Movies like The McKenzie Break (1970)
The best movies like The McKenzie Break (1970) are The Bedford Incident (1965), 633 Squadron (1964) and The Devil's Brigade (1968). If The McKenzie Break hooked you with its action and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGreyhound (2020)7.4/10 from 3,543 votes
- NewestThe Codes of War (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: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like this633 Squadron (1964)
When Norwegian resistance leader Lieutenant Erik Bergman reports the location of a German V-2 rocket fuel plant, the Royal Air Force's 633 Squadron is assigned the mission to destroy it. The plant is in a seemingly-impregnable location beneath an overhanging cliff at the end of a long, narrow fjord lined with anti-aircraft guns. The only way to destroy the plant is by collapsing the cliff on top of it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Brigade (1968)
At the onset of World War II, American Lt. Col. Robert Frederick is put in charge of a unit called the 1st Special Service Force, composed of elite Canadian commandos and undisciplined American soldiers. With Maj. Alan Crown leading the Canadians and Maj. Cliff Bricker the acting head of the American contingent, there is initial tension -- but the team comes together when given a daunting mission that few would dare to attempt.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOperation Crossbow (1965)
Allied agents infiltrate the Nazi rocket complex at Peenemunde in order to obtain their secrets and sabotage the plant. The film alternates between German developments of the V-1 missile and V-2 rocket (with a German cast speaking their own language) and discovery by British Intelligence of the weapon.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattleground (1949)
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFixed Bayonets! (1951)
The story of a platoon during the Korean War. One by one, Corporal Denno's superiors are killed until it comes to the point where he must try to take command responsibility.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreyhound (2020)
A first-time captain leads a convoy of allied ships carrying thousands of soldiers across the treacherous waters of the "Black Pit" to the front lines of WWII. With no air cover protection for 5 days, the captain and his convoy must battle the surrounding enemy Nazi U-boats in order to give the allies a chance to win the war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood on the Sun (1945)
Nick Condon, an American journalist in 20s Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Sea Chase (1955)
As the Second World War breaks out, German freighter captain Karl Ehrlich is about to leave Sydney, Australia with his vessel, the Ergenstrasse. Ehrlich, an anti-Nazi but proud German, hopes to outrun or out-maneuver the British warship pursuing him. Aboard his vessel is Elsa Keller, a woman Ehrlich has been ordered to return to Germany safely along with whatever secrets she carries. When Ehrlich's fiercely Nazi chief officer Kirchner commits an atrocity, the British pursuit becomes deadly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Scarlet and the Black (1983)
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMurphy's War (1971)
Murphy is the sole survivor of his crew, that has been massacred by a German U-Boat in the closing days of World War II. He is rescued, and ends up at a forgotten mission station near the mouth of the Orinoco, and begins to plot his vengeance. He wishes to sink the U-Boat by means of any method imaginable to him, and sets about to make the courageous attempt, assisted by Louis, the administrator of the local oil company.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPassage to Marseille (1944)
A freedom-loving French journalist sacrifices his happiness and security to battle Nazi tyranny.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Codes of War (2025)
War stories about family, ethics and honor include the true story of two U.S. Marines who in a span of six seconds, must stand their ground to stop a suicide truck bomb, a Navy Corpsman who attempts to hold on to his humanity, and a WW2 soldier who gets separated from his squad and is forced to re-evaluate his code.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & war
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 & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like this400 Bullets (2021)
One cold winter night in Afghanistan is about to get a whole lot worse for Rana Rae, a Gurkha soldier left to guard a British military outpost, when Captain Noah Brandt arrives looking for refuge from a group of rogue special ops and a cell of heavily armed Taliban. The two soldiers must fight for their lives as they attempt to call for backup before the rogue squad, led by the backstabbing Sergeant Bartlett, can hunt them down to retrieve a case of missile guidance chips that Noah intercepted. But Bartlett and his men do not count on Rana, whose ferocious Gurkha training makes him a force to be reckoned with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOn Fire (2023)
Inspired by true and harrowing events, an ordinary man finds his world suddenly torn apart as devastating wildfires rip through the surrounding countryside. With precious moments ticking by, he must flee with his son and pregnant wife if they have any hope of surviving the rapid forces of mother nature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlyboys (2006)
The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of the Bulge (1965)
In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent it, Hitler orders an all-out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of Antwerp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAttack Force Z (1982)
Sent to rescue survivors from the site of a plane crash in the South Pacific during WWII, Captain Kelly and his elite squad of Australian commandos must keep tabs on a defecting Japanese official who could hold the secret to peace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
SnoozefestMovies 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 drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaking Sides (2002)
One of the most spectacular and renowned conductors of the 1930s, Wilhelm Furtwangler's reputation rivaled that of Toscanini's. After the war, he was investigated as part of the Allies' de-Nazification programme. In the bombed-out Berlin of the immediate post-war period, the Allies slowly bring law and order to bear on an occupied Germany. An American major is given the Furtwangler file, and is told to find everything he can and to prosecute the man ruthlessly. Tough and hard-nosed, Major Steve Arnold sets out to investigate a world of which he knows nothing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMorituri (1965)
A German living in India during World War II is blackmailed by the English to impersonate an SS officer on board a cargo ship leaving Japan for Germany carrying a large supply of rubber for tyres. His mission is to disable the scuttling charges so the captain cannot sink the ship if they are stopped by English warships.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Dive at Dawn (1943)
A gripping tale of WWII naval warfare in the Baltics, starring John Mills as Lt. Freddie Taylor, a British submarine Captain. The crew of the Sea Tiger are summoned from leave on shore with their families, and sent on a secret mission to intercept the Nazi battleship Brandenburg. In the ensuing battle the British submarine is damaged by a German destroyer. The submarine is leaking fuel so badly that the crew won't be able to make it back to Britain before running out somewhere along the Danish coast. When it seems that their only option may be to blow up the submarine and try to escape to Denmark, seaman James Hobson hatches a plan...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & action
Faith of My Fathers (2005)
Faith of My Fathers is based on the story of Lieutenant Commander John McCain's experiences as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years during the Vietnam War, interleaved with his memories of growing up in a heritage rich with military service.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Run 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: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlaska - Foxes (1964)
Captain Jim Leslie, a US Air Force pilot, is transferred to a remote Alaskan base not far from the Soviet border. Here he meets his old friend Harris again and falls in love with Brenda, the commander's daughter. He then comes into conflict with her fiancé, Senator Gordon Gray. At his instigation, he is sent on a dangerous mission with Harris and the navigator Hester: During a storm, the buoys deployed to locate Soviet submarines must be checked. During the emergency landing on an ice floe, Harris suffers a life-threatening injury. They are in Soviet territory, but in view of the situation Jim disregards the radio ban and sends a distress signal. A Soviet submarine appears, Harris is operated on and they are helped to get the plane ready for take-off. Arriving at the base, Jim is arrested. Brenda turns her back on him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
U-571 (2000)
In the midst of World War II, the battle under the sea rages and the Nazis have the upper hand as the Allies are unable to crack their war codes. However, after a wrecked U-boat sends out an SOS signal, the Allies realise this is their chance to seize the 'enigma coding machine'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Voice From Mauthausen (2014)
One of the first ‘frogmen’ in the Navy Reserve fights to survive missions behind enemy lines and his own capture at the Mauthausen concentration camp.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The McKenzie Break?
The closest matches to The McKenzie Break are The Bedford Incident (1965), 633 Squadron (1964) and The Devil's Brigade (1968). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The McKenzie Break?
People who watched The McKenzie Break most often go on to The Bedford Incident (1965), 633 Squadron (1964) and The Devil's Brigade (1968).
What is the highest-rated movie like The McKenzie Break?
Greyhound (2020), rated 7.4/10 by 3,543 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The McKenzie Break?
The Codes of War (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The McKenzie Break?
Yes: The Bedford Incident (1965), 633 Squadron (1964) and The Devil's Brigade (1968).
How are movies similar to The McKenzie Break chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The McKenzie Break, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.