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Movies that feel like Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008)

If you loved Mesrine: Killer Instinct, the closest films we have are Jack Reacher (2012), The Dark Knight Rises (2012) and Gangster Squad (2013). All three share Mesrine: Killer Instinct's contemplative and kinetic feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 9 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Paramount Plus Premium, Paramount Plus Essential and Philo and others, checked against today's data.

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.

🍅 81% Rotten Tomatoes7.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Jean-François Richetcontemplativekinetictensegritty

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If Mesrine: Killer Instinct hit the spot, these will too

Jack Reacher poster
Jack Reacher
2012 · dir. Christopher McQuarrie
🍅 64%7crime · drama · thriller

Contemplative where it counts, kinetic underneath

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.

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The Dark Knight Rises poster
The Dark Knight Rises
2012 · dir. Christopher Nolan
🍅 87%8.4action · crime · drama

Tense and gritty in the same breath

Following the death of District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman assumes responsibility for Dent's crimes to protect the late attorney's reputation and is subsequently hunted by the Gotham City Police Department. Eight years later, Batman encounters the mysterious Selina Kyle and the villainous Bane, a new terrorist leader who overwhelms Gotham's finest. The Dark Knight resurfaces to protect a city that has branded him an enemy.

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

Gangster is the engine of both

The difference: Critics were much harder on this one

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.

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Jack Reacher: Never Go Back poster
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
2016 · dir. Edward Zwick
🍅 37%6.2action · thriller · drama

Drama built on stillness, twice over

Years after resigning command of an elite military police unit, the nomadic, righter-of-wrongs Reacher is drawn back into the life he left behind when his friend and successor, Major Susan Turner is framed for espionage. Reacher will stop at nothing to prove her innocence and to expose the real perpetrators behind the killings of his former soldiers.

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

Action with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

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.

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The Killer poster
The Killer
1989 · dir. John Woo
🍅 96%7.7action · crime · drama

Tense thriller in both cases

Mob assassin Jeffrey is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteuse Jennie is blinded in the crossfire of his most recent hit, Jeffrey chooses to retire after one last job to pay for his unintended victim's sight-restoring operation. But when Jeffrey is double-crossed, he reluctantly joins forces with a rogue policeman to make things right.

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The Street Fighter poster
The Street Fighter
1974 · dir. Shigehiro Ozawa
6.9action · crime · thriller

Kidnapping sits at the heart of each

The difference: A 1970s film, from a different era of filmmaking

Takuma Tsurugi takes on the government, the police, the mafia and an international ring of kidnappers who aim to dispossess a beautiful young heiress of her millions.

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Across 110th Street poster
Across 110th Street
1972 · dir. Barry Shear
🍅 85%7action · crime · drama

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?

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Gone in 60 Seconds poster
Gone in 60 Seconds
1974 · dir. H.B. Halicki
🍅 43%6.3action · crime · thriller

Both trade on stillness more than on being drama

Insurance investigator Maindrian Pace and his team lead double-lives as unstoppable car thieves. When a South American drug lord pays Pace to steal 48 cars for him, all but one, a 1973 Ford Mustang, are in the bag. As Pace prepares to rip-off the fastback, codenamed "Eleanor", in Long Beach, he is unaware that his boss has tipped off the police after a business dispute.

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Blood and Bone poster
Blood and Bone
2009 · dir. Ben Ramsey
6.7action · crime · thriller

Kinetic action, and it commits to that

In Los Angeles, an ex-con takes the underground fighting world by storm in his quest to fulfill a promise to a dead friend.

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SPL: Kill Zone poster
SPL: Kill Zone
2005 · dir. Wilson Yip
🍅 80%6.9action · crime · drama

Thriller with a pulse of tension, in both cases

Chan, an articulate senior detective nearing the end of his career, is taking care of the daughter of a witness killed by ruthless crime lord Po. Martial arts expert Ma is set to take over as head of the crime unit, replacing Chan who wants an early retirement.

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Layer Cake poster
Layer Cake
2004 · dir. Matthew Vaughn
🍅 81%7.2drama · thriller · crime

Both built around murder

The difference: Not nearly as kinetic as Mesrine: Killer Instinct

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

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The best-reviewed films that share Mesrine: Killer Instinct's defining feeling.