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The Assassin poster

Movies that feel likeThe Assassin (2015)

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.

If you loved The Assassin, the closest films we have are Ong Bak 3 (2010), Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame (2010) and The Legend Is Born: Ip Man (2010). All three share The Assassin's kinetic and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978).

🍅 80% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Hou Hsiao-hsienkineticepic
8 of 12 streaming nowAmazon Prime Video · ARROW · Hi-YAH

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If The Assassin hit the spot, these will too

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

One thread runs through both: martial arts

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.

Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame poster
🍅 80%★ 6.6action · adventure · dramaPrime Video

The same two preoccupations: tang dynasty, and wuxia

The difference: Leans harder into drama than The Assassin does

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.

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

Both keep coming back to the same thing: 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

Common ground: assassin

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.

Bodyguards and Assassins poster
Bodyguards and Assassins
2009 · dir. Teddy Chan
🍅 50%★ 6.8drama · action · history

Kinetic where it counts, epic underneath

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

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.

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

Action built on momentum, twice over

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.

Major Grom: Plague Doctor poster
Major Grom: Plague Doctor
2021 · dir. Oleg Trofim
★ 6.3action · adventureRent or buy

Epic adventure, and it commits to that

In present day St. Petersburg, police major Igor Grom, an honest and skilled cop with unconventional methods, pursues a vigilante murderer in the mask of a plague doctor.

Chinese Zodiac poster
Chinese Zodiac
2012 · dir. Jackie Chan
🍅 25%★ 6action · adventure

History with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

Asian Hawk leads a mercenary team to recover several lost artifacts from the Old Summer Palace, the bronze heads of the twelve Chinese Zodiac animals which were sacked by the French and British armies from the imperial Summer Palace in Beijing in 1860. Assisted by a Chinese student and a Parisian woman, Hawk stops at nothing to accomplish the mission.

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

The same preoccupation in both: assassin

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.

House of Flying Daggers poster
House of Flying Daggers
2004 · dir. Zhang Yimou
🍅 87%★ 7.5adventure · drama · actionPrime Video

Both are built on the same subject: tang dynasty

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 things are not what they seem.

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

Both lean on scale more than on action

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?

The 36th Chamber of Shaolin poster
The 36th Chamber of Shaolin
1978 · dir. Lau Kar-leung
🍅 83%★ 7.6action · adventurePrime Video

Both working the same adventure territory

The difference: 37 years apart, and the 1970s show

During the Qing Dynasty, a fishmonger is killed by the reigning Manchu government for supporting the anti-government movement; his son manages to escape to Shaolin Temple, where he plans to learn its secretive brand of martial arts to seek revenge.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Assassin’s defining feeling.