50 Movies Like The Big Boss (1971) You Need to Watch Next
Updated August 2026
View The Big Boss details →If you loved The Big Boss (1971) by Lo Wei, here are 50 movies that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are Fist of Legend, Enter the Dragon, Lionheart. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
The Best Movies Similar to The Big Boss
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the movies that share the most with The Big Boss in terms of theme, narrative tone, and cinematic style. Every recommendation goes beyond genre — we evaluate the type of conflict, pacing, dramatic context, and the experience they create for viewers.
Fist of Legend
1994 · Gordon Chan
Chen returns to his school when he finds out that his martial arts teacher has died. When he learns that his school students are harassed by some hooligans, he gears himself up to save them.
In common: Action
Enter the Dragon
1973 · Robert Clouse
A martial artist agrees to spy on a reclusive crime lord using his invitation to a tournament there as cover.
In common: Action
Lionheart
1990 · Sheldon Lettich
Lyon Gaultier is a deserter in the Foreign Legion arriving in the USA entirely hard up. He finds his brother between life and death and his sister-in-law without the money needed to heal her husband a
In common: Action
The Grandmaster
2013 · Wong Kar-Wai
Ip Man's peaceful life in Foshan changes after Gong Yutian seeks an heir for his family in Southern China. Ip Man then meets Gong Er who challenges him for the sake of regaining her family's honor. Af
In common: Action
The Karate Kid
1984 · John G. Avildsen
New Jersey teen Daniel LaRusso moves to Los Angeles with his mother, and soon strikes up a relationship with Ali. He quickly finds himself the target of bullying by a group of thugs, led by Ali's ex-b
In common: Action
Fearless
2006 · Ronny Yu
After going through a series of tragic events in his life, martial arts master Huo Yuanjia returns to Tianjin and must fight four international soldiers, in order to safeguard his nation's pride.
In common: Action
The Legend of Drunken Master
1994 · Lau Kar-Leung
Returning home with his father after a shopping expedition, Wong Fei-Hong is unwittingly caught up in the battle between foreigners who wish to export ancient Chinese artifacts and loyalists who don't
In common: Action
Under Siege
1992 · Andrew Davis
A disgruntled ex-CIA operative, his assistant and their assembled group of terrorists seize a battleship with nuclear blackmail in mind. They've planned for every contingency but ignore the ship's coo
In common: Action
Unleashed
2005 · Louis Leterrier
Raised as a slave, Danny is used to fighting for his survival. In fact, his "master," Bart, thinks of him as a pet and goes as far as leashing him with a collar so they can make money in fight clubs,
In common: Action
Mile 22
2018 · Peter Berg
An elite group of American operatives, aided by a top-secret tactical command team, must transport an asset who holds life-threatening information to an extraction point 22 miles away through the host
In common: Action
Kung Pow: Enter the Fist
2002 · Steve Oedekerk
A movie within a movie, created to spoof the martial arts genre. Writer/director Steve Oedekerk uses contemporary characters and splices them into a 1970s kung-fu film, weaving the new and old togethe
In common: Action
Mortal Kombat
1995 · Paul W. S. Anderson
For nine generations an evil sorcerer has been victorious in hand-to-hand battle against his mortal enemies. If he wins a tenth Mortal Kombat tournament, desolation and evil will reign over the multiv
In common: Action
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
2003 · Quentin Tarantino
An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.
In common: Action
Drunken Master
1978 · Yuen Woo-Ping
After getting into trouble, a mischievous young man is sent to train under a brutal, but slovenly old beggar, who teaches him the secret of the Drunken Fist.
In common: Action
Never Back Down
2008 · Jeff Wadlow
Jake, full of anger after his father's death, is just starting to find a place for himself at his new Orlando high school - until Ryan, head of an underground MMA fight club, picks Jake out as a prime
In common: Action
House of Flying Daggers
2004 · Zhang Yimou
In 9th century China, a corrupt government wages war against a rebel army called the Flying Daggers. A romantic warrior breaks a beautiful rebel out of prison to help her rejoin her fellows, but thing
In common: Action
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny
2016 · Yuen Woo-Ping
A story of lost love, young love, a legendary sword and one last opportunity at redemption.
In common: Action
Red Heat
1988 · Walter Hill
A tough Russian policeman is forced to partner up with a cocky Chicago police detective when he is sent to Chicago to apprehend a Georgian drug lord who killed his partner and fled the country.
In common: Action
Ip Man
2008 · Wilson Yip
A semi-biographical account of Yip Man, the first martial arts master to teach the Chinese martial art of Wing Chun. The film focuses on events surrounding Ip that took place in the city of Foshan bet
In common: Action
The Karate Kid
2010 · Harald Zwart
12-year-old Dre Parker could've been the most popular kid in Detroit, but his mother's latest career move has landed him in China. Dre immediately falls for his classmate Mei Ying but the cultural dif
In common: Action
Karate Kid: Legends
2025 · Jonathan Entwistle
After a family tragedy, kung fu prodigy Li Fong is uprooted from his home in Beijing and forced to move to New York City with his mother. When a new friend needs his help, Li enters a karate competiti
In common: Action
Hero
2002 · Zhang Yimou
During China's Warring States period, a district prefect arrives at the palace of Qin Shi Huang, claiming to have killed the three assassins who had made an attempt on the king's life three years ago.
In common: Action
The Man with the Golden Gun
1974 · Guy Hamilton
Cool government operative James Bond searches for a stolen invention that can turn the sun's heat into a destructive weapon. He soon crosses paths with the menacing Francisco Scaramanga, a hitman so s
In common: Action
DOA: Dead or Alive
2006 · Corey Yuen
Four beautiful rivals at an invitation-only martial-arts tournament join forces against a sinister threat. Princess Kasumi is an aristocratic warrior trained by martial-arts masters. Tina Armstrong is
In common: Action
The Karate Kid Part III
1989 · John G. Avildsen
Despondent over the closing of his karate school, Cobra Kai teacher John Kreese joins a ruthless businessman and martial artist to get revenge on Daniel and Mr. Miyagi.
In common: Action
Master Z: Ip Man Legacy
2018 · Yuen Woo-Ping
Following his defeat by Master Ip, Cheung Tin Chi tries to make a life with his young son in Hong Kong, waiting tables at a bar that caters to expats. But it's not long before the mix of foreigners, m
In common: Action
Shaolin Soccer
2001 · Stephen Chow
A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.
In common: Action
The Expendables
2010 · Sylvester Stallone
Barney Ross leads a band of highly skilled mercenaries including knife enthusiast Lee Christmas, a martial arts expert Yin Yang, heavy weapons specialist Hale Caesar, demolitionist Toll Road, and a lo
In common: Action
Mulan
2020 · Niki Caro
When the Emperor of China issues a decree that one man per family must serve in the Imperial Chinese Army to defend the country from Huns, Hua Mulan, the eldest daughter of an honored warrior, steps i
In common: Action
The Last Airbender
2010 · M. Night Shyamalan
A century has passed since the Fire Nation declared war on the other three nations of air, water, and earth in its attempt for global domination. Aang, the long-lost Avatar, is found by Water Tribe si
In common: Action
Rurouni Kenshin: The Final
2021 · Keishi Otomo
In 1879, Kenshin and his allies face their strongest enemy yet: his former brother-in-law Enishi Yukishiro and his minions, who've vowed their revenge.
In common: Action
Bastille Day
2016 · James Watkins
Michael Mason is an American pickpocket living in Paris who finds himself hunted by the CIA when he steals a bag that contains more than just a wallet. Sean Briar, the field agent on the case, soon re
In common: Action
Street Fighter
1994 · Steven E. de Souza
Colonel Guile and various other martial arts heroes fight against the tyranny of dictator M. Bison and his cohorts.
In common: Action
The Raid
2012 · Gareth Evans
Deep in the heart of Jakarta's slums lies an impenetrable safe house for the world's most dangerous killers and gangsters. Until now, the run-down apartment block has been considered untouchable to ev
In common: Action
Die Hart
2023 · Eric Appel
Kevin Hart - playing a version of himself - is on a death-defying quest to become an action star. And with a little help from John Travolta, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Josh Hartnett - he just might pull i
In common: Action
In Hell
2003 · Ringo Lam Ling-Tung
A man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the warden's entertainment.
In common: Action
Mortal Kombat: Annihilation
1997 · John R. Leonetti
A group of heroic warriors has only six days to save the planet in "Mortal Kombat Annihilation." To succeed they must survive the most spectacular series of challenges any human, or god, has ever enco
In common: Action
Kung Fu Panda
2008 · Mark Osborne
Chosen by prophecy but doubted by all, Po is an unlikely choice for the mystical title of the Dragon Warrior—a clumsy panda thrust into the world of kung fu as a deadly enemy threatens the Valley of P
In common: Action
Kung Fu Panda 2
2011 · Jennifer Yuh Nelson
Po is finally living the dream as the Dragon Warrior—until a shadow from his past comes roaring back. When the ruthless peacock Lord Shen unleashes a devastating new weapon used to wipe out kung fu ma
In common: Action
47 Ronin
2013 · Carl Rinsch
Kai—an outcast—joins Oishi, the leader of 47 outcast samurai. Together they seek vengeance upon the treacherous overlord who killed their master and banished their kind. To restore honour to their h
In common: Action
The Way of the Dragon
1972 · Bruce Lee
After a Chinese restaurant in Rome is threatened by the mafia, who will stop at nothing to acquire the property, the owner recruits a family friend in Hong Kong, kung fu expert Tang Lung, to help them
In common: Action
Everything Everywhere All at Once
2022 · Daniel Scheinert
An aging Chinese immigrant is swept up in an insane adventure, where she alone can save what's important to her by connecting with the lives she could have led in other universes.
In common: Action
John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum
2019 · Chad Stahelski
Super-assassin John Wick returns with a $14 million price tag on his head and an army of bounty-hunting killers on his trail. After killing a member of the shadowy international assassin’s guild, the
In common: Action
Rush Hour
1998 · Brett Ratner
When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn't want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD Detective James Carter to distract Lee from the case.
In common: Action
Game of Death
1978 · Robert Clouse
A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.
In common: Action
Fist of Fury
1972 · Lo Wei
During the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, Chen Zhen, the star pupil of a recently-deceased martial arts teacher battles a Japanese dojo which seeks the demise of his fighting school.
In common: Action
Ninja Assassin
2009 · James McTeigue
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 ex
In common: Action
Rush Hour 2
2001 · Brett Ratner
It's vacation time for Carter as he finds himself alongside Lee in Hong Kong wishing for more excitement. While Carter wants to party and meet the ladies, Lee is out to track down a Triad gang lord wh
In common: Action
The Transporter
2002 · Corey Yuen
Former Special Forces officer Frank Martin will deliver anything to anyone for the right price, and his no-questions-asked policy puts him in high demand. But when he realizes his latest cargo is aliv
In common: Action
Ong-Bak
2003 · Prachya Pinkaew
When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.
In common: Action
Popular series
Breaking Bad
2008 · Michelle MacLaren
Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023 · Kazutaka Yamanaka
After the party of heroes defeated the Demon King, they restored peace to the land and returned to lives of solitude. Generations pass, and the elven mage Frieren comes face to face with humanity’s m
Avatar: The Last Airbender
2005 · Michael Dante DiMartino
In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
