feelsalike.comSign in
The Patriot poster

Movies that feel likeThe Patriot (2000)

After proving himself on the field of battle in the French and Indian War, Benjamin Martin wants nothing more to do with such things, preferring the simple life of a farmer. But when his son Gabriel enlists in the army to defend their new nation, America, against the British, Benjamin reluctantly returns to his old life to protect his son.

If you loved The Patriot, the closest films we have are The Last Samurai (2003), Braveheart (1995) and The Tin Drum (1979). All three share The Patriot's contemplative and bleak feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004).

🍅 61% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.2 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Roland Emmerichcontemplativeepicbleakkineticmelancholy
7 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

See it on the Mood Map

When is The Patriot streaming? →

If The Patriot hit the spot, these will too

The Last Samurai poster
The Last Samurai
2003 · dir. Edward Zwick
🍅 65%★ 7.8drama · action · warMax

Both are working the same pair: general, grief

The difference: Trades the scale of The Patriot for an angle of its own

Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.

Braveheart poster
Braveheart
1995 · dir. Mel Gibson
🍅 74%★ 8.3drama · history · warParamount+

The same preoccupation in both: a true story

Enraged at the slaughter of Murron, his new bride and childhood love, Scottish warrior William Wallace slays a platoon of the local English lord's soldiers. This leads the village to revolt and, eventually, the entire country to rise up against English rule.

The Tin Drum poster
The Tin Drum
1979 · dir. Volker Schlöndorff
🍅 84%★ 7.4drama · history · warMax

Contemplative where it counts, epic underneath

The difference: 21 years apart, and the 1970s show

In 1924, Oskar Matzerath is born in the Free City of Danzig. At age three, he falls down a flight of stairs and stops growing. In 1939, World War II breaks out.

Hero poster
Hero
2002 · dir. Zhang Yimou
★ 7.9drama · adventure · action

One thread runs through both: grief

The difference: Leans harder into adventure than The Patriot does

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.

Das Boot poster
Das Boot
1981 · dir. Wolfgang Petersen
🍅 98%★ 8.4drama · history · war

Both land bleakness and melancholy at once

The difference: Reviewed even better

A German submarine hunts allied ships during the Second World War, but it soon becomes the hunted. The crew tries to survive below the surface, while stretching both the boat and themselves to their limits.

The Dirty Dozen poster
The Dirty Dozen
1967 · dir. Robert Aldrich
🍅 82%★ 7.7action · adventure · war

Both keep coming back to the same thing: mission

12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy château and kill the Nazi officers vacationing there. The soldiers, most of whom are facing death sentences for a variety of violent crimes, agree to the mission and the possible commuting of their sentences.

Midway poster
Midway
2019 · dir. Roland Emmerich
🍅 42%★ 6.7war · history · drama

Roland Emmerich directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The story of the Battle of Midway, and the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome massive odds.

We Were Soldiers poster
We Were Soldiers
2002 · dir. Randall Wallace
🍅 63%★ 7.2action · history · warParamount+

Common ground: a true story

The year is 1965 and America is at war with North Vietnam. Commanding the air cavalry is Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Gibson), a born leader committed to his troops. His target: the Ia Drang Valley, called "The Valley of Death." As Moore prepares for one of the most violent battles in U.S. history, he delivers a stirring promise to his soldiers and their families: "I will leave no man behind...dead or alive. We will all come home together."

Red Cliff poster
Red Cliff
2008 · dir. John Woo
🍅 89%★ 7.3adventure · drama · historyPrime Video

Both lean on momentum more than on drama

In 208 A.D., in the final days of the Han Dynasty, shrewd Prime Minster Cao convinced the fickle Emperor Han the only way to unite all of China was to declare war on the kingdoms of Xu in the west and East Wu in the south. Thus began a military campaign of unprecedented scale. Left with no other hope for survival, the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu formed an unlikely alliance.

Kingdom of Heaven poster
Kingdom of Heaven
2005 · dir. Ridley Scott
🍅 39%★ 7.3drama · action · adventure

Contemplative history, and it commits to that

After his wife dies, a blacksmith named Balian is thrust into royalty, political intrigue and bloody holy wars during the Crusades.

Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War poster
Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War
2004 · dir. Kang Je-kyu
🍅 79%★ 8action · adventure · drama

War built on scale, twice over

When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.

King Arthur poster
King Arthur
2004 · dir. Antoine Fuqua
🍅 30%★ 6.3adventure · war · history

Action with a pulse of bleakness, in both cases

The story of the Arthurian legend, based on the 'Sarmatian hypothesis' which contends that the legend has a historical nucleus in the Sarmatian heavy cavalry troops stationed in Britain, and that the Roman-British military commander, Lucius Artorius Castus is the historical person behind the legend.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies →

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