Movies like Hands of Lightning (1982)
The best movies like Hands of Lightning (1982) are The Paper Tigers (2020), Gladiator Underground (2025) and The Merciless (2017). If Hands of Lightning hooked you with its action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedKill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)8.0/10 from 19,720 votes
- NewestGladiator Underground (2025)Released 2025
- In KoreanThe Merciless (2017)Also in Korean
The 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 thisGladiator Underground (2025)
Two brothers compete in the world's deadliest underground fighting tournament, where they must decide whether to play by the rules or to cast their honor aside and team up to bring down the dark syndicate running the tournament.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Merciless (2017)
Jae-ho, who aims to become the number one in a crime organization, gets to build up trust with Hyun-su, an ambitious newbie in prison. When they try to take over the organization after their release, their ulterior motives start to emerge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On (2007)
A middle-aged gangster's lifetime of mistakes catch up with him as his personal and professional life is destroyed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman vs. Two-Face (2017)
Former Gotham City District Attorney Harvey Dent, one side of his face scarred by acid, goes on a crime spree based on the number '2'. All of his actions are decided by the flip of a defaced, two-headed silver dollar.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman Begins (2005)
Driven by tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the corruption that plagues his home, Gotham City. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol of fear for the criminal underworld - The Batman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHero at Large (1980)
An idealistic but struggling actor finds his life unexpectedly complicated when he stops a robbery while wearing the costume of Captain Avenger, a superhero character of a film he is hired to promote. He decides to dabble at being a superhero only to find that it is more difficult and dangerous than he ever imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisDragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1993)
This film is a glimpse into the life, love and the unconquerable spirit of the legendary Bruce Lee. From a childhood of rigorous martial arts training, Lee realizes his dream of opening his own kung-fu school in America. Before long, he is discovered by a Hollywood producer and begins a meteoric rise to fame and an all too short reign as one the most charismatic action heroes in cinema history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKung Pow: Enter the Fist (2002)
A movie within a movie, created to spoof the martial arts genre. Writer/director Steve Oedekerk uses contemporary characters and splices them into a 1970s kung-fu film, weaving the new and old together. As the main character, The Chosen One, Oedekerk sets off to avenge the deaths of his parents at the hands of kung-fu legend Master Pain. Along the way he encounters some strange characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Art of Fighting (2006)
Byung-tae is the kid who is always on the receiving end of beatings from the school bullies—that is, until he meets Pan-su, a martial arts expert who takes him under his wing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Con Artists (2014)
A wily safecracker is forced to help a mob boss pull off a $150 million heist, but smells a double-cross in the works.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSupercross (2005)
Faced with the suspicious death of their father, two brothers must motivate one another to get back on their bikes and take the Las Vegas Motocross Championships by storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHaunters (2010)
Cho-in has special powers that allow him to control everyone he can see, that is until he meets Kyu-nam, the only person he can't control. A series of events begins a confrontation that pushes both men to the brink.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHenry Danger: The Movie (2025)
Henry Hart meets a superfan—eager to fight crime with Kid Danger—who comes into possession of a device that can open up alternate realities. Facing a wild ride, Henry will need his best friend Jasper and his new superfan sidekick to find his way out or be stuck in another dimension forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Dude in Me (2019)
Dong-hyun is a high school student. One day, he falls from the rooftop and bumps into Pan-soo who is a passerby. Pan-soo is a member of a criminal organization. When the two men wake up in the hospital, they discover that they have switched bodies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuicide Squad (2016)
From DC Comics comes the Suicide Squad, an antihero team of incarcerated supervillains who act as deniable assets for the United States government, undertaking high-risk black ops missions in exchange for commuted prison sentences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisOverdrive (2017)
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWWE WrestleMania 34 (2018)
WrestleMania 34 was the thirty-fourth annual WrestleMania professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on April 8, 2018, at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStreet Fighter: Assassin's Fist The Movie (2014)
If one man changes his path, will he be able to change his destiny...or will he only delay the inevitable? Ryu and Ken are two traditional warriors who find themselves isolated in some corner of Japan to carry out their training as fighters, trying to master an ancient style of fighting, known as "Ansatsuken" (The Killing Fist). There they will begin to learn about the mysterious past of their trainer, Goken, and the tragic and dark legacy that the Ansatsuken style hides. Will they be able to choose their destiny or will history repeat itself once again?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirt (2018)
In search of a lifeline for his struggling off road racing team, a man takes on a young car thief looking for a second chance, but as their worlds collide, they must struggle to forge a successful alliance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZatoichi (2003)
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDC Showcase Original Shorts Collection (2010)
An anthology of DC Showcase stories consisting of a new Superman/Shazam feature and extended versions of older shorts.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)
An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisHero (2002)
During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Two warriors in pursuit of a stolen sword and a notorious fugitive are led to an impetuous, physically-skilled, teenage nobleman's daughter, who is at a crossroads in her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Story of Yuan Tiangang (2024)
Three hundred years ago, the elegant and spirited young man Yuan Tiangang, born with a doomed fate, unintentionally caused the death of his loved ones from a young age. As a result, he decided to gamble with fate and mastered the skill of "Chenggu Bone Divination," using it to target those whose lives were not supposed to end prematurely. At that time, it happened to be the end of the Sui Dynasty, with widespread chaos in the world. How will Yuan Tiangang change his destiny and become a notorious but respected leader amidst the turmoil of the late Sui Dynasty?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
The Man with the Golden Gun (1974)
Cool government operative James Bond searches for a stolen invention that can turn the sun's heat into a destructive weapon. He soon crosses paths with the menacing Francisco Scaramanga, a hitman so skilled he has a seven-figure working fee. Bond then joins forces with the swimsuit-clad Mary Goodnight, and together they track Scaramanga to a Thai tropical isle hideout where the killer-for-hire lures the slick spy into a deadly maze for a final duel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Water (2018)
A deep cover operative awakens to find himself imprisoned on a submarine. With the help of a fellow prisoner and an amateur agent, he must race against the clock to escape the vessel and expose who set him up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Matrix Reloaded (2003)
The Resistance builds in numbers as humans are freed from the Matrix and brought to the city of Zion. Neo discovers his superpowers, including the ability to see the code inside the Matrix. With machine sentinels digging to Zion in 72 hours, Neo, Morpheus and Trinity must find the Keymaker to ultimately reach the Source.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Matrix Revolutions (2003)
The human city of Zion defends itself against the massive invasion of the machines as Neo fights to end the war at another front while also opposing the rogue Agent Smith.
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 Hands of Lightning?
The closest matches to Hands of Lightning are The Paper Tigers (2020), Gladiator Underground (2025) and The Merciless (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Hands of Lightning?
Start with The Paper Tigers (2020), the closest match to Hands of Lightning.
What is the highest-rated movie like Hands of Lightning?
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), rated 8.0/10 by 19,720 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Hands of Lightning?
Gladiator Underground (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like Hands of Lightning?
Yes: The Merciless (2017), The Show Must Go On (2007) and The Art of Fighting (2006).
How are movies similar to Hands of Lightning chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Hands of Lightning, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.