Riddick suddenly finds himself caught between opposing forces in a fight for the future of the human race. Now, waging incredible battles on fantastic and deadly worlds, this lone, reluctant hero will emerge as humanity's champion - and the last hope for a universe on the edge of annihilation.

John Carter poster
John Carter
2012 Β· dir. Andrew Stanton
πŸ… 52%β˜… 6.6action Β· adventure Β· science fictionDisney+

An ordinary man transported into an epic Mars-set fight for survival

The difference: Sweeping romantic adventure, not a paranoid puzzle about reality

John Carter is a war-weary, former military captain who's inexplicably transported to the mysterious and exotic planet of Barsoom (Mars) and reluctantly becomes embroiled in an epic conflict. It's a world on the brink of collapse, and Carter rediscovers his humanity when he realizes the survival of Barsoom and its people rests in his hands.

Silent Running poster
Silent Running
1972 Β· dir. Douglas Trumbull
πŸ… 71%β˜… 6.6science fiction Β· adventure Β· drama

A lone man's rebellion against orders from an uncaring corporate system

The difference: Quiet ecological elegy, not a kinetic chase through a false reality

After the entire flora goes extinct, ecologist Lowell maintains a greenhouse aboard a space station for the future with his android companions. However, he rebels after being ordered to destroy the greenhouse in favor of carrying cargo, a decision that puts him at odds with everyone but his mechanical companions.

Independence Day poster
Independence Day
1996 Β· dir. Roland Emmerich
πŸ… 77%β˜… 7action Β· adventure Β· science fiction

Both land momentum and scale at once

The difference: Trades the bleakness of Total Recall for an angle of its own

Strange phenomena surface around the globe. The skies ignite. Terror races through the world's major cities. As these extraordinary events unfold, it becomes increasingly clear that a force of incredible magnitude has arrived. Its mission: total annihilation over the Fourth of July weekend. The last hope to stop the destruction is an unlikely group of people united by fate and unimaginable circumstances.

Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome poster
Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
1985 Β· dir. George Miller
πŸ… 80%β˜… 6.2action Β· adventure Β· science fiction

The same preoccupation in both: dystopia

Mad Max becomes a pawn in a decadent oasis of a technological society, and when exiled, becomes the deliverer of a colony of children.

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