Movies Like Platoon Leader (1988)

Platoon Leader is a 1988 action, drama, war film from Aaron Norris with a MovieMagicScore of 5.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Apocalypse Now and The 317th Platoon.

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

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

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

Little Dieter Needs to Fly

1997

Three decades after German-American pilot Dieter Dengler was shot down over Laos, he returns to the places where he was held prisoner during the early years of the Vietnam War. Accompanied by director Werner Herzog, Dengler describes in unusually candid detail his captivity, the friendships he made, and his daring escape. Not willing to stop there, Herzog even persuades his subject to re-enact certain tortures, with the help of some willing local villagers.

7.4

MagicScore

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

Casualties of War

1989

During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager.

7.1

MagicScore

Path to War

2003

A powerful drama of soaring ambition and shattered dreams that takes a provocative insider's look at the way the USA goes to war—as seen from inside the LBJ White House leading up to and during the Vietnam War.

6.7

MagicScore

Missing in Action 2: The Beginning

1985

Prequel to the first Missing In Action, set in the early 1980s it shows the capture of Colonel Braddock during the Vietnam war in the 1970s, and his captivity with other American POWs in a brutal prison camp, and his plans to escape.

5.8

MagicScore

The Siege of Firebase Gloria

1989

A Marine patrol stops at Firebase Gloria at the start of the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam war. With the firebase attacked, the patrol remains to help defend it.

5.6

MagicScore

#10

The Last Hunter

1980

During the Vietnam war, an American soldier gets trapped beind enemy lines. A squad of his buddies sets out to rescue him.

5.4

MagicScore

#11

A Bright Shining Lie

1998

Something in his past keeps career Army man John Paul Vann from advancing past colonel. He views being sent to Vietnam as part of the US military advisory force a stepping stone to promotion. However, he disagrees vocally (and on the record) with the way the war is being run and is forced to leave the military. Returning to Vietnam as a civilian working with the Army, he comes to despise some South Vietnamese officers while he takes charge of some of the U.S. forces and continues his liaisons with Vietnamese women.

5.3

MagicScore

#12

Hamburger Hill

1987

The men of Bravo Company are facing a battle that's all uphill… up Hamburger Hill. Fourteen war-weary soldiers are battling for a mud-covered mound of earth so named because it chews up soldiers like chopped meat. They are fighting for their country, their fellow soldiers and their lives. War is hell, but this is worse. Hamburger Hill tells it the way it was, the way it really was. It's a raw, gritty and totally unrelenting dramatic depiction of one of the fiercest battles of America's bloodiest war. This happened. Hamburger Hill - war at its worst, men at their best.

6.6

MagicScore

#13

Bat★21

1988

Lt. Col. Iceal "Ham" Hambleton is a weapons countermeasures expert and when his aircraft is shot over enemy territory the Air Force very much wants to get him back. Hambleton knows the area he's in is going to be carpet-bombed but a temporary shortage of helicopters causes a delay. Working with an Air Force reconnaissance pilot, Capt. Bartholomew Clark, he maps out an escape route.

6.3

MagicScore

#14

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

#15

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

#16

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

#17

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

#18

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

#19

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

#20

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

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Platoon Leader?

The top films similar to Platoon Leader by MovieMagicScore are Apocalypse Now (8.3), The 317th Platoon (7.4), Good Morning, Vietnam (7.3). Each shares action/drama/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Platoon Leader worth watching?

Platoon Leader holds a MovieMagicScore of 5.5/10 from 58 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Platoon Leader?

Platoon Leader (1988) is a action, drama, war film directed by Aaron Norris, starring Michael Dudikoff, Robert F. Lyons, Michael DeLorenzo.

Where can I find more recommendations like Platoon Leader?

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 The 317th Platoon Movies like Good Morning, Vietnam Movies like Little Dieter Needs to Fly Movies like Rambo: First Blood Part II Movies like Casualties of War

About movies like Platoon Leader

This ranked list pairs Platoon Leader (1988), a action and drama and war film from Aaron Norris, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Michael Dudikoff 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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