Movies Like The Mystery of Chess Boxing

If you liked The Mystery of Chess Boxing (1979), a action and drama movie directed by Joseph Kuo, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Fist of Legend (1994)
★ 7.5/10Also action
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.
2
Ip Man: Kung Fu Master (2019)
★ 6.5/10Also action and drama
Ip Man’s promising career as a Policeman is ruined after he is framed for murder and targeted by a mob boss’s daughter.
3
Clan of the White Lotus (1980)
★ 6.6/10Also action and drama
The Qing emperor releases all detained Shaolin disciples, but the vindictive White Lotus clan decides to exterminate all the disciples. One martial artist survives the onslaught, and constantly trains while in hiding…
4
The Five Venoms (1978)
★ 6.6/10Also action and drama
A dying master sends his last student to check up on five former pupils, who each know a special style of kung-fu.
5
Five Fingers of Death (1972)
★ 6.7/10Also action and drama
A young boxer joins a martial arts school to increase his skill so he can enter a martial arts competition. He leaves the school when he hears that a local gangster is terrorizing the town. He comes to the aid of a…
6
Invincible Shaolin (1978)
★ 6.5/10Also action and drama
Three North Shaolin teachers are called on by the Manchus to teach their soldiers and are urged to challenge the current South Shaolin teachers. They defeat the South Shaolin teachers and, that night, the head general…
7
Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown (2011)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and action
Four fighters from different backgrounds come together to train under an ex MMA rising star and then ultimately have to fight each other and the traitor in their midst.
8
Beast (2026)
★ 7.5/10Also action and drama
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal…
9
Ip Man: The Awakening (2021)
★ 6.8/10Also action and drama
When a young Master Ip stops a kidnapping, he ignites a turf war with a ruthless human-trafficking ring. In retaliation, the gang kidnaps one of Ip Man's close friends, forcing him to face the group's brutal boxing…
10
Run (1991)
★ 6/10Also action and drama
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
11
Bloodsport (1988)
★ 7.1/10Also action and drama
An American Army Major goes AWOL to Hong Kong for an outlawed martial arts contest called the Kumite.
12
Hand of Death (1976)
★ 6.6/10Also action
A young monk must face the Extended Iron Claw technique of a powerful warlord seeking to destroy Shaolin.
13
Rise of the Legend (2014)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and action
In 1868 during the late Qing Dynasty, rampant corruption on the Imperial Court inflicts much suffering in people's lives. For years, the Black Tiger’s fearsome boss Lei Gong has been trying to get rid of the leader of…
14
Master of the Flying Guillotine (1976)
★ 6.7/10Also action and drama
A one-armed martial arts master is being stalked by an Imperial assassin, the master of two fighters killed in the previous film. When the One-Armed Boxer is invited to attend a martial arts tournament, his efforts to…
15
Jawbone (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also action and drama
A former youth boxing champion, Jimmy McCabe is a man in search of hope but looking in all the wrong places. When he hits rock bottom he turns to his childhood boxing club and the only family he has left: gym owner…
16
New Fist of Fury (1976)
★ 6/10Also action
A brother and sister escape from Japanese-occupied Shanghai to Japanese-occupied Taiwan, to stay with their grandfather who runs a Kung-Fu school there. However, the master of a Japanese Kung- Fu school in Taiwan has…
17
Eye for an Eye 2 (2024)
★ 6.4/10Also action and drama
The blind swordsman, skilled in martial arts, named Cheng Xiazi (Xie Miao), accidentally saves Zhang Xiaoyu (Yang Enyou), who has suffered from the destruction of his family. Under the persuasion of the orphan Xiaoyu…
18
In the Blood (2014)
★ 5.8/10Also action
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
19
Journey to the West: The Demons Strike Back (2017)
★ 6/10Also action
Tang Monk brings three disciples on a journey to the West. On the outside, everything seems harmonious. However, tension is present beneath the surface, and their hearts and minds are not in agreement. After a series…
20
Crippled Avengers (1978)
★ 6.8/10Also action and drama
A group of martial artists seek revenge after being crippled by Tu Tin-To, a martial arts master, and his son.