Movies like First Blood (1982)
The best movies like First Blood (1982) are Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985), Blind Fury (1989) and Walking Tall (2004). If First Blood hooked you with its action and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPlatoon (1986)7.7/10 from 5,388 votes
- NewestMexicali (2026)Released 2026
Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
Prequel to the first Missing In Action, set in the early 1980s it shows the capture of Colonel Braddock during the Vietnam war in the 1970s, and his captivity with other American POWs in a brutal prison camp, and his plans to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlind Fury (1989)
A blind Vietnam vet, trained as a swordfighter, comes to America and helps to rescue the son of a fellow soldier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalking Tall (2004)
A former U.S. soldier returns to his hometown to find it overrun by crime and corruption, which prompts him to clean house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNowhere to Run (1993)
Escaped convict Sam Gillen single-handedly takes on ruthless developers who are determined to evict a widow with two young children.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRicochet (1991)
An attorney is terrorized by the criminal he put away years ago when he was a cop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarry Brown (2009)
An elderly ex-serviceman and widower looks to avenge his best friend's murder by doling out his own form of justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Dead Pool (1988)
Dirty Harry Callahan returns for his final film adventure. Together with his partner Al Quan, he must investigate the systematic murder of prominent figures. By the time Harry learns that the murders are part of a sick game to predict such deaths, it may be too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
John Rambo is released from prison by the government for a top-secret covert mission to the last place on Earth he'd want to return - the jungles of Vietnam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMissing in Action (1984)
American servicemen are still being held captive in Vietnam and it's up to one man to bring them home in this blistering, fast-paced action/adventure starring martial arts superstar Chuck Norris. Following a daring escape from a Vietnamese POW camp, Special Forces Colonel James Braddock (Norris) is on a mission to locate and save remaining MIAs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisPlatoon (1986)
As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEye of the Tiger (1986)
Buck is a Vietnam vet, recently released from prison. He returns home to discover the town being terrorized by a vicious motorcycle gang. When the bikers murder his wife and traumatize his daughter, Buck and his friends arm themselves to the teeth and wage war against the gang to destroy them once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPunishment Park (1971)
In this fictional documentary, U.S. prisons are at capacity, and President Nixon declares a state of emergency. All new prisoners, most of whom are connected to the antiwar movement, are now given the choice of jail time or spending three days in Punishment Park, where they will be hunted for sport by federal authorities. The prisoners invariably choose the latter option, but learn that, between the desert heat and the brutal police officers, their chances of survival are slim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Stand (2013)
Ray Owens is sheriff of the quiet US border town of Sommerton Junction after leaving the LAPD following a bungled operation. Following his escape from the FBI, a notorious drug baron, his gang, and a hostage are heading toward Sommerton Junction where the police are preparing to make a last stand to intercept them before they cross the border. Owens is reluctant to become involved but ultimately joins in with the law enforcement efforts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008)
A Texas cop battles ex-navy seals who are trying to traffic drugs from Mexico into the USA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHamburger Hill (1987)
The men of Bravo Company are facing a battle that's all uphill… up Hamburger Hill. Fourteen war-weary soldiers are battling for a mud-covered mound of earth so named because it chews up soldiers like chopped meat. They are fighting for their country, their fellow soldiers and their lives. War is hell, but this is worse. Hamburger Hill tells it the way it was, the way it really was. It's a raw, gritty and totally unrelenting dramatic depiction of one of the fiercest battles of America's bloodiest war. This happened. Hamburger Hill - war at its worst, men at their best.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCobra (1986)
A tough-on-crime street cop must protect the only surviving witness to a strange murderous cult with far reaching plans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagnum Force (1973)
"Dirty" Harry Callahan is a San Francisco Police Inspector on the trail of a group of rogue cops who have taken justice into their own hands. When shady characters are murdered one after another in grisly fashion, only Dirty Harry can stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack and Blue (2019)
Rookie cop Alicia West, an Army veteran, inadvertently captures the murder of a young drug dealer on her body cam. After realizing that the murder was committed by corrupt cops, she teams up with the one person from her community who is willing to help her as she tries to escape both the criminals out for revenge and the police who are desperate to destroy the incriminating footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntil Death (2007)
Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Omega Man (1971)
Due to an experimental vaccine, Dr. Robert Neville is the only human survivor of an apocalyptic war waged with biological weapons. Besides him, only a few hundred deformed, nocturnal people remain; sensitive to light, and homicidally psychotic.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Ninth Day (2004)
During WWII, head priest Henri Kremer is mysteriously freed from Dachau. He learns that he can return home to Luxembourg, for only nine days, during which he'll have to face a persuasive Gestapo chief who will put his faith to the test.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
The Final Cut (2004)
Set in a world with memory implants, Alan Hakman is a 'cutter'—someone with the power of final edit over people's recorded histories—but his latest assignment puts him in great danger.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCity Hall (1996)
The accidental shooting of a boy in New York City leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man in the Trunk (2019)
On an otherwise quiet night there is a startling knock at the door. Andrew Tucker answers the door to find an old friend whom he hasn't seen in years. The disheveled and absent friend comes to him with one request: "I need you to come with me but, I can't tell you where we're going." Andrew takes a chance but learns that every answer brings more questions. Nothing good ever comes knocking after midnight and Andrew's nightmare asks how far you would go to help a friend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Daylight (1996)
A group of armed robbers fleeing the police head for the New Jersey Tunnel and run right into trucks transporting toxic waste. The spectacular explosion that follows results in both ends of the tunnel collapsing and the handful of people who survived the explosion are now in peril. Kit Latura is the only man with the skill and knowledge to lead the band of survivors out of the tunnel before the structure collapses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFreeway (1996)
Following the arrest of her mother, Ramona, young Vanessa Lutz decides to go in search of her estranged grandmother. On the way, she is given a ride by school counselor Bob Wolverton. During the journey, Lutz begins to realize that Bob is the notorious I-5 Killer and manages to escape by shooting him several times. Wounded but still very much alive, Bob pursues Lutz across the state in this modern retelling of Little Red Riding Hood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Next Karate Kid (1994)
Mr. Miyagi decides to take Julie, a troubled teenager, under his wing after he learns that she blames herself for her parents' demise and struggles to adjust with her grandmother and fellow pupils.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisLucky Baskhar (2024)
A middle-class bank clerk who longs to trade stability for adventure gets more than he bargained for when he unexpectedly becomes a wealthy man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Vengeance of Ursus (1961)
The evil King Zagro has designs on the beautiful Princess Sira. He wants to marry her so he can take over her kingdom and add it to his own. When Sira is kidnapped, Ursus leaves his farm to rescue her and to eventually lead a revolt against King Zagro.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like First Blood?
The closest matches to First Blood are Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985), Blind Fury (1989) and Walking Tall (2004). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after First Blood?
Start with Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985), the closest match to First Blood.
What is the highest-rated movie like First Blood?
Platoon (1986), rated 7.7/10 by 5,388 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like First Blood?
Mexicali (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like First Blood?
Yes: Missing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985), Blind Fury (1989) and Walking Tall (2004).
How are movies similar to First Blood chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside First Blood, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.