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The Dark Knight Rises poster

Movies that feel likeThe Dark Knight Rises (2012)

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.

If you loved The Dark Knight Rises, the closest films we have are Undisputed III: Redemption (2010), Jack Reacher (2012) and Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008). All three share The Dark Knight Rises' kinetic and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Gangs of Wasseypur - Part 1 (2012).

🍅 87% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Christopher Nolankineticgrittycontemplativetense
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Premium

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If The Dark Knight Rises hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Batman Begins (2005) · The Dark Knight (2008)

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

A broken fighter clawing back from a prison pit to reclaim himself

The difference: A lean DTV fight film — the spectacle is fists, not a city at stake

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.

Jack Reacher poster
Jack Reacher
2012 · dir. Christopher McQuarrie
🍅 64%★ 7crime · drama · thrillerPrime VideoParamount+

A methodical loner dismantling a conspiracy with force and patience

The difference: Street-level procedural — no masks, no mythology

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.

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

A true-crime rise built on prison breaks, robberies and raw nerve

The difference: You follow the criminal, not the cape — nobody here plays hero

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.

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

A lone warrior smashing through a crime empire to take back what's his

The difference: Paper-thin story — it exists for the stunt work, nothing more

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.

The Raid 2 poster
The Raid 2
2014 · dir. Gareth Evans
🍅 82%★ 7.9action · crime · thriller

Bruising crime-world combat where one man is buried deep undercover

The difference: Far more graphic — relentless gore with no superhero remove

After fighting his way through an apartment building populated by an army of dangerous criminals and escaping with his life, SWAT team member Rama goes undercover, joining a powerful Indonesian crime syndicate to protect his family and uncover corrupt members of his own force.

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

Both land momentum and grit at once

The difference: Easier on the stillness than The Dark Knight Rises

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

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

A city owned by one criminal and the squad breaking his grip

The difference: Period gangster pulp, none of Nolan's weight

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 vigilante forged by childhood trauma working outside the law

The difference: Thin plotting and rote villains — style without Nolan's weight

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

A framed man comes back from prison for engine-roaring payback

The difference: Car-chase spectacle over crumbling-city epic

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.

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

Contemplative where it counts, tense underneath

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.

The Last Stand poster
The Last Stand
2013 · dir. Kim Jee-woon
🍅 61%★ 6.3action · crime · thrillerPrime Video

An outgunned lawman making a stand as a criminal army rolls in

The difference: Cheerfully pulpy — a B-movie shootout with zero brooding

Ray Owens is sheriff of the quiet US border town of Sommerton Junction after leaving the LAPD following a bungled operation. Following his escape from the FBI, a notorious drug baron, his gang, and a hostage are heading toward Sommerton Junction where the police are preparing to make a last stand to intercept them before they cross the border. Owens is reluctant to become involved but ultimately joins in with the law enforcement efforts.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 poster
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
2009 · dir. Tony Scott
🍅 51%★ 6.4crime · thriller · action

A city held hostage by a mastermind while one man works the crisis

The difference: One subway car, not a metropolis — talky standoff over spectacle

Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime.

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The best-reviewed films that share The Dark Knight Rises’ defining feeling.