Best movies like The Defender
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A corrupt businessman commits a murder and the only witness is the girlfriend of another businessman with close connections to the Chinese government, so a bodyguard from Beijing is dispatched to help two Hong Kong cops protect the witness.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: romantic, scenic, cult classic, exciting, serious, suspenseful, fast, surprise ending, neo noir, detective
Best tv shows and movies like The Defender (1994):
Similar in 87%
Hitman (1998)
Plot Summary:
Financially troubled, a newbie hitman reluctantly takes the job of finding the plotted killer of a Japanese tycoon.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: crime drama, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, fast
Similar in 79%
Naked Killer (1992)
Plot Summary:
A young woman is trained by a martial arts specialist to become a professional assassin.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Horror, Romance, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: erotic, realistic, suspenseful, rough, sexy, serious, stylized, controversial, sexual, fast
Similar in 88%
Police Story 2 (1988)
Plot Summary:
The Hong Kong super-cop must stop a group of blackmailing bombers at the same time that the villains of the first Police Story are out for revenge.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: stylized, intense, humorous, rough, suspenseful, action packed, cult classic, action comedy, exciting, realistic
Similar in 81%
Police Story (1985)
Plot Summary:
A virtuous Hong Kong police officer must clear his name after he is framed for murder.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 41000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: light, humorous, stylized, cult classic, exciting, suspenseful, realistic, semi serious, action packed, slapstick
Similar in 82%
The Hitman (1991)
Plot Summary:
After surviving an attempt on his life by his former partner, officer Cliff Garrett (Norris) exacts revenge on those who wronged him by going undercover as a hit man. He works to gain the reputation and trust needed in order to be accepted by the burgeoning Seattle-area criminal underworld, but it is all done in order to take it down from within.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, realistic, serious, suspenseful, suspense, grindhouse, cult classic, independent film, fast
Similar in 84%
Action Jackson (1988)
Plot Summary:
Vengence drives a tough Detroit cop to stay on the trail of a power hungry auto magnate who's systematically eliminating his competition.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: cult classic, neo noir, black comedy, action comedy, psychotronic, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
In the Blood (2014)
Plot Summary:
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.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: UK, Puerto Rico, USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: realistic, exciting, suspenseful, rough, serious, cliffhanger, crime drama, action thriller, fast, surprise ending
Similar in 79%
So Close (2002)
Plot Summary:
A conflict of interest between two high-kicking assassin sisters is complicated as they're pursued by the criminals who hired them and an equally high-kicking female cop.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, rough, serious, exciting, action packed, stylized, bloody, neo noir, fast, crying
Similar in 80%
Naked Weapon (2002)
Plot Summary:
A mysterious woman, known as Madame M, kidnaps forty pre-teen girls and transports them to a remote island to train them as the most deadly assassins. CIA operative Jack Chen follows the case for 6 years with no leads, but when a series of assassinations begin to occur, Jack suspects that Madame M is back in business.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, rough, serious, realistic, erotic, perverse, stylized, fast, independent film
Similar in 75%
Crying Freeman (1995)
Plot Summary:
A lethal assassin for a secret Chinese organisation, who sheds tears of regret each time he kills, is seen swiftly and mercilessly executing three Yakuza gangsters by a beautiful artist. She is captivated by the grace of his kill and later falls in love with him. An intense power struggle for the leadership of the Yakuza Clans ensues as they seek vengeance for the death of their leader.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: France, Canada, USA, Japan
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: emotional, exciting, suspenseful, anime, suspense, stylized, touching, manga, perverse, cult classic
Similar in 85%
Lion Strike (1994)
Plot Summary:
Dr. Johnny Wu becomes involved in a global Mafia arms cartel when they kidnap his son Bobby. The cartel, made-up of underworld leaders from around the world, become aware that he stumbled onto valuable information on a computer disk he possesses. Louie and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Kruskev use every bit of their cunning to trap Johnny and retrieve the disk.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 486
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychotronic, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, surprise ending, detective
Similar in 79%
Contract Killers (2013)
Plot Summary:
Cavalier contract killer Lee-Seng (Rob Young) flees his vengeful employer and a ruthless assassin (James Trevena-Brown) after failing to eliminate a team of vigilantes intent on ridding their city of drug dealers. Meanwhile, as the bullets start to fly, Lee-Seng searches for the truth about his mission while protecting a gorgeous woman (Renee Cataldo) who has gotten caught in the crossfire.
IMDB Rating: 3.3
IMDB Votes: 456
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, tense, suspense, realistic, surprise ending, independent film
Similar in 85%
Rage (1995)
Plot Summary:
A corrupt right-wing militia group chooses a California teacher as the ideal specimen to clone for its army.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 793
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, bleak, serious, suspenseful, fast, surprise ending, neo noir, psychotronic
Similar in 88%
Eraser: Reborn (2022)
Plot Summary:
U.S. Marshal Mason Pollard specializes in “erasing” people – faking the deaths of high-risk witnesses. With the technological advances of the last 25 years, the game has upgraded, and it’s just another day at the office when he’s assigned to Rina Kimura, a crime boss’ wife who’s decided to turn state’s evidence. As the two flee to Cape Town, South Africa, Pollard discovers he’s been set up and will need to be at the top of his game, or he’ll be the one who’s erased.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: suspense, surprise ending, neo noir
Similar in 86%
A Good Man (2014)
Plot Summary:
After an illustrious special ops career ends in disaster, Alexander goes off the grid and attempts to lead a quiet life as a handyman at an apartment complex. But when one of his tenants and her family fall under the thumb of a Russian gangster, Alexander is dragged into an all-out war between rival Chinese and Russian gangs; forcing him to not only defend the family, but bringing him face to face with an old foe, and giving him one more chance to reconcile his past.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, psychological, realistic, surprise ending, neo noir, independent film, detective, rough
Similar in 81%
Out for a Kill (2003)
Plot Summary:
An unsuspecting university professor is an unwitting accomplice in a foiled Chinese cocaine deal. Wrongly imprisoned, he escapes to take his revenge and prove his innocence.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Aruba, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, neo noir, freeze frame, campy
Similar in 83%
Skin Trade (2014)
Plot Summary:
After his family is killed by a Serbian gangster with international interests. NYC detective Nick goes to S.E. Asia and teams up with a Thai detective to get revenge and destroy the syndicates human trafficking network.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Thailand, Canada, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, action thriller, action adventure, fast, surprise ending
Similar in 86%
An Eye for an Eye (1981)
Plot Summary:
Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: suspense, serious, exciting, cult classic, tense, neo noir, independent film, rough, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
New Police Story (2004)
Plot Summary:
Sent into a drunken tailspin when his entire unit is killed by a gang of thrill-seeking punks, disgraced Hong Kong police inspector Wing (Jackie Chan) needs help from his new rookie partner, with a troubled past of his own, to climb out of the bottle and track down the gang and its ruthless leader.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: exciting, stylized, suspenseful, rough, serious, fast paced, action packed, detective, bleak, cult classic
Similar in 88%
The Protector (1985)
Plot Summary:
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: retro, crime drama, perverse, cult classic, action adventure, independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
Gen-X Cops (1999)
Plot Summary:
Four young officers of the Hong Kong Police are joined together to fight against organised crime using all possible means, even if this would lead them to break the law… Their first assignment is to eliminate a gang of criminals who have stolen a shipload of explosives.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: exciting, stylized, serious, suspenseful, suspense, cult classic, fast, surprise ending, neo noir, independent film
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Similar in 86%
Cartels (2016)
Plot Summary:
An elite team of DEA agents are assigned to protect a dangerous drug lord and take refuge in a luxury hotel while they await extraction. They soon find themselves at the center of an ambush as the drug lord's former associates launch an explosive assault on the hotel.
IMDB Rating: 3.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA, Monaco, Romania
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, suspenseful, exciting, surprise ending, neo noir, ambiguous ending, independent film
Similar in 85%
Hard Boiled (1992)
Plot Summary:
A cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover cop who's working as a gangster hitman. They use all means of excessive force to find them.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: stylized, bloody, intense, neo noir, exciting, detective, suspense, heroic, grindhouse, cult classic
Similar in 79%
Assassination Games (2011)
Plot Summary:
Brazil is a contract killer, willing to take any job if the price is right. Flint left the assassin game when a ruthless drug dealer’s brutal attack left his wife in a coma. When a contract is put out on the same coldblooded drug dealer, both Brazil and Flint want him dead – one for the money, the other for revenge. With crooked Interpol agents and vicious members of the criminal underworld hot on their trail, these two assassins reluctantly join forces to quickly take out their target before they themselves are terminated.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Hong Kong, Romania
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, intense, cult classic, surprise ending, neo noir
Similar in 82%
Mask of Death (1996)
Plot Summary:
While attempting to flee from the FBI, the criminal Frank Dallio kills Detective McKenna's wife, Rachel. McKenna himself is shot in the face by the professional killer Lyle Mason, who dies in a car crash shortly thereafter. The FBI persuades McKenna to undergo facial surgery and take the place of Lyle Mason in order to find Dallio and a valuable microchip.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 403
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: suspense, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending, neo noir, detective
Similar in 86%
Maximum Force (1992)
Plot Summary:
Three renegade cops team up to take on the corrupt chief of police and a crime lords hatchet-man.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 392
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspense, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending, neo noir, detective
Similar in 89%
Deadly Target (1994)
Plot Summary:
A Chinese gangster in Los Angeles escapes on the eve of his deportation to Hong Kong. A martial-arts master detective and his ragtag team get caught up in the action as they track down this ruthless killer.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 334
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: suspense, crime drama, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending, detective
Similar in 76%
Back in Action (1994)
Plot Summary:
Two men have different motivations but the same goal when they team up and mount an assault on a powerful drug gang.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 774
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: erotic, suspense, neo noir, independent film, detective, cult film
Similar in 88%
A Better Way to Die (2000)
Plot Summary:
Boomer (Wiper) is a rookie cop based in the urban hellhole that is downtown Chicago. After his involvement in a drug bust operation which results in the death of Carlos (Carmen Argenziano), his mentor and father figure, Boomer becomes disillusioned with the brutal and inhumane nature of his job. Consequently, he decides to hand in his resignation to the Chicago Police Department and return to his home town of Joliet, where his fiancé, Kelly (Natasha Henstridge), awaits.While en route back to Joliet, however, Boomer makes a grievous error in judgment when he stops for, and assists, an unfortunate motorist whose vehicle appears to have broken down; the naive ex-cop is swiftly attacked and rendered unconscious. Boomer awakes to find that his car and wallet have been stolen, and that he has become involved in a dangerous game of mistaken identity.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, exciting, captivating, serious, realistic, surprise ending, road movie, neo noir, independent film
Similar in 89%
Absolution (2015)
Plot Summary:
When a contract killer (Steven Seagal) encounters a girl on the run from a dangerous mob boss (Vinnie Jones) with powerful political ties, running a human trafficking operation, he is torn between protecting the girl, and remaining loyal to the government agency that hired him.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Romania, USA, Ukraine
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: tense, exciting, captivating, suspense, surprise ending, neo noir, independent film, freeze frame