Best movies like Sharky's Machine
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Sharky gets busted back to working vice, where he happens upon a scandalous conspiracy involving a local politician. Accompanied by an all-star jazz soundtrack, Sharky's new "machine" gathers evidence while Sharky falls in love with a woman he has never met.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, neo noir, tense, sexy, suspense, detective, terrifying, rough, serious, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like Sharky's Machine (1981):
Similar in 77%
Stick (1985)
Plot Summary:
Ernest (Stick) Stickley just out of prison agrees to help a friend deliver a package. It's a setup and his friend is killed. Stick is going to find out why!.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: neo noir, perverse, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast
Similar in 77%
Rent-a-Cop (1987)
Plot Summary:
When call-girl Della gets caught in the middle of a drug bust at a hotel where she was meeting a trick, she is held hostage by a robber that busted in on the drug agents and the drug dealers. She gets rescued by vice cop Church who is accused of staging the aborted bust. Ex-ballplayer turned drug dealer Roger is in tight with corrupt vice cops and their superiors And the fireworks start popping.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, intense, serious, neo noir, sexy, independent film, realistic, fast, unusual plot structure, humorous
Similar in 82%
8 Million Ways to Die (1986)
Plot Summary:
Scudder is a detective with the Sheriff's Department who is forced to shoot a violent suspect during a narcotics raid. The ensuing psychological aftermath of this shooting worsens his drinking problem and this alcoholism causes him to lose his job, as well as his marriage.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, serious, realistic, psychological, cult classic, captivating, suspense, retro, perverse
Similar in 82%
Breach of Trust (1995)
Plot Summary:
For opposite reasons, an undercover federal agent and a small time hood join forces to take on a union of drug lords and dirty cops.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 486
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, detective
Similar in 85%
Detroit 9000 (1973)
Plot Summary:
After a fundraiser for a black politician is robbed, Detroit police put two detectives, one white and one black, on the case, who try to work together under boiling political pressure.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: neo noir, action thriller, crime thriller, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cynical
Similar in 76%
Family of Cops III: Under Suspicion (1999)
Plot Summary:
Police Inspector Paul Fein (Bronson) copes with family troubles while also dealing with the possibility of advancement to police chief. Meanwhile, his son (Joe Penny)) is investigating the murder of a banker.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 705
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, neo noir, suspense
Similar in 79%
Stone Cold (1991)
Plot Summary:
Joe Huff (Brian Bosworth) is a tough, loner cop with a flair for infiltrating dangerous biker gangs. The FBI blackmail Joe into an undercover operation that entails infiltrating "The Brotherhood" - a powerful Mississippi biker gang linked in the murder of government officials as well as dealing drugs with the mafia.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, suspenseful, retro, neo noir, hood, realistic, fast, surprise ending
Similar in 84%
Shaft's Big Score! (1972)
Plot Summary:
John Shaft is back as the lady-loved black detective cop on the search for the murderer of a client.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: epic, neo noir, hood, grim, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, poliziottesco
Similar in 87%
The Organization (1971)
Plot Summary:
After a group of young revolutionaries break into a company's corporate headquarters and steal $5,000,000 worth of heroin to keep it off the street, they call on San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs for assistance.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: neo noir, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, suspense, black cinema
Similar in 87%
The Gauntlet (1977)
Plot Summary:
Phoenix cop Ben Shockley is well on his way to becoming a derelict when he is assigned to transport a witness named Gus Mally from Vegas. Mally turns out to be a belligerent prostitute with mob ties and incriminating information regarding a high-placed figure.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: exciting, road movie, suspense, entertaining, neo noir, anime, action thriller, rough, serious, realistic
Similar in 82%
Next of Kin (1989)
Plot Summary:
Truman Gates, a Chicago cop, sets out to find his brother's killer. Meanwhile, another of his brothers, Briar (a hillbilly) decides to find the killer himself.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspense, rough, serious, suspenseful, neo noir, realistic, independent film, spaghetti western, detective
Similar in 78%
Shakedown (1988)
Plot Summary:
When a local drug dealer shoots a dishonest cop in self-defense, lawyer and renegade undercover cop join forces to clear him. But when their investigation leads them into a maze of greed and corruption, they learn that in a town where everything is for sale, anything can happen.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, serious, neo noir, perverse, cult classic, independent film, detective, grindhouse
Similar in 88%
Nighthawks (1981)
Plot Summary:
An international terrorist has New York in a grip of panic and it's up to Det. Sgt. Deke DaSilva to take him down.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspenseful, suspense, harsh, intense, realistic, rough, serious, cult classic, retro
Similar in 78%
Miami Vice (2006)
Plot Summary:
Miami Vice is a feature film based on the 1980s action drama TV series. The film tells the story of vice detectives Crockett and Tubbs and how their personal and professional lives are dangerously getting mixed.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 122000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany, Paraguay, Uruguay
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: suspense, intense, rough, serious, suspenseful, action packed, visually stunning, neo noir, stylized, action thriller
Similar in 78%
The Corruptor (1999)
Plot Summary:
Danny is a young cop partnered with Nick, a seasoned but ethically tainted veteran. As the two try to stop a gang war in Chinatown, Danny relies on Nick but grows increasingly uncomfortable with the way Nick gets things done.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: stylized, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, rough, serious, suspense, intercultural, cult classic, fast
Similar in 90%
Rapid Fire (1992)
Plot Summary:
College student Jake Lo is pursued by smugglers, mobsters and crooked federal agents after he witnesses a murder by a Mafia kingpin.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: exciting, intense, serious, suspenseful, cult classic, suspense, crime drama, rough, realistic, fast
Similar in 82%
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 81%
Mulholland Falls (1996)
Plot Summary:
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, tense, detective, serious, rough, realistic, suspenseful, hood, thrilling
Similar in 75%
The Rookie (1990)
Plot Summary:
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: suspense, entertaining, intense, semi serious, neo noir, exciting, retro, action thriller, black comedy, rough
Similar in 87%
Out for Justice (1991)
Plot Summary:
Gino Felino (Steven Seagal) is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who knows everyone and everything in his neighborhood. Killing his Partner was someone's mistake, because he's now Out For Justice.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: suspense, bloody, detective, cult classic, suspenseful, grindhouse, hood, perverse, action thriller, exciting
Similar in 81%
A Man Apart (2003)
Plot Summary:
When Vetter's wife is killed in a botched hit organized by Diablo, he seeks revenge against those responsible. But in the process, Vetter and Hicks have to fight their way up the chain to get to Diablo but it's easier said than done when all Vetter can focus on is revenge.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 49000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: suspense, harsh, emotional, rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting, realistic, captivating, cult classic
Similar in 75%
The Glimmer Man (1996)
Plot Summary:
A former government operative renowned for his stealth, Jack Cole is now a Los Angeles police detective. When a series of horrible murders occurs in the metro area, Cole is assigned to the case, along with tough-talking fellow cop Jim Campbell. Although the two men clash, they gradually become effective partners as they uncover a conspiracy linked to the killings, which also involves terrorism and organized crime.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, rough, serious, action comedy, detective, perverse
Similar in 88%
Year of the Dragon (1985)
Plot Summary:
In New York, racist Capt. Stanley White becomes obsessed with destroying a Chinese-American drug ring run by Joey Tai, an up-and-coming young gangster as ambitious as he is ruthless. While pursuing an unauthorized investigation, White grows increasingly willing to violate police protocol, resorting to progressively violent measures -- even as his concerned wife, Connie, and his superiors beg him to consider the consequences of his actions.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: neo noir, controversial, brutal, suspense, intense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, detective
Similar in 84%
Brooklyn's Finest (2009)
Plot Summary:
Enforcing the law within the notoriously rough Brownsville section of the city and especially within the Van Dyke housing projects is the NYPD's sixty-fifth precinct. Three police officers struggle with the sometimes fine line between right and wrong.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 66000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, suspense, neo noir, hood, depressing, stylized, detective, bleak, rough
Similar in 79%
Code of Silence (1985)
Plot Summary:
A Chicago cop is caught in a middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: exciting, cult classic, suspense, detective, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, independent film
Similar in 81%
Payback (1999)
Plot Summary:
With friends like these, who needs enemies? That's the question bad guy Porter is left asking after his wife and partner steal his heist money and leave him for dead -- or so they think. Five months and an endless reservoir of bitterness later, Porter's partners and the crooked cops on his tail learn how bad payback can be.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 143000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, black comedy, exciting, rough, suspenseful, bloody, entertaining, action packed, clever
Similar in 81%
Blood Work (2002)
Plot Summary:
Still recovering from a heart transplant, a retired FBI profiler returns to service when his own blood analysis offers clues to the identity of a serial killer.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 47000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, suspense, tense, rough, serious, detective, touching, surprise ending, neo noir, dark
Similar in 79%
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%
Renegades (1989)
Plot Summary:
Buster McHenry (Sutherland) is as an undercover agent for the police. His mission involves him in a robbery. Buster gets shot but Hank Storm (Phillips), an Indian, helps Buster. Since Hank wants a spear in the possession of the criminals that Buster is after, they team up.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: detective, suspense, intense, rough, serious, retro, cult classic, action thriller, neo noir, black comedy
Similar in 78%
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