Movies like Nirvana
The best movies like Nirvana are Ballistic (2026), The Way Back (2010) and Lone Survivor (2013). If Nirvana hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLone Survivor (2013)7.4/10 from 4,958 votes
- NewestThe Fix (2026)Released 2026
Ballistic (2026)
When a soldier's mother discovers the bullet that killed her son in Afghanistan was made at the factory where she works, she sets out on a path of revenge against those responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Way Back (2010)
A small band of multicultural convicts stages a daring escape from a WWII-era Siberian gulag, and embarks on a treacherous journey across five countries in a desperate race for freedom and survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLone Survivor (2013)
Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level Taliban operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKandahar (2001)
After an Afghanistan-born woman who lives in Canada receives a letter from her suicidal sister, she takes a perilous journey through Afghanistan to try to find her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoxfire (1996)
The story of five teenage girls who form an unlikely bond after beating up a teacher who has sexually harassed them. They build a solid friendship but their wild ways begin to get out of control.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirty Angels (2024)
During the United States' 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan, a group of female soldiers posing as medical relief are sent back in to rescue a group of kidnapped teenagers caught between ISIS and the Taliban.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outpost (2020)
A small unit of U.S. soldiers, alone at the remote Combat Outpost Keating, located deep in the valley of three mountains in Afghanistan, battles to defend against an overwhelming force of Taliban fighters in a coordinated attack. The Battle of Kamdesh, as it was known, was the bloodiest American engagement of the Afghan War in 2009 and Bravo Troop 3-61 CAV became one of the most decorated units of the 19-year conflict.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShe Rides Shotgun (2025)
Newly released from prison and marked for death by unrelenting enemies, Nate must now protect his estranged 11-year-old daughter, Polly, at all costs. With scant resources and no one to trust, Nate and Polly forge a bond under fire as he shows her how to fight and survive—and she teaches him the true meaning of unconditional love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLions for Lambs (2007)
Three stories told simultaneously in ninety minutes of real time: a Republican Senator who's a presidential hopeful gives an hour-long interview to a skeptical television reporter, detailing a strategy for victory in Afghanistan; two special forces ambushed on an Afghani ridge await rescue as Taliban forces close in; a poli-sci professor at a California college invites a student to re-engage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this12 Strong (2018)
A team of special forces head into Afghanistan in the aftermath of the September 11th attacks in an attempt to dismantle the Taliban.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Darkest Minds (2018)
After a disease kills 98% of America's children, the surviving 2% develop superpowers and are placed in internment camps. A 16-year-old girl escapes her camp and joins a group of other teens on the run from the government.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHigh Road to China (1983)
A biplane pilot is saddled with a spoiled industrialist's daughter on a search for her missing father through Asia that eventually involves them in a struggle against a Chinese warlord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMidnight Express (1978)
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of a country. The courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisT2 Trainspotting (2017)
After 20 years abroad, Mark Renton returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friends Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy in the Woods (2023)
The remarkable true-life survival story of a Jewish boy hiding and being hunted in the forests of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, based on Maxwell Smart's memoir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGod Bless the Broken Road (2018)
The story of a young mother who loses her husband in Afghanistan and struggles to raise their young daughter in his absence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fix (2026)
Disillusioned by the end of the war in Afghanistan, a group of disgraced, war-torn ex-CIA operatives set out to Tehran to take down a life-changing score.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Razor's Edge (1984)
An American WWI veteran undertakes a spiritual quest that takes him from Paris to Nepal to the Himalayas and back to his hometown. Upon his return, he discovers he is not the only one who has changed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMax (2015)
A dog that helped soldiers in Afghanistan returns to the U.S. and is adopted by his handler's family after suffering a traumatic experience.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFort Bliss (2014)
After returning home from an extended tour in Afghanistan, a decorated U.S. Army medic and single mother struggles to rebuild her relationship with her young son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Nirvana and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Nirvana?
The closest matches to Nirvana are Ballistic (2026), The Way Back (2010) and Lone Survivor (2013). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Nirvana?
Start with Ballistic (2026), the closest match to Nirvana.
What is the highest-rated movie like Nirvana?
Lone Survivor (2013), rated 7.4/10 by 4,958 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Nirvana?
The Fix (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Nirvana?
Yes: Ballistic (2026), The Way Back (2010) and Lone Survivor (2013).
How are movies similar to Nirvana chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Nirvana, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.