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Ong-Bak poster

Movies that feel likeOng-Bak (2003)

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.

If you loved Ong-Bak, the closest films we have are The Protector (2005), Chocolate (2008) and In the Line of Duty 4 (1989). All three share Ong-Bak's kinetic and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013).

πŸ… 85% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.2 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Prachya Pinkaewkineticgrittytense
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video

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If Ong-Bak hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Ong Bak 2 (2008) Β· Ong Bak 3 (2010)

The Protector poster
The Protector
2005 Β· dir. Prachya Pinkaew
πŸ… 53%β˜… 7action Β· crime Β· drama

The same hand behind both of them: Prachya Pinkaew

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

A young fighter named Kham must go to Australia to retrieve his stolen elephant. With the help of a Thai-born Australian detective, Kham must take on all comers, including a gang led by an evil woman and her two deadly bodyguards.

Chocolate poster
Chocolate
2008 Β· dir. Prachya Pinkaew
πŸ… 71%β˜… 6.9action Β· crime

Both are Prachya Pinkaew's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Easier on the tension than Ong-Bak

Zen, an autistic teenage girl with powerful martial arts skills, gets money to pay for her sick mother Zin's treatment by seeking out all the people who owe Zin money and making them pay.

In the Line of Duty 4 poster
In the Line of Duty 4
1989 Β· dir. Yuen Woo-ping
β˜… 7.1action Β· crime Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: martial arts

Two detectives who are up to their necks in trouble and in each other's face, as they try to shut down a drug-trafficking scheme that could be connected with international ties to organized crime. But in the midst of their investigation, innocent immigrant dock worker Luk Wan-Ting gets caught up in the mix when he witnesses the murder of an intelligence operative and is framed for the crime.

Police Story 3: Super Cop poster
Police Story 3: Super Cop
1992 Β· dir. Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7action Β· crime Β· thriller

Both keep coming back to the same thing: thailand

A Hong Kong detective teams up with his female Red Chinese counterpart to stop a Chinese drug czar.

Infernal Affairs II poster
Infernal Affairs II
2003 Β· dir. Andrew Lau Wai-Keung
πŸ… 75%β˜… 7.2action Β· thriller Β· crimeMax

The same mix in both: momentum, then grit

In this prequel to the original, a bloody power struggle among the Triads coincides with the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, setting up the events of the first film.

Ninja: Shadow of a Tear poster
Ninja: Shadow of a Tear
2013 Β· dir. Isaac Florentine
πŸ… 100%β˜… 6.2action Β· crime Β· thrillerPrime Video

One thread runs through both: martial arts

Fight everyone and trust no one: it's the code of survival practiced by martial-arts master Casey Bowman after his life of domestic bliss is shattered by a savage act of violence. Vowing revenge, the fearless American stealthily tracks the killer from Osaka to Bangkok to Rangoon with the help of a wise and crafty sensei. His only clues: a series of victims whose necks bear the distinctive mark of strangulation by barbed wire. Fighting to avenge as well as to survive, Casey must sharpen his razor-like responses and take his battle skills to the next level, even using deep meditation to fake his own death. His target: the sinister drug lord Goro, who is flooding the streets with deadly meth cooked at his remote jungle factory. To prepare for his ultimate confrontation, Casey must finally become an invisible warrior worthy of the name Ninja. But just when his prey is cornered, an unexpected twist shows Casey that his battle is only beginning: he truly can trust no one.

Kickboxer poster
Kickboxer
1989 Β· dir. David Worth
πŸ… 36%β˜… 6.4action Β· thriller

Common ground: muay thai

If your enemy refuses to be humbled... Destroy him. Accompanied by his brother Kurt, American kickboxing champion Eric Sloane, arrives in Thailand to defeat the Eastern warriors at their own sport. His opponent: ruthless fighter and Thai champion, Tong Po. Tong not only defeats Eric, he paralyzes him for life. Crazed with anger, Kurt vows revenge.

Undisputed III: Redemption poster
Undisputed III: Redemption
2010 Β· dir. Isaac Florentine
β˜… 7.4action Β· thriller Β· crime

Both are built on the same subject: fighter

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Ong-Bak does

Russian inmate Boyka, now severely hobbled by the knee injury suffered at the end of Undisputed 2. No longer the feared prison fighter he was, he has declined so far that he is now good only for cleaning toilets. But when a new prison fight tournament begins - an international affair, matching the best fighters from prisons around the globe, enticing them with the promise of freedom for the winner - Boyka must reclaim his dignity and fight for his position in the tournament.

Spy Game poster
Spy Game
2001 Β· dir. Tony Scott
πŸ… 64%β˜… 7.1action Β· crime Β· thrillerNetflix

Tense action in both cases

On the day of his retirement, a veteran CIA agent learns that his former protΓ©gΓ© has been arrested in China, is sentenced to die the next morning in Beijing, and that the CIA is considering letting that happen to avoid an international scandal.

Hard Target poster
Hard Target
1993 Β· dir. John Woo
πŸ… 63%β˜… 6.2action Β· thriller Β· crimePrime Video

Crime with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

When a woman's father goes missing, she enlists a local to aid in her search. The pair soon discover that her father has died at the hands of a wealthy sportsman who hunts homeless men as a form of recreation.

Cold Eyes poster
Cold Eyes
2013 Β· dir. Kim Byung-seo
β˜… 7.1crime Β· action Β· thriller

Gritty thriller, and it commits to that

Ha Yoon-ju becomes the newest member of a unit within the Korean Police Forces Special Crime Department that specializes in surveillance activities on high-profile criminals. She teams up with Hwang Sang-jun, the veteran leader of the unit, and tries to track down James who is the cold-hearted leader of an armed criminal organization.

Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In poster
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In
2024 Β· dir. Soi Cheang
πŸ… 90%β˜… 6.9action Β· crime Β· thrillerPrime Video

Both lean on tension more than on action

The difference: Made in the 2020s, in a different era of the craft

In 1980s Hong Kong, troubled youth Chan Lok-kwun, a mainland refugee, struggles to survive in the Kowloon Walled City by joining underground fights. Betrayed by crime boss Mr. Big while trying to buy a fake ID, he steals drugs from him and seeks refuge in the Walled City, where he encounters Cyclone, a compassionate yet authoritative crime lord.

In the mood for more kinetic?

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