Director Joseph Kosinski and star Tom Cruise delivered a sci-fi action movie full of visual creativity and engrossing mystery with 2013's Oblivion and its fans can be left wondering if there's much else out there that can live up to its striking dystopian aesthetic and thought-provoking story.
With this in mind, let's look at 10 stylish sci-fi movies that capture a lot of the same ambiance as Oblivion and, in some cases, may have even directly inspired the movie. Even if you're just a fan of good-looking sci-fi movies in general then there should be several great choices for you to enjoy on this list, with lovers of plot twists and futuristic action also fully catered to.
The Island
Michael Bay does what he does best to a classic sci-fi concept when two naive prisoners escape from what they had been told was a safe haven in an apocalyptic wasteland to discover that the world outside is actually mostly fine, save for the murderous corporation that has grown them as clones of superwealthy clients in need of organic spare parts.
While maybe not the most cerebral experience, The Island will easily satisfy any fan of stylishly futuristic action.
Tron: Legacy
Joseph Kosinski's first feature-length movie was a long-gestating sequel to Disney's cult sci-fi favorite Tron and demonstrated the director's flair for distinct visual moods and atmosphere conveyed through architecture.
The story follows a young man searching for clues to explain the disappearance of his father decades ago as he's sucked into the digital world of 'The Grid' where he must overcome nefarious forces trying to get out and into real life.
Planet of the Apes
The original 1968 adaptation of Pierre Boulle's novel began a long-running franchise of movies and TV shows, the more modern of which should also entertain fans of Oblivion's post-apocalyptic action.
Franklin J. Schaffner's classic first entry, however, still remains the most essential viewing of the series and one of the greatest examples of a science-fiction movie built around an earth-shattering twist.
Moon
Duncan Jones' much more small-scale sci-fi mystery is the movie most commonly associated with Oblivion due to plot similarities.
Sam Rockwell's isolated Lunar worker does have a lot in common with Tom Cruise's more Tom Cruise-ish counterpart but Moon is an entirely different kind of experience overall and cultivates its own unique aesthetic.
WALL-E
Pixar's modern classic is a certifiably timeless joy for all ages and a no less emotionally compelling romance and thought-provoking science-fiction story because of that accessibility.
The story follows the lonely titular robot tasked with cleaning up an abandoned Earth as he's given a glimpse of romance with a strange visitor and swept up into an adventure involving the last of humanity out in space.
Logan’s Run
A hugely influential sci-fi movie from the 1970s, Logan's Run depicts a closed-off future utopia that maintains its balance by killing any member of the population over thirty-years-old.
When the eponymous Logan learns the horrible truth, he flees to escape his fate and embarks on a wild and frightening odyssey into the unknown.
The Maze Runner
The first part of a trilogy adapting James Dashner's dystopian young adult book series of the same name, The Maze Runner follows a group of young boys trapped within a colossal high-tech maze full of monsters and booby traps.
With no memory of how they came to be there or what the world outside is like, the group has to work together to solve the mystery of their maze and the twists and turns of the story should be more than enough to satisfy fans of Oblivion's dark conspiracy.
Edge of Tomorrow
Doug Liman's sci-fi action time-travel extravaganza sees Tom Cruise play a cowardly soldier reborn again and again on the same battlefield every time he dies against an invading alien force.
His seeming immortality leads him on a mission to discover how to defeat his enemy and control what's happening to him with the help of Emily Blunt's grizzled veteran.
Blade Runner 2049
Denis Villeneuve's belated sequel to Ridley Scott's sci-fi movie classic skimps on neither the style nor the action when bringing its vivid depiction of a not-too-distant dystopia to life.
Stunning visual effects and cinematography make Blade Runner 2049 one of the most unmissable entries into the genre for decades and Oblivion fans will love its equally captivating and horrifying vision of a ruined Earth and the trapped workers who run the ruins.
Silent Running
Bruce Dern plays the caretaker of the world's last surviving plant life on a deep-space conservation ship, but humanity's disregard for the only hope of a return to a natural world causes him to take drastic action.
Silent Running is an essential sci-fi classic and a still very unique take on the idea of Star Wars adjacent space terrorism which the story paints as neither right nor wrong to thought-provoking effect.