Best movies like Once a Gangster
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Roast Pork joins the triad as a young man and ends up becoming a trusted lieutenant of boss Kerosene. However, his true passion is in his successful chain of restaurants, his loving wife, and his two children. So when Kerosene wants to promote his trusted right hand man to the top of the organization as a way to take on his financial debts, it's understandable why Roast Pork would want to refuse. Roast Pork comes up with an intricate scheme with his men that would take himself out of the running, but Kerosene's intervention causes it to fail. When all hopes appears to be lost, lifelong gangster Sparrow is released from jail after serving a 20-year sentence for committing a gang-related murder that earned him a guarantee for the leader spot. However, Sparrow has made his own plans to stay out of the gang, setting off a battle of wits between the two men.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 540
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, humorous, exciting, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious
Best tv shows and movies like Once a Gangster (2010):
Similar in 88%
Framed (1988)
Plot Summary:
Conny is a chemistry teacher who is framed for drug possession. Unable to prove his innocence he ends up in prison. When he finds a secret exit some inmates "persuades" him to participate in a heist. Things become extremely hectic as he tries to prove his innocence as well as "helping" his inmates. When Conny thinks that it couldn't possibly get any worse he meets Susanne, a policewoman.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: Sweden
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: rough, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, eighties
Similar in 83%
Blind Rage (1976)
Plot Summary:
Five friends get together and decide to plan an operation to rob a bank. The main difference between this and other bank-robbing gangs, however, is that all five men are blind.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 363
Genere: Action, Comedy
Country: Philippines
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, crime drama, independent film, exciting, rough, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, multicultural
Similar in 82%
Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman (2012)
Plot Summary:
A powerful Chilean gangster uses everything in his power to stop the woman that wants to kill him, a sexy mercenary known as "the machine gun woman". The staggering sum of cash he offers for her head sets in motion an army of hitmen. And also, by accident, bursts in the life of naïve DJ Santiago, a common youth that will have to steel his guts against the underworld, and above all, survive the irresistible - and bloodthirsty - Machine Gun Woman. - Written by FICV.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Romance
Country: Chile
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, exciting, rough, realistic, suspenseful, grindhouse, action packed, mockbuster, mindfuck
Similar in 87%
Crazy Racer (2009)
Plot Summary:
Assassins, scammers, gangsters, cops, a washed-up bicycle racer, and a body continually cross paths; usually with negative outcomes.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy
Country: China
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: humorous, exciting, semi serious, captivating, dark comedy, rough, realistic, suspenseful, witty
Similar in 89%
Silver Case (2012)
Plot Summary:
In TInseltown, the world of scheming and dreaming reaches a particularly nasty low when a powerful producer known as the 'Senator' hatches a plan to undermine the future success of his shady arch rival, the 'Master' in more ways than one. His plot begins with the simple delivery of a silver briefcase. But nothing is simple in Hollywood. The case goes missing, which sets off a chain of events that are categorically not part of the plan. The Senator engages the best of his team to locate the package, but doesn't count on the tenacity of two thugs who now have the mystery prize in their curious possession.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 138
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Country: Italy, USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, suspense, independent film, biting
Similar in 80%
Top Squad (1988)
Plot Summary:
The film revolves around a crack squad of female police officers who have to deal with harassment and a lack of respect from their male colleagues, personal issues as well as some serious criminals.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 656
Genere: Action, Comedy
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious, slapstick
Similar in 88%
Big Fat Gypsy Gangster (2011)
Plot Summary:
After sixteen years at Her Majesty's Pleasure, Britain's hardest man is released from prison, and into the care of a documentary film crew headed by a Brit-loving American film-maker who follow him for the next week, on an hilarious roller-coaster tour of gangland London and beyond.
IMDB Rating: 3.3
IMDB Votes: 861
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, semi serious, rough, humorous, realistic
Similar in 80%
Gentlemen in White Vests (1970)
Plot Summary:
A crime comedy directed by Wolfgang Staudte.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 372
Genere: Comedy, Crime
Country: West Germany
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious
Similar in 82%
My Wife Is a Gangster 2 (2003)
Plot Summary:
Former Scissor Gang leader Eun-jin (Shin Eun-kyung), who now suffers from amnesia, nevertheless defends Jae-cheol (Jun Gyu Park), a restaurateur who employs her, from a gangster who wants his business.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: South Korea
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, stylized, semi serious, exciting, crime drama
Similar in 75%
Young and Dangerous (1996)
Plot Summary:
Nam opens a bar in Wanchai and continues his rise in Hong Kong's Hung Hing gang. His best friend, Chicken, needs to lie low, so he's sent to Taiwan to work for Lui, leader of the San Luen gang; there, he falls for the aging Lui's mistress, Ting Yiu. When Chicken returns to Hong Kong, he finds Nam in a struggle with long time rival, Fai Fat. Then, Lui shows up, demanding that Hung Hing sell him a half interest in their new Macau casino. When Chiang, the Hung Hing boss, wants to think about it, Lui threatens war, Chicken must choose sides, and Ting Yui sets up a meeting. Chicken's affections, Fai and Nam's rivalry, Lui's greed, and Ting's intentions are on a collision course.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: neo noir, heroic, crime drama, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 77%
Mr. Socrates (2005)
Plot Summary:
A low-life scumbag gets kidnapped by a mysterious gang and put through inhumane training to become a mole inside the police force.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 493
Genere: Action, Crime
Country: South Korea
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting, humorous, realistic
Similar in 85%
The Cracksman (1963)
Plot Summary:
Ernest Wright's peerless prowess as a locksmith comes to the attention of a tough big-time crook, who feels that the little man would be a valuable asset to his crime kingdom. In order to inveigle him into a series of jobs, he sets up a beautiful hostess as a trap, into which the hapless Ernest inevitably falls..!.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 229
Genere: Comedy, Crime
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, humorous, realistic, semi serious, slapstick
Similar in 81%
Enter the Phoenix (2004)
Plot Summary:
Georgie Hung is handsome, stylish and charming but he hides a secret that his old-fashion father, Hung who is a Triad leader, can never forgive. He has been sent to Thailand since he was a child and never returned. After Hung's death, his right-hand Cheung intends to bring back Georgie to take over. However, Cheung finds Sam, Georgie's flat-mate, whom he mistakes for Geogie.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Comedy
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, captivating, exciting, realistic, fast, dark comedy, queer cinema
Similar in 80%
Twins Mission (2007)
Plot Summary:
Twins Mission is a 2007 Hong Kong martial arts-action-comedy film directed by action choreographer Kong Tao-Hoi and staring Gillian Chung, Charlene Choi and Sammo Hung among others. The film is a bit of a spoof of the popularity and success of the Twins and leaves the audience with a cliffhanger ending.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 738
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, rough, humorous, realistic, semi serious, fast
Similar in 78%
You Move You Die (2007)
Plot Summary:
Mike has the girl, the time and the place.The problem is he doesn't have the ring, Before Mike has an opportunity to propose his engagement ring is stolen.Mike is desperate to recover it. He and his friends have one hour to get the ring back and make the date with his "beloved" Emma before all is lost. It is not long before it is revealed that Mike and his friends are not all that they seem.You move you die is a dark comedy filmed with a real time story. Get ready for a film with a unique dose of reality.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 555
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: New Zealand
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, suspenseful, semi serious, rough, realistic, dark comedy
Similar in 77%
No.3 (1997)
Plot Summary:
The movie loosely follows the life of "Gangster No. 3", who doesn't like to be called a "Gangster" and really hates to be called "No. 3". But there's lots of tangents and side stories so it's hard to really say that there's any one focus to the movie... it's got a very fractured structure (hence the confusion).
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 647
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: South Korea
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: crime drama, exciting, rough, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious
Similar in 76%
Old Men in New Cars: In China They Eat Dogs II (2002)
Plot Summary:
The last wish of the dying "Monk" is for his foster child, Harald, to find his real son, Ludvig. But the latter is currently in a Swedish prison cell.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: Denmark
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, exciting, rough, realistic, dark comedy, black comedy, offbeat, moody, cult film
Similar in 87%
Born to Be King (2000)
Plot Summary:
Triad member Chicken is designated by Taiwan's San Luen Gang to marry Nanako, the daughter of the fifth generation leader of the Yamada Gang in Japan. Later, the leader of the triad group gets murdered. Actually, all the San Luen Gang members suspect Chicken attacked their leader Liu, in order to make a chance for him to rule the Gang and thus have adopted an extremely hostile attitude towards him.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 769
Genere: Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, crime drama, realistic
Similar in 80%
Rough Cut (2008)
Plot Summary:
Gang-pae is #2 gangster in his organization who longs to become an actor. Su-ta is a superstar actor who takes on the role of a gangster in an action movie called Rough Cut. When another actor leaves the set due to Su-tas violent ways, the production is on the verge of shutting down. Su-ta asks Gang-pae, whom he met by chance, to play alongside him in the movie in order to save the production.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: South Korea
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, rough, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 76%
Family (2001)
Plot Summary:
When the mobster Iwaida Nishikawi is executed by the hit man Takeshi, his family chases the killer. Takeshi's brothers Takashi and Hideshi Miwa try to find Takeshi, who is hidden with the nurse Rie Ishibashi, to protect him and Hideshi discovers that Takeshi was secretly sent by their Yakuza boss to eliminate Iwaida. Meanwhile, the mobster Kenmoshi abducts Takashi's wife Mariko and rapes her, trying to force Takashi to deliver his brother to him.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 296
Genere: Action, Crime
Country: Japan
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, bloody, crime drama, realistic
Similar in 88%
Paper Soldiers (2002)
Plot Summary:
Paper Soldiers follows an overeager burglar named Shawn (Kevin Hart) through the ups and downs of his short, stressful career.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, hood, exciting, realistic, black comedy, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 88%
The Big I Am (2010)
Plot Summary:
A cruel twist of fate catapults small time crook Mickey Skinner into the big league, as head of a brutal London gang poised on the brink of a lucrative human-trafficking deal.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic, neo noir
Similar in 78%
Winners & Sinners (1983)
Plot Summary:
Five friends are released from prison and do their best to stay out trouble. While trying to mind their own business (and run their 5-Star Cleaning Service), they are caught up in a war between rival Triad gangs fighting for control of the counterfeit currency market.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: action comedy, cult classic, exciting, humorous, realistic, semi serious, fast, slapstick comedy, slapstick
Similar in 79%
Return to a Better Tomorrow (1994)
Plot Summary:
An adventure that delves into the dark caverns of the underworld and tells the tale of three chivalrous gangsters who attempt to escape the powerful clutch of their gang leader.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 331
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: heroic, crime drama, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 85%
Concrete Blondes (2013)
Plot Summary:
Three down-on-their-luck, twenty-something female roommates are living paycheck to paycheck in a rundown apartment, when one night they stumble across $3 million dollars in a suitcase amidst the bloody aftermath of a drug shootout. Despite wanting to keep the money and smuggle it out of the country, the girls are forced into a final showdown and must face off against seasoned criminals who want the cash for themselves.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 770
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, semi serious, tense, captivating, rough, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
A Cold Day in August (2003)
Plot Summary:
One day in the life of a hit man, Ronnie, who spends it trying to save the life of fellow hit man, August, who he had brought into the business three years ago. August has become a real problem for some of the bosses around town, and Ronnie will soon find out just what his Frankenstein's monster will cost him.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 644
Genere: Action, Comedy, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: semi serious, humorous, realistic, exciting, tense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 78%
Naayak (2013)
Plot Summary:
A young man and his lookalike team up to fight injustice and settle their personal scores with the evildoers.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Country: India
Duration: 153 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, suspenseful, semi serious, realistic
Similar in 90%
Fool N Final (2007)
Plot Summary:
A bunch of misfits and gangsters embarks on a journey to find a lost and stolen diamond.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama
Country: India
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: exciting, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, semi serious
Similar in 88%
Century of the Dragon (1999)
Plot Summary:
Rookie policeman Shing (Louis Koo) grapples with right and wrong in this action-packed story about Hong Kong gangsters. Assigned to go undercover, Shing is so successful in playing the part of a gang member that he becomes right-hand man to gang leader Fei Ling (Andy Lau). Shing comes to respect Fei Ling and question his original motives, but the troubled cop must make a crucial decision before rival gangs and impatient cops move in for the kill.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 460
Genere: Action, Crime
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: heroic, crime drama, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
Wo Hu (2006)
Plot Summary:
The Hong Kong Police placed 1000 undercover officers in the various Triad groups in their efforts to bring down the criminal organization in Hong Kong. After one undercover officer's identity is discovered and he is killed, the pressure is put on one gang, suspicious of each other and everyone around them. Betrayal, deceit and murder bring this group of 'brothers' into a collision with the law, and each other.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 356
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, psychological, heroic, crime drama, exciting, rough, serious, realistic