Best movies like Return of the Kung Fu Dragon
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The complicated story involves the military conquest of a peaceful island-nation by an evil despot and his sorcerer ally. His victory leaves the island's three heroic protectors dead, but, their young children are hidden away to grow to adulthood with different identities, unaware of their heritage, in hope that, in time, they might challenge and defeat the evil ruler. The charming Polly Kuan stars as one of these children who has been adopted by the conquerer himself, initially as an insult to the defeated hero, later as his protégé.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 158
Genere: Action
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, serious, suspenseful, stylized, fable, cult film
Best tv shows and movies like Return of the Kung Fu Dragon (1976):
Similar in 79%
Kung Fu Arts (1978)
Plot Summary:
The emperor's right hand man frames the princess's fiancé, King Chi, who goes into hiding for ten years, vowing revenge. Meanwhile, the princess is married to King Chi's monkey.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 135
Genere: Action
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, cult film
Similar in 86%
Sakura Killers (1987)
Plot Summary:
Chuck Connors stars in this routine martial arts feature as the Colonel. He sends agents Sonny (Mike Kelly) and Dennis (George Nichols) to Taiwan in search of microfilm containing experiments on genetic engineering. The agents soon find themselves up against Japanese killers known as the Sakura who plan to sell United States secrets to the Soviet Union. Sonny and Dennis train with a martial arts master in order to fight the enemy and obtain the coveted microfilm.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 412
Genere: Action
Country: USA, Taiwan
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: independent film, rough, bleak, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
7 Grandmasters (1977)
Plot Summary:
An aged Kung Fu practitioner travels across China, challenging the best Grandmaster from each province to prove his mastery of martial arts. Meanwhile is a plot developing behind his back.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 977
Genere: Action, Comedy, Drama
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: action adventure, road movie, exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, stylized, independent film, cult film
Similar in 77%
Angry Tiger (1973)
Plot Summary:
Chang Chen-Wai, a martial arts expert who runs a jade-importing business, follows his missing brother to Thailand and learns he has been murdered. Chang vows revenge.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 98
Genere: Action
Country: Hong Kong, Thailand
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 76%
The Master (1980)
Plot Summary:
Gao Jian is a lazy and arrogant student of the martial arts school ran by vain Si Fu Shi Chen-chung. One night after his punishment in his school a wounded man reaches his house. He is Jin Tien-yun, a legendary warrior fleeing from a fight in which he was stabbed in a sneak attack and now has to hide from his pursuers, the Three Devils. Gao helps him and in return, Jin decides to teach him some serious kicks. Gao has to live alone for a year after Shi believes that he is traitor of his school. Then he tries to kill him but Jin interferes in order to save Gao and as his wounds are not fixed yet, he gets into a final battle with the three Devils. So it is Gao's turn to seek for revenge.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 454
Genere: Action, Comedy
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: serious, slapstick comedy, slapstick, grindhouse
Similar in 80%
The Iron-Fisted Monk (1977)
Plot Summary:
Iron Fisted Monk, heavyweight HK superstar Sammo Hung's directorial debut, is a powerful old school kung fu movie which sees the portly one at his physical peak on screen as well as calling the shots behind the camera. Husker (Sammo) is a student of the Shaolin monks, learning kung fu so that he can avenge his uncle, who was murdered by the nasty Manchus who control the province. He leaves his training early, desperate to teach the killers a lesson and teams up with a martial artist monk (Chan Sing) who is teaching a group of factory workers how to defend themselves. When the Manchus attack the factory and kill everyone there, Husker and his Buddhist pal decide it's time to even the score.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: realistic, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 79%
The Sanctuary (2009)
Plot Summary:
In 1897, the “Poisoned Knife” clan broke into the royal palace of Thailand to steal the Royal Antiques which the King intended to give to America as a reward for its help in negotiations that avoided Thai territorial cuts. The clan succeeded in stealing the antiques, but the thieves didn’t escape with their lives. Before their deaths, they hid the antiques somewhere close to the palace. During his interrogation, the last bandit chose to end his life by Master Sawang’s sword and let the place where the Royal Antiques were hidden die with him.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 256
Genere: Action
Country: Thailand
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, exciting, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 78%
Deadly Life of a Ninja (1983)
Plot Summary:
A businessman and his sister-in-law are targeted for assassination by a band of evil ninjas and their vicious leader (Yasuaki Kurata). The ninjas are committing bizarre murders all over the city, and the police can't seem to pick up their trail -- so they call in ninja hunter and Kendo master Mr. Chow (Kuan Tai Chen). To take down the silent killers, Mr. Chow will have to fight against incredible odds in this campy ninja classic.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 132
Genere: Comedy, Action
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, exciting, humorous, suspenseful, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 78%
Shootfighter II (1996)
Plot Summary:
In this martial-arts actioner, Miami mobsters find themselves in mortal danger after an angry police chief hires the world's most vicious fighters and uses them to launch a city-wide vendetta.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 775
Genere: Action
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
Samurai (2002)
Plot Summary:
An ageless Demon Warrior is magically impregnated into the womb of a Parisian Kung-Fu Master's girlfriend. But what is the Demon's relationship with a new-release blockbuster fighting game?.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 746
Genere: Action
Country: Spain, France, Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: scary, exciting, serious, suspenseful, stylized, atmospheric
Similar in 78%
The Vanquisher (2009)
Plot Summary:
After completing a covert mission in southern Thailand, CIA agent Gunja finds herself forced to fight off operatives who've been ordered to take her out at all costs. She survives and after two years of laying low, re-emerges in Bangkok to face her old foes and foil a plot to detonate a bomb in the city.
IMDB Rating: 2.8
IMDB Votes: 278
Genere: Action
Country: Thailand
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, exciting, 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 89%
The Shadow Boxer (1974)
Plot Summary:
Chen Wo-Fu plays construction worker Ku Ting, whose skill at "tai chi" (shadow boxing) is as great as his pacifism. But when his girlfriend is raped by vicious gangsters, he shows everyone the true power and beauty of tai chi.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 124
Genere: Action
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Shaolin Temple (1976)
Plot Summary:
There is no place more hallowed in the martial art world than China's Shaolin Temple. This special place deserves a special epic, which is what the martial arts maestro delivers in this battle between a brave brand of Chinese boxers and literally thousands of Ching troops - complete with betrayals, intrigues, and such novel fighting machines as 108 wooden robots. The conflicts grow in complexity, intensity and even suspense as monks struggle to stay alive in the face of overwhelming odds.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, exciting, cult film
Similar in 89%
Bangkok Assassins (2011)
Plot Summary:
Five kids fled from a mafia who abused them as beggars. They ended up meeting the great kung fu master who adopted them and taught them how to fight. Now, the kids are grownups and become the magnificent five kung fu fighters who have only one mission: to avenge the mafia who destroyed their lives.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 223
Genere: Action
Country: Thailand
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, tense, realistic
Similar in 90%
The Executioner (1974)
Plot Summary:
Three street toughs are hired to take down a Tokyo drug dealer in this hard-hitting Toei karate action film.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 646
Genere: Action
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
Magnificent Guardsmen (1978)
Plot Summary:
Chan is asked by a young, wealthy lady to take her sick brother to a particular doctor in order to be cured. To reach this doctor, Chan and a handful of travelling companions must pass through bandit-infested wild country. They meet and kung-fu-fight several gangs of thugs along the way.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 948
Genere: Action
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious
Similar in 88%
Challenge of the Masters (1976)
Plot Summary:
The Wong family kung fu school gets smacked around by a rival school. Wong Fei-hong gets fed up with the abuse and goes to learn from his fathers master. After one of the rival schools members kills some of the towns people Wong Fei-hong becomes enraged trains even more comes back and gets his revenge.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 796
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, fast
Similar in 85%
The Power Within (1995)
Plot Summary:
Stan Dryer, a teen, afraid to even ask a girl to the prom, finds courage and extreme martial arts skill when he is given a ring by an old man he tried to save from a group of attackers. The ring is a mate to a ring stolen by a double dealing art thief who had been hired to steal it by a criminal mastermind who wanted it for its mystical powers.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 379
Genere: Action
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, suspenseful, semi serious
Similar in 82%
The One Warrior (2011)
Plot Summary:
The One Warrior is a fantasy/action piece that is loosely based on video adventure games. In our story, the character of The One Warrior finds himself in a mythical world where he must destroy the Evil Lord Shoukata, but to do so he must first fight his way through many challenges. These include dragons, the cursed swords of Damacleus, the Samurai Six, the Amazon Warriors, and much, much more. With each level he passes through, the more powerful he becomes until the end where we realize it is really a man who may have been testing a new video game. Or was it? The truth may never be known. Written by Jewel A.
IMDB Rating: 2.4
IMDB Votes: 503
Genere: Action, Fantasy
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, exciting
Similar in 85%
Heroes of the Wild (1977)
Plot Summary:
A regional champion martial artist that moonlights as an honour-bound assassin, Tu Ta Shen, solidifies his reputation by challenging top fighters en route to the other champion, Nan Pa Tien, in order to unify both titles. Along the way he defeats a man who's shame in defeat drives him to suicide. Before he dies, recognizing Tu Ta Shen honour, he asks Tu Ta Shen to defeat a group of Manchu supporters led by none other that Nan Pa Tien. The dying mans son, Sa Woo, tries to kill Tu Ta Shen but is easily outmatched. Tu Ta Shen offer to teach Sa Yoo enough so that he can take revenge for his father. The two set out together; One to fulfill a promise to a dying man, one to keep a promise of revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 146
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Taiwan
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, suspenseful, stylized, semi serious
Similar in 79%
Bruce Lee in New Guinea (1978)
Plot Summary:
The tribe of a remote island worships the legendary Snake Pearl. Two masters of kung fu visit the isle and discover they must defend the daughter of the murdered chief against a evil wizard.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 169
Genere: Action, Drama, Adventure
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: serious, stylized, independent film
Similar in 81%
The Swordsman (1990)
Plot Summary:
When a scroll containing valuable martial arts secrets is stolen from the Emperor, an army detachment is sent to recover it. It is based on the novel The Smiling, Proud Wanderer by Jinyong.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, History
Country: Hong Kong, Taiwan
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 82%
Fury of the Shaolin Master (1978)
Plot Summary:
A government law officer is dispatched to bring his brother's killers to justice. On his bloody mission, untold assassins are thrown at him, but to no avail. One by one they are done away with in a most militant style.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 152
Genere: Action, Drama
Country: Taiwan, Hong Kong
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 78%
Ong Bak 3 (2010)
Plot Summary:
Ong Bak 3 picks up where Ong Bak 2 had left off. Tien is captured and almost beaten to death before he is saved and brought back to the Kana Khone villagers. There he is taught meditation and how to deal with his Karma, but very soon his arch rival returns challenging Tien for a final duel.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Action
Country: Thailand
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, captivating, suspenseful, cult classic, sentimental
Similar in 86%
Ong Bak 2 (2008)
Plot Summary:
Moments from death a young man is rescued by a renowned warrior. Realizing unsurpassed physical potential in the young boy he trains him into the most dangerous man alive. As he becomes a young man he goes on a lone mission of vengeance against the vicious slave traders who enslaved him as a youth and the treacherous warlord who killed his father.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Action
Country: Thailand
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: stylized, serious, harsh, epic, cult classic, action thriller, exciting, sentimental, sincere, rough
Similar in 79%
Urban Fighter (2012)
Plot Summary:
The "Bloods" are the most intimidating and violent gang in the city. A lawless city... where gangs rule the streets... The vicious and blood thirsty murderer Slater is their leader. The city is his domain... he rules! There are those who are not members of gangs such as Mikey and his friends. Mikey lives on the edge, he is daring and always in trouble and fights. His brother Mathis and his friends try to avoid trouble at any cost. Revenge becomes the motive to Mikey when his brother Mathis goes missing and is killed..... Written by Generation X Group GmbH.
IMDB Rating: 3.2
IMDB Votes: 456
Genere: Action
Country: Germany
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, suspense, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast
Similar in 79%
The Protector 2 (2013)
Plot Summary:
Kham is the last in long line of guards who once watched over the King of Thailand's war elephants. Traditionally, only the perfect elephants could successfully help defend the throne, after his harrowing quest to retrieve the elephants, Kham returns to his village to live in peace. But for someone as good in martial arts as him, peace is but a wishful thought.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action
Country: Thailand
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, suspenseful, serious, action thriller, realistic, fast
Similar in 80%
Underground (2007)
Plot Summary:
In the UK suburbs, an underground tournament is set to challenge twelve fighters from different backgrounds to compete for the price of £500,000. They have been handpicked for a no-holds barred competition that will push each fighter to their limit. Each fighter has their own reason for competing, and each will give everything they've got to take the prize...but there can be only one winner.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 590
Genere: Action
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, exciting, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 89%
Once Upon a Time in Shanghai (2014)
Plot Summary:
A laborer moves to Shanghai in the hope of becoming rich. But ends up using his kung fu skills to survive. Remake of The Boxer From Shantung.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, captivating, tense, suspense, rough, suspenseful, fast