Best movies like Cowboys & Aliens
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A stranger stumbles into the desert town of Absolution with no memory of his past and a futuristic shackle around his wrist. With the help of mysterious beauty Ella and the iron-fisted Colonel Dolarhyde, he finds himself leading an unlikely posse of cowboys, outlaws, and Apache warriors against a common enemy from beyond this world in an epic showdown for survival.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 230000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller, Western
Country: USA, India
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, serious, stylized, entertaining, suspense, period piece, captivating, intense, intellectual
Best tv shows and movies like Cowboys & Aliens (2011):
Similar in 77%
Alien Outpost (2014)
Plot Summary:
A documentary crew follows an elite unit of soldiers in the wake of an alien invasion.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, South Africa
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, suspense, captivating, futuristic, apocalyptic, independent film, homoerotic, fake documentary
Similar in 90%
War of the Worlds: Goliath (2012)
Plot Summary:
Fifteen years have passed since the Martians’ first failed invasion of Earth. The year is 1914, and at the eve of World War I, Mars launches a sudden and more devastating second attack. A small defense force, A.R.E.S., is Earth’s only hope. The giant A.R.E.S. battle tripod GOLIATH is called up to war, and its young multinational crew must face their fears in their struggle to save Humanity from the alien invaders.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Animation, Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: Malaysia, Japan, USA
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, stylized, psychotronic, futuristic, scenic, adult animation, manga, anime
Similar in 82%
Attraction (2017)
Plot Summary:
After an alien ship crash lands in a Russian city, many who see the inside and the occupants start to question their own existence while others demand the aliens leave Earth.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: Russia
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, tense, rough, suspense, psychedelic, psychotronic, interesting
Similar in 82%
Skyline (2010)
Plot Summary:
When strange lights descend on the city of Los Angeles, people are drawn outside like moths to a flame where an extraterrestrial force threatens to swallow the entire human population off the face of the Earth. Now the band of survivors must fight for their lives as the world unravels around them.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: suspense, futuristic, apocalyptic, exciting, serious, suspenseful, scary, thought provoking, intellectual, epic
Similar in 84%
The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008)
Plot Summary:
A representative of an alien race that went through drastic evolution to survive its own climate change, Klaatu comes to Earth to assess whether humanity can prevent the environmental damage they have inflicted on their own planet. When barred from speaking to the United Nations, he decides humankind shall be exterminated so the planet can survive.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 177000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, stylized, apocalyptic, visual, atmospheric, suspense, mockbuster, cult classic, intelligent
Similar in 84%
Jonah Hex (2010)
Plot Summary:
Gunslinger Jonah Hex (Josh Brolin) is appointed by President Ulysses Grant to track down terrorist Quentin Turnbull (John Malkovich), a former Confederate officer determined on unleashing hell on earth. Jonah not only secures freedom by accepting this task, he also gets revenge on the man who slayed his wife and child. Megan Fox plays a prostitute as well as Jonah Hex's love interst in the film.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Action, Drama, Fantasy, Thriller, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: stylized, gothic, exciting, rough, suspenseful, suspense, tense, disturbing, epic, entertaining
Similar in 78%
I Am Number Four (2011)
Plot Summary:
A teenage fugitive with an incredible secret races to stay one step ahead of the mysterious forces seeking destroy him in this sci-fi action thriller. With three dead and one on the run, the race to find the elusive Number Four begins. Outwardly normal teen John Smith never gets too comfortable in the same identity, and along with his guardian, Henri, he is constantly moving from town to town. With each passing day, John gains a stronger grasp on his extraordinary new powers, and his bond to the beings that share his fantastic fate grows stronger.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 244000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, India
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: exciting, teen, romantic, touching, suspenseful, serious, emotional, scenic, apocalyptic, action adventure
Similar in 81%
Priest (2011)
Plot Summary:
In an alternate world, humanity and vampires have warred for centuries. After the last Vampire War, the veteran Warrior Priest lives in obscurity with other humans inside one of the Church's walled cities. When the Priest's niece is kidnapped by vampires, the Priest breaks his vows to hunt them down. He is accompanied by the niece's boyfriend, who is a wasteland sheriff, and a former Warrior Priestess.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 123000
Genere: Action, Fantasy, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: dark fantasy, scary, exciting, suspenseful, futuristic, apocalyptic, rough, bleak, gothic, psychotronic
Similar in 79%
The Chronicles of Riddick (2004)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 239000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: action packed, futuristic, exciting, rough, stylized, serious, visually appealing, action adventure, epic, psychological
Similar in 77%
War of the Worlds (2005)
Plot Summary:
Ray Ferrier is a divorced dockworker and less-than-perfect father. Soon after his ex-wife and her new husband drop of his teenage son and young daughter for a rare weekend visit, a strange and powerful lightning storm touches down.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 469000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Russia
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, suspense, tense, futuristic, bleak, entertaining, scary, serious, apocalyptic
Similar in 90%
Spectral (2016)
Plot Summary:
A special-ops team is dispatched to fight supernatural being that have taken over a European city.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Hungary
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, stylized, serious, intense, tricky, suspense, futuristic, psychotronic, scenic
Similar in 79%
Battlefield Earth (2000)
Plot Summary:
In the year 3000, man is no match for the Psychlos, a greedy, manipulative race of aliens on a quest for ultimate profit. Led by the powerful Terl, the Psychlos are stripping Earth clean of its natural resources, using the broken remnants of humanity as slaves. What is left of the human race has descended into a near primitive state. After being captured, it is up to Tyler to save mankind.
IMDB Rating: 2.5
IMDB Votes: 82000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: futuristic, exciting, suspenseful, stylized, apocalyptic, cult classic, controversial, serious, psychotronic, suspense
Similar in 88%
Battle Los Angeles (2011)
Plot Summary:
The Earth is attacked by unknown forces. As people everywhere watch the world's great cities fall, Los Angeles becomes the last stand for mankind in a battle no one expected. It's up to a Marine staff sergeant and his new platoon to draw a line in the sand as they take on an enemy unlike any they've ever encountered before.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 184000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: serious, futuristic, intense, exciting, suspenseful, rough, apocalyptic, entertaining, heroic, psychotronic
Similar in 85%
Logan (2017)
Plot Summary:
In the near future, a weary Logan cares for an ailing Professor X in a hideout on the Mexican border. But Logan's attempts to hide from the world and his legacy are upended when a young mutant arrives, pursued by dark forces.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 813000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: emotional, harsh, road movie, intense, futuristic, suspense, bloody, entertaining, heartbreaking, action adventure
Similar in 89%
Predator (1987)
Plot Summary:
Dutch and his group of commandos are hired by the CIA to rescue downed airmen from guerillas in a Central American jungle. The mission goes well but as they return they find that something is hunting them. Nearly invisible, it blends in with the forest, taking trophies from the bodies of its victims as it goes along. Occasionally seeing through its eyes, the audience sees it is an intelligent alien hunter, hunting them for sport, killing them off one at a time.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 446000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Horror, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, suspense, cult classic, scary, futuristic, tense, exciting, action packed, bloody, saga
Similar in 81%
Jupiter Ascending (2015)
Plot Summary:
In a universe where human genetic material is the most precious commodity, an impoverished young Earth woman becomes the key to strategic maneuvers and internal strife within a powerful dynasty….
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 193000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, fairy tale, suspenseful, visually stunning, psychotronic, light, disturbing, mystic, futuristic
Similar in 75%
District 9 (2009)
Plot Summary:
Aliens land in South Africa and, with their ship totally disabled, have no way home. Years later, after living in a slum and wearing out their welcome the 'Non-Humans' are being moved to a new tent city overseen by Multi-National United (MNU).
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 708000
Genere: Action, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: South Africa, USA, New Zealand, Canada
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: mockumentary, suspense, serious, biting, futuristic, intense, tense, cult classic, visually stunning, realistic
Similar in 75%
John Carter (2012)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 283000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: epic, entertaining, exciting, surprise ending, futuristic, heroic, action packed, action adventure, captivating, cult classic
Similar in 89%
Pacific Rim (2013)
Plot Summary:
When legions of monstrous creatures, known as Kaiju, started rising from the sea, a war began that would take millions of lives and consume humanity's resources for years on end. To combat the giant Kaiju, a special type of weapon was devised: massive robots, called Jaegers, which are controlled simultaneously by two pilots whose minds are locked in a neural bridge. But even the Jaegers are proving nearly defenseless in the face of the relentless Kaiju. On the verge of defeat, the forces defending mankind have no choice but to turn to two unlikely heroes—a washed-up former pilot (Charlie Hunnam) and an untested trainee (Rinko Kikuchi)—who are teamed to drive a legendary but seemingly obsolete Jaeger from the past. Together, they stand as mankind's last hope against the mounting apocalypse.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 523000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: futuristic, exciting, stylized, serious, visually stunning, entertaining, apocalyptic, mecha, breathtaking, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 13000000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: futuristic, exciting, humorous, suspenseful, captivating, epic, witty, entertaining, heroic, stylized
Similar in 90%
Young Guns (1988)
Plot Summary:
A group of young gunmen, led by Billy the Kid, become deputies to avenge the murder of the rancher who became their benefactor. But when Billy takes their authority too far, they become the hunted.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 67000
Genere: Action, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: stylized, suspense, harsh, serious, exciting, epic, hood, period piece, realistic, dark comedy
Similar in 75%
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Plot Summary:
In Arizona in the late 1800s, infamous outlaw Ben Wade and his vicious gang of thieves and murderers have plagued the Southern Railroad. When Wade is captured, Civil War veteran Dan Evans, struggling to survive on his drought-plagued ranch, volunteers to deliver him alive to the "3:10 to Yuma", a train that will take the killer to trial.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 327000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, tense, dramatic, harsh, intense, brutal, serious, atmospheric, exciting
Similar in 86%
Elysium (2013)
Plot Summary:
In the year 2159, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Rhodes (Jodie Foster), a hard line government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in, by any means they can. When unlucky Max (Matt Damon) is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that, if successful, will not only save his life, but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 466000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: futuristic, cyber, serious, stylized, exciting, political, captivating, bleak, suspenseful, entertaining
Similar in 82%
Edge of Tomorrow (2014)
Plot Summary:
Major Bill Cage is an officer who has never seen a day of combat when he is unceremoniously demoted and dropped into combat. Cage is killed within minutes, managing to take an alpha alien down with him. He awakens back at the beginning of the same day and is forced to fight and die again... and again - as physical contact with the alien has thrown him into a time loop.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 721000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: futuristic, mind bending, exciting, heroic, clever, captivating, suspenseful, intense, entertaining, smart
Similar in 81%
Falling Skies (2011)
Plot Summary:
Survivors of an alien attack on earth gather together to fight for their lives and fight back.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 92000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: exciting, apocalyptic, serious, stylized, heroic, epic, bleak, futuristic, saga, mind blowing
Similar in 87%
Starship Troopers (1997)
Plot Summary:
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".
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 313000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: futuristic, stylized, entertaining, cult classic, bloody, exciting, allegory, action packed, parody, epic
Similar in 87%
Extinction (2018)
Plot Summary:
A chief mechanic at a factory, haunted by apocalyptic nightmares, becomes a hero when Earth is invaded by a mysterious army bent on destruction.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: suspense, light, apocalyptic, smart, cyber, twist ending, avant garde, thought provoking, futuristic, grindhouse
Similar in 83%
Prey (2022)
Plot Summary:
In the Comanche Nation in 1717, a fierce and highly skilled warrior named Naru learns the prey she is stalking is a highly evolved alien with a technologically advanced arsenal.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 219000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: suspense, scary, slasher, tense, captivating, disturbing, inspirational, atmospheric, period piece, perverse
Similar in 90%
The 5th Wave (2016)
Plot Summary:
16-year-old Cassie Sullivan tries to survive in a world devastated by the waves of an alien invasion that has already decimated the population and knocked mankind back to the Stone Age.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, apocalyptic, futuristic, absurd, serious, teen, suspense, romantic, freeze frame
Similar in 90%
Blade Runner (1982)
Plot Summary:
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 809000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: neo noir, futuristic, tech noir, atmospheric, thought provoking, cerebral, mind bending, philosophical, thinking, visually appealing