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Legend poster

Movies that feel likeLegend (2015)

Suave, charming and volatile, Reggie Kray and his unstable twin brother Ronnie start to leave their mark on the London underworld in the 1960s. Using violence to get what they want, the siblings orchestrate robberies and murders while running nightclubs and protection rackets. With police Detective Leonard "Nipper" Read hot on their heels, the brothers continue their rapid rise to power and achieve tabloid notoriety.

If you loved Legend, the closest films we have are Killing Them Softly (2012), The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (2019) and Phone Booth (2003). All three share Legend's gritty and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Caliber 9 (1972).

🍅 60% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.9 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Brian Helgelandgrittytense
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Peacock Premium

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See it on the Mood Map

If Legend hit the spot, these will too

Killing Them Softly poster
Killing Them Softly
2012 · dir. Andrew Dominik
🍅 74%★ 6.2crime · thriller

Both are built on the same subject: gangster

Jackie Cogan is an enforcer hired to restore order after three dumb guys rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse.

The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil poster
The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil
2019 · dir. Lee Won-tae
🍅 97%★ 7action · crime · thrillerPrime VideoPeacock

Common ground in both: a true story and dramatic

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

After barely surviving a brutal attack by a sadistic serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su is left humiliated. Determined to catch the killer known as K, he forms an uneasy alliance with Jung Tae-seok, a relentless and incorruptible detective who often disrupts his illegal business. However, while Jang Dong-su wants K dead, Jung Tae-suk is determined to bring him to justice. With a deal in place—whoever finds K first will decide his fate—the hunt begins, blurring the lines between crime and law.

Phone Booth poster
Phone Booth
2003 · dir. Joel Schumacher
🍅 72%★ 7.1thriller · crimePrime Video

Both land grit and tension at once

A slick New York publicist who picks up a ringing receiver in a phone booth is told that if he hangs up, he'll be killed... and the little red light from a laser rifle sight is proof that the caller isn't kidding.

Red Rock West poster
Red Rock West
1993 · dir. John Dahl
🍅 95%★ 7crime · thriller

Crime with a pulse of grit, in both cases

The difference: Made in the 1990s, in a different era of the craft

When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.

The Traitor poster
The Traitor
2019 · dir. Marco Bellocchio
🍅 86%★ 7.1drama · crime · thrillerRent or buy

Both keep coming back to the same thing: a true story

The difference: Leans harder into drama than Legend does

Palermo, Sicily, 1980. Mafia member Tommaso Buscetta decides to move to Brazil with his family fleeing the constant war between the different clans of the criminal organization. But when, after living several misfortunes, he is forced to return to Italy, he makes a bold decision that will change his life and the destiny of Cosa Nostra forever.

We Own the Night poster
We Own the Night
2007 · dir. James Gray
🍅 57%★ 6.8drama · crime · thriller

The same preoccupation in both: gangster

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.

The Unjust poster
The Unjust
2010 · dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
★ 6.5crime · thrillerNetflix

Thriller built on tension, twice over

An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.

Holy Spider poster
Holy Spider
2022 · dir. Ali Abbasi
🍅 82%★ 7.3thriller · drama · crime

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

A journalist descends into the dark underbelly of the Iranian holy city of Mashhad as she investigates the serial killings of sex workers by the so called "Spider Killer", who believes he is cleansing the streets of sinners.

The Mule poster
The Mule
2018 · dir. Clint Eastwood
🍅 69%★ 7crime · drama · thriller

Both lean on tension more than on thriller

Earl Stone, a man in his eighties, is broke, alone, and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive. Easy enough, but, unbeknownst to Earl, he's just signed on as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. He does so well that his cargo increases exponentially, and Earl hit the radar of hard-charging DEA agent Colin Bates.

The Bank Job poster
The Bank Job
2008 · dir. Roger Donaldson
🍅 79%★ 7.2thriller · crime · dramaPrime Video

The same crime instincts

Terry is a small-time car dealer trying to leave his shady past behind and start a family. Martine is a beautiful model from Terry's old neighbourhood who knows that Terry is no angel. When Martine proposes a foolproof plan to rob a bank, Terry recognises the danger but realises this may be the opportunity of a lifetime.

Caliber 9 poster
Caliber 9
1972 · dir. Fernando Di Leo
★ 7.4crime · thriller

Cut from the same thriller cloth

Just out of prison, ex-con Ugo Piazza meets his former employer, a psychopathic gangster Rocco who enjoys sick violence and torture. Both the gangsters and the police believe Ugo has hidden $300,000 that should have gone to an American drug syndicate boss.

Suburra poster
Suburra
2015 · dir. Stefano Sollima
🍅 90%★ 7.4crime · drama · thriller

Both know what they want from crime

A gangster known as "Samurai" wants to turn the waterfront of Rome into a new Las Vegas. All the local mob bosses have agreed to work for this common goal. But peace is not to last long.

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