Movies like The Hero of Swallow (1996)
The best movies like The Hero of Swallow (1996) are Birth of the Dragon (2017), Game of Death (1978) and The Marine 5: Battleground (2017). If The Hero of Swallow hooked you with its action, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMaster Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018)6.6/10 from 620 votes
- NewestIcefall (2025)Released 2025
Birth 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisGame of Death (1978)
A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Marine 5: Battleground (2017)
While working as an EMT back stateside Jake Carter after responding to a distress call, finds himself caught up protecting a person of interest from a biker gang ruthlessly hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFist of Fury 1991 (1991)
Lau Ching, a Mainlander with an incredibly powerful right arm, arrives in Hong Kong to find his cousin. He befriends with a drifter named Handsome, and a martial artist girl named Mandy. In order to woo her, Ching participates in a fighting competition in hopes of winning a $10 million prize, and must defeat his love rival, Wai, in the ring.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing of Killers (2023)
Garan is a part of a group of international hitmen who are contracted to take out the most dangerous killer in the world, only to find out that they're the ones being hunted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChasing the Dragon (2017)
An illegal immigrant from Mainland China sneaks into the corrupt British-colonized Hong Kong in 1963, transforming himself into a ruthless drug lord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTai Chi Hero (2012)
Chinese steampunk martial arts blockbuster about the early years of Tai chi master Yang Luchan, the man who founded in the 19th century what has now become the most popular Tai Chi style in the world. The second instalment of the "Tai Chi" trilogy continues the journey of Yang Luchan, a gifted child with a fleshy growth on his forehead who helped save a village from a frightening army of steampunk soldiers bearing strange machines with the knowledge of Tai Chi that they entrusted him with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn to Race: Fast Track (2014)
Danny Krueger is a twenty-year old drag racer who plays by his own rules. After winning a scholarship to the prestigious Fast Lane Racing Academy, Danny finds himself competing against some of the fiercest young drivers in the world. Tension soars on and off the track, and a terrible incident leaves Danny without a racing partner. Facing dismissal from the academy, Danny is forced to team up with an old rival. The pair must learn to set aside their differences as they vie for rookie spots on a professional racing team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegend of the Dragon (1991)
Chow Siu-lung leaves his hometown in order to study kung fu in the city but ends up getting conned by his own uncle instead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaster Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018)
Following his defeat by Master Ip, Cheung Tin Chi tries to make a life with his young son in Hong Kong, waiting tables at a bar that caters to expats. But it's not long before the mix of foreigners, money, and triad leaders draw him once again to the fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe're Going to Eat You (1980)
Agent 999 is sent to a remote Chinese island to capture a notorious bandit named Rolex. Upon arrival, 999 begins to suspect that something is wrong, and soon learns that the island is inhabited by flesh-eating cannibals under control of a tribal chief. 999 ultimately teams up with Rolex to overthrow the evil chief and escape the island.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeat (1986)
Reynolds plays an ex-soldier-of-fortunish character in Vegas, taking "Chaperone" jobs, fighting with the mob, and trying to get enough money together to move to Venice, Italy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisP Storm (2019)
Liu Yue Ping reports to the ICAC about a rich 2G Cao Yuen Yuen who bribed officers of the Hong Kong Correctional Services (HKCS) from inside the prison. William Luk decides to infiltrate the prison as an inmate to conduct his investigation, while his partner Ching Tak Ming and Chief Inspector Lau Po-keung back him up from the outside.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYoung and Dangerous 5 (1998)
Although Chicken does not make an appearance, Chan Ho Nam finds a new love interest in the form of Mei Ling. Meanwhile, Tung Sing returns to cause trouble again for Hung Hing, in the form of new leader Szeto Ho Nam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWeekend in Taipei (2024)
A former DEA agent and a former undercover operative revisit their romance during a fateful weekend in Taipei, unaware of the dangerous consequences of their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend II (1993)
The hero Fong Sai Yuk becomes involved in the secret brotherhood "The Red Flower", who are trying to overthrow the Manchurian emperor and re-establishing the Ming dynasty. The social upheaval is combined with Sai Yuk's personal moral conflict about how to conform to the rigid regime of the brotherhood and on top of that sort out his difficult love life, saddled with two presumptive wives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIcefall (2025)
A young Indigenous game warden arrests an infamous poacher only to discover that the poacher knows the location of a plane carrying millions of dollars that has crashed in a frozen lake. When a group of criminals and dirty cops are alerted to the poacher’s whereabouts, the warden and the poacher team up to fight back and escape across the treacherous lake before the ice melts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Hero of Swallow?
The closest matches to The Hero of Swallow are Birth of the Dragon (2017), Game of Death (1978) and The Marine 5: Battleground (2017). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Hero of Swallow?
Start with Birth of the Dragon (2017), the closest match to The Hero of Swallow.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Hero of Swallow?
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018), rated 6.6/10 by 620 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Hero of Swallow?
Icefall (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Hero of Swallow chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Hero of Swallow, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.