Movies like Sword of Desperation (2010)
The best movies like Sword of Desperation (2010) are Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972), Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973) and Tokyo Drifter (1966). If Sword of Desperation 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 ratedForrest Gump (1994)8.5/10 from 30,877 votes
- NewestDemon City (2025)Released 2025
- In JapaneseLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972)Also in Japanese
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972)
Ogami Itto is hired to kill a tattooed female assassin and battles Retsudo, head of the Yagyu clan, and his son Gunbei.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973)
Ogami Itto is challenged by a quintet of warriors, each armed with one fifth of Ogami's assassin fee and one fifth of the information he needs to complete his assignment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Drifter (1966)
After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBleach the Movie: The DiamondDust Rebellion (2007)
When an artifact known as the "King's Seal" is stolen during transport from Soul Society, Hitsugaya Toushirou is assigned to retrieve it. Toushirou goes missing after a battle with the thieves, leading Seireitei to suspect him of treachery. They order his immediate capture and execution. Unwilling to believe him capable of such a crime, Ichigo, Rangiku, Rukia, and Renji set out to find Toushirou.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSeized (2020)
Hiding out with his son Taylor on the Mexican coast, Nero hopes to put his violent Special Forces career behind him. But after Nero’s home is attacked and Taylor is abducted, the mysterious Mzamo orders Nero to slaughter the members of three rival crime syndicates. If he fails, Taylor will die. Now, with bullets flying and bodies dropping as Nero completes his mission, he races to find Mzamo’s hideout and seek revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKate (2021)
A ruthless criminal operative has less than 24 hours to exact revenge on her enemies and in the process forms an unexpected bond with the daughter of one of her past victims.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMumon: The Land of Stealth (2017)
Raised suckling poison arrows among the sparring Iga ninja factions, Mumon is a carefree 16th-century mercenary. When the ninja council makes a power play to defeat the young Nobukatsu Oda struggling to step into his father’s warlord shoes as they expand rule across the country, Mumon jumps into the fray to satisfy his new bride Okuni’s demand that he make good on his promises of wealth. Yet Mumon soon finds what is worth fighting for beyond money or nation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBranded to Kill (1967)
After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNinja: Shadow of a Tear (2013)
Fight everyone and trust no one: it's the code of survival practiced by martial-arts master Casey Bowman after his life of domestic bliss is shattered by a savage act of violence. Vowing revenge, the fearless American stealthily tracks the killer from Osaka to Bangkok to Rangoon with the help of a wise and crafty sensei. His only clues: a series of victims whose necks bear the distinctive mark of strangulation by barbed wire. Fighting to avenge as well as to survive, Casey must sharpen his razor-like responses and take his battle skills to the next level, even using deep meditation to fake his own death. His target: the sinister drug lord Goro, who is flooding the streets with deadly meth cooked at his remote jungle factory. To prepare for his ultimate confrontation, Casey must finally become an invisible warrior worthy of the name Ninja. But just when his prey is cornered, an unexpected twist shows Casey that his battle is only beginning: he truly can trust no one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDemon City (2025)
Framed for his family's murder and left for dead, an ex-hitman will stop at nothing to exact revenge on the masked "demons" who have taken over his city.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNinja Assassin (2009)
Ninja Assassin follows Raizo, one of the deadliest assassins in the world. Taken from the streets as a child, he was transformed into a trained killer by the Ozunu Clan, a secret society whose very existence is considered a myth. But haunted by the merciless execution of his friend by the Clan, Raizo breaks free from them and vanishes. Now he waits, preparing to exact his revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKite (1998)
Sawa, orphaned as a child by murderous thugs, now targets the scourge of society as a trained killer for a mercenary syndicate. Coquettish and capable of unimaginable violence, she's grown into the perfect weapon — but doubt takes hold in Sawa's mind when her fellow assassin, Oburi, decides he wants out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Killer (2024)
Zee is a feared contract killer known as "the Queen of the Dead," but when she refuses to murder a young blind woman, she finds herself hunted both by criminal colleagues and a determined police detective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Note: L Change the WorLd (2008)
"The human whose name is written in the Death Note shall die." After making the hardest decision ever, another serious case confronts L. There are only 23 days left and without his best partner Watari, L has to solve the case all by himself for the very first time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Black Book (2023)
After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Virtuoso (2021)
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Garden of Sinners: A Study in Murder - Part 2 (2009)
In February 1999, a string of murders has Shiki Ryougi and Mikiya Kokutou on edge. These crimes share a disturbing resemblance to a similar set of homicides from 1995, when Shiki and Mikiya first met, and awaken a dark, murderous desire that has laid dormant within Shiki's soul ever since then.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWanted (2008)
Doormat Wesley Gibson is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. He meets an attractive woman named Fox and discovers that his recently murdered father - whom Wesley never knew - belonged to the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins which takes its orders from Fate itself. Fox and Sloan, the Fraternity's leader, teach Wesley, through intense training, to tap into dormant powers and hone his innate killing skills. Though he enjoys his newfound abilities, he begins to suspect that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWeekend in Taipei (2024)
A former DEA agent and a former undercover operative revisit their romance during a fateful weekend in Taipei, unaware of the dangerous consequences of their past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last: Naruto the Movie (2014)
Two years after the events of the Fourth Great Ninja War, the moon that Hagoromo Otsutsuki created long ago to seal away the Gedo Statue begins to descend towards the world, threatening to become a meteor that would destroy everything on impact. Amidst this crisis, a direct descendant of Kaguya Otsutsuki named Toneri Otsutsuki attempts to kidnap Hinata Hyuga but ends up abducting her younger sister Hanabi. Naruto and his allies now mount a rescue mission before finding themselves embroiled in a final battle to decide the fate of everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDevil on Deck (1932)
John Moore, a young sea captain has a romance with Kay Wheeler, daughter of a trusted trader, "Pop" Wheeler, on a Pacific island. He also acquire the enmity of "Shanghai" Morgan, a notorious sea captain who shanghais his crew and his women.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & romance
Forrest Gump (1994)
A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBurning Rainbow Farm (TBA)
Tom Crosslin and Rollie Rohm, a couple in rural Michigan, build a peaceful, pot-friendly utopia called Rainbow Farm. When the two run afoul of local authorities and their young son is taken from them, a standoff ensues leading to one of the largest and most dramatic sieges America has ever seen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Judas de la frontera (1989)
A man joins forces with a Vietnam veteran to take revenge on his father, the most powerful drug lord on the border, who he blames for his mother's fall from grace.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
The Secret Call (1931)
The Secret Call is adapted from The Woman, a play by William C. DeMille (brother of Cecil B.) Peggy Shannon plays Wanda Kelly, the daughter of a disgraced politician. Reduced to working as a switchboard operator, Wanda is privy to the many secrets and indiscretions of the clients of a big-city hotel. She also finds romance in the form of handsome Tom Blake (Richard Arlen). The huge cast of characters comes in handy for the film's multitude of subplots, none of which ever get their wires crossed. Peggy Shannon acquits herself nicely in her first major role, but by the end of the decade her career was in decline.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Road to Perdition (2002)
Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRevolutionary Road (2008)
A young couple living in a Connecticut suburb during the mid-1950s struggle to come to terms with their personal problems while trying to raise their two children. Based on a novel by Richard Yates.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVengeance of the Three Musketeers (1961)
To avenge her defeat and with the help of the Cardinal's army leader Rochefort, the treacherous Milady de Winter kidnaps both D'Artagnan and Constance, in order to spur a war between the French and the English, as per the Cardinal's wish.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Under Capricorn (1949)
A British ex-convict in colonial Australia and his fragile wife, haunted by the past crime that binds them, struggle to rebuild their lives when a young newcomer stirs long-buried passions and secrets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurder on the Orient Express (1974)
In 1935, when his train is stopped by deep snow, detective Hercule Poirot is called on to solve a murder that occurred in his car the night before.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sword of Desperation?
The closest matches to Sword of Desperation are Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972), Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973) and Tokyo Drifter (1966). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sword of Desperation?
Start with Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972), the closest match to Sword of Desperation.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sword of Desperation?
Forrest Gump (1994), rated 8.5/10 by 30,877 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sword of Desperation?
Demon City (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Sword of Desperation?
Yes: Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in Peril (1972), Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart in the Land of Demons (1973) and Tokyo Drifter (1966).
How are movies similar to Sword of Desperation chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sword of Desperation, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.