Movies like The Fifth Element (1997)
The best movies like The Fifth Element (1997) are Man of Steel (2013), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and Star Trek (2009). If The Fifth Element hooked you with its science fiction and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGuardians of the Galaxy (2014)7.9/10 from 30,625 votes
- NewestLegion of Super-Heroes (2023)Released 2023
Man of Steel (2013)
A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this earth. As a young man, he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek (2009)
The fate of the galaxy rests in the hands of bitter rivals. One, James Kirk, is a delinquent, thrill-seeking Iowa farm boy. The other, Spock, a Vulcan, was raised in a logic-based society that rejects all emotion. As fiery instinct clashes with calm reason, their unlikely but powerful partnership is the only thing capable of leading their crew through unimaginable danger, boldly going where no one has gone before. The human adventure has begun again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Time Machine (2002)
Hoping to alter the events of the past, a 19th-century inventor instead travels 800,000 years into the future, where he finds mankind divided into two warring races.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvengers: Age of Ultron (2015)
When Tony Stark tries to jumpstart a dormant peacekeeping program, things go awry and Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are put to the ultimate test as the fate of the planet hangs in the balance. As the villainous Ultron emerges, it is up to The Avengers to stop him from enacting his terrible plans, and soon uneasy alliances and unexpected action pave the way for an epic and unique global adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOblivion (2013)
Jack Harper is one of the last few drone repairmen stationed on Earth. Part of a massive operation to extract vital resources after decades of war with a terrifying threat known as the Scavs, Jack’s mission is nearly complete. His existence is brought crashing down when he rescues a beautiful stranger from a downed spacecraft. Her arrival triggers a chain of events that forces him to question everything he knows and puts the fate of humanity in his hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArmageddon (1998)
When an asteroid threatens to collide with Earth, NASA honcho Dan Truman determines the only way to stop it is to drill into its surface and detonate a nuclear bomb. This leads him to renowned driller Harry Stamper, who agrees to helm the dangerous space mission provided he can bring along his own hotshot crew. Among them is the cocksure A.J. who Harry thinks isn't good enough for his daughter, until the mission proves otherwise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAvatar (2009)
In the 22nd century, a paraplegic Marine is dispatched to the moon Pandora on a unique mission, but becomes torn between following orders and protecting an alien civilization.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGuardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Light years from Earth, 26 years after being abducted, Peter Quill finds himself the prime target of a manhunt after discovering an orb wanted by Ronan the Accuser.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEternals (2021)
The Eternals are a team of ancient aliens who have been living on Earth in secret for thousands of years. When an unexpected tragedy forces them out of the shadows, they are forced to reunite against mankind’s most ancient enemy, the Deviants.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSolo: A Star Wars Story (2018)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIndependence Day (1996)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisValerian and the City of a Thousand Planets (2017)
In the 28th century, Valerian and Laureline are special operatives charged with keeping order throughout the human territories. On assignment from the Minister of Defense, the two undertake a mission to Alpha, an ever-expanding metropolis where species from across the universe have converged over centuries to share knowledge, intelligence, and cultures. At the center of Alpha is a mysterious dark force which threatens the peaceful existence of the City of a Thousand Planets, and Valerian and Laureline must race to identify the menace and safeguard not just Alpha, but the future of the universe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerminator Genisys (2015)
The year is 2029. John Connor, leader of the resistance continues the war against the machines. At the Los Angeles offensive, John's fears of the unknown future begin to emerge when TECOM spies reveal a new plot by SkyNet that will attack him from both fronts; past and future, and will ultimately change warfare forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Adam Project (2022)
After accidentally crash-landing in 2022, time-traveling fighter pilot Adam Reed teams up with his 12-year-old self on a mission to save the future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDaylight (1996)
A group of armed robbers fleeing the police head for the New Jersey Tunnel and run right into trucks transporting toxic waste. The spectacular explosion that follows results in both ends of the tunnel collapsing and the handful of people who survived the explosion are now in peril. Kit Latura is the only man with the skill and knowledge to lead the band of survivors out of the tunnel before the structure collapses.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986)
When a huge alien probe enters the galaxy and begins to vaporize Earth's oceans, Kirk and his crew must travel back in time in order to bring back whales and save the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
Adventurer/surgeon/rock musician Buckaroo Banzai and his band of men, the Hong Kong Cavaliers, take on evil alien invaders from the 8th dimension.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFinch (2021)
On a post-apocalyptic Earth, a robot, built to protect the life of his dying creator's beloved dog, learns about life, love, friendship, and what it means to be human.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLegion of Super-Heroes (2023)
Kara, devastated by the loss of Krypton, struggles to adjust to her new life on Earth. Her cousin, Superman, mentors her and suggests she leave their space-time to attend the Legion Academy in the 31st century, where she makes new friends and a new enemy: Brainiac 5. Meanwhile, she must contend with a mysterious group called the Dark Circle as it searches for a powerful weapon held in the Academy’s vault.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek: Generations (1994)
Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the Enterprise-D find themselves at odds with the renegade scientist Soran who is destroying entire star systems. Only one man can help Picard stop Soran's scheme...and he's been dead for seventy-eight years.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek: First Contact (1996)
The Borg, a relentless race of cyborgs, are on a direct course for Earth. Violating orders to stay away from the battle, Captain Picard and the crew of the newly-commissioned USS Enterprise E pursue the Borg back in time to prevent the invaders from changing Federation history and assimilating the galaxy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek: Insurrection (1998)
When an alien race and factions within Starfleet attempt to take over a planet that has "regenerative" properties, it falls upon Captain Picard and the crew of the Enterprise to defend the planet's people as well as the very ideals upon which the Federation itself was founded.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStar Trek: Nemesis (2002)
En route to the honeymoon of William Riker to Deanna Troi on her home planet of Betazed, Captain Jean-Luc Picard and the crew of the U.S.S. Enterprise receives word from Starfleet that a coup has resulted in the installation of a new Romulan political leader, Shinzon, who claims to seek peace with the human-backed United Federation of Planets. Once in enemy territory, the captain and his crew make a startling discovery: Shinzon is human, a slave from the Romulan sister planet of Remus, and has a secret, shocking relationship to Picard himself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTron (1982)
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.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMinority Report (2002)
John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBack to the Future Part III (1990)
The final installment finds Marty digging the trusty DeLorean out of a mineshaft and looking for Doc in the Wild West of 1885. But when their time machine breaks down, the travelers are stranded in a land of spurs. More problems arise when Doc falls for pretty schoolteacher Clara Clayton, and Marty tangles with Buford Tannen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRaiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
When Dr. Indiana Jones – the tweed-suited professor who just happens to be a celebrated archaeologist – is hired by the government to locate the legendary Ark of the Covenant, he finds himself up against the entire Nazi regime.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
After arriving in India, Indiana Jones is asked by a desperate village to find a mystical stone. He agrees – and stumbles upon a secret cult plotting a terrible plan in the catacombs of an ancient palace.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIndiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
In 1938, an art collector appeals to eminent archaeologist Dr. Indiana Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. Indy learns that a medieval historian has vanished while searching for it, and the missing man is his own father, Dr. Henry Jones Sr.. He sets out to rescue his father by following clues in the old man's notebook, which his father had mailed to him before he went missing. Indy arrives in Venice, where he enlists the help of a beautiful academic, Dr. Elsa Schneider, along with Marcus Brody and Sallah. Together they must stop the Nazis from recovering the power of eternal life and taking over the world!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & action
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Fifth Element?
The closest matches to The Fifth Element are Man of Steel (2013), Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) and Star Trek (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Fifth Element?
Start with Man of Steel (2013), the closest match to The Fifth Element.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Fifth Element?
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014), rated 7.9/10 by 30,625 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Fifth Element?
Legion of Super-Heroes (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like The Fifth Element?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to The Fifth Element chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Fifth Element, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.