Movies Like The Dogs of War (1980)

The Dogs of War is a 1980 action, adventure, thriller film from John Irvin with a MovieMagicScore of 5.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Cuba and Men of War.

Action Adventure Thriller

Cuba

1979

A British mercenary arrives in pre-Revolution Cuba to help train the corrupt General Batista's army against Castro's guerrillas while he also romances a former lover now married to an unscrupulous plantation owner.

5.4

MagicScore

Men of War

1994

Nick Gunar is a burnt-out, jaded and hard-up former mercenary who is having a difficult time adjusting to civilian life. At the end of his rope, he is hired by the Nitro Mine Corporation to strong-arm the natives of a South China Sea island into giving up their rights to its valuable mineral resources. Nick loathes the thought of another mission, but this seemingly easy job will earn him enough money to get back with his estranged family. He recruits some of his former mercenary buddies to help him with the job. The island people refuse to give up their land and Nick decides to help them fight the greedy corporation that hired him. As greed and treachery begin to unravel, Nick's band of mercenaries choose sides.

5.1

MagicScore

The President's Man

2000

To many, Joshua McCord is a charismatic Asian studies professor. To the President of the United States, he's America's greatest secret weapon; a covert operative charged with only the most sensitive and dangerous missions.

4.5

MagicScore

The Jewel of the Nile

1985

Joan Wilder is thrust back into a world of murder, chases, foreign intrigue... and love. This time out she's duped by a duplicitous Arab dignitary who brings her to the Middle East, ostensibly to write a book about his life. Of course, he's up to no good, and Joan is just another pawn in his wicked game. But Jack Colton and his sidekick Ralph show up to help our intrepid heroine save the day.

6.2

MagicScore

Clear and Present Danger

1994

Agent Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence for the CIA when Admiral Greer is diagnosed with cancer. When an American businessman, and friend of the president, is murdered on his yacht, Ryan starts discovering links between the man and drug dealers. As former CIA agent John Clark is sent to Colombia to kill drug cartel kingpins in retaliation, Ryan must fight through multiple cover-ups to figure out what happened and who's responsible.

6.6

MagicScore

The Marksman

2005

When Chechen rebels take over a Russian nuclear reactor, it’s up to a special ops marksman to rescue the hostages and prevent nuclear catastrophe.

5.4

MagicScore

Gladiator

2000

After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus, one of Rome's most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.

8.2

MagicScore

Legionnaire

1998

Alain Lefevre is a boxer paid by a Marseille mobster to take a dive. When he wins the fight he attempts to flee to America with the mobster's girlfriend Katrina. This plan fails and he seeks escape by joining the foreign legion. As part of the legion he tangles with abusive lieutenant Steinkampf and bonds with legionnaires Luther, Mackintosh and Rosetti.

5.8

MagicScore

Salvador

1986

In 1980, an American journalist covering the Salvadoran Civil War becomes entangled with both the leftist guerrilla groups and the right-wing military dictatorship while trying to rescue his girlfriend and her children.

7.0

MagicScore

#10

1911

2011

China's first President Sun Yat-Sen and military commander Huang Xing lead the revolutionary Wuchang Uprising in a bid to put an end to the reign of the Qing Dynasty.

5.7

MagicScore

#11

The Scorpion King 2: Rise of a Warrior

2008

The heroic tale of young Mathayus and his relentless quest for justice against an evil and powerful villain, King Sargon. Mathayus faces heart-stopping tribulations during his adventurous, odds-defying trajectory toward his ultimate destiny: becoming the formidable warrior king of an ancient desert empire.

4.7

MagicScore

#12

All Quiet on the Western Front

1930

When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.

7.8

MagicScore

#13

The Big Parade

1925

The story of an idle rich boy who joins the US Army's Rainbow Division and is sent to France to fight in World War I, becomes friends with two working class men, experiences the horrors of trench warfare, and finds love with a French girl.

7.5

MagicScore

#14

Henry V

1989

In the midst of the Hundred Years War, the young King Henry V of England embarks on the conquest of France in 1415.

7.2

MagicScore

#15

The Wind That Shakes the Barley

2006

In 1920s Ireland young doctor Damien O'Donovan prepares to depart for a new job in a London hospital. As he says his goodbyes at a friend's farm, British Black and Tans arrive, and a young man is killed. Damien joins his brother Teddy in the Irish Republican Army, but political events are soon set in motion that tear the brothers apart.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

Beasts of No Nation

2015

Based on the experiences of Agu, a child fighting in the civil war of an unnamed, fictional West African country. Follows Agu's journey as he's forced to join a group of soldiers. While he fears his commander and many of the men around him, his fledgling childhood has been brutally shattered by the war raging through his country, and he is at first torn between conflicting revulsion and fascination.

7.6

MagicScore

#17

Lion Of The Desert

1981

This movie tells the story of Omar Mukhtar, an Arab Muslim rebel who fought against the Italian conquest of Libya during the second Italo-Senussi War. It gives western viewers a glimpse into this little-known region and chapter of history, and exposes the savage means by which the conquering army attempted to subdue the natives.

7.3

MagicScore

#18

State of Siege

1972

Using the interrogation of a US counterinsurgency agent as a backdrop, the film explores the consequences of the struggle between Uruguay's government and the leftist Tupamaro guerrillas.

7.2

MagicScore

#19

To Kill a King

2003

A recounting of the relationship between General Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell, as they try to cope with the consequences of deposing King Charles I.

5.7

MagicScore

#20

Blood Diamond

2006

An ex-mercenary turned smuggler. A Mende fisherman. Amid the explosive civil war overtaking 1999 Sierra Leone, these men join for two desperate missions: recovering a rare pink diamond of immense value and rescuing the fisherman's son, conscripted as a child soldier into the brutal rebel forces ripping a swath of torture and bloodshed countrywide.

7.6

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Dogs of War?

The top films similar to The Dogs of War by MovieMagicScore are Cuba (5.4), Men of War (5.1), The President's Man (4.5). Each shares action/adventure/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Dogs of War worth watching?

The Dogs of War holds a MovieMagicScore of 5.7/10 from 152 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Dogs of War?

The Dogs of War (1980) is a action, adventure, thriller film directed by John Irvin, starring Christopher Walken, Tom Berenger, Winston Ntshona.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Dogs of War?

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 Cuba Movies like Men of War Movies like The President's Man Movies like The Jewel of the Nile Movies like Clear and Present Danger Movies like The Marksman

About movies like The Dogs of War

This ranked list pairs The Dogs of War (1980), a action and adventure and thriller film from John Irvin, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Christopher Walken 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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