Movies like The Recruits (2004)
The best movies like The Recruits (2004) are Orgazmo (1998), The Inspection (2022) and Stripes (1981). If The Recruits hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAn Officer and a Gentleman (1982)7.0/10 from 1,248 votes
- NewestThe Daily Photographer (2026)Released 2026
Orgazmo (1998)
A devout Mormon living in L.A. becomes a pornographic actor after his martial arts moves impress a big-time director.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Inspection (2022)
Ellis French is a young, gay Black man, rejected by his mother and with few options for his future, decides to join the Marines, doing whatever it takes to succeed in a system that would cast him aside. But even as he battles deep-seated prejudice and the grueling routines of basic training, he finds unexpected camaraderie, strength, and support in this new community, giving him a hard-earned sense of belonging that will shape his identity and forever change his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStripes (1981)
Hard-luck cabbie John Winger, directionless after being fired from his job and dumped by his girlfriend, enlists in the U.S. Army with his close pal, Russell Ziskey. After his barely satisfactory performance in basic training, the irreverent Winger emerges as the figurehead for a ragtag band of misfits. However, his hijinks threaten to cause an international scandal when he inadvertently commandeers a military assault vehicle behind enemy lines.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDon Jon (2013)
A New Jersey guy dedicated to his family, friends, and church, develops unrealistic expectations from watching porn and works to find happiness and intimacy with his potential true love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Vanessa Guillen (2022)
Vanessa Guillen was 20 years old when she was found murdered at a US Army base. Rather than submit to silence, her family fought for justice and change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaint Jack (1979)
Jack Flowers is an American hustler trying to make his fortune in 1970s Singapore in small time pimping. His dreams of building a fortune by running a brothel himself and returning to the States is materialized when he is offered the opportunity by the CIA to run a brothel for the R&R activities of U.S. soldiers on leave in Singapore.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDogfight (1991)
In the fall of 1963, Eddie Birdlace is an 18-year-old Marine Corps volunteer who is about to ship out with three of his buddies for a tour of duty in Vietnam. Planning a massive blowout for their last night in San Francisco, Eddie, his buddies, and a number of other Marines set up a contest they call a "dogfight”.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisG.I. Jane (1997)
In response to political pressure from Senator Lillian DeHaven, the U.S. Navy begins a program that would allow for the eventual integration of women into its combat services. The program begins with a single trial candidate, Lieutenant Jordan O'Neil, who is chosen specifically for her femininity. O'Neil enters the grueling Navy SEAL training program under the command of Master Chief John James Urgayle, who unfairly pushes O'Neil until her determination wins his respect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Officer and a Gentleman (1982)
Zack Mayo is an aloof, taciturn man who aspires to be a navy pilot. Once he arrives at training camp for his 13-week officer's course, Mayo runs afoul of abrasive, no-nonsense drill Sergeant Emil Foley. Mayo is an excellent cadet, but a little cold around the heart, so Foley rides him mercilessly, sensing that the young man would be prime officer material if he weren't so self-involved. Zack's affair with a working girl is likewise compromised by his unwillingness to give of himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Marine 4: Moving Target (2015)
WWE Superstar Mike "The Miz" Mizanin returns as Jake Carter where he is assigned to protect a whistleblower who wishes to expose a corrupt military defense contractor. However, the military hires a heavily armed team of mercenaries to kill her and it's up to Carter to stop them at any cost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoxtrot Six (2019)
Escalating climate change is turning the world economy upside down. With crops dying and food price spiking, FOOD has replaced oil as the world's most valuable commodity. Among the very few lands still left fertile, Indonesia is quickly rising as the next economic superpower, when its government is suddenly and ruthlessly overtaken by a popular rogue political party. In just three days, six former Marines must work together, find their long-lost brotherhood, stop a nationwide government- sanctioned genocide, and save millions of lives, for one last shot at redemption. Or die trying.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHulk Vs. (2009)
Two stories featuring Marvel's anti-hero: .................. For ages, Odin has protected his kingdom of Asgard. But every winter, the All-Father must rest and regain his strength for one week. During this time, all of Asgard's foes try to claim the realm for their own, but they are always stopped by the mighty Thor. Loki, god of mischief, has kidnapped Dr. Bruce Banner and brought him to Asgard with the help of Amora the Enchantress. .................. Department H sends in Wolverine to track down a mysterious beast known by the US Military as the Hulk, who is rampaging across the Canadian wilderness. Surveying the extent of the damage to a destroyed town, Wolverine notices a toxic scent as well as the smell of gunpowder. He is then deployed to the wilderness to resume tracking the creature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalking Tall (2004)
A former U.S. soldier returns to his hometown to find it overrun by crime and corruption, which prompts him to clean house.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFather Soldier Son (2020)
When Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch is critically wounded in Afghanistan, it sets him and his sons on a journey of love, loss, redemption and legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
A small-town girl with a soft spot for American soldiers wakes up the morning after a wild farewell party for the troops to find that she married someone she can't remember.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUltramarines: A Warhammer 40,000 Movie (2010)
A squad of Ultramarines answer a distress call from an Imperial Shrine World. A full Company of Imperial Fists was stationed there, but there is no answer from them. The squad investigates to find out what has happened there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisEmbattled (2020)
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crying Game (1992)
Irish Republican Army member Fergus forms an unexpected bond with Jody, a kidnapped British soldier in his custody, despite the warnings of fellow IRA members Jude and Maguire. Jody makes Fergus promise he'll visit his girlfriend, Dil, in London, and when Fergus flees to the city, he seeks her out. Hounded by his former IRA colleagues, he finds himself increasingly drawn to the enigmatic, and surprising, Dil.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLife (2015)
In 1955, young photographer Dennis Stock develops a close bond with actor James Dean while shooting pictures of the rising Hollywood star.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSemper Fi (2019)
Cal is a dedicated cop who also serves as a sergeant in the Marine Corps Reserve. When his reckless half brother lands in jail for accidentally killing a man, Cal and his buddies hatch a plan to break him out of prison -- no matter what the cost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReflections in a Golden Eye (1967)
Bizarre tale of sex, betrayal, and perversion at a military post.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLong-running (2018)
Min-kyu, who is on vacation from the army, is busy dressing up without having time to spend the night with his mother. Min-kyu borrows his mother's car and goes camping with his friend Dong-wan.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Love at First Fight (2014)
Arnaud, facing an uncertain future and a dearth of choices in a small French coastal town, meets and falls for the apocalyptic-minded Madeleine, who joins an army boot camp to learn military and survival skills to prepare for the upcoming environmental collapse. Intrigued and excited by Madeleine’s wild ideas, Arnaud signs up for the boot camp himself. They soon realize that the boot camp is harder than they’d imagined, but the experience nonetheless cements them together as the couple continues to explore their young love.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI'm a Porn Star (2013)
I'm a Porn Star follows the lives of guys in the neighborhood who are likely a lot more famous than you - at least on the Internet. There are an estimated 370 million pornographic websites on-line. Porn is now a thirteen BILLION dollar business. So who's doing all this moonlighting? Turns out -- probably some people you know.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Alien Invasion: S.U.M.1 (2017)
An aggressive race of aliens took over Planet Earth and humanity's at its end, living in giant bunkers below ground. Young Military rookie S.U.M.1 (Iwan Rheon) is sent to the surface to save a group of unprotected survivors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Warrior Tradition (2019)
The astonishing, heartbreaking, inspiring, and largely-untold story of Native Americans in the United States military. Why do they do it? Why would Indian men and women put their lives on the line for the very government that took their homelands?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
ALL YOU NEED IS KILL (2026)
When a massive alien flower known as "Darol" unexpectedly erupts in a deadly event, unleashing monstrous creatures that decimate the population of Japan, Rita is caught in the destruction—and killed. But then she wakes up again. And again. Caught in an endless time loop, Rita must navigate the trauma and repetition of death until she crosses paths with Keiji, a shy young man trapped in the same cycle. Together, they fight to break free from the loop and find meaning in the chaos around them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStealth (2005)
Deeply ensconced in a top-secret military program, three pilots struggle to bring an artificial intelligence program under control ... before it initiates the next world war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisHeartbreak Ridge (1986)
A hard-nosed, hard-living Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Daily Photographer (2026)
Entertaining portrait of Erlend Štaub - a self-made professional photographer working at the president's annual reception, theatrical premieres, and film festivals like Black Nights and Cannes, and talking about life and everything in it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Recruits?
The closest matches to The Recruits are Orgazmo (1998), The Inspection (2022) and Stripes (1981). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Recruits?
Start with Orgazmo (1998), the closest match to The Recruits.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Recruits?
An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), rated 7.0/10 by 1,248 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Recruits?
The Daily Photographer (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Recruits?
Yes: Orgazmo (1998), The Inspection (2022) and Stripes (1981).
How are movies similar to The Recruits chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Recruits, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.