Best movies like A Man Called Hero
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Episodic saga from the first half of the 20th century follows Hero Hua from an ill-omened June day in his youth to a showdown 17 years later with a disaffected member of his martial-arts school, a Japanese named Invincible. Tensions between Chinese and Japanese, plus U.S. racism, mark the tale. Hero marries Jade, leaves her in China when he goes to America as an indentured servant, rebels against cruel labor conditions, and is joined by her in New York City where she has twins. Jump ahead 16 years: their son Sword comes to New York looking for his father. There, Sword hears many stories of his father, which we see in flashbacks, and the stage is set for the battle with Invincible.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: epic, exciting, serious, stylized, comic
Best tv shows and movies like A Man Called Hero (1999):
Similar in 85%
The Restless (2006)
Plot Summary:
After his beloved fiancée is killed by demons, Yi Gwak (Woo-sung Jung) joins the royal demon-hunting squad and distinguishes himself as a great hero. And though Yi eventually falls in battle, his adventures are just beginning. His spirit is whisked away to Joong-cheon, a place between heaven and earth where souls await reincarnation -- and where the final, epic clash between the forces of good and evil will be played out.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: South Korea
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, stylized, epic, bleak, serious
Similar in 78%
Fearless Hyena 2 (1983)
Plot Summary:
A pair of evil kung-fu artists, Heaven and Earth, are slaughtering the entire Yin-Yang brotherhood.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, stylized
Similar in 90%
The Blade (1995)
Plot Summary:
A young man adopted by a renowned swordsmith, discovers that his real father was killed by a powerful bandit called Lung. Leaving to seek revenge, he runs foul of a group of vicious desert scum, losing his right arm in the process. After being nursed back to health, he eventually learns to compensate for his loss and returns to confront the man who murdered his father.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: perverse, exciting, rough, epic, serious, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 89%
The Brave Archer (1977)
Plot Summary:
Guo Jing and Yang Kang are the sons of two rebels. The rebels are killed by imperial soldiers and the boys are rescued by six pugilists later. The pugilists agree to separate the two boys, tutor them separately in martial arts, and let them meet again when they have grown up, to determine whose abilities are better. Guo becomes the student of the "Seven Freaks of Jiangnan" while Yang Kang becomes the foster son of a Jurchen prince inadvertently.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 492
Genere: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: exciting, epic, serious, realistic, cult film
Similar in 88%
Zu: Warriors from the Magic Mountain (1983)
Plot Summary:
In the fifth century, constant civil war scars western China. To escape death, Ti, a young scout, jumps through a crevice in the Zu mountains where he meets and becomes the apprentice of Ting Yin, a spiritual man with great fighting powers. They encounter a monk, Hsiao Yu, also a great fighter and a good man, but unfriendly to Ting. Because Ting and Hsiao can't work together, it falls to Ti to team with Hsiao's acolyte Yi Chen: they have 49 days to travel far to claim two swords that are the only weapons that can defeat the Blood Demon, who has decided the wreak havoc on the world. They get help from Long Brows, Ting falls in love with a countess, and civil war still rages.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, Horror
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: cult classic, atmospheric, serious, suspenseful, surreal, stylized, eighties, cult film
Similar in 87%
The Storm Riders (1998)
Plot Summary:
Based on a comic book called Fung Wan (or Tin Ha), the movie stars Ekin Cheng as Wind and Aaron Kwok as Cloud. The plot involves two children, Whispering Wind and Striding Cloud, who become powerful warriors under the evil warlord Conquer's tutelage. They grow up serving as his subordinates, but a love triangle and an accident leads to a quest for retribution.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 84%
The Storm Warriors (2009)
Plot Summary:
Wind and Cloud find themselves up against a ruthless Japanese warlord intent on invading China.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, stylized, visually stunning, action adventure, epic
Similar in 84%
Lone Wolf and Cub: White Heaven in Hell (1974)
Plot Summary:
In the sixth and final film of the Lone Wolf and Cub series, the final conflict between Ogami Itto and the Yagyu clan is carried out.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, History
Country: Japan
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: visual, exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, stylized, splatter, psychotronic
Similar in 77%
Duel to Death (1983)
Plot Summary:
One of the last of the Old School Hong Kong martial arts flicks, this one deals with a legendary competition in swordplay and fighting that ends up being fought between two great warriors, a Chinese man and a Japanese man, who, over the course of the film, have become friends.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: manga, perverse, cult classic, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, cult film
Similar in 81%
Patrol Horse (1982)
Plot Summary:
Four heroes embark on a secret mission for Dr Sun Yat Sen's Nationalist Guard. Relentlessly pursued by the warriors of notorious Warlord Yue Sai Hoi, they have seven days to reach the Lo Yang Pass with their secret cargo.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 656
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic
Similar in 75%
Tai Chi Hero (2012)
Plot Summary:
Chinese steampunk martial arts blockbuster about the early years of Tai chi master Yang Luchan, the man who founded in the 19th century what has now become the most popular Tai Chi style in the world. The second instalment of the "Tai Chi" trilogy continues the journey of Yang Luchan, a gifted child with a fleshy growth on his forehead who helped save a village from a frightening army of steampunk soldiers bearing strange machines with the knowledge of Tai Chi that they entrusted him with.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Country: China
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: exciting, stylized, serious, tense, offbeat
Similar in 82%
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen (2010)
Plot Summary:
Seven years after the apparent death of Chen Zhen, who was shot after discovering who was responsible for his teacher's death (Huo Yuanjia) in Japanese-occupied Shanghai. A mysterious stranger arrives from overseas and befriends a local mafia boss. That man is a disguised Chen Zhen, who intends to infiltrate the mob when they form an alliance with the Japanese. Disguising himself as a caped fighter by night, Chen intends to take out everyone involved as well as get his hands on an assassination list prepared by the Japanese.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Drama, History
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, realistic, suspenseful, serious, stylized, anime, non stop action
Similar in 75%
The Promise (2005)
Plot Summary:
An orphaned girl, driven by poverty at such a young age, makes a promise with an enchantress. In return for beauty and the admiration of every man, she will never be with the man she loves. This spell cannot be broken unless the impossible happens: snow falling in spring and the dead coming back to life. Now a grown and beautiful princess, she regrets her promise, for all of the men she's loved has always been met with tragedy. In love again with a man behind a red armor and a golden mask who rescues her from death, she is tormented by their inevitable parting. Meanwhile, Kunlun, the slave of a great general, is searching for the lost memories of a family he once had. Soon the fate of these two intertwine when the princess believes the general to be her hero, thus pulling him into this web of fate. What end will befallen our three characters? Are their fates already sealed by a higher power, or can they still choose a life they want?.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Drama, Fantasy
Country: China, South Korea, USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: stylized, colorful, exciting, fairy tale, serious, epic, light, thought provoking, enigmatic, breathtaking
Similar in 80%
Once Upon a Time in China III (1992)
Plot Summary:
Master Wong and his disciples enroll in the 'Dancing Lion Competition' to stop an assassination plot and to battle an arrogant, deceitful opponent.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Biography, Drama, History
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: stylized, serious, cult classic, harsh, anamorphic, exciting, epic, silent, light, thought provoking
Similar in 80%
Executioners from Shaolin (1977)
Plot Summary:
A couple unite - she is fluent in the crane style of kung fu, he in tiger style. They have a son, but the boy's father is killed by the evil eunuch Pai Mei. Disguised as a girl, his mom trains him in crane style while he secretly learns tiger style from his father's training manual.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, rough, serious, realistic, grindhouse
Similar in 88%
The New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
Plot Summary:
Lei Li lost his right-arm in a sword duel with the master of a martial arts school, long ago. Now, he is able to defend himself well with just his left arm, and kung fu techniques. That he proves with just the help of his friend Chung-Chieng, when he crosses his path with a beautiful girl in need, Pao Chiao. Even against impossible odds, he will prove a great warrior.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, stylized
Similar in 88%
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate (2011)
Plot Summary:
Flying Swords of Dragon Gate picks up three years after the infamous Dragon Inn was burnt down in the desert when its innkeeper Jade vanished. A new gang of marauders had taken over - innkeepers by day and treasure hunters by night. The inn is the rumoured location of a lost city buried under the desert, and its hidden treasure would only be revealed by a gigantic storm every 60 years. The gang used the inn as a front to locate the lost treasure.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Adventure
Country: China
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: exciting, stylized, captivating, tense, suspense, epic, serious, fast
Similar in 75%
Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969)
Plot Summary:
The notorious “One-Armed Swordsman” who has spent the last two years retired from the martial world as a simple farmer with his wife. Of course this idyllic life is about to be sliced to ribbons by Chang’s wicked imagination. He concocts a savory setup when he introduces, not one, but eight unique villains known as the Eight Kings of Swords and their sword-wielding entourage for Wang Yu to eventually chop his way through.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, offbeat, serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
Reign of Assassins (2010)
Plot Summary:
Set in ancient China, Zeng Jing is a skilled assassin who finds herself in possession of a mystical Buddhist monk's remains. She begins a quest to return the remains to its rightful resting place, and thus places herself in mortal danger because a team of assassins is in a deadly pursuit to possess the remains which holds an ancient power-wielding secret.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Adventure
Country: China, Taiwan, Hong Kong
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, suspenseful, exciting, serious, captivating, stylized, fast
Similar in 79%
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
Plot Summary:
The anti-Ching patriots, under the guidance of Ho Kuang-han, have secretly set up their base in Canton, disguised as school masters. During a brutal Manchu attack, Lui manages to escape, and devotes himself to learning the martial arts in order to seek revenge.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, stylized, inspirational, fast paced, exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, light
Similar in 79%
Tai Chi Zero (2012)
Plot Summary:
In legendary Chen Village, everyone is a martial arts master, using their powerful Chen Style Tai Chi in all aspects of their lives. Lu Chan has arrived to train, but the villagers are forbidden to teach Chen Style to outsiders, and do their best to discourage him by challenging him to a series of fights. Everyone, from strong men to young children, defeats him using their Tai Chi moves. But when a man from the village's past returns with a frightening steampowered machine and plans to build a railroad through the village at any costs, the villagers realize they may have no choice but to put their faith in Lu Chan... who has a secret power of his own.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: China
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, stylized, offbeat, exciting
Similar in 90%
Clan of the White Lotus (1980)
Plot Summary:
Shaolin practitioners and brothers Wu and Hung kill the merciless Pai Mei. However, Pai Mei's even more merciless brother White Lotus takes revenge; killing most of the Shaolin disciples, including Wu and Hung's girlfriend, leaving only Wu's pregnant wife and Hung as the only remaining practitioners of Shaolin left to avenge the deaths. But Hung's kung-fu will not be powerful enough so he must learn feminine kung-fu techniques to help him try and defeat White Lotus.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, stylized, perverse, exciting, offbeat, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, cult film
Similar in 86%
A Chinese Odyssey Part One: Pandora's Box (1995)
Plot Summary:
Fantasy adventure about the arrival of Buddhism in China. When the Goddess of Happiness tosses the Longevity Monk and his disciples out of heaven (because the Monkey King tried to attain immortality), the Monkey King is reincarnated as the Joker. He now spends his time chasing two jealous women. When one of them is dying, the Joker goes back in time in an attempt to save her.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: stylized, exciting, offbeat, humorous, semi serious, spoof, parody, fun
Similar in 79%
A Chinese Odyssey Part Two: Cinderella (1995)
Plot Summary:
This sequel to "Pandora's Box" continues director Jeffrey Lau's adaptation of the Buddhism saga "Journey to the West". Stranded five centuries in the past, Joker Monkey King must battle a variety of monsters, seductive women and super-powered villains to save the dying Pak Jing-Jing.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: dorama, exciting, offbeat, epic, serious, stylized, semi serious, spoof, parody, campy
Similar in 82%
Jade Warrior (2006)
Plot Summary:
Thousands of years ago in ancient China, a love struck sword hero fights against his destiny. He wants another chance to be reunited with his loved one and he gets that chance, in a far away place and a far away time, in the cold north, in modern Finland. Jade Warrior is set in ancient China early iron age and present day Finland. The past is feeding the story in present day, slowly revealing our warrior his real origin, his superior skills and his destiny. Jade Warrior - the first Finnish Kung Fu film - combines Finnish and Chinese mythologies into one film. Jade Warrior is an homage to Kung Fu genre strongly spiced with a truly original approach to Finnish national epic Kalevala. Like Kalevala Jade Warrior is a pure melodrama. A story of Kalevala's greatest hero. Written by www.ses.fi.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: Finland, Netherlands, China, Estonia
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, epic, serious, stylized, romantic drama
Similar in 78%
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016)
Plot Summary:
A story of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Country: China, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: stylized, light, exciting, atmospheric, serious, captivating, emotional, cult classic, saga, scenic
Similar in 77%
Zu Warriors (2001)
Plot Summary:
King Sky (Ekin Cheng), the sole disciple of the Kun Lun Sect, falls in love with his master Dawn (Cecilia Cheung). Dawn is killed when Insomnia destroys the Kin Lun Mountain. King Sky waits for two hundred years and meets Enigma (Cecilia Cheung), who is the reincarnation of Dawn, and in love with her again. However, Insomnia's Blood Clouds is ready to destroy Zu.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Fantasy
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, stylized, epic
Similar in 81%
Forbidden Warrior (2005)
Plot Summary:
The Gaia Za is a sacred tome that holds many ancient and powerful spells to be unlocked by a so-called Chosen One expected to be born to one of two leading families: the Khans or the Marajis. Unwilling to leave the clan's fate to the gods, Che Khan decides to take matters into his own hands by plotting the murder of a new Maraji baby, who may be the child in question. In doing so, he sets off a furious clash.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 663
Genere: Adventure, Action, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, tense, suspense, serious
Similar in 75%
Kamui (2009)
Plot Summary:
KAMUI is a Ninja on the run from the world of Ninja bound by rules in search of true freedom. However, he is burdened with the fate, where it is not allowed to take the secret of their powers outside of the tribe -- if you are born as Ninja, you must die as Ninja. This brings him to constantly fight for his life against other Ninjas who trie to kill him and hide the secrets within. He does not trust, and he does not love. Showing weakness leads to immediate death. An incident brings him to an old fisherman's village, where he finally starts to feel trust and affection towards other people. However, his pursuers where just minutes away from setting up a huge trap on Kamui.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: Japan
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, epic, stylized, anime, serious, realistic, fast, action adventure
Similar in 80%
Warriors of Heaven and Earth (2003)
Plot Summary:
A Chinese emissary is sent to the Gobi desert to execute a renegade soldier. When a caravan transporting a Buddhist monk and a valuable treasure is threatened by thieves, however, the two warriors might unite to protect the travelers.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: epic, breathtaking, exciting, serious, lyrical, historical drama, atmospheric, realistic, contemplative, road movie