Movies like The Men Who Became Legends (2012)
The best movies like The Men Who Became Legends (2012) are 20th Century Boys: Beginning of the End (2008), Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2007) and The Magic Hour (2008). If The Men Who Became Legends hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Yakuza (1974)7.1/10 from 240 votes
- NewestPlease Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain (2023)Released 2023
- In Japanese20th Century Boys: Beginning of the End (2008)Also in Japanese
20th Century Boys: Beginning of the End (2008)
In 1969, Kenji, an elementary school kid and his friends built a secret base during their summer holidays. They fantasized that they had to fight villains who were out to conquer the world and wrote them in the Book of Prophecies. Years later in 1997, Kenji becomes a convenience store manager and leads a regular life after giving up his dreams to become a rock star. His boring life is suddenly turned upside down when his old classmate dies mysteriously and an entire family in the neighbourhood disappears. At the same time, a religious cult and its mysterious leader, Friend emerges and a strange chain of events duplicating exactly the events described in the Book of Prophecies follow. Is this the beginning of the end of the world? Who is Friend?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYakuza: Like a Dragon (2007)
Former yakuza underling Kazuma Kiryū has recently been released from prison after a lengthy incarceration and is trying to piece his life together and distance himself from his yakuza past. Unfortunately, Kiryū's problems slowly escalate as he is pursued by a former associate, the baseball-bat-wielding psycho Gorō Majima, who has a grudge to settle with Kiryū.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Magic Hour (2008)
A hustler who gets in trouble with a gang boss in the port town of Sukago agrees to make good with the don by putting him in contact with a mysterious hitman — an assassin the hustler has no idea how to contact. Instead, he hires an actor to play the role, though the thespian has no idea what he's getting into.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZatoichi Meets Yojimbo (1970)
Zatoichi treks to a village that has always been a favorite spot of his, only to discover that it’s become a living hell, plagued by feuding father and son yakuza as well as the younger crime boss’s bodyguard, scruffy, smart-mouthed, cash-hungry Yojimbo of legend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlease Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain (2023)
When three friends who live together realize that they don't like their life trajectory, they set off to find a gold treasure that is rumored to be buried in the nearby mountain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFalcon Rising (2014)
Chapman is an ex-marine in Brazil's slums, battling the yakuza outfit who attacked his sister and left her for dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLupin the Third: Return of Pycal (2002)
Lupin steals an extraordinary gem from a Mediterranean party, only to be interrupted by Pycal, the trickster "magician" who had apparently died fighting Lupin early in his career. Pycal, now armed with real magical abilities, is determined to take revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdrift in Tokyo (2007)
A thug offers to pay a law student's gambling debt if the student will accompany him on a trip across Tokyo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLupin the Third: From Siberia with Love (1992)
Notorious thief Lupin the Third aims to steal the lost treasure of the Romanov royal family with his criminal associates along for the ride. The treasure is an immense quantity of gold hidden underground in the vaults of a mysterious Texas bank. But to obtain the gold, Lupin and his friends will have to face down both the Mafia and Rasputon, the telepathic descendant of the mad monk Rasputin. Lupin again eludes inspector Zenigata with the help of a mysterious blonde named Judy Scott, as Rasputon manipulates the world's leaders to put every obstacle in Lupin's path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi's Pilgrimage (1966)
Zatoichi's trek through 88 temples to atone for his violent past is interrupted as he stumbles into a village terrorized by a violent yakuza boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Yakuza (1974)
When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLupin the 3rd (2014)
Interpol Inspector Zenigata begins a world-wide hunt for the infamous thief Arsène Lupin III, who, with his cavalcade of collaborators infiltrate a highly secured fortress-like safe named the 'Ark of Navarone' to claim the "Crimson Heart of Cleopatra".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like this20th Century Boys 2: The Last Hope (2009)
Set 15 years after "Twentieth Century Boys," Kanna (Airi Taira) reunites with several main characters from the first film in an attempt to stop Friend's increasing influence over the world and continued plans to eliminate humanity, as detailed in the New Book of Prophecy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDead or Alive 2: Birds (2000)
Two contract killers cross paths in the middle of the same job and realize they are childhood friends. Together they take a break from killing and visit the small island they once called home. After reflecting on their past lives they decided to team up and use their talents in killing for good... much to the upset of the crime syndicates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outsider (2018)
A former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGraveyard of Honor (1975)
A self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the yakuza but quickly loses his self-control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpriggan (1998)
An elite superhuman agent must stop a foreign military unit from seizing control of an ancient artifact that holds the key to ultimate power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLupin the Third: The Secret of Twilight Gemini (1996)
As Lupin's mentor Don Dolune lies on his deathbed, he hands the master thief a gift, the diamond named Twilight. Though it's only half the treasure — the other half of the Twilight can be found in Morocco. Lupin must contend with his on-again-off-again-partner Fujiko, his feelings for the mysterious Lara, and the relentless whip-wielding maniac Sadachiyo in order to bring Twilight back to its full glory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mole Song: Undercover Agent Reiji (2013)
Reiji Kikukawa, who has a strong sense of justice, graduated from the police academy with the lowest score ever. He becomes a police constable, but is suddenly fired by the Police Chief due to "disciplinary" issues. In actuality, the firing is part of a carefully orchestrated plan to set him up as an undercover cop in the Yakuza.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShowdown in Little Tokyo (1991)
An American with a Japanese upbringing, Chris Kenner is a police officer assigned to the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles. Kenner is partnered with Johnny Murata, a Japanese-American who isn't in touch with his roots. Despite their differences, both men excel at martial arts, and utilize their formidable skills when they go up against Yoshida, a vicious yakuza drug dealer with ties to Kenner's past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Men Who Became Legends?
The closest matches to The Men Who Became Legends are 20th Century Boys: Beginning of the End (2008), Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2007) and The Magic Hour (2008). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Men Who Became Legends?
Start with 20th Century Boys: Beginning of the End (2008), the closest match to The Men Who Became Legends.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Men Who Became Legends?
The Yakuza (1974), rated 7.1/10 by 240 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Men Who Became Legends?
Please Don't Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Men Who Became Legends?
Yes: 20th Century Boys: Beginning of the End (2008), Yakuza: Like a Dragon (2007) and The Magic Hour (2008).
How are movies similar to The Men Who Became Legends chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Men Who Became Legends, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.