Movies Like Bat★21 (1988)

Bat★21 is a 1988 action, drama, war film from Peter Markle with a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Apocalypse Now and Full Metal Jacket.

Action Drama War

Apocalypse Now

1979

At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz, who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.

8.3

MagicScore

Full Metal Jacket

1987

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

8.1

MagicScore

Who'll Stop the Rain

1978

John, a disillusioned Vietnam War journalist, turns to heroin smuggling. He cons Ray, an equally burnt out veteran into delivering the drugs stateside to his wife. Everything soon falls apart and Ray ends up on the run with John's wife trying to evade crooked narcotics agents.

6.5

MagicScore

Go Tell the Spartans

1978

A unit of American military advisors in Vietnam prior to the major U.S. involvement finds similarities between their helpless struggle against the Viet Cong and the doomed actions of a French unit at the same site a decade before.

6.2

MagicScore

Uncommon Valor

1983

A group of Vietnam War veterans re-unite to rescue one of their own left behind and taken prisoner by the Vietnamese.

6.2

MagicScore

China Gate

1957

Near the end of the French phase of the Vietnam War, a group of mercenaries are recruited to travel through enemy territory to the Chinese border.

6.0

MagicScore

Missing in Action

1984

American servicemen are still being held captive in Vietnam and it's up to one man to bring them home in this blistering, fast-paced action/adventure starring martial arts superstar Chuck Norris. Following a daring escape from a Vietnamese POW camp, Special Forces Colonel James Braddock (Norris) is on a mission to locate and save remaining MIAs.

5.8

MagicScore

Platoon Leader

1988

West Point graduate lieutenant Jeff Knight meets cynicism when taking command of sergeant Michael McNamara's tour veterans platoon in a Vietnamese trench camp. Unlike his predecessor, who hid till the end of his tour, Jeff takes charge, experiences the manual doesn't allow coping with all realities and gets wounded. He returns, now fully respect by men and superiors. Besides the Vietcong, the platoon wrestles with the inscrutable villagers, which the G.I.'s officially protect, but also fear as some collaborate with them, other covertly with the Cong, either way subject to bloody reprisals.

5.5

MagicScore

The Deer Hunter

1978

A group of working-class friends decide to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War and finds it to be hellish chaos -- not the noble venture they imagined. Before they left, Steven married his pregnant girlfriend -- and Michael and Nick were in love with the same woman. But all three are different men upon their return.

8.0

MagicScore

#10

Bullet in the Head

1990

Three childhood friends from the slums of Hong Kong flee to war-time Saigon after accidentally murdering a gang leader, but their troubles only escalate.

7.6

MagicScore

#11

First Blood

1982

When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.

7.5

MagicScore

#12

The 317th Platoon

1965

In Laos, 1954, eight days before the french defeat in the Indochina war, the 317th platoon – four french soldiers and 41 laotian combatants – has been ordered to leave its outpost and to retreat for the plains of Diên Biên Phu, where the french army is getting stucked. Led by the inexperienced and idealistic sous-lieutenant Torrens, fresh out of the military academy, and by adjutant Willsdorf, a WWII veteran of the Werhmacht, the group must cross 150 kilometers of jungle. But dripping rainwater, hostile nature, and the Viêt-minh ambushes expose them to constant danger.

7.4

MagicScore

#13

Good Morning, Vietnam

1987

A disk jockey goes to Vietnam to work for the Armed Forces Radio Service. While he becomes popular among the troops, his superiors disapprove of his humor.

7.3

MagicScore

#14

Coming Home

1978

In 1968 California, a Marine officer's wife falls in love with a former high school classmate who suffered a paralyzing combat injury in the war.

7.0

MagicScore

#15

Heaven & Earth

1993

In a small Vietnamese village torn apart by war, a young woman faces unimaginable horrors before deciding to escape to the city. There, she encounters a compassionate Marine who offers her hope and a chance at a new life, igniting the possibility of a future together.

6.7

MagicScore

#16

Rambo: First Blood Part II

1985

John Rambo is released from prison by the government for a top-secret covert mission to the last place on Earth he'd want to return - the jungles of Vietnam.

6.7

MagicScore

#17

Da 5 Bloods

2020

Four African-American Vietnam veterans return to Vietnam. They are in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. These heroes battle forces of humanity and nature while confronted by the lasting ravages of the immorality of the Vietnam War.

6.5

MagicScore

#18

Hearts and Minds

1974

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.

7.6

MagicScore

#19

Last Days in Vietnam

2014

During the chaotic final weeks of the Vietnam War, the North Vietnamese Army closes in on Saigon as the panicked South Vietnamese people desperately attempt to escape. On the ground, American soldiers and diplomats confront a moral quandary: whether to obey White House orders to evacuate only U.S. citizens.

7.3

MagicScore

#20

In the Year of the Pig

1969

Both sober and sobering, producer-director Emile de Antonio’s In the Year of the Pig is a powerful and, no doubt for many, controversial documentary about the Vietnam War.

6.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Bat★21?

The top films similar to Bat★21 by MovieMagicScore are Apocalypse Now (8.3), Full Metal Jacket (8.1), Who'll Stop the Rain (6.5). Each shares action/drama/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Bat★21 worth watching?

Bat★21 holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.3/10 from 200 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Bat★21?

Bat★21 (1988) is a action, drama, war film directed by Peter Markle, starring Gene Hackman, Danny Glover, Jerry Reed.

Where can I find more recommendations like Bat★21?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more action recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Apocalypse Now Movies like Full Metal Jacket Movies like Who'll Stop the Rain Movies like Go Tell the Spartans Movies like Uncommon Valor Movies like China Gate

About movies like Bat★21

This ranked list pairs Bat★21 (1988), a action and drama and war film from Peter Markle, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Gene Hackman take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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