Best movies like Protégé
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Undercover officer Nick had spent the last seven years penetrating into the core of a drug ring working his way up from a street dealer post to the managerial position handling cargo deliveries for Kwan - the biggest player in the local heroin market. When the ailing Kwan makes Nick his protégé, Nick could not but sway before money and power and starts to perform his role like a real drug trafficker. This, together with his affair with heroin-addict Jane, causes Nick to becomes more and more confused about his true identity, and eventually leads to a disastrous end.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, bloody, crime drama
Best tv shows and movies like Protégé (2007):
Similar in 88%
One Nite in Mongkok (2004)
Plot Summary:
Hong Kong nihilism. December 22, a street quarrel leads to the death of a gang leader's son. Next day, he seeks revenge on his brother, a rival boss. He calls on Liu, a fixer, to import a hit man from the mainland. Lai Fu, a tough and youthful hick, arrives with a day pass. The cops, led by the morose Milo, hear about the killer; they open a full-scale Christmas Eve operation to find the warring brothers and Lai Fu. Lai Fu rescues a hooker, Dan Dan, from a sadist and asks her to help him find his way around Mongkok. By nightfall, Liu has double crossed Lai Fu, the brothers are hiding, the cops are everywhere, and Lai Fu and Dan Dan are on the run. Peace on earth, good will to all?.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, exciting, atmospheric, realistic, neo noir, crime drama, black and white
Similar in 79%
Thumper (2017)
Plot Summary:
In a town of low-income and fractured families, a group of teens are lured into working for a dangerous drug dealer. A new girl arrives who hides a dangerous secret that will impact everybody and change their lives forever.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: psychological, exciting, tense, rough, thought provoking, serious, realistic, hood, crime drama, low-budget
Similar in 88%
Triple Tap (2010)
Plot Summary:
Champion competitive marksman Ken comes across an armored van robbery. He sees a policeman held hostage and shoots and kills four of the robbers. One of the robbers escapes and the policeman survives. The case is handled by Jerry Chang, whom Ken knows from having recently beaten him in a shooting match. Ken is found not guilty in court. Soon after, Ken is attacked by the escaped robber Pang Tao. Their confrontation reveals a very different background story and brings about a myriad of lies and traps and changes in relationships as Jerry and Ken try to outsmart each other.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, realistic, tense, sincere, crime drama
Similar in 88%
Shinjuku Incident (2009)
Plot Summary:
Iron Zhao aka Steelhead, a truck repairman from China's Northeast, and settles down as an illegal immigrant in Tokyo. After a series of run-ins with the Yakuza, he rises to power as the Don of Chinese illegal immigrants. However, things get out of control when he's foolish enough to believe in clean getaways in a world that offers none, and soon comes to seal his own fate.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, realistic, neo noir, bloody, crime drama, cult classic, bleak, gloomy
Similar in 85%
Cisco Pike (1971)
Plot Summary:
Cisco is an ex-rock star who has become a drug dealer. A corrupt cop blackmails Cisco to sell marijuana for him. Cisco has one weekend to sell it to his friends.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, suspenseful, serious, neo noir, surprise ending
Similar in 90%
Cop on a Mission (2001)
Plot Summary:
Mike, a cop who is becoming increasingly frustrated with his tiresome job with little benefits, whilst the criminals live a life of luxury. He is offered a undercover job to infiltrate a Triad gang led by Boss Tin. Mike slowly becomes engrossed in this world and in Tin's wife.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 299
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crime drama
Similar in 89%
Vice (2008)
Plot Summary:
Michael Madsen stars as Max Walker, a down-and-out cop who becomes the target of a bloodthirsty drug cartel after he leads a narcotics bust to intercept a large shipment of heroin. When someone starts picking off his team members -- and the drugs seized in the raid suddenly disappear -- Walker pairs up with one of his detectives (Daryl Hannah) to uncover a conspiracy that may go straight up the chain of command.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 937
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 82%
Two Coyotes (2001)
Plot Summary:
A drug runner takes over a lucrative drug business only to find his new found empire crumble when a deal goes bad.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 64
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, crime drama, surprise ending, independent film
Similar in 84%
How It All Went Down (2003)
Plot Summary:
A struggling filmmaker finds himself involved in a dark world of guns, drugs and prostitution.
IMDB Rating: 4.1
IMDB Votes: 355
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, bleak, independent film, rough, epic, gloomy, semi autobiographical
Similar in 90%
The Limit (2004)
Plot Summary:
An elderly woman turns the tables on her kidnapper.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 512
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada, UK
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: psychological, rough, serious, tense, mind bending, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Punished (2011)
Plot Summary:
Real estate tycoon Wong Ho-Chiu (Anthony Wong Chau-Sang) suffers great pain when his daughter Daisy (Janice Man) is kidnapped and killed. Wong Ho-Chiu turns to his trusted bodyguard Chor (Richie Ren) to seek out the perpetrators and exact revenge. Wong Ho-Chiu goes one step further and orders Chor to videotape each of their executions. Once Chor tracks down the final perpetrator Wong Ho-Chiu decides to kill that person himself. When Wong Ho-Chiu learns about the perpetrator’s past, he has second thoughts ….
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 772
Genere: Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, bloody, crime drama, fast
Similar in 86%
Shooters (2002)
Plot Summary:
Gilly comes out of prison after serving a six year stretch and decides that he will now turn his life around and go straight. But when he returns to his South London home and visits his old colleague J, in hope of obtaining his share of the proceeds from the job that landed him inside, J soon talks him into getting involved in one last scam.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Netherlands, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, tense, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 82%
Firestorm (2013)
Plot Summary:
A crew of seasoned criminals led by the notorious Nam, armed with high-powered weapons, pulls off another smooth and violent armored car heist in broad daylight in a crowded street. Whoever tries to get in their way, they will show no mercy. This puts the police force to shame and humiliation. A hardboiled senior police inspector Lui, hot on the trails of Nam and his tight crew, determines to put an end to this madness that causes the lives of innocent people. But he soon comes face to face with the cruel reality that the usual police tactics are too futile to send these armed thieves behind bars. Extreme crime requires extreme justice, even if it means crossing his moral line. Tou, an ex-con desperate to leave his criminal past behind, volunteers to be Lui’s snitch in exchange for a fresh start with her girlfriend Bing. But little does he know what hellish situation he’s getting himself into.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, suspenseful, tense, hood, crime drama, realistic
Similar in 87%
Overheard (2009)
Plot Summary:
The story revolves around three members of a police surveillance squad conducting an investigation into a financial investment group involved in criminal fraud. The focus of the plot, however, is actually on the three officers themselves who stumble upon an opportunity to capitalize on information they gathered during their surveillance.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, Singapore, China
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: realistic, tense, captivating, psychological, neo noir, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 88%
Three (2002)
Plot Summary:
The final installment in director Lucas Belvaux's trilogy follows Pascal, a cop who sees a return to credibility in the capture of escaped convict Bruno--who in turn is harbored by Pascal's morphine-addicted wife Agnes. Pascal's already precarious ties to Agnes are strained further when he meets and falls for her fellow schoolteacher friend Cecile. With Pascal focused on Bruno and Cecile, Agnes is forced to find a fix on her own.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 926
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, realistic, contemplative, bleak, art house, thought provoking
Similar in 76%
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 87%
Eye in the Sky (2007)
Plot Summary:
The head of an elite Hong Kong surveillance unit (Simon Yam) keeps one eye on his rookie apprentice (Kate Tsui) and the other on a notorious criminal (Tony Leung Ka Fai) he suspects of masterminding a recent jewel heist in this tense thriller from filmmaking duo Johnnie To and Nai-Hoi Yau. Of course, the criminal knows all along he's being watched. But that doesn't stop him from trying to pull off the biggest score of his career.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: tense, exciting, serious, captivating, suspense, action thriller, rough, realistic, suspenseful, fast
Similar in 90%
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
Similar in 86%
The Stool Pigeon (2010)
Plot Summary:
Living in the guilt of sacrificing his informant in a previous operation, Criminal Intelligence Inspector Don Lee is wary when his superior orders him to send another informant to spy on the criminal operations of Barbarian, a vicious gangster plotting a jewelry heist. He seeks ex-convict Ghost, who agrees to work for Don despite vowing to go straight since he's desperately in need of money to repay a debt and save his sister. Ghost's driving skills help him infiltrate Barbarian's gang and earn his trust, but by feeding information to Don and hooking up with Barbarian's girlfriend Dee, Ghost is pushing himself into a tight and deadly corner.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: realistic, exciting, serious, suspenseful, crime drama, neo noir, heroic, fast
Similar in 75%
Confession of Pain (2006)
Plot Summary:
A detective helps a friend investigate the mysterious death of his father.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China, Japan
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, rough, realistic, neo noir, crime drama, twisted, detective
Similar in 88%
Divergence (2005)
Plot Summary:
A cop, a lawyer, and an assassin cross paths after the murder of a federal witness and the kidnapping of a famous pop star.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: neo noir, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, heroic, fast
Similar in 85%
Infernal Affairs III (2003)
Plot Summary:
Infernal Affairs III is a 2003 Hong Kong crime thriller film directed by Andrew Lau and Alan Mak. It is the third installment in the Infernal Affairs film series, and is both a sequel and a semi-prequel to the original film, as it intercuts events before and after the events in the original.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, crime drama, psychological, bloody
Similar in 78%
Drug War (2012)
Plot Summary:
The taciturn police commander Zhang leads an undercover drugs team and in his continuous battle against the ubiquitous drug barons, takes up arms against his arch enemy, Timmy Choi. When he gets hold of Choi, he makes a deal with him: in exchange for his life (in China you can get the death penalty for producing only 50 grams of drugs) the young criminal will help the police infiltrate a sizeable drug network.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: China, Hong Kong
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, exciting, tense, suspenseful, neo noir, psychological, bloody, heroic, hood
Similar in 83%
Colour of the Truth (2003)
Plot Summary:
A man becomes a cop in order to take down the police superintendent who may have killed his father, and that of a vengeful Triad boss.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 678
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, suspense, tense, crime drama, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Election (2005)
Plot Summary:
A drama-thriller centered on a democratic election within an organized crime society.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: suspense, rough, captivating, suspenseful, neo noir, bloody, crime drama, tense, serious, realistic
Similar in 90%
City on Fire (1987)
Plot Summary:
Ko Chow is an undercover cop who is under pressure from all sides. His boss, Inspector Lau, wants him to infiltrate a gang of ruthless jewel thieves; in order to do this he must obtain some handguns; his girlfriend wants him to commit to marriage or she will leave Hong Kong with another lover; and he is being pursued by other cops who are unaware that he is a colleague.What is more Chow would rather quit the force. He feels guilty about having to betray people who have become his friends, even if they do happen to be killers, drug dealers, loan sharks and protection racketeers: "I do my job, but I betray my friends."To add to his problems, he begins to bond with Fu, a member of the gang.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: neo noir, heroic, cult classic, bloody, crime drama, action thriller, tense, rough, serious, captivating
Similar in 85%
Snitch'd (2003)
Plot Summary:
When the South Side Gang and the Cut Throat Mafia start a drug war at a local high school in Santa Ana, CA, detective McClure goes undercover to investigate the brutal murder of a young Latina student. The gang members are the key suspects but nobody is talking. And as McClure continues to dig for answers, it becomes clear that the two gangs are fighting for territory - and nobody is getting in their way.
IMDB Rating: 2.1
IMDB Votes: 205
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, bleak
Similar in 80%
Election 2 (2006)
Plot Summary:
As election time nears, current Triad chairman Lok (Simon Yam) faces competition from his godsons. At the same time, Jimmy (Louis Koo) looks to increase his business relations with mainland China.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, tense, rough, captivating, realistic, suspense, neo noir, bloody, stylized
Similar in 76%
Infernal Affairs II (2003)
Plot Summary:
In this prequel to Mou gaan dou (2002), Chan Wing Yan has just become an undercover cop in the triads while Lau Kin Ming joins the police force. Both the triads and the police find an enemy in a rival crime boss.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, Singapore, China
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: suspense, neo noir, exciting, tense, rough, suspenseful, realistic, crime drama, psychological, bloody
Similar in 85%
Infernal Affairs (2002)
Plot Summary:
Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 130000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, suspenseful, tense, neo noir, intense, serious, dramatic, crime drama, realistic