Movies like First Strike (1985)
The best movies like First Strike (1985) are The Bedford Incident (1965), Black Sea (2014) and K-19: The Widowmaker (2002). If First Strike hooked you with its drama 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 4,452 votes
- NewestHunting Season (2025)Released 2025
The Bedford Incident (1965)
During a routine patrol, a reporter is given permission to interview a hardened cold-war warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. The reporter gets more than he bargained for when the Bedford discovers a Soviet sub and the captain begins a relentless pursuit, pushing his crew to breaking point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Sea (2014)
A rogue submarine captain pulls together a misfit crew to go after a sunken treasure rumored to be lost in the depths of the Black Sea. As greed and desperation take control on-board their claustrophobic vessel, the increasing uncertainty of the mission causes the men to turn on each other to fight for their own survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisK-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHostile Waters (1997)
Based on true events, an American submarine collides into a Soviet sub of the coast of America and an ensuing standoff occurs that could lead to total annihilation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGuilty by Suspicion (1991)
Owing to his alleged involvement with communist parties, film director David Merrill is forbidden from working in Hollywood. He decides to fight for his rights and faces numerous challenges.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Good Neighbor (2022)
A nightmarish evening unfolds for neighbors David and Robert when they accidentally hit a woman on her bike and flee the scene. While David is increasingly plagued by feelings of guilt, Robert shows no remorse and becomes overbearing and possessive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHunting Season (2025)
When a reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a mysterious, wounded woman from a river, they become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLockdown (2000)
Avery (Jones) returns to college as a competitive swimmer after getting his life back on track. But his life takes another unexpected turn when he and his two friends (Bonds, Casseus) are wrongly accused of murder and end up in prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Truth About Emanuel (2013)
A troubled young woman becomes obsessed with her mysterious new neighbor, who bears a striking resemblance to the girl's dead mother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhantom (2013)
The haunted Captain of a Soviet submarine holds the fate of the world in his hands. Forced to leave his family behind, he is charged with leading a covert mission cloaked in mystery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisOperation Pacific (1951)
During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firing off torpedoes that either explode too early or never explode at all. It's a dilemma that he'll eventually take up personally. Even more personal is his quest to win back his ex-wife, a nurse; but he'll have to win her back from a navy flier who also happens to be his commander's little brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRun Silent, Run Deep (1958)
The captain of a submarine sunk by the Japanese during WWII is finally given a chance to skipper another sub after a year of working a desk job. His singleminded determination for revenge against the destroyer that sunk his previous vessel puts his new crew in unneccessary danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHell and High Water (1954)
A privately-financed scientist and his colleagues hire an ex-Navy officer to conduct an Alaskan submarine expedition in order to prevent a Red Chinese anti-American plot that may lead to World War III. Mixes deviously plotted schoolboy fiction with submarine spectacle and cold war heroics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrimson Tide (1995)
After the Cold War, a breakaway Russian republic with nuclear warheads becomes a possible worldwide threat. U.S. submarine Capt. Frank Ramsey signs on a relatively green but highly recommended Lt. Cmdr. Ron Hunter to the USS Alabama, which may be the only ship able to stop a possible Armageddon. When Ramsey insists that the Alabama must act aggressively, Hunter, fearing they will start rather than stop a disaster, leads a potential mutiny to stop him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHunter Killer (2018)
Untested American submarine commander, Capt. Joe Glass of the USS Arkansas, is on the hunt for a U.S. sub in distress in the Arctic Ocean. He soon learns a secret Russian coup is in the offing, a conspiracy that threatens to dismantle the world order. With crew and country on the line, Glass must coordinate with an elite group of Navy SEALs to sneak through enemy waters, rescue the kidnapped Russian president, and hopefully prevent World War III.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIce Station Zebra (1968)
A top-secret Soviet spy satellite -- using stolen Western technology -- malfunctions and then goes into a descent that lands it near an isolated Arctic research encampment called Ice Station Zebra, belonging to the British, which starts sending out distress signals before falling silent. The atomic submarine Tigerfish, commanded by Cmdr. James Ferraday, is dispatched to save them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fate of the Furious (2017)
When a mysterious woman seduces Dom into the world of crime and a betrayal of those closest to him, the crew face trials that will test them as never before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTop Gun: Maverick (2022)
After more than thirty years of service as one of the Navy’s top aviators, and dodging the advancement in rank that would ground him, Pete “Maverick” Mitchell finds himself training a detachment of TOP GUN graduates for a specialized mission the likes of which no living pilot has ever seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLifeboat (1944)
During World War II, a small group of survivors is stranded in a lifeboat together after the ship they were traveling on is destroyed by a German U-boat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDestination Tokyo (1943)
During World War II, Captain Cassidy and his crew of submariners are ordered into Tokyo Bay on a secret mission. They are to gather information in advance of the planned bombing of Tokyo. Along the way, the crew learn about each other as they face the enemy and some of them lose their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Few Good Men (1992)
When cocky military lawyer Lt. Daniel Kaffee and his co-counsel, Lt. Cmdr. JoAnne Galloway, are assigned to a murder case, they uncover a hazing ritual that could implicate high-ranking officials such as shady Col. Nathan Jessep.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRambo: First Blood Part II (1985)
John Rambo is released from prison by the government for a top-secret covert mission to the last place on Earth he'd want to return - the jungles of Vietnam.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJules and Jim (1962)
In the carefree days before World War I, introverted Austrian author Jules strikes up a friendship with the exuberant Frenchman Jim and both men fall for the impulsive and beautiful Catherine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWyklęty (2017)
In the 1940s, a small band of underground paramilitaries attempt to fight back against the Soviet-backed security ministry in post-war Poland. Determined to fight for their country's future, the group goes to extreme lengths to make their voice heard.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius. The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. Lone CIA analyst Jack Ryan has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it - because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find Ramius, too. The hunt is on!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Were Expendable (1945)
After a demonstration of new PT boats, Navy brass are still unconvinced of their viability in combat, leaving Lt. "Rusty" Ryan frustrated. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Ryan and his buddy Lt. Brickley are told they can finally take their squadron into battle. The PT boats quickly prove their worth, successfully shooting down Japanese planes, relaying messages between islands, and picking off a multitude of enemy ships.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLähellä syntiä (1955)
A story about the love and subsequent life story of agronom Elmer Oras and Margi Kaski and their son. The story has its origins just before the Winter War. After a brief encounter, both fell in love. As a result of this love affair, Margit gets pregnant Soon the war breaks out and Elmer has to go the front. As the war goes on, Elmer does not return from a patrol mission behind the enemy lines. After the war times are hard for Margit and his fatherless son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Silmido (2003)
On 31 January 1968, 31 North Korean commandos infiltrated South Korea in a failed mission to assassinate President Park Chung-hee. In revenge, the South Korean military assembled a team of 31 criminals on the island of Silmido to kill Kim Il-sung for a suicide mission to redeem their honor, but was cancelled, leaving them frustrated. It is loosely based on a military uprising in the 1970s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarcelona (1994)
During the 1980s, uptight Ted Boynton is a salesman working in the Barcelona office of a Chicago-based company. He receives an unexpected visit from his cousin Fred, a naval officer who has come to Spain on a public relations mission for a U.S. fleet. Not exactly friends in the past, Ted and Fred strike up relationships with women in the Spanish city and experience conflicts -- Ted with his employer, and Fred with the Barcelona community.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like First Strike?
The closest matches to First Strike are The Bedford Incident (1965), Black Sea (2014) and K-19: The Widowmaker (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after First Strike?
Start with The Bedford Incident (1965), the closest match to First Strike.
What is the highest-rated movie like First Strike?
Seven Samurai (1954), rated 8.5/10 by 4,452 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like First Strike?
Hunting Season (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like First Strike?
Yes: The Bedford Incident (1965), Black Sea (2014) and K-19: The Widowmaker (2002).
How are movies similar to First Strike chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside First Strike, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.