Movies like Detective Dee and the Mysterious City (2021)
The best movies like Detective Dee and the Mysterious City (2021) are Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018), Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) and The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom (2014). If Detective Dee and the Mysterious City hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBlades of the Guardians (2026)8.2/10 from 265 votes
- NewestBlades of the Guardians (2026)Released 2026
- In ChineseDetective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018)Also in Chinese
Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018)
Dee, the detective serving Chinese empress Wu Zetian, is called upon to investigate a series of strange events in Loyang, including the appearance of mysterious warriors wearing Chiyou ghost masks, foxes that speak human language and the pillar sculptures in the palace coming alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDetective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010)
When the future empress Wu Zetian's two courtiers die in a mysterious fire, she gets Di Renjie, a former detective and rebel, released from prison to solve the mystery of the fire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom (2014)
In the twilight of the Ming Dynasty, the Imperial court is plagued by corruption as tyrants rule the land. With the Manchurians preying on a weakened empire, war is imminent. To save the victims from suffering, sorceress Jade Raksha fights the soldiers that oppress people for their own gain. As payback, local officials pin the murder of Governor Zhuo Zhonglian on Jade, turning her and the members of her cult into wanted fugitives for a crime they didn't commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhase IV (1974)
Arizona ants mock the food chain on their way to a desert lab to get two scientists and a woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Man's Land (2013)
Pan Xiao, a young lawyer, goes to a rural small village settled in the western desert lands of China to handle the case of a falcon poacher who has ran over a policeman. Pan wins the case through sophisticated reasoning and forces the poacher to give him his car as a reward. Then, he just drives back home, but the return will not be an easy one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Collector (1965)
A man kidnaps a woman and holds her hostage just for the pleasure of having her there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlade Runner (1982)
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlades of the Guardians (2026)
Dao Ma, the "second most wanted fugitive," is entrusted by his benefactor, the chief of Mo family clan, to take on a mysterious escort mission-escorting the "most wanted fugitive" to Chang'an.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisYoung Detective Dee: Rise of the Sea Dragon (2013)
Young Dee Renjie arrives in the empire's capital to join the Supreme Court as police judge of his region. He wants to become a prosecutor. Empress Wu, who is at the beginning of her reign, has commissioned the fierce detective Yuchi to investigate a sea monster that stalks the city at night and makes it unsafe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarbie Mariposa (2008)
Elina, heroine of the Fairytopia films tells her friend Bibble the story of Flutterfield, a faraway kingdom populated by fairies with butterfly wings. Henna, the evil butterfly fairy has poisoned the queen of Flutterfield in an attempt to take over the kingdom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRaining in the Mountain (1979)
In Ming Dynasty China, the retiring abbot of a Buddhist monastery invites two dignitaries to help him choose a successor, not suspecting that both of them have hired help to steal a priceless parchment kept in the temple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUlee's Gold (1997)
Third-generation Florida beekeeper Ulee Jackson may have gotten out of Vietnam alive, but he left a part of himself behind. Now he methodically tends his bees, carefully provides for his two grandchildren and keeps his emotions at bay. But when a long-buried secret threatens Ulee's business and family, he is forced to break through his emotional walls and confront the terror of his wounded spirit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirestorm (2013)
Hong Kong. When Cao Nan and his group of thieves rob an armored car in broad daylight, they don't hesitate to murder innocent people on the run. Lui Ming Chit, a veteran police inspector, is forced to use sinister tactics to catch them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLost Horizon (1937)
British diplomat Robert Conway and a small group of civilians crash-land in the Himalayas, where they are rescued by the inhabitants of the hidden, idyllic valley of Shangri-La. Protected by the mountains from the world outside, where the clouds of World War II are gathering, Shangri-La provides a seductive escape for the world-weary Conway.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe White Countess (2005)
In 1930s Shanghai, 'The White Countess' is both Sofia, a fallen member of the exiled Russian aristocracy, and a nightclub created by a blind American diplomat who asks Sofia to be the centerpiece of the world he wants to create.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaving Mr. Wu (2015)
Mr. Wu, a Hong Kong movie star, is kidnapped in Beijing by Zhang Hua's gang. The police quickly form a task force and begin the search, ignoring that detectives in charge have only twenty hours before the deadline.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bullet Vanishes (2012)
One rainy night in an arms factory near Shanghai, a young female worker accused of stealing a box of bullets from the ruthless Boss Ding is violently killed in a game of Russian roulette. Half a month later, a series of inexplicable deaths takes place in the factory, where the victims are shot but no bullets are found. Rumors of a deadly curse begin to spread in the factory, terrorizing the workers there. So, eccentric police inspector Song Donglu and his hot-blooded, gunslinging partner Guo Zhui are sent in to investigate the mystery of the phantom bullets...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRising Sun (1993)
When a prostitute is found dead in a Los Angeles skyscraper occupied by a large Japanese corporation, detectives John Connor and Web Smith are called in to investigate. Although Connor has previous experience working in Japan, cultural differences make their progress difficult until a security disc showing the murder turns up. Close scrutiny proves the disc has been doctored, and the detectives realize they're dealing with a cover-up as well.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLost in the Stars (2023)
He Fei's wife, Li Muzi, disappears during their anniversary trip. When she reappears, he insists that she is not his wife. As Chen Mai, a top lawyer gets involved in this bizarre case, more mysteries start to emerge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlight of the Phoenix (2004)
When an oil rig in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia proves unproductive, an aircraft crew are sent to shut the operation down and fly them out. On the flight out over the desert on the way to Beijing, Capt. Frank Towns and co-pilot A.J. are unable to keep their cargo plane, a C-119 Flying Boxcar, in the air when a violent sandstorm strikes. Crash-landing in a remote uncharted part of the desert, the two pilots and their passengers -- a crew of oil workers and a drifter -- must work together to survive by rebuilding the aircraft. Soon, low supplies and a band of merciless smugglers add even greater urgency to their task.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Detective Dee and the Mysterious City?
The closest matches to Detective Dee and the Mysterious City are Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018), Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) and The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom (2014). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Detective Dee and the Mysterious City?
Start with Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018), the closest match to Detective Dee and the Mysterious City.
What is the highest-rated movie like Detective Dee and the Mysterious City?
Blades of the Guardians (2026), rated 8.2/10 by 265 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Detective Dee and the Mysterious City?
Blades of the Guardians (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Detective Dee and the Mysterious City?
Yes: Detective Dee: The Four Heavenly Kings (2018), Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) and The White Haired Witch of Lunar Kingdom (2014).
How are movies similar to Detective Dee and the Mysterious City chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Detective Dee and the Mysterious City, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.