Movies like Strive for Sword (2025)
The best movies like Strive for Sword (2025) are Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978), Kids from Shaolin (1984) and Crazy Stone (2006). If Strive for Sword hooked you with its comedy and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Willoughbys (2020)7.1/10 from 1,037 votes
- NewestKung Fu Soccer (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseHalf a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978)Also in Chinese
Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978)
A young daydreamer assumes the identity of a dead martial arts hero and quickly finds himself caught up in a plot by several clans to steal famous martial arts artifacts being transported by an escort company.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKids from Shaolin (1984)
Romance blossoms between two rival families practicing Shaolin and Wudang kungfu respectively. despite familial opposition - until they overcome a gang of scheming bandits together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrazy Stone (2006)
Three thieves try to steal a valuable jade that is tightly guarded by a security chief. But the security guards are not the only obstacle these thieves are facing. An extremely unlucky internationally known master thief is also trying to get a hand on this piece of precious jade. What would be the final destination of this piece of crazy stone?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAirborne (1993)
Good-natured teen surfer Mitchell Goosen finds himself staying with his aunt and uncle in Cincinnati, Ohio when his parents head to Australia for work. There he meets his cousin, Wiley, and together they try to navigate the perils of high school—avoid the bullies, get the girl, and win a little respect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGotcha! (1985)
A student on a trip to France is tricked into smuggling secrets across the Iron Curtain by a sexy spy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Paper Tigers (2020)
Three middle aged men polish their martial arts skills to avenge their fallen master.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKung Fu Soccer (2026)
Dismissed as underdogs before they even step onto the pitch, the Emei Women's Football Team enters the prestigious Supreme Invincible Cup determined to prove everyone wrong. Led by captain Shuangshuang, star striker Yulong, and mentor Xu Feng, the team combines martial arts mastery with football skill in a thrilling quest for victory. Against mounting challenges and impossible odds, they fight to make their mark and chase their championship dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisDisciples of the 36th Chamber (1985)
Monk San Te tries to support and protect Shaolin and her Fang Shih-yu who purposely attacks corrupt Ching officials.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Chinatown (2015)
After being rejected from the police college, a mannerly man travels to Bangkok where he and an energetic distant relative must solve a murder case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969)
After the events of The One-Armed Swordsman (1967), a retired Fang Gang is drawn back into the jianghu to protect various young apprentices whose swordsmanship schools have been terrorized by 8 evil swordsmen seeking to rule the jianghu.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReign of Assassins (2010)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragon Fist (1979)
After the death of his master, martial arts student Tong Huo-wan travels with his adoptive family to seek redress from the man responsible but finds himself torn between righteousness and filial piety after becoming entangled in a feud between a local clan and gangsters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018)
Dee, the detective serving Chinese empress Wu Zetian, is called upon to investigate a series of strange events in Loyang, including the appearance of mysterious warriors wearing Chiyou ghost masks, foxes that speak human language and the pillar sculptures in the palace coming alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorder Hunters (2025)
After his police officer brother is killed by a drug dealer who flees to the protection of his cartel-connected uncle in Mexico, an American man with a diverse law enforcement/military background goes south of the border to get revenge
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStowaway (2022)
A tenacious party girl fights to survive after three thieves commandeer her luxury yacht. Unable to escape and trapped on the yacht at high seas, the prey becomes the hunter as she turns the tables on the intruders and takes matters into her own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHounds of War (2024)
After a mission goes wrong, only one of a group of mercenaries is left alive to avenge his fallen brothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJourney to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017)
Tang Monk brings three disciples on a journey to the West. On the outside, everything seems harmonious. However, tension is present beneath the surface, and their hearts and minds are not in agreement. After a series of demon-capturing events, the monk and his disciples gain mutual understanding of each others' hardships and unease. Finally, they resolve their inner conflict and work together to become an all-conquering, demon-exorcising team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Best Man (2023)
Mercenaries seize control of a remote resort hotel during a wedding and it's up to the best man, the groom and their drunken best friend to stop the terrorists and save the hostages.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous (2021)
A reformed sociopath heads to a remote island after the death of his brother. Soon after his arrival, the island falls under siege from a deadly gang of mercenaries, and when he discovers their role in his brother’s demise, he sets out on a relentless quest for vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Willoughbys (2020)
When the four Willoughby children are abandoned by their selfish parents, they must learn how to adapt their Old-Fashioned values to the contemporary world in order to create something new: The Modern Family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Blade (1995)
Adopted by a renowned swordsmith, a young man discovers that his biological father was killed by a powerful bandit called Lung. Leaving to seek revenge, he runs afoul of vicious desert scum, losing his right arm in the process. After being nursed back to health, he learns to compensate for his loss and returns to confront Lung.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bloody Devil, Part One (1965)
Kwok Sau-yuk fails to ward off the advances of Scholar Four Poisons while mourning the murder of her husband. Master Chung comes to help and asks Kwok's son Chan Lam to look for his daughter Siu-chui before dying. Hurled into the Blood Pool, Chan chances on Ng Yau-nin, a victim of the intrigue hatched by his wife Ho Yim-wah and her lover Oh Yu-kan. Ng bequeaths to Chan a sword, and the Book of Blood Devil Moves unearthed from the cave and entrusts his daughter Yu-ying to his care. Having mastered the art, Chan emerges from the abyssal waters and becomes the 'Little God of Hades.' He is soon kept under lock and key by Oh who wants the Book of the Yellow Emperor. Treating Chan with a antidote, Yu-ying escapes with Chan after learning his father’s intrigue, only to be hit by a pang of loss and agony upon Chan's reunion with senior master Lee Kei and Siu-chui, his betrothed fiancee. Instigated by Oh, Chan finds himself confronting members of the seven leading martial sects…
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
The Bloody Devil, Concluding Episode (1965)
Her mind deluded by Elder Three Unsurpassed, Ng Yu-ying is about to surrender the captured Chan Lam to Oh Yu-kan and Ho Yim-wah when his senior master Lee Kei comes to save the day, warding off the conspirators. Restored to sanity by the antidote delivered by her mother, Ng bids a silent farewell and pleads to be made the protege of Black Raksha. With Fairy Crimson Pearl leading the way, Chan rescues Chung Siu-chui and Chor Ling imprisoned at the White-bone Sect and survives the bombings orchestrated by Oh but finds himself cornered by beguiled members of the seven leading martial sects. Ng dons a mask and teams up with 'Little God of Hades' to break the siege, pursuing their nemesis to the Fiery Fire Sect where Chan and cohorts finally eradicate Scholar Four Poisons and Oh, the latter confessing to the murder of Chan's father at his last breath. Ng wields the Raksha Order to avenge her father's death, perishing together with her mother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Golden Swallow (1968)
Golden Swallow revolves around the further adventures of its title character. This time around, she is forced into violence when a figure from her mysterious past goes on a killing rampage while leaving evidence that holds her responsible. Golden Swallow also makes room for a love triangle involving a mad, but righteous, swordsman named Silver Roc and a gentle warrior named Golden Whip. The three team up to conquer the evil forces of the martial world, but their joint venture only lasts so long, due to the two men's egos. Ultimately, a duel to the death is planned between them, leaving Golden Swallow caught between two men, both of whom she admires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend of the Swordsman (1992)
Ling Wu Chung decides to hide from the chaotic world. Before leaving, he visits his friends, a tribe of snake-wielding women warriors. However, he finds that the tribe have been attacked, and their leader Yam Ying Ying has been abducted.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeadful Melody (1994)
A young security man must prove himself worthy by defending the one object wanted by all the masters of the Martial Arts world - the Magic Lyre!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
The Bride with White Hair (1993)
The sensitive swordsman Cho Yi-Hang is tired of his life. He is the unwilling successor to the Wu-Tang clan throne and the unsure commander of the clan's forces in a war against foreign tribes and an evil cult. One day, he meets the beautiful Lien, a killer for the evil cult who is equally unsatisfied with her situation, but their love angers both the Wu-Tang clan and the evil cult.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwordsman (1990)
A kung-fu manual known as the Sacred Scroll is stolen from the Emperor's library. An army detachment is sent to recover it. Meanwhile, a young swordsman and his fellow disciple are accidentally drawn into the chaos.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Promise (2005)
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.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisPainted Skin (2008)
Painted Skin is based on one of Pu Songling's classic short stories in Strange Stories from a Chinese Studio. Zhou Xun stars as Xiao Wei, a fox spirit that feasts on human hearts in order to maintain her lovely, youthful appearance. When General Wang Sheng (Chen Kun) 'rescues' her from a band of bandits and brings her home, trouble brews as the demon falls in love with the general.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Strive for Sword?
The closest matches to Strive for Sword are Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978), Kids from Shaolin (1984) and Crazy Stone (2006). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Strive for Sword?
Start with Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978), the closest match to Strive for Sword.
What is the highest-rated movie like Strive for Sword?
The Willoughbys (2020), rated 7.1/10 by 1,037 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Strive for Sword?
Kung Fu Soccer (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Strive for Sword?
Yes: Half a Loaf of Kung Fu (1978), Kids from Shaolin (1984) and Crazy Stone (2006).
How are movies similar to Strive for Sword chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Strive for Sword, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.