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Mesrine: Killer Instinct poster

Movies that feel likeMesrine: Killer Instinct (2008)

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.

If you loved Mesrine: Killer Instinct, the closest films we have are Infernal Affairs II (2003), The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil (2019) and Cold Eyes (2013). All three share Mesrine: Killer Instinct's kinetic and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Ninja: Shadow of a Tear (2013).

🍅 81% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Jean-François Richetcontemplativekinetictensegritty
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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

Infernal Affairs II poster
Infernal Affairs II
2003 · dir. Andrew Lau Wai-Keung
🍅 75%★ 7.2action · thriller · crimeMax

Common ground in both: gangster and murder

The difference: Trades the stillness of Mesrine: Killer Instinct for an angle of its own

In this prequel to the original, a bloody power struggle among the Triads coincides with the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, setting up the events of the first film.

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

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

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.

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

Both land momentum and tension at once

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.

Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 poster
Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1
2012 · dir. Anurag Kashyap
🍅 91%★ 8.2action · thriller · crime

Gritty action, and it commits to that

In 1970s India, Sardar Khan vows to take revenge on the man who killed his father decades earlier.

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

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

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.

Police Story 3: Super Cop poster
Police Story 3: Super Cop
1992 · dir. Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai
🍅 93%★ 7action · crime · thriller

The same preoccupation in both: prison escape

A Hong Kong detective teams up with his female Red Chinese counterpart to stop a Chinese drug czar.

Facing El Chapo poster
Facing El Chapo
2026 · dir. Chava Cartas
★ 6.7crime · action · thrillerNetflix

Both are built on the same subject: a true story

Two Mexican officers must survive the final hours of their shift after crossing a ruthless cartel boss.

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

Contemplative thriller in both cases

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

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.

Ninja: Shadow of a Tear poster
Ninja: Shadow of a Tear
2013 · dir. Isaac Florentine
🍅 100%★ 6.2action · crime · thrillerPrime Video

Crime built on momentum, twice over

Fight everyone and trust no one: it's the code of survival practiced by martial-arts master Casey Bowman after his life of domestic bliss is shattered by a savage act of violence. Vowing revenge, the fearless American stealthily tracks the killer from Osaka to Bangkok to Rangoon with the help of a wise and crafty sensei. His only clues: a series of victims whose necks bear the distinctive mark of strangulation by barbed wire. Fighting to avenge as well as to survive, Casey must sharpen his razor-like responses and take his battle skills to the next level, even using deep meditation to fake his own death. His target: the sinister drug lord Goro, who is flooding the streets with deadly meth cooked at his remote jungle factory. To prepare for his ultimate confrontation, Casey must finally become an invisible warrior worthy of the name Ninja. But just when his prey is cornered, an unexpected twist shows Casey that his battle is only beginning: he truly can trust no one.

RocknRolla poster
RocknRolla
2008 · dir. Guy Ritchie
🍅 60%★ 7.2action · crime · thriller

One thread runs through both: gangster

When a Russian mobster sets up a real estate scam that generates millions of pounds, various members of London's criminal underworld pursue their share of the fortune. Various shady characters, including Mr One-Two, Stella the accountant, and Johnny Quid, a druggie rock-star, try to claim their slice.

KILL poster
KILL
2024 · dir. Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
🍅 90%★ 7.4action · crime · thrillerHulu

Action with a pulse of tension, in both cases

When an army commando finds out his true love is engaged against her will, he boards a New Dehli-bound train in a daring quest to derail the arranged marriage. But when a gang of knife-wielding thieves begin to terrorize innocent passengers on his train, the commando takes them on, one by one.

Hard Boiled poster
Hard Boiled
1992 · dir. John Woo
🍅 92%★ 7.7action · thriller · crimeRent or buy

Thriller with a pulse of grit, in both cases

A cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover cop who's working as a gangster hitman. They use all means of excessive force to find them.

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