Movies like Desperate Journey (1942)
The best movies like Desperate Journey (1942) are The Blue Max (1966), U-571 (2000) and Objective, Burma! (1945). If Desperate Journey hooked you with its war and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedWhere Eagles Dare (1968)7.5/10 from 1,052 votes
- NewestMah's Journey (2025)Released 2025
The Blue Max (1966)
A young pilot in the German air force of 1918, disliked as lower-class and unchivalrous, tries ambitiously to earn the medal offered for 20 kills.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisU-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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisObjective, Burma! (1945)
A group of men parachute into Japanese-occupied Burma with a dangerous and important mission: to locate and blow up a radar station. They accomplish this well enough, but when they try to rendezvous at an old air-strip to be taken back to their base, they find Japanese waiting for them, and they must make a long, difficult walk back through enemy-occupied jungle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTarzan Triumphs (1943)
Zandra, white princess of a lost civilization, comes to Tarzan for help when Nazis invade the jungle with plans to conquer her people and take their wealth. Tarzan, the isolationist, becomes involved after the Nazis shoot at him and capture Boy: "Now Tarzan make war!"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMemphis Belle (1990)
The "Memphis Belle" is a World War II bomber, piloted by a young crew on dangerous bombing raids into Europe. The crew only have to make one more bombing raid before they have finished their duty and can go home. In the briefing before their last flight, the crew discover that the target for the day is Bremen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere Eagles Dare (1968)
World War II is raging, and an American general has been captured and is being held hostage in the Schloss Adler, a Bavarian castle that's nearly impossible to breach. It's up to a group of skilled Allied soldiers to liberate the general before it's too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Crossing (1982)
Two men want to escape from East Germany (under Communist rule) but they will only go if they can take their families with them. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & action
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 adventure & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sea Wolves (1980)
A German spy is passing on information about the location of Allied ships in the neutral harbor of Goa, India, with catastrophic results. Unable to undertake a full military operation in the Portuguese stronghold, English intelligence brings out of retirement a crew of geriatric ex-soldiers, veterans from World War I, using their age as cover. These old soldiers are asked to take to the seas and pull off an unlikely undercover mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisDunkirk (2017)
The story of the miraculous evacuation of Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain, Canada and France, who were cut off and surrounded by the German army from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk between May 26th and June 4th 1940 during World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattle of Britain (1969)
In 1940, the Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle against the might of the Luftwaffe for control of the skies over Britain, thus preventing an attempted Nazi invasion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVon Richthofen and Brown (1971)
Spend time on both sides of World War I, partly with German flying ace Baron Manfred Von Richthofen (John Phillip Law), aka "The Red Baron," and his colorful "flying circus" of Fokker fighter planes, during the time from his arrival at the war front to his death in combat. On the other side is Roy Brown of the Royal Air Force, sometimes credited with shooting Richthofen down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAgainst the Sun (2014)
A WWII pilot, bombardier, and radioman find themselves adrift on a lifeboat without food or water after being forced to ditch their plane during a scouting mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRescue Dawn (2007)
A US Fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & war
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 thisRetribution (2023)
When a mysterious caller plants a bomb under his car seat, a bank executive begins a high-speed chase across the city to complete a specific series of tasks — all with his kids trapped in the back seat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Assassination Bureau (1969)
In 1908 London, a women's rights campaigner discovers the Assassination Bureau Limited, an organization that kills for justice. When its motives are called into question, she commissions the assassination of its chairman. Knowing that his colleagues have recently become more motivated by greed than morality, he turns the situation into a challenge for his board members: kill him or be killed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
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 thisThe Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951)
The life and career of Erwin Rommel and his involvement in the plot to assassinate Hitler.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shield and the Sword (1968)
The year is 1940 and Nazi Germany is at the height of its military prowess, having captured most of Europe and eyeing the Soviet Union to the East. The Russian military command suspects hostile intent from Germany and so arranges for its spies to infiltrate ranks of the German military and the SS. Alexander Belov is a Russian spy, who travels from Soviet-held Latvia to Nazi Germany under an alias of Johann Weiss. His mastery of the German language, steel nerves and an ability to manipulate others help him to use his connections in the SS to ascend the ladder of the German intelligence. He uses his position to identify sympathetic Germans, who help him to procure vital intelligence, and to help local resistance movements in their collective fight against Nazism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
Midway (2019)
The story of the Battle of Midway, and the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome massive odds.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSa Bawa't Hakbang...Panganib! (1965)
In the midst of the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, a group of five disgraced and imprisoned Filipino soldiers, led by Sergeant Sanchez, are offered a pardon in exchange for a near-suicidal mission. They must intentionally get captured and sent to a brutal Japanese prison camp to rescue two American officers who hold a vital, secret message from General MacArthur. Once inside, they discover the camp is run by the cunning Major Hayashi and that a traitor among the Filipino prisoners is feeding him information, foiling all escape attempts. Realizing their own plan to tunnel out is compromised, Sanchez and his allies devise a new, more audacious strategy: to tunnel directly into the commander's office. The mission culminates in a violent and desperate breakout, where they must secure the message, capture the enemy commander, and fight for their freedom and honor.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & war
Battle for SkyArk (2015)
In the near future the earth has become desolate and dangerous. Now inhabited by by a mysterious race of creatures, humanity has been forced to find refuge in the SkyArk, a man-made city in the sky. As the population grows, space becomes scarce and only the rich and powerful can stay, dumping the poor and orphaned of SkyArk to the abandoned earth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
SnoozefestMovies like thisLancaster Skies (2019)
Douglas, a broken, solitary, Spitfire Ace, must overcome his past to lead a Lancaster bomber crew in the pivotal aerial war over Berlin, in 1944.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisRaid Pacific (TBA)
Based on true events and set in the tense aftermath of the attack on Pearl Harbor, Captain William Pierce, a decorated U.S.-French submarine commander, is tasked with a high-stakes mission: to transport a small unit of Marine raiders deep into enemy-controlled waters. Their objective is to destroy a critical Japanese outpost — one that could shift the balance of the war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & war
Flight World War II (2015)
International Flight 42 is on course, when all of a sudden a massive and weird storm crops up around the plane. This sends the plane back in time to the year 1940- smack dab in the middle of WWII! Now, the crew and passengers must not only find a way back to their time, but fight off the Axis powers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisMah's Journey (2025)
During the World War II, a Japanese war major and his soldiers hunt down a woman and her children who are trying to escape Thailand to return home to Malaysia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & war
Naked Among Wolves (2015)
Taking place at the Concentration camp Buchenwald at the end of March 1945, prisoner Hans Pippig discovers in a carrying case of an incoming prisoner a Jewish child. If reported the three-year-old is sure to die. On the other hand, a violation of the rules of the camp would threaten the long prepared uprising of the concentration camp prisoners against the SS.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSurvivor (2015)
A Foreign Service Officer in London tries to prevent a terrorist attack set to hit New York, but is forced to go on the run when she is framed for crimes she did not commit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Desperate Journey?
The closest matches to Desperate Journey are The Blue Max (1966), U-571 (2000) and Objective, Burma! (1945). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Desperate Journey?
Start with The Blue Max (1966), the closest match to Desperate Journey.
What is the highest-rated movie like Desperate Journey?
Where Eagles Dare (1968), rated 7.5/10 by 1,052 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Desperate Journey?
Mah's Journey (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Desperate Journey?
Yes: The Blue Max (1966), U-571 (2000) and Objective, Burma! (1945).
How are movies similar to Desperate Journey chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Desperate Journey, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.