Movies like Notorious Eight (1981)
The best movies like Notorious Eight (1981) are Never Say Never (2023), The Man from Hong Kong (1975) and Ip Man: Kung Fu Master (2019). If Notorious Eight hooked you with its drama and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWarrior (2011)7.8/10 from 5,220 votes
- NewestBeast (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseNever Say Never (2023)Also in Chinese
Never Say Never (2023)
A disgraced MMA fighter finds redemption by training underprivileged kids, risking everything to give them a chance at a better life through boxing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Man from Hong Kong (1975)
Australian authorities arrest a man believed to be connected to the Sydney criminal underworld and send for Inspector Fang Sing Leng from Hong Kong to question him. After the alleged criminal is assassinated, Inspector Leng and the Sydney police try to hunt down those responsible and hope to solve their case along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIp Man: Kung Fu Master (2019)
Ip Man’s promising career as a Policeman is ruined after he is framed for murder and targeted by a mob boss’s daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTraining Day (2001)
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeast (2026)
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal champion Xavier Grau.
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 thisBorn a Champion (2021)
After a blood- soaked jujitsu match in Dubai, fighting legend Mickey Kelley falls to superstar Blaine. But years later, an online video proves that Blaine cheated, and the world demands a rematch. Can the aging underdog get back into shape in time to vanquish his foe, get revenge, and claim his prize?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWarrior (2011)
The youngest son of an alcoholic former boxer returns home, where he's trained by his father for competition in a mixed martial arts tournament – a path that puts the fighter on a collision course with his estranged, older brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies 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 & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRapid Fire (1992)
College student Jake Lo is pursued by smugglers, mobsters and crooked federal agents after he witnesses a murder by a Mafia kingpin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Back Down: No Surrender (2016)
Picking up after the events of Never Back Down 2, former MMA champion Case Walker is on the comeback trail to become champion once again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Boxer from Shantung (1972)
Leaving the poverty of his life in Shantung to seek fortune in Shanghai, The Boxer is instead drawn into a world of corruption, gang warfare and evil... Where his only protection is his famed fighting technique.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe King of the Kickboxers (1990)
Jake, a New York policeman poses as an actor to expose the making of martial-arts death movies in Thailand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnimal World (2018)
Backed into a corner by mounting debts, a youth agrees to submit himself to a high stakes game of chance in international waters aboard a disused warship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDark City (1950)
War hero Danny Haley fleeces out-of-town dupes in a rigged poker game. He and his pals see Arthur Winant as an easy mark, but they've reckoned without Winant's homicidal brother, who wants revenge after Arthur commits suicide.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man with the Golden Arm (1955)
When illegal card dealer and recovering heroin addict Frankie Machine gets out of prison, he decides to straighten up. Armed with nothing but an old drum set, Frankie tries to get honest work as a drummer. But when his former employer and his old drug dealer re-enter his life, Frankie finds it hard to stay clean and eventually finds himself succumbing to his old habits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRounders (1998)
Poker addict Mike McDermott knows the game inside out, but loses his money one night in a game to Russian-American gangster Teddy KGB. Promising his partner Jo he'll give up, he meets up with best friend Lester 'Worm' Murphy, just out of prison and owing lots of money to the wrong kind of people. McDermott becomes his co-guarantor and now there's only one way to raise the money, the pair have to get back into the game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo More Bets (2023)
A depressed programmer and a model decide to seek gold as a seemingly good job opportunity, but they inadvertently become involved in a well-planned Internet scam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHouse of Games (1987)
A psychiatrist comes to the aid of a compulsive gambler and is led by a smooth-talking grifter into the shadowy but compelling world of stings, scams, and con men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWong Fei-Hung: Bravely Crushing the Fire Formation (1970)
Wong Fei-Hung: Bravely Crushing the Fire Formation is the last film of the long running Huang Fei-hong series starring Tak-Hing Kwan
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
Curse of the Golden Flower (2006)
During China's Tang dynasty the emperor has taken the princess of a neighboring province as his wife. She has borne him two sons and raised his eldest. Now his control over his dominion is complete, including the royal family itself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Karate Kid (1984)
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-boyfriend Johnny, who study karate at the Cobra Kai dojo under ruthless sensei John Kreese. Fortunately, Daniel befriends Mr. Miyagi, an unassuming repairman who just happens to be a martial arts master himself. Miyagi takes Daniel under his wing, training him in a more compassionate form of karate for self-defense and, later, preparing him to compete against the brutal Cobra Kai.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPushed to the Limit (1992)
Magnificent Mimi is a woman with a destiny and a bright future ahead of her. She is the world's greatest female wrestling champion, she has a loving boyfriend and loyal family members who care and love her. But things take a turn for the worst when Mimi's boyfriend Nick is wounded and her younger brother is shot to death for trying to stiff local druglord Harry Lee. Lee is the toughest and meanest criminal figure in all of Southern California and if you double-cross him, you won't live to see the sun set. Not only does Lee rule his own empire, he also runs the Kumite, a gladitorial fight ring where warriors battle to the death. Mimi knows the police can't touch Lee with a ten foot pole and so she enlists the aid of her martial arts friend Master Vern to teach her kickboxing and tai chi so she can prepare for combat. Vern doesn't think Mimi is ready for Kumite, as it is a place where only one warrior can be left standing and breathing and the one who loses dies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
The Cincinnati Kid (1965)
An up-and-coming poker player tries to prove himself in a high-stakes match against a long-time master of the game.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKungfu Master (2008)
The film features Kung Fu Panda and Chinese martial arts folk hero Wong Fei Hung. In the film, the panda is assigned by the Buddha to protect an ancient treasure that could give the bearer the power to conquer the world.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Wong Fei Hung's Battle with the Gorilla (1960)
Wong Fei-hung and his disciples hear that a small village is being terrorised by a ferocious gorilla. It turns out that the beast is actually a small-time crook in a gorilla suit under the orders of a precious metal smuggler who wants to intimidate the villagers. The crook takes advantage of his disguise to abduct a beautiful girl and escape to the mountains, but has a surprise in store for him. Just how many gorillas are loose in them there hills?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze (1991)
The Turtles and the Shredder battle once again, this time for the last cannister of the ooze that created the Turtles, which Shredder wants to create an army of new mutants. Meanwhile Splinter is coming... to a decision.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990)
A quartet of humanoid turtles, trained by their mentor in Ninjutsu, must learn to work together to face the menace of Shredder and the Foot Clan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III (1993)
The four turtles travel back in time to the days of the legendary and deadly samurai in ancient Japan, where they train to perfect the art of becoming one. The turtles also assist a small village in an uprising.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Notorious Eight?
The closest matches to Notorious Eight are Never Say Never (2023), The Man from Hong Kong (1975) and Ip Man: Kung Fu Master (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Notorious Eight?
Start with Never Say Never (2023), the closest match to Notorious Eight.
What is the highest-rated movie like Notorious Eight?
Warrior (2011), rated 7.8/10 by 5,220 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Notorious Eight?
Beast (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Notorious Eight?
Yes: Never Say Never (2023), Ip Man: Kung Fu Master (2019) and Crippled Avengers (1978).
How are movies similar to Notorious Eight chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Notorious Eight, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.