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Bodyguards and Assassins poster

Movies that feel likeBodyguards and Assassins (2009)

In 1905, revolutionist Sun Yat-sen came to Hong Kong to meet revolutionary comrades. The Qing government sent a group of killers to murder him. Ordinary citizens from all walks of life joined together, blocking the streets and fighting off the assassins to keep Sun Yat-sen safe.

If you loved Bodyguards and Assassins, the closest films we have are The Legend Is Born: Ip Man (2010), The Warlords (2007) and Ong Bak 3 (2010). All three share Bodyguards and Assassins' kinetic and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Deep Water (2006).

🍅 50% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Teddy Chancontemplativekineticepic
9 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video · Hulu · Peacock Premium

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If Bodyguards and Assassins hit the spot, these will too

The Legend Is Born: Ip Man poster
The Legend Is Born: Ip Man
2010 · dir. Herman Yau
★ 7drama · action · history

One thread runs through both: martial arts

The remarkable true story of the early life of Ip Man, the formidable kung fu genius who would become Bruce Lee's mentor; beginning at the start of his journey from his initial training through to the ultimate battle to become supreme master of the art of Wing Chun.

The Warlords poster
The Warlords
2007 · dir. Peter Chan
🍅 62%★ 7action · drama · history

Contemplative where it counts, kinetic underneath

The civil war in China has ruined many lives including General Pang's. A wounded General Pang is saved by a beautiful young woman along with two other men. Together they vow to eradicate the rebels.

Ong Bak 3 poster
Ong Bak 3
2010 · dir. Tony Jaa
🍅 63%★ 4.9action · adventure · historyPrime Video

Both are built on the same subject: martial arts

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Bodyguards and Assassins does

Tien is captured and almost beaten to death before he is saved and brought back to the Kana Khone villagers. There he is taught meditation and how to deal with his Karma, but very soon his arch rival returns challenging Tien for a final duel.

Kung Fu Jungle poster
Kung Fu Jungle
2014 · dir. Teddy Chan
🍅 74%★ 6.4action · thriller · crimePrime Video

Teddy Chan directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Trades the stillness of Bodyguards and Assassins for an angle of its own

A martial arts instructor working at a police academy gets imprisoned after killing a man by accident. But when a vicious killer starts targeting martial arts masters, the instructor offers to help the police in return for his freedom.

The Assassin poster
The Assassin
2015 · dir. Hou Hsiao-hsien
🍅 80%★ 6.3action · adventure · historyPrime Video

Both lean on scale more than on action

The difference: Reviewed even better

9th century China. Ten year old general’s daughter Nie Yinniang is abducted by a nun who initiates her into the martial arts, transforming her into an exceptional assassin charged with eliminating cruel and corrupt local governors. One day, having failed in a task, she is sent back by her mistress to the land of her birth, with orders to kill the man to whom she was promised – a cousin who now leads the largest military region in North China. After 13 years of exile, the young woman must confront her parents, her memories and her long-repressed feelings.

The Grandmaster poster
The Grandmaster
2013 · dir. Wong Kar-Wai
🍅 78%★ 6.6action · drama · history

Contemplative drama, and it commits to that

The fall of China's last dynasty, a time of chaos, division and war, is the golden age of Chinese martial arts. Legendary kung fu master Ip Man, who will eventually train Bruce Lee, finds his peaceful life interrupted by vengeance.

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen poster
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen
2010 · dir. Andrew Lau Wai-Keung
🍅 47%★ 6.2drama · action · historyPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: assassination

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than Bodyguards and Assassins does

The Japanese forces occupy Shanghai and slowly start spreading terror in the city. Chen Zhen, who was presumed dead, returns to fight against the Japanese and put an end to their tyrannical rule.

Mulan: Rise of a Warrior poster
Mulan: Rise of a Warrior
2009 · dir. Jingle Ma Choh-Sing
★ 6.6adventure · drama · action

Kinetic history in both cases

When barbarian hordes threaten her homeland, the brave and cunning Mulan disguises herself as a male soldier to swell the ranks in her aging father's stead. The warrior's remarkable courage drives her through powerful battle scenes and brutal wartime strategy. Mulan loses dear friends to the enemy's blade as she rises to become one of her country's most valuable leaders — but can she win the war before her secret is exposed?

Ip Man 3 poster
Ip Man 3
2015 · dir. Wilson Yip
🍅 76%★ 7action · drama · historyPrime VideoHulu

Both rooted in Hong Kong

When a band of brutal gangsters led by a crooked property developer make a play to take over the city, Master Ip is forced to take a stand.

The Uprising poster
The Uprising
2026 · dir. Paul Greengrass
🍅 55%★ 8action · drama · historyRent or buy

Drama with a pulse of scale, in both cases

As war and plague devastate 14th-century England, a humble peasant ignites a rebellion, uniting an army of commoners to defy the King’s might in a desperate fight for justice and survival.

Deep Water poster
Deep Water
2006 · dir. Louise Osmond
🍅 96%★ 7.8documentary · adventure · drama

Action built on stillness, twice over

DEEP WATER is the stunning true story of the fateful voyage of Donald Crowhurst, an amateur yachtsman who enters the most daring nautical challenge ever – the very first solo, non-stop, round-the-world boat race.

The Promised Land poster
The Promised Land
2023 · dir. Nikolaj Arcel
🍅 97%★ 7.7action · drama · historyHulu

Both lean on momentum more than on history

Denmark, 1755. Captain Ludvig Kahlen sets out to conquer a Danish heath reputed to be uncultivable, with an impossible goal: to establish a colony in the name of the king, in exchange for a royal title. A single-minded ambition that the ruthless lord of the region will relentlessly seek to put down. Kahlen's fate hangs in the balance: will his endevours bring him wealth and honour, or cost him his life...?

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The best-reviewed films that share Bodyguards and Assassins’ defining feeling.