Movies like Future War (1997)
The best movies like Future War (1997) are Afterburn (2025), Next (2007) and Fortress (1992). If Future War hooked you with its action and science fiction, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Matrix (1999)8.3/10 from 29,195 votes
- NewestAfterburn (2025)Released 2025
Afterburn (2025)
Set against the backdrop of a postapocalyptic Earth whose Eastern Hemisphere was destroyed by a massive solar flare, leaving what life remains mutated from radiation and fallout. The story revolves around a group of treasure hunters who extract such objects as the Mona Lisa, the Rosetta Stone and the Crown Jewels while facing rival hunters, mutants and pirates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNext (2007)
Las Vegas showroom magician Cris Johnson has a secret which torments him: he can see a few minutes into the future. Sick of the examinations he underwent as a child and the interest of the government and medical establishment in his power, he lies low under an assumed name in Vegas, performing cheap tricks and living off small-time gambling "winnings." But when a terrorist group threatens to detonate a nuclear device in Los Angeles, government agent Callie Ferris must use all her wiles to capture Cris and convince him to help her stop the cataclysm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFortress (1992)
In the future, the inmates of a private underground prison are computer-controlled with cameras, dream readers, and devices that can cause pain or death. John and his illegally pregnant wife Karen are locked inside "The Fortress" but are determined to escape before the birth of their baby.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Matrix Resurrections (2021)
Plagued by strange memories, Neo's life takes an unexpected turn when he finds himself back inside the Matrix.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBabylon 5: The River of Souls (1998)
A group of Soul Hunters come to Babylon 5 demanding the return of something that was stolen from them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerminator Salvation (2009)
All grown up in post-apocalyptic 2018, John Connor must lead the resistance of humans against the increasingly dominating militaristic robots. But when Marcus Wright appears, his existence confuses the mission as Connor tries to determine whether Wright has come from the future or the past -- and whether he's friend or foe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaylight's End (2016)
Years after a mysterious plague has devastated the planet and turned most of humanity into blood-hungry creatures, a rogue drifter on a vengeful hunt stumbles across a band of survivors in an abandoned police station and reluctantly agrees to try to help them defend themselves and escape to the sanctuary they so desperately need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisLogan's Run (1976)
In the 23rd century, inhabitants of a domed city freely experience all of life's pleasures — 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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Resistance builds in numbers as humans are freed from the Matrix and brought to the city of Zion. Neo discovers his superpowers, including the ability to see the code inside the Matrix. With machine sentinels digging to Zion in 72 hours, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity must find the Keymaker to ultimately reach the Source.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Matrix Revolutions (2003)
The human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Book of Eli (2010)
A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Matrix (1999)
Set in the 22nd century, The Matrix tells the story of a computer hacker who joins a group of underground insurgents fighting the vast and powerful computers who now rule the earth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisUniversal Soldier: The Return (1999)
Luc Deveraux, the heroic former Universal Soldier, is about to be thrown into action once again. When SETH, the supercomputer-controlled ultra-warrior, decides to take revenge and destroy its creators, only Luc can stop it. All hell breaks loose as Luc battles SETH and a deadly team of perfect soldiers in a struggle that pits man against machine and good against evil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisPlanet of the Apes (1968)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVesper (2022)
After the collapse of Earth's ecosystem, Vesper, a 13-year-old girl struggling to survive with her paralyzed Father, meets a mysterious Woman with a secret that forces Vesper to use her wits, strength and bio-hacking abilities to fight for the possibility of a future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTimescape (1992)
Before they can complete renovations on their new country inn, a widowed father and his young daughter are visited by a strange group of tourists. He soon makes a chilling discovery: they are disaster junkies from the future who visit the past to witness history's greatest catastrophes—and his small town is their next stop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
After a freak accident, an invisible yuppie runs for his life from a treacherous CIA official while trying to cope with his new life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisYear 10 (2024)
After the fall of civilization, the few survivors have been driven to cannibalism. A young man must confront a violent tribe that has murdered his father and stolen the medicine that keeps his girlfriend alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbarella (1968)
In the far future, a highly sexual woman is tasked with finding and stopping the evil Durand-Durand. Along the way she encounters various unusual people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDie Alone (2024)
Lost in a world reclaimed by nature and overrun by mysterious creatures, Ethan, a young man with amnesia navigates the dangerous landscape in search of his lost love Emma. His journey takes an unexpected turn when he encounters Mae, a hardened and eccentric survivor. Together, Ethan and Mae face threats both human and otherwise before a fateful encounter with Kai unravels a secret that lies just beyond Ethan's fractured memory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJurassic World Rebirth (2025)
Five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion, covert operations expert Zora Bennett is contracted to lead a skilled team on a top-secret mission to secure genetic material from the world's three most massive dinosaurs. When Zora's operation intersects with a civilian family whose boating expedition was capsized, they all find themselves stranded on an island where they come face-to-face with a sinister, shocking discovery that's been hidden from the world for decades.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Terminators (2009)
A small band of resistance fighters battle the cyborgs that have taken control of the planet.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
SnoozefestMovies like thisSamurai Princess (2009)
When 11 of her friends are raped and murdered, leaving the Samurai Princess (Aino Kishi) the only survivor, she becomes infused with her comrades' souls. Transformed into an android, she sets out to avenge their deaths. Dai Mizuno co-stars as the princess's human partner in this Kengo Kaji-directed gore fest that features breast grenades, detachable chainsaw limbs, deadly guitar riffs and more.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Slinger (2011)
Set in a post-apocalyptic future where starvation and disease are plaguing the few remaining inhabitants of Earth. Scientists are close to discovering a cure for the plague that is sweeping the country. Gibson Rickenbacker is a strong fighter who leads a group to Atlanta to gain information needed for the cure, along the way attempting to avoid the villains.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
The Terminator (1984)
In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
It's been 10 years since John Connor saved Earth from Judgment Day, and he's now living under the radar, steering clear of using anything Skynet can trace. That is, until he encounters T-X, a robotic assassin ordered to finish what T-1000 started. Good thing Connor's former nemesis, the Terminator, is back to aid the now-adult Connor … just like he promised.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTerminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Ten years after the events of the original, a reprogrammed T-800 is sent back in time to protect young John Connor from the shape-shifting T-1000. Together with his mother Sarah, he fights to stop Skynet from triggering a nuclear apocalypse.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMazinger Z: Infinity (2017)
When the evil Dr. Hell attacks the Earth, the mighty giant mecha Mazinger Z is formed to stop him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fifth Element (1997)
In 2263, 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.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both science fiction & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhost in the Shell (1995)
In the year 2029, the barriers of our world have been broken down by the net and by cybernetics, but this brings new vulnerability to humans in the form of brain-hacking. When a highly-wanted hacker known as 'The Puppetmaster' begins involving them in politics, Section 9, a group of cybernetically enhanced cops, are called in to investigate and stop the Puppetmaster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & science fiction
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Future War?
The closest matches to Future War are Afterburn (2025), Next (2007) and Fortress (1992). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Future War?
Start with Afterburn (2025), the closest match to Future War.
What is the highest-rated movie like Future War?
The Matrix (1999), rated 8.3/10 by 29,195 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Future War?
Afterburn (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Future War?
Yes: Afterburn (2025), Next (2007) and Fortress (1992).
How are movies similar to Future War chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Future War, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.