Best movies like The Art of Self-Defense

Similar in 78%

Kill 'Em All (2017)

Plot Summary:

After a massive shootout, a mysterious stranger (Van Damme) arrives at a local hospital on the brink of death. Then, a foreign gang brazenly comes to the hospital to hunt him down. His nurse, the sole surviving witness to the follow-up shootout, must face an FBI interrogation that unlocks a plot of international intrigue and revenge. With enough twists and turns, KILL'EM ALL will keep you guessing until the final bullet is fired.

Similar in 83%

No Retreat, No Surrender (1985)

Plot Summary:

Young Jason Stillwell (Kurt McKinney) moves with his parents to Seattle, where local bullies harass them without mercy. Jason's father Tom (Tim Baker) does not believe in violence, so the family takes it on the chin. One day Jason enrolls in a martial arts class and quietly rises in rank to be a major contender. His mettle is tested in an international match against Ivan, a Russian champion.

Similar in 84%

Best of the Best II (1993)

Plot Summary:

In an underground fight club, blackbelt Travis Brickley is killed after losing to the evil martial arts master Brakus. Travis' death is witnessed by Walter Grady, the son of his best friend Alex Grady. Alex and his partner, Tommy Lee, vow to avenge their friend's death by defeating Brakus and shutting down the fight club.

Similar in 78%

Death Warrant (1990)

Plot Summary:

The Canadian policeman Louis Burke is assigned in a jail to investigate in some murders of prisoners and jailors. When in jail, Lois, using his outstandings martial arts is able to save his life and make himself respected in that violent world. At least, helped by two another prisoners, he succeded in finding the truth about the dreadful crimes.

Similar in 89%

American Ultra (2015)

Plot Summary:

American Ultra is a fast-paced action comedy about Mike, a seemingly hapless and unmotivated stoner whose small-town life with his live-in girlfriend, Phoebe, is suddenly turned upside down. Unbeknownst to him, Mike is actually a highly trained, lethal sleeper agent. In the blink of an eye, as his secret past comes back to haunt him, Mike is thrust into the middle of a deadly government operation and is forced to summon his inner action-hero in order to survive.

Similar in 80%

Wild Indian (2021)

Plot Summary:

Decades after covering up his classmate’s murder, Michael has moved on from his reservation and fractured past. When a man who shares his violent secret seeks vengeance, Michael goes to great lengths to protect his new life with his wife and boss from the demons of his past.

Similar in 80%

Assassination Nation (2018)

Plot Summary:

High school senior Lily and her group of friends live in a haze of texts, posts, selfies and chats just like the rest of the world. So, when an anonymous hacker starts posting details from the private lives of everyone in their small town, the result is absolute madness leaving Lily and her friends questioning whether they'll live through the night.

Similar in 76%

Faults (2014)

Plot Summary:

Claire is under the grip of a mysterious new cult called Faults. Desperate to be reunited with their daughter, Claire's parents recruit one of the world's foremost experts on mind control, Ansel Roth.

Similar in 75%

Dragon Eyes (2012)

Plot Summary:

In St. Jude, drug dealers and corrupt cops have destroyed an urban neighborhood. But newcomer, Hong, has the fighting skills and moral vision to save this town from itself.

Similar in 82%

Now You See Me 2 (2016)

Plot Summary:

One year after outwitting the FBI and winning the public’s adulation with their mind-bending spectacles, the Four Horsemen resurface only to find themselves face to face with a new enemy who enlists them to pull off their most dangerous heist yet.

Similar in 85%

A Walk Among the Tombstones (2014)

Plot Summary:

Private investigator Matthew Scudder is hired by a drug kingpin to find out who kidnapped and murdered his wife.

Similar in 83%

Seeking Justice (2011)

Plot Summary:

After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.

Similar in 82%

Oldboy (2013)

Plot Summary:

An everyday man has only three and a half days and limited resources to discover why he was imprisoned in a nondescript room for 20 years without any explanation.

Similar in 78%

Under the Silver Lake (2018)

Plot Summary:

Young and disenchanted Sam meets a mysterious and beautiful woman who's swimming in his building's pool one night. When she suddenly vanishes the next morning, Sam embarks on a surreal quest across Los Angeles to decode the secret behind her disappearance, leading him into the murkiest depths of mystery, scandal and conspiracy.

Similar in 83%

Arlington Road (1999)

Plot Summary:

Threats from sinister foreign nationals aren't the only thing to fear. Bedraggled college professor Michael Faraday has been vexed (and increasingly paranoid) since his wife's accidental death in a botched FBI operation. But all that takes a backseat when a seemingly all-American couple set up house next door.

Similar in 86%

Cobra Kai (2018)

Plot Summary:

This Karate Kid sequel series picks up 30 years after the events of the 1984 All Valley Karate Tournament and finds Johnny Lawrence on the hunt for redemption by reopening the infamous Cobra Kai karate dojo. This reignites his old rivalry with the successful Daniel LaRusso, who has been working to maintain the balance in his life without mentor Mr. Miyagi.

Similar in 87%

Another 48 Hrs. (1990)

Plot Summary:

For the past four years, San Francisco cop Jack Cates has been after an unidentified drug kingpin who calls himself the "Ice Man". Jack finds a picture that proves that the Ice Man has put a price on the head of Reggie Hammond, who is scheduled to be released from prison on the next day.

Similar in 85%

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.

Similar in 86%

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.

Similar in 89%

Broken City (2013)

Plot Summary:

In a broken city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed and then framed by its most powerful figure, the mayor. Billy's relentless pursuit of justice, matched only by his streetwise toughness, makes him an unstoppable force - and the mayor's worst nightmare.

Similar in 76%

Stuber (2019)

Plot Summary:

After crashing his car, a cop who's recovering from eye surgery recruits an Uber driver to help him catch a heroin dealer. The mismatched pair soon find themselves in for a wild day of stakeouts and shootouts as they encounter the city's seedy side.

Similar in 76%

Hard to Kill (1990)

Plot Summary:

Mason Storm, a 'go it alone' cop, is gunned down at home. The intruders kill his wife, and think they've killed both Mason and his son too. Mason is secretly taken to a hospital where he spends several years in a coma. His son meanwhile is growing up thinking his father is dead. When Mason wakes up, everyone is in danger - himself, his son, his best friend, his nurse - but most of all those who arranged for his death.

Similar in 79%

Above the Law (1988)

Plot Summary:

Seagal is Nico Toscani, an Italian immigrant, American patriot, ex-CIA agent, aikido specialist, and unorthodox Chicago policeman. He is as committed to his job as he is to his personalized brand of justice: expert and thorough bone-crushing.

Similar in 89%

The Courier (2012)

Plot Summary:

A shady FBI agent recruits a courier to deliver a mysterious package to a vengeful master criminal who has recently resurfaced with a diabolical plan.

Similar in 75%

The Negotiator (1998)

Plot Summary:

The police try to arrest expert hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who insists he's being framed for his partner's murder in what he believes is an elaborate conspiracy. Thinking there's evidence in the Internal Affairs offices that might clear him, he takes everyone in the office hostage and demands that another well-known negotiator be brought in to handle the situation and secretly investigate the conspiracy.

Similar in 80%

Brawl in Cell Block 99 (2017)

Plot Summary:

After working as a drug courier and getting into a brutal shootout with police, a former boxer finds himself at the mercy of his enemies as they force him to instigate violent acts that turn the prison he resides in into a battleground.

Similar in 88%

Thursday (1998)

Plot Summary:

Casey has given up drug dealing for a suburban idyll in Houston, a job as an architect and a new wife. They are even planning to adopt a child. But Casey's past arrives on the doorstep in the shape of Nick, an old business partner. And all hell breaks loose!.

Similar in 89%

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.

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Knives Out (2019)

Plot Summary:

When renowned crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the inquisitive and debonair Detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously enlisted to investigate. From Harlan's dysfunctional family to his devoted staff, Blanc sifts through a web of red herrings and self-serving lies to uncover the truth behind Harlan's untimely death.

Similar in 89%

Fallen (1998)

Plot Summary:

Homicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.