Best movies like Empire State
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
After failing to get into the police academy, Chris Potamitis (Hemsworth), settles for a security guard job with the EMPIRE STATE Armored Truck Company. He makes the mistake of mentioning the company's lax security to his best friend, Eddie (Angarano) & is unwittingly drawn into an elaborate scheme to rob the abundant amounts of cash being stored there - resulting in the largest cash heist in U.S. History. As the stakes continue to rise, Chris and Eddie must outwit James Ransone (Johnson), the veteran NYPD Detective hot on their trail, & the local crime bosses that want to know who pulled a job on their turf.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, serious, realistic, surprise ending, thought provoking, captivating, visually appealing, tense, teen
Best tv shows and movies like Empire State (2013):
Similar in 76%
Truck Turner (1974)
Plot Summary:
Ex-football star turned skip-tracer, Turner specializes in bringing in the criminals police are too scared to chase, and when he's hired to capture sociopathic pimp Gator, he finds himself confronted by the most vicious killers in the underground scene.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, neo noir, cult classic, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending
Similar in 86%
The Mod Squad (1999)
Plot Summary:
Three minor delinquints (Danes, Ribisi, and Epps) are recruited by a cop (Farina) working undercover to bust a cop/drug ring. When the officer who recruited them is killed, they go above and beyond the call of duty to solve the murder; and bust the drug ring. Suffering the jibes, and ridicule of fellow officers; they struggle to save their names, and that of their deceased benefactor.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: suspense, rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic, fast, surprise ending, detective, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 78%
The Connection (2014)
Plot Summary:
Newly transferred to the bustling port city of Marseille to assist with a crackdown on organized crime, energetic young magistrate Pierre Michel is given a rapid-fire tutorial on the ins and outs of an out-of-control drug trade. Pierre's wildly ambitious mission is to take on the French Connection, a highly organized operation that controls the city's underground heroin economy and is overseen by the notorious —and reputedly untouchable— Gaetan Zampa. Fearless, determined and willing to go the distance, Pierre plunges into an underworld world of insane danger and ruthless criminals.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, suspenseful, rough, noir, neo noir, captivating, hood, powerful, realistic
Similar in 90%
L.A. Takedown (1989)
Plot Summary:
Michael Mann's (HEAT, MIAMI VICE) gutsy telefilm tells the tale of two skilled professionals--one a cop, the other a criminal--who aren't as different as they think.Vincent Hanna (Scott Plank) is an intense cop on the trail of ruthless armed robber Patric McLaren (Alex McArthur). After a botched heist, the two men confront each via a full scale battle on the seedy streets of Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, detective, eighties
Similar in 79%
McQ (1974)
Plot Summary:
Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: serious, suspense, exciting, captivating, neo noir, detective, rough, realistic, suspenseful, fast
Similar in 78%
The Driver (1978)
Plot Summary:
The Driver specializes in driving getaway cars for robberies. His exceptional talent has prevented him from being caught yet. After another successful flight from the police a self-assured detective makes it his primary goal to catch the Driver. He promises pardons to a gang if they help to convict him in a set-up robbery. The Driver seeks help from The Player to mislead the detective.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: neo noir, atmospheric, tense, realistic, serious, suspenseful, suspense, road movie, grindhouse, retro
Similar in 82%
End of a Gun (2016)
Plot Summary:
A mall security guard -- and former federal agent -- crosses paths with a drug kingpin's enforcer after he saves a woman from danger.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, rough, suspense, suspenseful, neo noir, independent film, detective, freeze frame
Similar in 75%
Urban Justice (2007)
Plot Summary:
Seagal plays a man with a dark and violent past, who seeks revenge for the murder of his son.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, suspenseful, exciting, serious, realistic, suspense, bloody, cult classic, bleak, fast
Similar in 87%
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 77%
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 89%
Boiling Point (1993)
Plot Summary:
Red is an aging scam-artist who's just been released from prison together with Ronnie, a young and not-so-bright hoodlum who is easily manipulated. Their new business is to organize fake-money sales and then kill the buyer to take his money; but when Ronnie kills an undercover secret service agent, his partner Jimmy Mercer vows revenge and is given one week to catch the killers before being transferred. Written by Giancarlo Cairella.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, neo noir, suspenseful, tense, intense, rough, serious, realistic, action thriller
Similar in 77%
Armored (2009)
Plot Summary:
A crew of officers at an armored transport security firm risk their lives when they embark on the ultimate heist against their own company. Armed with a seemingly fool-proof plan, the men plan on making off with a fortune with harm to none. But when an unexpected witness interferes, the plan quickly unravels and all bets are off.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, suspense, intense, serious, realistic, action packed, exciting, action thriller, crime thriller
Similar in 88%
Stolen (2012)
Plot Summary:
Master thief Will Montgomery is just released from the State penitentiary after serving a 10 year sentence, is contacted by Vincent, his ex comrade in crime, who is holding Will’s teenage daughter ransom in a hijacked taxi cab. Vincent will only surrender her when Will reveals the whereabouts of the 20 million dollars he contrived to conceal from their last robbery.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 46000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: exciting, intense, rough, serious, suspenseful, cult classic, realistic, fast, surprise ending, black comedy
Similar in 85%
Fast Five (2011)
Plot Summary:
Former cop Brian O'Conner partners with ex-con Dom Toretto on the opposite side of the law. Since Brian and Mia Toretto broke Dom out of custody, they've blown across many borders to elude authorities. Now backed into a corner in Rio de Janeiro, they must pull one last job in order to gain their freedom.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 402000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: exciting, action packed, suspense, suspenseful, action adventure, saga, fast, action thriller, tense, captivating
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 89%
Man on a Ledge (2012)
Plot Summary:
An ex-cop turned con threatens to jump to his death from a Manhattan hotel rooftop. The NYPD dispatch a female police psychologist to talk him down. However, unbeknownst to the police on the scene, the suicide attempt is a cover for the biggest diamond heist ever pulled.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 157000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, exciting, suspense, suspenseful, twist ending, tense, tricky, clever, entertaining, psychological
Similar in 86%
Collide (2016)
Plot Summary:
An American backpacker gets involved with a ring of drug smugglers as their driver, and winds up on the run from his employers across Munich's autobahns.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: UK, Germany, China, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, suspenseful, tense, realistic, suspense, teen, fast, neo noir, black comedy
Similar in 89%
Deep Cover (1992)
Plot Summary:
The black policeman Russell Stevens applies for a special anti-drug squad which targets the highest boss of cocaine delivery to LA: the Colombian foreign minister's nephew. Russell works his way up from the bottom undercover, until he reaches the boss. The first step is to get the lawyer and hobby dealer David Jason to trust him.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, tense, enigmatic, suspense, hood, cult classic, exciting, rough, serious
Similar in 76%
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 82%
Heist (2001)
Plot Summary:
Joe Moore has a job he loves. He's a thief. His job goes sour when he gets caught on security camera tape. His fence, Bergman reneges on the money he's owed, and his wife may be betraying him with the fence's young lieutenant. Moore and his partner, Bobby Blane and their utility man, Pinky Pincus find themselves broke, betrayed, and blackmailed. Moore is forced to commit his crew to do one last big job.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 39000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, suspense, clever, tricky, neo noir, serious, witty, talky, crime drama, cult classic
Similar in 84%
Welcome to the Punch (2013)
Plot Summary:
When notorious criminal Jacob Sternwood is forced to return to London, it gives detective Max Lewinsky one last chance to take down the man he's always been after.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: tense, exciting, stylized, suspense, rough, serious, realistic, detective, suspenseful, noir
Similar in 77%
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 (2009)
Plot Summary:
Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 206000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, exciting, suspenseful, stylized, intense, rough, realistic, serious, action thriller
Similar in 85%
Parker (2013)
Plot Summary:
A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 128000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, rough, realistic, neo noir, tense, saga, cult classic, action adventure, crime thriller
Similar in 79%
Run All Night (2015)
Plot Summary:
Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon has seen better days. Longtime best friend of a mob boss, Jimmy is haunted by the sins of his past—as well as a dogged police detective who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. But when Jimmy’s estranged son becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy has just one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 114000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, intense, stylized, tense, serious, realistic, suspense, fast paced, neo noir, psychological thriller
Similar in 82%
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 84%
Chaos (2005)
Plot Summary:
Two cops, a rookie and a grizzled vet, pursue an accomplished bank robber.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 57000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA, UK
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: exciting, surprise ending, realistic, serious, suspenseful, entertaining, action packed, tense, action adventure, talky
Similar in 81%
Triple 9 (2016)
Plot Summary:
A gang of criminals and corrupt cops plan the murder of a police officer in order to pull off their biggest heist yet across town.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 76000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: tense, exciting, suspense, suspenseful, stylized, intense, neo noir, detective, independent film, crime thriller
Similar in 85%
Takers (2010)
Plot Summary:
A seasoned team of bank robbers, including Gordon Jennings (Idris Elba), John Rahway (Paul Walker), A.J. (Hayden Christensen), and brothers Jake (Michael Ealy) and Jesse Attica (Chris Brown) successfully complete their latest heist and lead a life of luxury while planning their next job. When Ghost (Tip T.I. Harris), a former member of their team, is released from prison he convinces the group to strike an armored car carrying $20 million. As the "Takers" carefully plot out their strategy and draw nearer to exacting the grand heist, a reckless police officer (Matt Dillon) inches closer to apprehending the criminals.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 65000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: suspense, intense, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, rough, serious, neo noir, crime drama, action thriller
Similar in 89%
Den of Thieves (2018)
Plot Summary:
A gritty crime saga which follows the lives of an elite unit of the LA County Sheriff's Dept. and the state's most successful bank robbery crew as the outlaws plan a seemingly impossible heist on the Federal Reserve Bank.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 121000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: suspense, captivating, tense, suspenseful, exciting, enigmatic, disturbing, clever, experimental, detective
Similar in 77%
Wrath of Man (2021)
Plot Summary:
A cold and mysterious new security guard for a Los Angeles cash truck company surprises his co-workers when he unleashes precision skills during a heist. The crew is left wondering who he is and where he came from. Soon, the marksman's ultimate motive becomes clear as he takes dramatic and irrevocable steps to settle a score.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 200000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: suspense, humorous, psychological, exciting, hood, crime drama, perverse, cult classic, action thriller, mind blowing