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Jack Reacher poster

Movies that feel likeJack Reacher (2012)

One morning in an ordinary town, five people are shot dead in a seemingly random attack. All evidence points to a single suspect: an ex-military sniper who is quickly brought into custody. The interrogation yields one written note: 'Get Jack Reacher!'. Reacher, an enigmatic ex-Army investigator, believes the authorities have the right man but agrees to help the sniper's defense attorney. However, the more Reacher delves into the case, the less clear-cut it appears. So begins an extraordinary chase for the truth, pitting Jack Reacher against an unexpected enemy, with a skill for violence and a secret to keep.

If you loved Jack Reacher, the closest films we have are Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008), Undisputed III: Redemption (2010) and The Protector (2005). All three share Jack Reacher's gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Plagues of Breslau (2018).

🍅 64% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Christopher McQuarriegrittycontemplativetensekinetic
10 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Hulu

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If Jack Reacher hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Jack Reacher: Never Go Back (2016)

Mesrine: Killer Instinct poster
Mesrine: Killer Instinct
2008 · dir. Jean-François Richet
🍅 81%★ 7.5drama · action · thriller

A disciplined outsider's methodical rise carries the same grounded menace

The difference: A criminal's biographical ascent, not an investigator clearing an innocent man

Jacques Mesrine, a loyal son and dedicated soldier, is back home and living with his parents after serving in the Algerian War. Soon he is seduced by the neon glamour of sixties Paris and the easy money it presents. Mentored by Guido, Mesrine turns his back on middle class law-abiding and soon moves swiftly up the criminal ladder.

Undisputed III: Redemption poster
Undisputed III: Redemption
2010 · dir. Isaac Florentine
★ 7.4action · thriller · crime

A skilled fighter methodically proves himself against long odds

The difference: A prison-tournament redemption arc, not a murder-conspiracy investigation

Russian inmate Boyka, now severely hobbled by the knee injury suffered at the end of Undisputed 2. No longer the feared prison fighter he was, he has declined so far that he is now good only for cleaning toilets. But when a new prison fight tournament begins - an international affair, matching the best fighters from prisons around the globe, enticing them with the promise of freedom for the winner - Boyka must reclaim his dignity and fight for his position in the tournament.

The Protector poster
The Protector
2005 · dir. Prachya Pinkaew
🍅 53%★ 7action · crime · drama

A lone, capable fighter takes on an entire criminal operation single-handed

The difference: A martial-arts elephant-rescue quest, not a methodical murder investigation

A young fighter named Kham must go to Australia to retrieve his stolen elephant. With the help of a Thai-born Australian detective, Kham must take on all comers, including a gang led by an evil woman and her two deadly bodyguards.

Kill Boksoon poster
Kill Boksoon
2023 · dir. Byun Sung-hyun
🍅 79%★ 6.6action · drama · thrillerNetflix

Gritty and contemplative in the same breath

At work, she's a renowned assassin. At home, she's a single mom to a teenage daughter. Killing? That's easy. It's parenting that's the hard part.

Bad Boys for Life poster
Bad Boys for Life
2020 · dir. Bilall Fallah
🍅 76%★ 6.5thriller · action · crimeHulu

Seasoned investigators chase down a threat that keeps escalating past reason

The difference: Buddy-cop banter and cartel warfare, not a lone drifter's cold precision

Marcus and Mike are forced to confront new threats, career changes, and midlife crises as they join the newly created elite team AMMO of the Miami police department to take down the ruthless Armando Armas, the vicious leader of a Miami drug cartel.

The Plagues of Breslau poster
The Plagues of Breslau
2018 · dir. Patryk Vega
🍅 83%★ 6crime · action · thrillerNetflix

A determined investigator digs into a killer's method to expose the truth

The difference: A serial-killer procedural, not one man clearing a framed suspect

Every day at 6 pm a serial killer kills another person. Police officer Helena Rus thinks the killings are done by one man only and decides to reveal the killer's identity by getting back in 18th century history of the city.

Gangster Squad poster
Gangster Squad
2013 · dir. Ruben Fleischer
🍅 30%★ 6.7crime · drama · action

A city's criminal rot gets confronted by people willing to bend the rules

The difference: A 1940s mob-war period piece, not a modern lone-wolf investigation

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.

Colombiana poster
Colombiana
2011 · dir. Olivier Megaton
🍅 29%★ 6.4action · thriller · crime

A methodical figure works outside the law to settle an old score with precision

The difference: A vengeance-driven assassin's origin, not an investigator clearing a suspect

After witnessing her parents’ murder as a child in Bogota, Cataleya Restrepo grows up to be a stone-cold assassin. She works for her uncle as a hitman by day, but her personal time is spent engaging in vigilante murders that she hopes will lead her to her ultimate target: the mobster responsible for her parents' death.

Need for Speed poster
Need for Speed
2014 · dir. Scott Waugh
🍅 23%★ 6.4action · crime · drama

Someone framed for a crime fights doggedly to expose who's really responsible

The difference: A street-racing revenge plot, not a sniper murder investigation

The film revolves around a local street-racer who partners with a rich and arrogant business associate, only to find himself framed by his colleague and sent to prison. After he gets out, he joins a New York-to-Los Angeles race to get revenge. But when the ex-partner learns of the scheme, he puts a massive bounty on the racer's head, forcing him to run a cross-country gauntlet of illegal racers in all manner of supercharged vehicles.

Taken 2 poster
Taken 2
2012 · dir. Olivier Megaton
🍅 22%★ 6.2action · crime · thrillerMax

A skilled operative proves far more capable than his enemies expect

The difference: A hostage-rescue mission abroad, not a stateside murder investigation

In Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.

Cold Eyes poster
Cold Eyes
2013 · dir. Kim Byung-seo
★ 7.1crime · action · thriller

The same mix in both: tension, then momentum

The difference: Easier on the stillness than Jack Reacher

Ha Yoon-ju becomes the newest member of a unit within the Korean Police Forces Special Crime Department that specializes in surveillance activities on high-profile criminals. She teams up with Hwang Sang-jun, the veteran leader of the unit, and tries to track down James who is the cold-hearted leader of an armed criminal organization.

The Accountant poster
The Accountant
2016 · dir. Gavin O'Connor
🍅 53%★ 7.3crime · thriller · dramaRent or buy

A quietly lethal loner unravels a conspiracy hidden behind ordinary numbers

The difference: An autistic savant's ledger mystery, not a sniper murder frame-up

As a math savant uncooks the books for a new client, the Treasury Department closes in on his activities and the body count starts to rise.

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The best-reviewed films that share Jack Reacher’s defining feeling.