If you’ve seen a movie called “Limitless” and are looking for movies like limitless to see, this article is for you.
American science fiction thriller Limitless was released in 2011 and was written and directed by Ne il Burger.
The film, which stars Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro, Andrew Howard, and Anna Friel, is based on Alan Glynn’s 2001 novel The Dark Fields.
A struggling writer named Edward Morra is introduced in the movie to a nootropic substance called NZT-48, which allows him to use his brain to its fullest and significantly improves his quality of life.
The movie mentioned above is a very entertaining film, and below is a list of movies like Limitless, together with a brief description of the different films listed below.
1. Lucy (2014)
- Directed by: Luc Besson.
- Casts: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Nicolas Phongpheth, and Pilou Asbæk.
- IMDb Rating: 6.4/10
- Running Time: 1h 30m.
Lucy is an action and thriller film, one of the movies like Limitless and first on our List. The task was meant to be straightforward, and all Lucy had to do was hand Mr.
Jang, a strange briefcase. But right once, Lucy is drawn into a terrifying deal where she is kidnapped and used as a drug mule for a brand-new, potent synthetic substance.
When the bag Lucy is carrying inside of her stomach leaks, her body experiences incredible changes that start unleashing her mind’s full capacity.
With her newly acquired abilities, Lucy transforms into a ruthless fighter determined to exact revenge on her captives.
Professor Norman, the world’s foremost expert on the human psyche, and French police captain Pierre Del Rio provide her with important assistance.
2. Deja Vu (2006)
- Directed by: Tony Scott.
- Casts: Denzel Washington, Val Kilmer, Paula Patton, Bruce Greenwood, Adam Goldberg, and Jim Caviezel.
- IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
- Running Time: 2h 6m.
After a deadly terrorist attack on a slow New Orleans boat, A.T.F. special agent Doug Carlin joins a top-secret government program still in its experimental stages to track down the bomber.
This cutting-edge technology allows the user to view a detailed representation of what happened four days and six hours ago, tracking the target’s every move before the attack. It is designed to bend the very fabric of Time.
The perpetrator of the fatal blast will undoubtedly carry out another attack.
And Carlin is bent on finding out who the perpetrator is. This is a sci-fi thriller film and one of the movies like Limitless.
3. Inception (2010)
- Directed by: Christopher Nolan.
- Casts: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Elliot Page, Tom Hardy, and Michael Caine.
- IMDb Rating: 8.8/10
- Running Time: 2h 28m.
Another film on our List of movies, like limitless, is Inception.
It tells the story of Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a robber with an extraordinary talent for penetrating people’s dreams and stealing their secrets from the subconscious.
In corporate espionage, his talent has made him a sought-after commodity, but it has also lost everything he values.
Cobb is given the opportunity to redeem himself when he is given the seemingly hard duty of instilling a notion in the minds of others.
It would be the ideal crime if he were to succeed, but a dangerous foe is watching Cobb’s every move.
4. Time Lapse (2014)
- Directed by: Bradley D. King.
- Casts: Danielle Panabaker, Matt O’Leary, George Finn, Amin Joseph, Jason Spisak, and David Figlioli.
- IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
- Running Time: 1h 44m.
Time-lapse is one of the movies like limitless, and it tells the story of how Three pals discover a time machine that captures images of the future.
They start using it to win racing bets, and everything is well until one becomes more greedy.
As worse facts emerge in the photos, they lose faith in one another, creating a sense of backstabbing, and the situation quickly spirals out of control.
5. Source Code (2011)
- Directed by: Duncan Jones.
- Casts: Jake Gyllenhaal, Michelle Monaghan, Vera Farmiga, Jeffrey Wright, Michael Arden, and Russell Peters.
- IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
- Running Time: 1h 33m.
Another interesting sci-fi and thriller-filled action film are “Source Code,” which is part of the movies like limitless.
Colter Stevens, an army captain, is developing a special program to implant his consciousness into another person.
The sole restriction is that each visit is limited to 8 minutes. Just outside of Chicago, a commuter train was struck by a bomb that morning.
His last memory was of piloting his chopper on a combat mission in Afghanistan; therefore, he fills the body of a teacher traveling to work on that train and is unsure of what he is doing or why he is there.
He is informed by those in charge of the program that there is a bomb aboard the train and that he must find it.
More importantly, he needs to find the bomber because another attack is predicted for later in the day.
However, he is also informed that he has no control over the past and can only learn about it.
He explores that notion as he grows fond of his traveling companion Christina.
6. Ex Machina (2014)
- Directed by: Alex Garland.
- Casts: Domhnall Gleeson, Oscar Isaac, Alicia Vikander, Sonoya Mizuno, Gana Bayarsaikhan, and Corey Johnson.
- IMDb Rating: 7.7/10
- Running Time: 1h 48m.
Programmer Caleb Smith (Domhnall Gleeson) gets a trip to Nathan Bateman’s (Oscar Isaac), the brilliant C.E.O. of his company, a private estate, after entering a contest.
Caleb finds out upon his arrival that he has been selected to participate as the human component in a Turing test to ascertain the skills and consciousness of Ava (Alicia Vikander), a stunning robot.
Ava is much more self-aware and cunning than either man had anticipated, as it becomes clear very quickly. This is another thriller sci-fi film and is one of the movies like limitless.
7. Side Effects (2013)
- Directed by: Steven Soderbergh.
- Casts: Jude Law, Rooney Mara, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Channing Tatum, Vinessa Shaw, Ann Dowd, and Polly Draper.
- IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
- Running Time: 1h 46m.
This is another film and one of the movies like limitless. Emily Taylor has significant depression, emotional outbursts, and attempts at suicide despite being reunited with her husband after he was released from prison.
After consulting with her former physician, her psychiatrist, Jonathan Banks, finally decides to prescribe an experimental new drug called Alexa.
However, the drug’s side effects cause Emily to kill her husband while “sleepwalking,” which is when she takes her own life.
The case appears to be over after Emily entered a plea agreement for mental institution confinement, and Dr. Banks’ practice began to fall apart around him.
Dr. Banks, however, cannot take complete responsibility and looks into the matter to clear his name.
The journey that comes next poses a threat to destroy what’s left of his life, even as he learns the nefarious truth behind this catastrophe.
8. Self/Less (2015)
- Directed by: Tarsem Singh.
- Casts: Ryan Reynolds, Natalie Martinez, Matthew Goode, Victor Garber, Derek Luke, and Ben Kingsley.
- IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
- Running Time: 1h 57m.
An enormously wealthy guy who is terminally ill with cancer gets a revolutionary medical operation that allows his consciousness to be transferred into the body of a young, healthy man.
But when he begins to unravel the mysteries of the body’s origin and the group that will kill to advance its purpose, all is not as it seems. This is one of the thriller movies like limitless.
9. In Time (2011)
- Directed by: Andrew Niccol.
- Casts: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried, Cillian Murphy, Alex Pettyfer, Vincent Kartheiser, Olivia Wilde, and Matt Bomer.
- IMDb Rating: 6.7/10
- Running Time: 1h 49m.
This is one of the movies like Limitless, and it takes place in a world where Time is the most valuable asset.
You stop aging at 25, but there’s a catch: unless you can afford to buy your way out of it, you’re genetically programmed only to live another year.
The wealthy “earn” decades at a time (remaining at age 25), virtually becoming immortal, while the remainder must beg, borrow, or steal enough Time to get by each day.
A man from the underclass is forced to flee with a stunning captive after being wrongfully accused of murder.
Living minute by minute, the couple’s love becomes a potent weapon in their battle with the system.
10. Twelve Monkeys (1995)
- Directed by: Terry Gilliam.
- Casts: Bruce Willis, Joseph Melito, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt, Christopher Plummer, David Morse, Jon Seda, Christopher Meloni, and Frank Gorshin.
- IMDb Rating: 8/10
- Running Time: 2h 9m.
James Cole (Bruce Willis) discovers that Time travel can be challenging. James, incarcerated in 2030, is chosen for a mission that would return him to the 1990s.
When he arrives, he must acquire information regarding a developing plague that will soon wipe off most of the world’s inhabitants.
He receives little support, especially from medical gatekeepers like Dr. Kathryn Railly (Madeleine Stowe).
This is another sci-fi and thriller film and enlisted as one of the movies like limitless.
11. Contact (1997)
- Directed by: Robert Zemeckis.
- Casts: Jodie Foster, Matthew McConaughey, James Woods, John Hurt, Tom Skerritt, and Angela Bassett.
- IMDb Rating: 7.5/10
- Running Time: 2h 30m.
Astronomer Dr. Ellie Arroway (Jodie Foster) had a lifelong interest in communication with distant nations while growing up, thanks to the influence of her father, Ted Arroway (David Morse), who passed away when she was nine, leaving her an orphan.
This affection is the foundation of her current work with SETI, the Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence, which is also a tribute to her father.
Ellie and her rogue scientist colleagues have been searching for funding from wherever they could find it to continue their work ever since the National Science Foundation (N.S.F.) withdrew funding from the project that was labeled as “more science fiction than science” by some, including her N.S.F. superior David Drumlin (Tom Skerritt).
Ellie feels vindicated when she and her coworkers overhear a conversation coming from the area of the star Vega.
But when rival scientists like Drumlin, politicians, the military, and religious leaders attempt to take over her work, her sense of vindication is short-lived.
The project takes on a whole new dimension after the mysterious messages from space are decoded by her anonymous millionaire donor, S.R. Hadden (Sir John Hurt), which strengthens Ellie’s search for answers. This film is also on the List of movies like Limitless.
12. I, Robot (2004)
- Directed by: Alex Proyas.
- Casts: Will Smith, Bridget Moynahan, Bruce Greenwood, James Cromwell, Chi McBride, and Alan Tudyk.
- IMDb Rating: 7.1/10
- Running Time: 1h 55m.
This is a sci-fi thriller film and one of the movies like Limitless; it talks about Leading robotics scientist Dr. Alfred Lanning who appears to have committed suicide in 2035, and technophobic Chicago Police Department homicide investigator Del Spooner is in charge of the inquiry.
Spooner’s inquiry into Lanning’s death, unconvinced by the motive, exposes a trail of hidden plans and ambitions within the U.S.R. (United States Robotics) company and murder accusations.
He has no idea that his investigation will reveal a greater threat to humanity.
13. Midnight Special (2016)
- Directed by: Jeff Nichols.
- Casts: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Adam Driver, Jaeden Martell, and Sam Shepard.
- IMDb Rating: 6.6/10
- Running Time: 1h 52m.
Midnight Special is another thriller action film on the List of movies like Limitless. With oddly strong skills and peculiar flaws, Alton Meyer is a boy unlike any other in the world.
His father, Roy, kidnaps him in the middle of the night, whisks him away from the small sect that almost worships him, and is determined to reclaim him at any cost.
Alton’s abilities have also caught the attention of the U.S. government, which is equally determined to solve this mystery.
Paul Sevier of the National Security Agency is leading the Federal investigation with his inquiries.
These competing quests drive father and son into a frantic race toward a looming meeting with destiny that has the power to change everything.
14. Next (2007)
- Directed by: Lee Tamahori.
- Casts: Nicolas Cage, Julianne Moore, Jessica Biel, Thomas Kretschmann, Tory Kittles, and Peter Falk.
- IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
- Running Time: 1h 36m.
The low-key Las Vegas stage magician Cris Johnson has kept his uncommon talent a secret despite having the extraordinary ability to see exactly two minutes into the future.
The tough F.B.I. counterterrorism agent Callie Ferris has taken notice of Johnson’s unique talent, though, and she wants to utilize the illusionist’s undeniable magnetism to derail the homicidal schemes of a brutal cell of Russian terrorists.
Now that a stolen nuclear weapon threatens to destroy California, Cris’ attractive girlfriend, Liz, is being used as leverage by the crooks.
Can Cris use his strange gift to free the captive and the entire city of Los Angeles?
Next is an interesting sci-fi and action film that you can watch, and it is also among the List of movies like Limitless.
15. Looper (2012)
- Directed by: Rian Johnson.
- Casts: Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Garret Dillahunt, and Jeff Daniels.
- IMDb Rating: 7.4/10
- Running Time: 1h 59m.
Looper is another sci-fi action film on the List of movies like Limitless.
As a “looper,” Joe’s employers use time travel to kill men in the future and transport their bodies into the past so that Joe can properly dispose of them.
However, Joe is aware that one day his future self will be sent back for him to kill to wrap up loose ends and remove any traces of his past as a looper.
When this time arrives, Joe’s future self is ready and manages to flee, and the two men fight it out independently in the past while seeking to avoid capture and pursue their respective personal goals.
16. Premium Rush (2012)
- Directed by: David Koepp.
- Casts: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, Jamie Chung, and Boyce Wong.
- IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
- Running Time: 1h 31m.
It’s all in a day’s work for bike messenger Wilee (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) to avoid reckless cab drivers, speeding autos, and crowds of irritable pedestrians.
Will excels in a hazardous profession and rides a Fixie, a single-gear, lightweight bike without brakes.
Wilee is aware that one day he might become a smear on the sidewalk, but he is unprepared for what transpires when his final run of the day turns into a life-or-death chase across Manhattan. This is also one of the movies like Limitless.
17. Gattaca (1997)
- Directed by: Andrew Niccol.
- Casts: Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman, Alan Arkin, Jude Law, Loren Dean, and Ernest Borgnine.
- IMDb Rating: 7.8/10
- Running Time: 1h 46m.
An imperfect guy wants to visit the stars in the not-too-distant future.
Society has classified Vincent Freeman as less than appropriate due to his genetic makeup and has joined the underclass of those who are only fit for menial jobs.
He adopts the persona of Jerome Morrow, a genetically perfect individual paralyzed due to a car accident, to proceed.
Vincent learns how to trick D.N.A. and urine sample testing with expert help.
His program director is slain just before he is set to go on a space mission, and the authorities launch an investigation, compromising his secrecy. This also is enlisted as one of the movies like Limitless.
18. The Thirteenth Floor (1999)
- Directed by: Josef Rusnak.
- Casts: Craig Bierko, Gretchen Mol, Vincent D’Onofrio, Dennis Haysbert, and Armin Mueller-Stahl.
- IMDb Rating: 7/10
- Running Time: 1h 40m.
One of the movies like Limitless is the film named The thirteenth floor. Computer scientist Hannon Fuller has discovered something significant. He is about to inform his colleague, Douglas Hall, of the discovery.
Still, since he knows someone is after him, he leaves a letter in the computer-generated alternate reality that his company has produced (which resembles the 1930s and has characters who seem to be real people with real emotions).
The following night, Fuller is killed in our real world, and his coworker is accused.
Douglas finds a bloodied shirt in his bathroom, but he has no memory of what he did the night Fuller was killed.
He logs into the system to look for the letter but is met with an unexpected challenge. He could never have imagined how brutal the truth is.
19. The Wave (2019)
- Directed by: Gille Klabin.
- Casts: Justin Long, Donald Faison, Sheila Vand, Katia Winter, Sarah Minnich, Ronnie Gene Blevins, Bill Sage, and Tommy Flanagan.
- IMDb Rating: 6.1/10
- Running Time: 1h 27m.
Wave is part of the film enlisted in the List of movies like Limitless. When Frank, an opportunistic insurance lawyer, goes out to celebrate an anticipated promotion with his colleague Jeff, he feels he is in for the Time of his life.
But when Frank takes a hallucinogenic drug that drastically changes the way he sees the world and sends him on a psychedelic odyssey through board meetings, nightclubs, shootouts, and other universes, their evening takes a weird turn.
Frank finds himself on a quest to locate a missing girl, himself, and his wallet as he vacillates between reality and fiction.
20. The Minority Report (2002)
- Directed by: Steven Spielberg.
- Casts: Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton, Max von Sydow, and Jessica Harper.
- IMDb Rating: 7.6/10
- Running Time: 2h 25m.
Thanks to an elite law enforcement unit called “Precrime,” crime in Washington, D.C., is nonexistent in 2054.
They employ three talented people (referred to as “Pre-Cogs”) with exceptional abilities to see into the future and anticipate crimes.
Precrime’s director, John Anderton, firmly believes the system is faultless.
However, the Pre-Cogs occasionally foresee Anderton committing a murder of his own within the next 36 hours. Even worse, Anderton is unfamiliar with the victim.
He uncovers the “minority report,” or the female Pre-Cog Agatha’s forecast that “may” reveal a different tale and exonerate Anderton to get to the heart of the matter.
This is another thriller action film and is listed as one of the movies like Limitless.
21. The Adjustment Bureau (2011)
- Directed by: George Nolfi.
- Casts: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, Anthony Mackie, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, and Terence Stamp.
- IMDb Rating: 7/10
- Running Time: 1h 46m.
Politician David Norris (Matt Damon) meets ballerina Elise Sellas just as he is about to win a Senate seat (Emily Blunt).
Even though David immediately falls in love with the dancer, other unidentified males work to keep him apart.
When David realizes that he is up against the formidable forces of Fate itself and sees the future that has been prepared for him, he must decide whether to accept a predestined path that excludes Elise or reject Fate to be with her.
With a touch of romance, The film the adjustment bureau is part of the movies like Limitless.
22. Safe (2012)
- Directed by: Boaz Yakin.
- Casts: Jason Statham, Catherine Chan, Danni Lang, Danny Hoch, and Robert John Burke.
- IMDb Rating: 6.5/10
- Running Time: 1h 35m.
Safe is also on our List of movies like Limitless. Until he throws a fixed contest, Luke Wright is a two-bit cage fighter. He loses his family and life due to the Russian mob’s revenge.
Even though he is by himself and tormented by grief, Luke steps up to protect a Chinese girl (Catherine Chan) from the same thugs that killed his family, which puts him in the heart of a high-stakes conflict.
The girl isn’t your typical youngster; instead, she’s a math prodigy who carries a secret code in her mind for which various factions are willing to kill her.
23. Transcendence (2014)
- Directed by: Wally Pfister.
- Casts: Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall, Kate Mara, Cillian Murphy, Cole Hauser, and Paul Bettany.
- IMDb Rating: 6.2/10
- Running Time: 1h 59m.
The leading expert on artificial intelligence, Dr. Will Caster (Johnny Depp), is engaged in extremely contentious research to develop a sentient machine.
Inadvertently serving as the doctor’s success engine are the radicals who attempt to murder him.
Evelyn (Rebecca Hall), Will’s wife, and Max (Paul Bettany), his closest friend, can only watch as Will’s thirst for knowledge transforms into an all-consuming desire for power.
His close friends and loved ones soon realize that it may be impossible to stop him. This is also one of the movies like Limitless.
24. Skyline (2010)
- Directed by: Greg and Colin Strause.
- Casts: Eric Balfour, Scottie Thompson, Brittany Daniel, David Zayas, and Donald Faison.
- IMDb Rating: 4.5/10
- Running Time: 1h 34m.
To meet Terry, an accomplished businessman, and his wife Candice, Jarrod and his pregnant girlfriend Elaine come to Los Angeles. Jarrod receives a party in Terry’s place and is allowed to work in L.A.
On the couch in the living room, Terry’s assistant and lover Denise (Crystal Reed) and his friend Ray (Neil Hopkins) go to sleep.
However, at dawn the following day, enigmatic blue light beams awaken the group. Ray gets engulfed by the mysterious power as he stares at the light.
The pals make an effort to get away from the alien invaders. Skyline is a mystery and thriller film on the List of movies like Limitless.
25. Man On A Ledge (2012)
- Directed by: Asger Leth.
- Casts: Sam Worthington, Elizabeth Banks, Jamie Bell, Anthony Mackie, Ed Burns, Titus Welliver, Genesis Rodriguez, Kyra Sedgwick, and Ed Harris.
- IMDb Rating: 6.6/10
- Running Time: 1h 42m.
Another thriller film on our List of movies like Limitless is Man on a Ledge, which is also a crime action movie where Sam Worthington’s character, disgraced ex-cop Nick Cassidy, puts more than just his life in danger as he climbs to the top floor of New York’s famed Roosevelt Hotel, where he threatens to bring down the entire city.
Some extremely anxious individuals are hiding some very important secrets nearby.
Elizabeth Banks’ Lydia Spencer, a police mediator, starts to wonder if Nick is acting with a hidden agenda as she tries to persuade him to come down from the ledge.
26. Johnny Mnemonic (1995)
- Directed by: Robert Longo.
- Casts: Keanu Reeves, Dolph Lundgren, Takeshi Kitano, Ice-T, and Dina Meyer.
- IMDb Rating: 5.6/10
- Running Time: 1h 36m.
Johnny (Keanu Reeves) is a data courier in this William Gibson adaptation who has a hidden cache of knowledge implanted into his consciousness. However, it will kill him if Johnny can’t get the data back in 48 hours.
Johnny sets off to get the passwords he needs to rescue himself, accompanied by Jane (Dina Meyer), his physically augmented bodyguard.
Even worse, criminal Shinji (Denis Akiyama) and businessman Takahashi (Takeshi) are after him for the information Johnny holds. This also is one of the movies like Limitless.
27. Repo Men (2010)
- Directed by: Miguel Sapochnik.
- Casts: Jude Law, Forest Whitaker, Liev Schreiber, Alice Braga, Carice van Houten, Chandler Canterbury, R.Z.A., and Yvette Nicole Brown.
- IMDb Rating: 6.3/10
- Running Time: 2hrs.
In the future, prosthetic organs can be purchased so that people can live longer, thanks to advancements in medical technology.
However, if they don’t make their payments, a Union group sends operatives to take the organs back.
One of the top agents in the game, Remy (Jude Law), finds himself in the same predicament as his previous victims after receiving an artificial heart.
Remy flees for his life while his ex-partner (Forest Whitaker) pursues him. Repo men are also enlisted as one of the movies like Limitless.
28. Equilibrium (2002)
- Directed by: Kurt Wimmer.
- Casts: Christian Bale, Emily Watson, Taye Diggs, Angus Macfadyen, Sean Bean, Matthew Harbour, and William Fichtner.
- IMDb Rating: 7.3/10
- Running Time: 1h 47m.
Preston, an enforcer of the law in a society where all expressions of human emotion are forbidden, chooses to rebel against it, facing dire consequences due to his actions. This is one of the movies like Limitless that you can watch.
Conclusion
Movies like Limitless have been filmed and produced over the years, and they are mostly sci-fi, thriller, and action-filled movies, which are all interesting and entertaining to watch.
You can also watch any of the movies listed above or recommend them to your friend who is interested in seeing their films.
