86%
Ex Machina
Ex Machina shares artificial personhood, engineered desire and spaces built to control perception.
It is intimate, dialogue-led and contains no city-scale spectacle.RankThatMovie editorial pickFull film details →Movie DNA · explained recommendation
4 carefully selected movies like Blade Runner 2049 — and the one to watch next
If Blade Runner 2049 worked for you, this is not a list based on genre alone. We compared atmosphere, emotion, pace, twists, humour, romance, scale and realism to find the strongest second feature.
RankThatMovie Match Report · editorially prepared by RankThatMovie
Verdict
Ex Machina is the best smaller follow-up: artificial personhood, controlled memory and desire inside an environment designed by someone else.
Watch this route if…
You loved melancholy, identity questions and immaculate spaces carrying moral information.
Skip this route if…
You mainly want another city-scale noir or monumental cinematography.
Three reasons it works
- Manufactured identity becomes emotionally real.
- Architecture reveals who controls the experiment.
- The film distrusts memory without dismissing its meaning.
Two important differences
- Ex Machina is intimate and conversational.
- Her is warmer, more romantic and less threatening.
71% Movie DNA01 · The best film to watch next
3 Idiots (2009)
PaceIntensityRuntime2h 51m
Why it feels similar
The original establishes the noir, artificial identity and rain-soaked moral uncertainty continued in 2049.
How it differs
It is shorter, rougher and more narratively compressed.
Potential downside
Its gender politics are more visibly dated.
Where to watch
Check current availability
Check legal options ↗Availability data retrieved 13 September 2026 for United Kingdom. Services can change.
AtmosphereEmotionPaceTwistHumourRomanceScaleRealism
Full film detailsDoes this match feel right?
02 · Movie DNA shortlist
Three more carefully selected movies like Blade Runner 2049
74%
Her
Her matches loneliness, artificial intimacy and the question of whether manufactured experience can be authentic.
It is warm, comic and contemporary rather than noir.RankThatMovie editorial pickFull film details →
82%
Annihilation
Annihilation shares identity transformation, ambiguous memory and beautiful environments that may be hostile.
It is organic, bodily and closer to horror.RankThatMovie editorial pickFull film details →03 · Choose by situation
Same starting point, different evening
Her is the gentler relationship-centred option.
Open this alternative →Ex Machina is compact and controlled enough for a late watch.
Open this alternative →03 · Method
How this ranking works
Movie DNA compares eight story-and-feeling signals, then adds genre overlap and RankThatMovie’s trust-adjusted quality signal. It does not copy a platform’s “users also watched” row. Availability is regional and can change.
04 · Personalise
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