feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like The Killer (1989)

If you loved The Killer, the closest films we have are Hard Boiled (1992), Gone in 60 Seconds (1974) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012). All three share The Killer's kinetic and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on Criterion Channel, HBO Max Amazon Channel and YouTube TV and others, checked against today's data.

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.

πŸ… 96% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.7 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. John Wookineticgrittycontemplativetense

When is The Killer streaming? β†’

If The Killer hit the spot, these will too

Hard Boiled poster
Hard Boiled
1992 Β· dir. John Woo
πŸ… 92%β˜… 7.7action Β· thriller Β· crime

Both are John Woo films, and they rhyme

The difference: Missing the stillness of The Killer

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.

Feels alike?
Gone in 60 Seconds poster
Gone in 60 Seconds
1974 Β· dir. H.B. Halicki
πŸ… 43%β˜… 6.3action Β· crime Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: police

The difference: Reviewed a good deal more coolly

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.

Feels alike?
The Dark Knight Rises poster
The Dark Knight Rises
2012 Β· dir. Christopher Nolan
πŸ… 87%β˜… 8.4action Β· crime Β· drama

The same mix in both: momentum, then grit

The difference: A 2010s film, from a different era of filmmaking

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.

Feels alike?
Mesrine: Killer Instinct poster
Mesrine: Killer Instinct
2008 Β· dir. Jean-FranΓ§ois Richet
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7.5drama Β· action Β· thriller

Contemplative and tense in the same breath

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.

Feels alike?
Gangster Squad poster
Gangster Squad
2013 Β· dir. Ruben Fleischer
πŸ… 30%β˜… 6.7crime Β· drama Β· action

Both keep circling back to dramatic

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 β€” if he has his way β€” 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.

Feels alike?
The Street Fighter poster
The Street Fighter
1974 Β· dir. Shigehiro Ozawa
β˜… 6.9action Β· crime Β· thriller

Both trade on momentum more than on being action

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.

Feels alike?
Across 110th Street poster
Across 110th Street
1972 Β· dir. Barry Shear
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7action Β· crime Β· drama

Crime built on grit, twice over

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?

Feels alike?
Jack Reacher poster
Jack Reacher
2012 Β· dir. Christopher McQuarrie
πŸ… 64%β˜… 7crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

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.

Feels alike?
Need for Speed poster
Need for Speed
2014 Β· dir. Scott Waugh
πŸ… 23%β˜… 6.4action Β· crime Β· drama

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

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.

Feels alike?
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back poster
Jack Reacher: Never Go Back
2016 Β· dir. Edward Zwick
πŸ… 37%β˜… 6.2action Β· thriller Β· drama

Kinetic action in both cases

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.

Feels alike?
Hard Target poster
Hard Target
1993 Β· dir. John Woo
πŸ… 63%β˜… 6.2action Β· thriller Β· crime

The same hand behind both of them: John Woo

When a woman's father goes missing, she enlists a local to aid in her search. The pair soon discover that her father has died at the hands of a wealthy sportsman who hunts homeless men as a form of recreation.

Feels alike?
A Better Tomorrow poster
A Better Tomorrow
1986 Β· dir. John Woo
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.4action Β· crime Β· drama

Both rooted in Hong Kong

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

Feels alike?

In the mood for more kinetic?

all kinetic movies β†’

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