Movies like I Was There (2016)
The best movies like I Was There (2016) are World Trade Center (2006), Worth (2021) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013). If I Was There hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedReign Over Me (2007)7.2/10 from 1,279 votes
- NewestThe Lost Bus (2025)Released 2025
World Trade Center (2006)
Two police officers struggle to survive when they become trapped beneath the rubble of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWorth (2021)
Kenneth Feinberg, a powerful D.C. lawyer appointed Special Master of the 9/11 Fund, fights off the cynicism, bureaucracy, and politics associated with administering government funds and, in doing so, discovers what life is worth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)
In New York, a Pakistani native finds that his American Dream has collapsed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this9/11 (2002)
An on-the-scene documentary following the events of September 11, 2001 from an insider's view, through the lens of two French filmmakers who simply set out to make a movie about a rookie NYC fireman and ended up filming the tragic event that changed our lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Journal for Jordan (2021)
Based on the true story of First Sergeant Charles Monroe King, a soldier deployed to Iraq begins to keep a journal of love and advice for his infant son. Back at home, senior New York Times editor Dana Canedy revisits the story of her unlikely, life-altering relationship with King and his enduring devotion to her and their child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnited 93 (2006)
A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on 9/11 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLadder 49 (2004)
Under the watchful eye of his mentor, Captain Mike Kennedy, probationary firefighter Jack Morrison matures into a seasoned veteran at a Baltimore fire station. However, Jack has reached a crossroads as the sacrifices he's made have put him in harm's way innumerable times and significantly impacted his relationship with his wife and kids.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJarhead: Law of Return (2019)
Major Ronan Jackson, an accomplished fighter pilot for the Israel Defense Forces and son of a U.S. Senator, is shot down while flying through Syrian airspace. After miraculously surviving the crash, Jackson is taken captive by a group of Hezbollah militiamen. A squad of elite soldiers, led by Gunnery Sergeant Dave Torres, risk their own lives in the hopes of saving an ally they've never met.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost Bus (2025)
A determined father risks everything to rescue a dedicated teacher and her students from a raging wildfire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Towering Inferno (1974)
At the opening party of a colossal—but poorly constructed—skyscraper, a massive fire breaks out, threatening to destroy the tower and everyone in it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUniversal Soldier (1992)
An American soldier who had been killed during the Vietnam War is revived 25 years later by the military as a semi-android, UniSols, a high-tech soldier of the future. After the failure of the initiative to erase all the soldier's memories, he begins to experience flashbacks that are forcing him to recall his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPicture Perfect (1997)
A young advertising executive's life becomes increasingly complicated when, in order to impress her boss, she pretends to be engaged to a man she has just met.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisDear John (2010)
While Sergeant John Tyree is home on two weeks leave from Germany, he meets Savannah after he dives into the ocean to retrieve Savannah's purse that had fallen off a pier. John eventually falls in love with Savannah, who promises to write to him until he returns from overseas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear Zoe (2022)
Tess enlists her biological father – a lovable slacker from the wrong side of the tracks – and the charming juvenile delinquent next door to help her come to grips with the death of her little sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisG20 (2025)
After the G20 Summit is overtaken by terrorists, President Danielle Sutton must bring all her statecraft and military experience to defend her family and her fellow leaders.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPenthouse North (2013)
After losing her sight while working as a photojournalist in Afghanistan, Sara Frost, now reclusive, lives quietly in a New York penthouse with her boyfriend, until a smooth but sadistic criminal looking for a hidden fortune enters her life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisShock and Awe (2017)
A group of journalists covering George Bush's planned invasion of Iraq in 2003 are skeptical of the presidents claim that Saddam Hussein has "weapons of mass destruction."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe King of Staten Island (2020)
Scott has been a case of arrested development ever since his firefighter father died when he was seven. He's now reached his mid-20s having achieved little, chasing a dream of becoming a tattoo artist that seems far out of reach. As his ambitious younger sister heads off to college, Scott is still living with his exhausted ER nurse mother and spends his days smoking weed, hanging with the guys — Oscar, Igor and Richie — and secretly hooking up with his childhood friend Kelsey. But when his mother starts dating a loudmouth firefighter named Ray, it sets off a chain of events that will force Scott to grapple with his grief and take his first tentative steps toward moving forward in life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReign Over Me (2007)
A man who lost his family in the September 11 attack on New York City runs into his old college roommate. Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help the man recover from his grief.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Saint of Fort Washington (1993)
Matthew, a young schizophrenic, finds himself out on the street when a slumlord tears down his apartment building. Soon, he finds himself in even more dire straits, when he is threatened by Little Leroy, a thug who is one of the tough denizens of the Fort Washington Shelter for Men. He reaches out to Jerry, a streetwise combat veteran, who takes Matthew under his wing as a son. The relationship between these two men grows as they attempt to conquer the numbing isolation of homelessness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like I Was There and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like I Was There?
The closest matches to I Was There are World Trade Center (2006), Worth (2021) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after I Was There?
Start with World Trade Center (2006), the closest match to I Was There.
What is the highest-rated movie like I Was There?
Reign Over Me (2007), rated 7.2/10 by 1,279 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like I Was There?
The Lost Bus (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like I Was There?
Yes: World Trade Center (2006), Worth (2021) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013).
How are movies similar to I Was There chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside I Was There, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.