Movies like The Age of Shadows (2016)
The best movies like The Age of Shadows (2016) are Phantom (2023), Assassination (2015) and Harbin (2024). If The Age of Shadows hooked you with its action and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSeven Samurai (1954)8.5/10 from 4,461 votes
- NewestProtector (2026)Released 2026
- In KoreanPhantom (2023)Also in Korean
Phantom (2023)
In 1933, when Korea was under Japanese occupation, five people in Gyeongseong are suspected to be "Phantom" spies of the anti-Japanese organization.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAssassination (2015)
In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarbin (2024)
In 1909, several years after Korea is forced into becoming a Japanese colony, freedom fighters plot the daring assassination of Japan's prime minister during their quest for independence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this2009: Lost Memories (2002)
A failed assassination attempt in Harbin, China in 1909 changes the course of history. Now two JBI agents must find the connections between it and an ancient Korean artifact.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHunting Grounds (2025)
Desperate to find refuge for her children, Chloe Marvino runs away from her Mafia tied husband, and finds shelter in a cabin with a recluse drifter named Jake. But as her husband's henchmen draw closer to her, it turns out that Jake is the biggest enemy of them all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
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 & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisProtector (2026)
Nikki's life is shattered when her daughter is kidnapped. Thrust into the criminal underworld while hunted by cops and military, she must fight to rescue her child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe International (2009)
An interpol agent and an attorney are determined to bring one of the world's most powerful banks to justice. Uncovering money laundering, arms trading, and conspiracy to destabilize world governments, their investigation takes them from Berlin, Milan, New York and Istanbul. Finding themselves in a chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Battle: Roar to Victory (2019)
Over a 4 day period, a fierce battle takes place between Korean independence militias and imperialist Japanese forces in Manchuria, China. The militia includes a master swordsman and an expert marksman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Way (2011)
During the invasion of Normandy the photograph of a slim Korean man in German uniform was found. It transpired that the man had served as a soldier in the Japanese, Russian and German armies. His incredible story inspired director Kang Je-Gyu to create this epic war drama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisUprising (2024)
In the Joseon Dynasty, two friends who grew up together — one the master and one the servant — reunite post-war as enemies on opposing sides.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShanghai (2010)
An American man returns to a corrupt, Japanese-occupied Shanghai four months before Pearl Harbor and discovers his friend has been killed. While he unravels the mysteries of the death, he falls in love and discovers a much larger secret that his own government is hiding.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Tiger (2015)
In 1925 Korea, Japanese rulers demand the last remaining tiger be killed. The tiger easily defeats his pursuers until a legendary hunter takes him on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKundo: Age of the Rampant (2014)
In 1862, amidst the rule of the late Joseon dynasty in Korea, a band of fighters named Kundo rise against the unjust authorities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Swordsman (2020)
After being blinded in a coup against the king, Joseon's greatest swordsman goes into hiding, far removed from his city's anguish. But when traffickers kidnap his daughter, he has no choice but to unsheathe his sword once more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOutlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Dry White Season (1989)
During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fortress (2017)
Ancient Korea, 17th century. The powerful Khan of the Jurchen tribe of Manchuria, who fights the Ming dinasty to gain China, becomes the first ruler of the Qing dinasty and demands from King In-jo of Joseon to bow before him; but he refuses, being loyal to the Mings. On December 14th, 1636, the Qing horde invades Joseon, so King In-jo and his court shelter in the mountain fortress of Namhan and prepare to defend the kingdom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRecalled (2021)
Soo-jin, who lost her memories due to a horrible incident, starts suspecting her husband. She is confused between reality and illusion, truth and lies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYou Only Live Twice (1967)
A mysterious spacecraft captures Russian and American space capsules and brings the two superpowers to the brink of war. James Bond investigates the case in Japan and comes face to face with his archenemy Blofeld.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTimecop (1994)
In 2004, an officer for a security agency that regulates time travel must fend for his life against a shady politician who has a tie to his past.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Conscience (2021)
Petrograd, Soviet Union, 1920s. Boris Letush, devastated by a personal tragedy, feels the need to put his conscience and his principles before the demands of the cruel system he serves, where law and justice are systematically ignored.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Adventures of Ultraman (1981)
VHS Description - "Come join in the thrilling outer space adventures of Ultraman, as he battles to save all of mankind. The starlord Barock has command of all the evil powers of the universe, and Ultraman must use the Ultramind, the force of the universal family of man, to fight Barock's deadly invasion. But Barock has captured Mentor, the keeper of the Ultramind and the com-mon life force of the planet Ultara, and will use this power to overthrow all good in the universe. Will Ultraman be able to save Mentor and destroy the cruel Barock in time, and by himself? See this action-packed adventure to find the startling conclusion!!" A film produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Based on Episodes 47 through 50 and 19 through 21.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Zatoichi (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 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 thisNot in Textbooks 3 (2017)
The third work in the "Not in Textbooks!" series, which is a live-action movie of a popular love comedy manga by Kazuto Okada from "Sundome" starring Ayaka Morikawa from the former AKB48. It depicts the love pattern that the main character, a high school girl Aya Shirakaba and a homeroom teacher, Arihiko Tairaku, living together for a long time. One day, Okubo, a senior student who noticed Aya who is very popular in the school with excellent looks, abducts Aya. Tairaku heads to the rescue and falls into the worst situation. On the other hand, in the school there was an incident in which May Yayoi took the students hostage.... Morikawa played the role of Aya Shirakaba, Ryouma Baba played the role of Arihiko Tairaku, and May, an English teacher longing for Tairaku, was the debut performance of the rising gravure idol Anna Hongo.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
The Last Samurai (2003)
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mummy (1999)
Dashing legionnaire Rick O'Connell stumbles upon the hidden ruins of Hamunaptra while in the midst of a battle to claim the area in 1920s Egypt. It has been over three thousand years since former High Priest Imhotep suffered a fate worse than death as a punishment for a forbidden love—along with a curse that guarantees eternal doom upon the world if he is ever awoken.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeven Samurai (1954)
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Age of Shadows?
The closest matches to The Age of Shadows are Phantom (2023), Assassination (2015) and Harbin (2024). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Age of Shadows?
Start with Phantom (2023), the closest match to The Age of Shadows.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Age of Shadows?
Seven Samurai (1954), rated 8.5/10 by 4,461 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Age of Shadows?
Protector (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like The Age of Shadows?
Yes: Phantom (2023), Assassination (2015) and Harbin (2024).
How are movies similar to The Age of Shadows chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Age of Shadows, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.