Movies like Return of the Sentimental Swordsman (1981)
The best movies like Return of the Sentimental Swordsman (1981) are Revenge of the Ninja (1983), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016) and No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990). If Return of the Sentimental Swordsman hooked you with its action and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMortal Kombat II (2026)7.7/10 from 2,788 votes
- NewestBorley Rectory: The Awakening (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseEye for an Eye (2022)Also in Chinese
Revenge of the Ninja (1983)
A peaceful ex-ninja's life shatters when his son's kidnapping forces him back into violence amid an American-Japanese criminal drug war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016)
A story of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEye for an Eye (2022)
A highly trained and exceptionally deadly swordsman looks for revenge after being caught in the middle of a power struggle that results in the assassination of an innocent woman's family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrippled Avengers (1978)
A group of martial artists seek revenge after being crippled by Tu Tin-To, a martial arts master, and his son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKid with the Golden Arm (1979)
Jin bei tong opens with a group of escort guards preparing to move a shipment of gold from the local government to an area stricken by famine... one of the very few Venom films where all six Venom actors are present within a single film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBirth of the Dragon (2017)
Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown, this cross-cultural biopic chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with fellow martial artist Wong Jack Man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisClan of the White Lotus (1980)
The Qing emperor releases all detained Shaolin disciples, but the vindictive White Lotus clan decides to exterminate all the disciples. One martial artist survives the onslaught, and constantly trains while in hiding for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Karate Kid (2010)
12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying but the cultural differences make such a friendship impossible. Even worse, Dre's feelings make him an enemy of the class bully, Cheng. With no friends in a strange land, Dre has nowhere to turn but maintenance man Mr. Han, who is a kung fu master. As Han teaches Dre that kung fu is not about punches and parries, but maturity and calm, Dre realizes that facing down the bullies will be the fight of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIp Man: The Awakening (2021)
When a young Master Ip stops a kidnapping, he ignites a turf war with a ruthless human-trafficking ring. In retaliation, the gang kidnaps one of Ip Man's close friends, forcing him to face the group's brutal boxing champion head-on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNew Fist of Fury (1976)
A brother and sister escape from Japanese-occupied Shanghai to Japanese-occupied Taiwan, to stay with their grandfather who runs a Kung-Fu school there. However, the master of a Japanese Kung- Fu school in Taiwan has plans to bringing all other schools on the island under his domination, and part of his plan involves the murder of the grandfather.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder (1987)
In this sequel, Scott Wylde, an American kickboxer, must go to Cambodia to rescue his Vietnamese girlfriend from Russian and Vietnamese troops.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFist of Legend (1994)
Chen returns to his school when he finds out that his martial arts teacher has died. When he learns that his school students are harassed by some hooligans, he gears himself up to save them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisAmerican Shaolin (1991)
After facing brutal humiliation in the ring, a young karateka travels to China in order to study the ancient art of Shaolin Kung Fu, becoming the first American Shaolin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSword Master (2016)
Weary of the bloodshed and violence from the martial arts world, a powerful swordsman banishes himself to the humble life a vagrant, wandering the fringes of society. But his violent past refuses to let him go quietly. The master swordsman must regain the ability to wield his sword and fight those disrupting the peace he so desperately craves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKung Fu Jungle (2014)
A martial arts instructor working at a police academy gets imprisoned after killing a man by accident. But when a vicious killer starts targeting martial arts masters, the instructor offers to help the police in return for his freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMortal Kombat II (2026)
The fan favorite champions—now joined by Johnny Cage himself—are pitted against one another in the ultimate, no-holds barred, gory battle to defeat the dark rule of Shao Kahn that threatens the very existence of the Earthrealm and its defenders.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShootfighter II (1996)
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
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Legend (2010)
Su Qi-Er, a wealthy man living during the Qing Dynasty who loses his fortune and reputation as a result of a conspiracy against him. After being forced out onto the streets, Su dedicates his life to martial arts and reemerges as a patriotic hero known as the "King of Beggars."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMen of War (1994)
Nick Gunar is a burnt-out, jaded and hard-up former mercenary who is having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. At the end of his rope, he is hired by the Nitro Mine Corporation to strong-arm the natives of a South China Sea island into giving up their rights to its valuable mineral resources. Nick loathes the thought of another mission, but this seemingly easy job will earn him enough money to get back with his estranged family. He recruits some of his former mercenary buddies to help him with the job. The island people refuse to give up their land and Nick decides to help them fight the greedy corporation that hired him. As greed and treachery begin to unravel, Nick's band of mercenaries choose sides.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMr. No Legs (1978)
A double amputee known as Mr. No Legs oversees a drug syndicate while cavorting around in his double shotgun-equipped wheelchair. When one of the syndicate's drug dealers accidentally kills his own girlfriend—whose brother is a cop—after she announces plans to leave him, the game is on to bury the evidence, protect the syndicate and evade the long arm of the law.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
Kickboxer 3: The Art of War (1992)
Kick-box champion David Sloan arrives in Rio de Janeiro for an exhibition fight. He and mentor Xian take pity on Brazilian rascal Marcos Coasta, an urchin who offers guide services but routinely steals from tourists for himself and his older sister Isabella. David is shocked when he sees how his Argentinian opponent Marcelo needlessly abuses a courteous local sparing partner. That's the doing of his evil US manager, Lane. He has nasty plans to force David to cheat and runs a white slavery racket.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisViolent Night 2 (2026)
When Santa forgets the true meaning of Christmas, he finds himself in the heart of a lively mall community in desperate need of his help. Sapped of his magic, he’ll need another way to take on the goons threatening the mall, and time is running out. Santa has to rediscover his faith in goodness and call in some last-minute reinforcements from the one person no baddie wants to tangle with: Mrs. Claus.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Coming SoonMovies like thisDragon Ball Z: The World's Strongest (1990)
The evil Dr. Kochin uses the dragon balls to resurrect his mentor, Dr. Wheelo, in an effort to take over the world. Dr. Wheelo, his body having been destroyed by the avalanche that killed him fifty years before, desires the body of the strongest fighter in the world as his new vessel. Believing Roshi to be the world's strongest warrior, Dr. Kochin abducts Bulma and forces Roshi to surrender himself to save her. When Goku hears of their abduction, he goes to their rescue.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragon Ball Z: The Tree of Might (1990)
Goku and friends must stop a band of space pirates from consuming fruit from the Tree of Might before it's destructive powers drain Earth's energy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragon Ball Z: Lord Slug (1991)
A Super Namekian named Slug comes to invade Earth. But the Z Warriors do their best to stop Slug and his gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragon Ball Z: The Return of Cooler (1992)
Cooler has resurrected himself as a robot and is enslaving the people of New Namek. Goku and the gang must help.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBruce Lee: The Man, The Myth (1976)
A highly fictionalized biography of the famous Bruce Lee, this movie traces his college life, his marriage to Linda Lee, his relationship with his master, and his untimely death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Borley Rectory: The Awakening (2026)
In 1900, young Reverend Henry Bull and his sister, Kitty, are tasked with taking over the duties of their family home in Essex, a majestic Victorian mansion built on the site of an old monastery. Unaware of the sinister forces that lurk within, the pair are soon confronted by terrifying paranormal activities that threaten their loved ones. Desperate to protect themselves from the demonic intrusion, they call upon the services of a trusted family friend to investigate the origins of the vengeful ghosts which haunt their property. But these are spirits who will not rest, and Borley Rectory is doomed to gain a chilling reputation, as the most haunted house in all of Britain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Return of the Sentimental Swordsman?
The closest matches to Return of the Sentimental Swordsman are Revenge of the Ninja (1983), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016) and No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Return of the Sentimental Swordsman?
Start with Revenge of the Ninja (1983), the closest match to Return of the Sentimental Swordsman.
What is the highest-rated movie like Return of the Sentimental Swordsman?
Mortal Kombat II (2026), rated 7.7/10 by 2,788 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Return of the Sentimental Swordsman?
Borley Rectory: The Awakening (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Return of the Sentimental Swordsman?
Yes: Eye for an Eye (2022), Crippled Avengers (1978) and Kid with the Golden Arm (1979).
How are movies similar to Return of the Sentimental Swordsman chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Return of the Sentimental Swordsman, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.