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Movies that feel like Tron (1982)

If you loved Tron, the closest films we have are eXistenZ (1999), Escape from the Planet of the Apes (1971) and Total Recall (1990). All three share Tron's cerebral and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 6 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Netflix, Hulu and Paramount Plus Premium and others, checked against today's data.

When brilliant video game maker Flynn hacks the mainframe of his ex-employer, he is beamed inside an astonishing digital world and becomes part of the very game he is designing. In his mission through cyberspace, Flynn matches wits with a maniacal Master Control Program and teams up with Tron, a security measure created to bring balance to the digital environment.

πŸ… 60% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Steven Lisbergercerebralkineticepicbleakawe
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If Tron hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: TRON: Legacy (2010)

eXistenZ poster
eXistenZ
1999 Β· dir. David Cronenberg
πŸ… 77%β˜… 6.8action Β· thriller Β· science fiction

Two things both keep coming back to: hacker and video game

The difference: Missing the scale of Tron

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.

Feels alike?
Escape from the Planet of the Apes poster
Escape from the Planet of the Apes
1971 Β· dir. Don Taylor
πŸ… 75%β˜… 6.3action Β· science fiction

Both keep coming back to the same thing: dystopia

The difference: None of the scale Tron is built on

The world is shocked by the appearance of three talking chimpanzees, who arrived mysteriously in a spacecraft. Intrigued by their intelligence, humans use them for research - until the apes attempt to escape.

Feels alike?
Total Recall poster
Total Recall
1990 Β· dir. Paul Verhoeven
πŸ… 80%β˜… 7.5action Β· adventure Β· science fiction

Both are built on the same subject: dystopia

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.

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

Both land ideas and scale at once

The difference: Sits closer to drama than Tron does

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.

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Logan's Run poster
Logan's Run
1976 Β· dir. Michael Anderson
πŸ… 58%β˜… 6.8action Β· science fiction

The same preoccupation in both: utopia

In the 23rd century, inhabitants of a domed city freely experience all of life's pleasures β€” but no one is allowed to live past 30. Citizens can try for a chance at being "renewed" in a civic ceremony on their 30th birthday. Escape is the only other option.

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

The same mix in both: momentum, then bleakness

The difference: Reviewed even better

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.

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

Cerebral science fiction in both cases

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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Dune poster
Dune
1984 Β· dir. David Lynch
πŸ… 36%β˜… 6.3action Β· science fiction Β· adventure

Awestruck action, and it commits to that

In the year 10,191, the most precious substance in the universe is the spice Melange. The spice extends life. The spice expands consciousness. The spice is vital to space travel. The spice exists on only one planet in the entire universe, the vast desert planet Arrakis, also known as Dune. Its native inhabitants, the Fremen, have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah who would lead them to true freedom.

Feels alike?
The War of the Worlds poster
The War of the Worlds
1953 Β· dir. Byron Haskin
β˜… 7science fiction Β· action

Both lean on momentum more than on adventure

The difference: 29 years apart, and the 1950s show

The residents of a small town are excited when a flaming meteor lands in the hills, until they discover it is the first of many transport devices from Mars bringing an army of invaders invincible to any man-made weapon, even the atomic bomb.

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

Science fiction built on scale, twice over

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.

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

Action with a pulse of bleakness, in both cases

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.

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

Awestruck adventure in both cases

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.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more cerebral?

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