Best movies like Bad Boys
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Mick O'Brien is a young Chicago street thug torn between a life of petty crime and the love of his girlfriend. But when the heist of a local drug dealer goes tragically wrong Mick is sentenced to a brutal juvenile prison where violence is a rite of passage and respect is measured in vengeance.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, realistic, disturbing, tense, serious, entertaining, bleak, suspenseful, epic
Best tv shows and movies like Bad Boys (1983):
Similar in 89%
Johnny Handsome (1989)
Plot Summary:
A career criminal who has been deformed since birth is given a new face by a kindly doctor and paroled from prison. It appears that he has gone straight, but he is really planning his revenge on the man who killed his mentor and sent him to prison.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: intense, suspense, harsh, neo noir, serious, tense, rough, realistic, suspenseful, erotic
Similar in 84%
Avenge the Crows (2017)
Plot Summary:
A former gang member and her young cousin become embroiled in a vendetta between L.A. gangs, as rivals seek revenge for old crimes.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 423
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, crime drama
Similar in 78%
Juice (1992)
Plot Summary:
Four Harlem friends -- Bishop, Q, Steel and Raheem -- dabble in petty crime, but they decide to go big by knocking off a convenience store. Bishop, the magnetic leader of the group, has the gun. But Q has different aspirations. He wants to be a DJ and happens to have a gig the night of the robbery. Unfortunately for him, Bishop isn't willing to take no for answer in a game where everything's for keeps.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: hood, cult classic, tense, social, neo noir, dark, sexual, crime drama, atmospheric, rough
Similar in 85%
At Close Range (1986)
Plot Summary:
Based upon the true story of Bruce Johnston Sr., his son, and his brothers; together, they constituted one of suburban Philadelphia's most notorious crime families during the 1970's. Their criminal activities ranged from burglary, theft... and ultimately, murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: neo noir, disturbing, tense, bleak, realistic, entertaining, cynical, crime drama, independent film, rough
Similar in 85%
An Innocent Man (1989)
Plot Summary:
Jimmie Rainwood was minding his own business when two corrupt police officers (getting an address wrong) burst into his house, expecting to find a major drug dealer. Rainwood is shot, and the officers frame him as a drug dealer. Rainwood is convicted of drug dealing, based on the perjured evidence of a police informant. Thrown into a seedy jail, fighting to prove his innocence is diffucult when he has to deal with the realities of prison life, where everyone claims they were framed.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: tense, psychological, suspense, intense, suspenseful, disturbing, rough, serious, realistic, scary
Similar in 88%
Alpha Dog (2006)
Plot Summary:
Johnny Truelove likes to see himself as tough. He's the son of an underworld figure and a drug dealer. Johnny also likes to get tough when things don't go his way. When Jake Mazursky fails to pay up for Johnny, things get worse for the Mazursky family, as Johnny and his 'gang' kidnap Jake's 15 year old brother and holds him hostage. Problem now is what to do with 'stolen boy?'.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 107000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: disturbing, serious, rough, teen, harsh, hood, realistic, dark, sad, erotic
Similar in 84%
Kiss of Death (1995)
Plot Summary:
Jimmy Kilmartin is an ex-con living in Astoria in the New York City borough of Queens, trying to stay clean and raising a family with his wife Bev. But when his cousin Ronnie causes him to take a fall for driving an illegal transport of stolen cars, a police officer named Calvin Hart is injured and Jimmy lands back in prison. In exchange for an early release, he is asked to help bring down a local crime boss named Little Junior Brown. Jimmy remarries and attempts to renew a relationship with his child. But he is sent undercover by Detective Hart to work with Junior and infiltrate his operations. As soon as Little Junior kills an undercover federal agent with Jimmy watching, the unscrupulous district attorney and the feds further complicate his life. He must take down Junior or face the consequences.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, surreal, intense, rough, suspenseful, tense, serious, brutal, hood
Similar in 87%
Monument Ave. (1998)
Plot Summary:
Bobby O'Grady a low level member of a Boston Irish gang run by Jackie O'Hara. Jackie demands absolute, total loyalty to him. When Jackie kills one of Bobby's buddies, Teddy, Bobby and others have to keep it an absolute secret, even from their and Teddy's relatives.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, suspenseful, tense, serious, independent film, neo noir, cult classic, rough, bleak, realistic
Similar in 76%
Gloria (1999)
Plot Summary:
Sharon Stone plays a street-wise, middle-aged moll standing up against the mobs, all of which is complicated by a 6 year old urchin with a will of his own who she reluctantly takes under her wing after his family has been gunned down.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: suspense, serious, suspenseful, touching, erotic, neo noir, tense, rough, emotional, realistic
Similar in 79%
To Live and Die in L.A. (1985)
Plot Summary:
A fearless Secret Service agent will stop at nothing to bring down the counterfeiter who killed his partner.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, tense, suspenseful, cult classic, disturbing, stylized, intense, rough, serious
Similar in 84%
Animal Factory (2000)
Plot Summary:
A young man goes to prison and a tough, older convict takes him under his wing as a mentor.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, bleak, atmospheric, harsh, disturbing, intense, serious, rough, cult classic
Similar in 89%
Empire (2002)
Plot Summary:
A big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top Victor soon finds out that he has been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: intense, suspense, melancholic, stylized, rough, serious, suspenseful, hood, tense, realistic
Similar in 83%
Animal Kingdom (2010)
Plot Summary:
Following the death of his mother, J finds himself living with his estranged family, under the watchful eye of his doting grandmother, Smurf, mother to the Cody boys. J quickly comes to believe that he is a player in this world. But, as he soon discovers, this world is far larger and more menacing than he could ever imagine. J finds himself at the center of a cold-blooded revenge plot that turns the family upside down.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 60000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Australia
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: tense, disturbing, bleak, atmospheric, realistic, neo noir, suspense, intense, visually appealing, rough
Similar in 76%
American Me (1992)
Plot Summary:
Edward J. Olmos made his directorial bow with the powerhouse crime saga American Me. Olmos stars as street-gang leader Santana, who during his 18 years in Folsom Prison rules over all the drug-and-murder activities behind bars. Upon his release, Santana goes back to his old neighborhood, intending to lead a peaceful, crime-free life. But his old gang buddies force him back into his old habits. The.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: disturbing, realistic, talky, emotional, intense, rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, suspense
Similar in 76%
Oz (1997)
Plot Summary:
The daily lives of prisoners in Emerald City, an experimental unit of the Oswald Maximum Security Prison where ingroups - Muslims, Latinos, Italians, Aryans - stick close to their mutual friends and terrorizes their mutual enemies.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 105000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 55 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, bleak, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, serious, talky, dramatic, controversial
Similar in 84%
Sleepers (1996)
Plot Summary:
Two gangsters seek revenge on the state jail worker who during their stay at a youth prison sexually abused them. A sensational court hearing takes place to charge him for the crimes.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 234000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags: disturbing, sadistic, harsh, suspenseful, suspense, serious, psychological, brutal, intense, emotional
Similar in 77%
Dog Pound (2010)
Plot Summary:
Three juvenile delinquents arrive at a correctional center and are put under the care of an experienced guard.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Canada, UK
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: serious, sincere, tense, realistic, independent film, social, crime drama, sexy, disturbing, hood
Similar in 87%
Scum (1979)
Plot Summary:
This is the hard and shocking story of life in a British Borstal for young offenders. The brutal regime made no attempt to reform or improve the inmates and actively encouraged a power struggle between the 'tough' new inmate and the 'old hands'. The film was originally made as a BBC play but it was banned before ever being shown.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, tense, serious, controversial, offbeat, depressing, art house, grindhouse, cult classic
Similar in 80%
Trust (2010)
Plot Summary:
A suburban family is torn apart when fourteen-year-old Annie meets her first boyfriend online. After months of communicating via online chat and phone, Annie discovers her friend is not who he originally claimed to be. Shocked into disbelief, her parents are shattered by their daughter's actions and struggle to support her as she comes to terms with what has happened to her once innocent life.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: realistic, emotional, teen, serious, sexy, psychological, disturbing, sincere, depressing, social
Similar in 86%
Elephant (2003)
Plot Summary:
Several ordinary high school students go through their daily routine as two others prepare for something more malevolent. The film chronicles the events surrounding a school shooting.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 96000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags: disturbing, bleak, psychological, realistic, controversial, non-linear, independent film, teen, meditative, enigmatic
Similar in 83%
Menace II Society (1993)
Plot Summary:
Menace II Society is a coming of age tale detailing the summer after its protagonist Caine (Tyrin Turner) graduates from high school. This is Caine's story, which details real life in today's tough inner city.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, realistic, stylized, hood, rough, serious, harsh, intense, bloody
Similar in 88%
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
Plot Summary:
Boyz n the Hood is the popular and successful film and social criticism from John Singleton about the conditions in South Central Los Angeles where teenagers are involved in gun fights and drug dealing on a daily basis.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 151000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: disturbing, tense, thought provoking, hood, cult classic, brutal, bleak, independent film, rough, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
Midnight Express (1978)
Plot Summary:
Billy Hayes is caught attempting to smuggle drugs out of Turkey. The Turkish courts decide to make an example of him, sentencing him to more than 30 years in prison. Hayes has two opportunities for release: the appeals made by his lawyer, his family, and the American government, or the "Midnight Express".
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 87000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: disturbing, realistic, suspense, depressing, psychological, serious, tense, controversial, grim, bleak
Similar in 88%
Shot Caller (2017)
Plot Summary:
A newly-released prison gangster is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 94000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: clever, suspense, harsh, twist ending, crime thriller, hood, crime drama, tense, inspirational, sincere
Similar in 86%
State of Grace (1990)
Plot Summary:
Terry Noonan returns home to New York's Hells Kitchen after a ten year absence. He soon hooks up with childhood pal Jackie who is involved in the Irish mob run by his brother Frankie. Terry also rekindles an old flame with Jackie's sister Kathleen. Soon, however, Terry is torn between his loyalty to his friends and his loyalties to others.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, tense, psychological, atmospheric, intense, serious, captivating, suspenseful, dark
Similar in 89%
Miller's Crossing (1990)
Plot Summary:
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 140000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: neo noir, atmospheric, tense, stylized, serious, realistic, suspense, dark, cult classic, clever
Similar in 84%
Mean Streets (1973)
Plot Summary:
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 117000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, atmospheric, realistic, bleak, independent film, serious, rough, suspenseful, dark
Similar in 78%
Gangster Squad (2013)
Plot Summary:
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop… except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara and Jerry Wooters who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 221000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: rough, tense, exciting, stylized, serious, suspenseful, suspense, intense, realistic, neo noir
Similar in 79%
Carlito's Way (1993)
Plot Summary:
A Puerto-Rican ex-con, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him and lead on to a better life outside of NYC.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 229000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, atmospheric, suspenseful, tense, melancholic, intense, rough, bleak, serious
Similar in 82%
Mystic River (2003)
Plot Summary:
A story about friendship and loyalty, guilt and vengeance, and the fateful affect the past has on the present.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 477000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Australia
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, emotional, twist ending, neo noir, depressing, tense, bleak, psychological thriller, disturbing