Movies like 37 Plots of Kung Fu (1979)
The best movies like 37 Plots of Kung Fu (1979) are Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969), Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017) and Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist The Movie (2014). If 37 Plots of Kung Fu hooked you with its action and adventure, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedReign of Assassins (2010)6.9/10 from 293 votes
- NewestThe Lost Princess (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseReturn of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969)Also in Chinese
Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969)
After the events of The One-Armed Swordsman (1967), a retired Fang Gang is drawn back into the jianghu to protect various young apprentices whose swordsmanship schools have been terrorized by 8 evil swordsmen seeking to rule the jianghu.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJourney to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017)
Tang Monk brings three disciples on a journey to the West. On the outside, everything seems harmonious. However, tension is present beneath the surface, and their hearts and minds are not in agreement. After a series of demon-capturing events, the monk and his disciples gain mutual understanding of each others' hardships and unease. Finally, they resolve their inner conflict and work together to become an all-conquering, demon-exorcising team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 adventure & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 2: Raging Thunder (1987)
In this sequel, Scott Wylde, an American kickboxer, must go to Cambodia to rescue his Vietnamese girlfriend from Russian and Vietnamese troops.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost Princess (2025)
After an Ayahuasca vision transports him to a haunted castle, Alec meets Hanna who tales him the story of her mother's forced marriage and how the forbidden passion with her father was in danger when the princess pregnancy became obvious
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJack Hunter and the Quest for Akhenaten's Tomb (2008)
Adventurer Jack Hunter sets off in pursuit of a legendary tomb, meeting dangerous old adversaries, and even more dangerous old flames, along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJack Hunter and the Lost Treasure of Ugarit (2010)
Jack Hunter, an adventurous treasure seeker, goes to Syria after his mentor and father figure Professor Fredrick Shaffer is killed. Professor Frederick Shaffer believed that the people of Ugarit, a town in Syria that existed during the Pharoah’s reign, had buried a treasure before they were wiped out by the Pharoahs. Jack Hunter is one of the few archaeologists in the world who can interpret Ugarit writings
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Storm Riders (1998)
Heeding a prophecy, a warlord trains two orphans after killing their parents. But the skills he teaches could lead to his downfall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thousand Faces of Dunjia (2017)
The world is on the brink of catastrophe in a chaotic age where evil demons roam. In order to keep evil at bay, a mysterious organisation from the pugilist world emerges. A new constable and a young girl with a mysterious past are also drawn into this group, and the group embarks on an incredible adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJack Hunter and the Star of Heaven (2009)
Jack Hunter pursues his arch nemesis Littman across ancient Europe, intent on thwarting his attempt to salvage a deadly artefact.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReign of Assassins (2010)
Set in ancient China, Zeng Jing is a skilled assassin who finds herself in possession of a mystical Buddhist monk's remains. She begins a quest to return the remains to its rightful resting place, and thus places herself in mortal danger because a team of assassins is in a deadly pursuit to possess the remains which holds an ancient power-wielding secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrimeval (2007)
A news team is sent to Burundi to capture and bring home a legendary 25-foot crocodile. Their difficult task turns potentially deadly when a warlord targets them for death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragonheart: Vengeance (2021)
Lukas, a young farmer whose family is killed by savage raiders in the countryside, sets out on an epic quest for revenge, forming an unlikely trio with a majestic dragon and a swashbuckling, sword-fighting mercenary, Darius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bodyguard (2016)
Wu-Lin is the successor of an ancient, once powerful Chinese clan, the "Iron Feet." After the death of his master, Wu-Lin leaves his rural village for the City of Stone-Cold looking for his fellow apprentice Jiang Li. Along the way, he becomes the bodyguard of Fei-Fei, the daughter of Jia-Shan Li, the richest family in the city, and quickly gets drawn into a mob war in order to protect her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTai Chi Zero (2012)
In legendary Chen Village, everyone is a martial arts master, using their powerful Chen Style Tai Chi in all aspects of their lives. Lu Chan has arrived to train, but the villagers are forbidden to teach Chen Style to outsiders, and do their best to discourage him by challenging him to a series of fights. Everyone, from strong men to young children, defeats him using their Tai Chi moves. But when a man from the village's past returns with a frightening steampowered machine and plans to build a railroad through the village at any costs, the villagers realize they may have no choice but to put their faith in Lu Chan... who has a secret power of his own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMagnificent Bodyguards (1978)
Chan is asked by a young, wealthy lady to take her sick brother to a particular doctor in order to be cured. To reach this doctor, Chan and a handful of travelling companions must pass through bandit-infested wild country. They meet and kung-fu-fight several gangs of thugs along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKids from Shaolin (1984)
Romance blossoms between two rival families practicing Shaolin and Wudang kungfu respectively. despite familial opposition - until they overcome a gang of scheming bandits together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sorcerer and the White Snake (2011)
The Sorcerer and the White Snake is an ancient Chinese fable about a woman demon who falls in love with a mortal is brought to life through the latest advances in CGI and action techniques.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Gold (2011)
On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return, Nesib adopts Amar’s two boys Saleeh and Auda as a guarantee against invasion. Twelve years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American from Texas. He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his wildest imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of infinite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLet's Get Harry (1986)
Harry Burck has been kidnapped by South American terrorists, and when the US Government refuses to intervene, Harry's friends decide to take matters into their own hands!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 37 Plots of Kung Fu?
The closest matches to 37 Plots of Kung Fu are Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969), Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017) and Street Fighter: Assassin's Fist The Movie (2014). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 37 Plots of Kung Fu?
Start with Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969), the closest match to 37 Plots of Kung Fu.
What is the highest-rated movie like 37 Plots of Kung Fu?
Reign of Assassins (2010), rated 6.9/10 by 293 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 37 Plots of Kung Fu?
The Lost Princess (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like 37 Plots of Kung Fu?
Yes: Return of the One-Armed Swordsman (1969), Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017) and The Storm Riders (1998).
How are movies similar to 37 Plots of Kung Fu chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 37 Plots of Kung Fu, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.