feelsalike.com

Movies that feel like The Punisher (2004)

If you loved The Punisher, the closest films we have are A Bittersweet Life (2005), New Police Story (2004) and A Better Tomorrow (1986). All three share The Punisher's kinetic and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 7 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Amazon Prime Video and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

When undercover FBI agent Frank Castle's wife and son are slaughtered, he becomes 'the Punisher' -- a ruthless vigilante willing to go to any length to avenge his family.

πŸ… 30% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 6.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Jonathan Hensleighkineticgrittycontemplativerelentless

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If The Punisher hit the spot, these will too

A Bittersweet Life poster
A Bittersweet Life
2005 Β· dir. Kim Jee-woon
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.5action Β· drama Β· crime

Common ground: revenge

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

Kim Sun-woo is an enforcer and manager for a hotel owned by a cold, calculative crime boss, Kang who assigns Sun-woo to a simple errand while he is away on a business trip; to shadow his young mistress, Hee-soo, for fear that she may be cheating on him with a younger man with the mandate that he must kill them both if he discovers their affair.

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New Police Story poster
New Police Story
2004 Β· dir. Benny Chan
πŸ… 63%β˜… 6.9action Β· thriller Β· crime

Both keep coming back to the same thing: revenge

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than The Punisher does

Sent into a drunken tailspin when his entire unit is killed by a gang of thrill-seeking punks, disgraced Hong Kong police inspector Wing needs help from his new rookie partner, with a troubled past of his own, to climb out of the bottle and track down the gang and its ruthless leader.

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

The same mix in both: momentum, then grit

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

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Road to Perdition poster
Road to Perdition
2002 Β· dir. Sam Mendes
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.6crime Β· drama Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: organized crime

The difference: None of the momentum The Punisher is built on

Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him.

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The Square poster
The Square
2008 Β· dir. Nash Edgerton
πŸ… 86%β˜… 6.7crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Both are built on the same subject: neighbor

The difference: Leans harder into thriller than The Punisher does

Ray, a construction worker trapped in an unhappy marriage, pursues an affair with his neighbor, Carla. Carla's husband, Greg, is a mobster who keeps large sums of drug money in their home. With this in mind, Carla comes up with a plan: She and Ray will steal Greg's money, burn down her house, convince Greg the money was lost in the fire and then run away together. Carla's scheme, however, doesn't go off as planned.

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Rumble in the Bronx poster
Rumble in the Bronx
1995 Β· dir. Stanley Tong Gwai-Lai
πŸ… 81%β˜… 6.8crime Β· action Β· comedy

One thread runs through both: vigilante

Keong comes from Hong Kong to visit New York for his uncle's wedding. His uncle runs a market in the Bronx and Keong offers to help out while Uncle is on his honeymoon. During his stay in the Bronx, Keong befriends a neighbor kid and beats up some neighborhood thugs who cause problems at the market. One of those petty thugs in the local gang stumbles into a criminal situation way over his head.

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Lady Snowblood poster
Lady Snowblood
1973 Β· dir. Toshiya Fujita
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.6action Β· crime Β· drama

Contemplative where it counts, relentless underneath

The difference: Made in the 1970s, in a different era of the craft

A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.

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Run All Night poster
Run All Night
2015 Β· dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
πŸ… 59%β˜… 6.6action Β· crime Β· thriller

Action with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon has seen better days. Longtime best friend of a mob boss, Jimmy is haunted by the sins of his pastβ€”as well as a dogged police detective who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. But when Jimmy’s estranged son becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy has just one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.

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In the Fade poster
In the Fade
2017 Β· dir. Fatih Akin
πŸ… 75%β˜… 7.1drama Β· crime

Both lean on grit more than on crime

Katja's life collapses after the deaths of her husband and son in a bomb attack. After a time of mourning and injustice, Katja seeks revenge.

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The Equalizer 2 poster
The Equalizer 2
2018 Β· dir. Antoine Fuqua
πŸ… 52%β˜… 6.7action Β· thriller Β· crime

Both keep coming back to the same thing: massacre

Robert McCall, who serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed, embarks on a relentless, globe-trotting quest for vengeance when his former partner is murdered.

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Crank poster
Crank
2006 Β· dir. Brian Taylor
πŸ… 62%β˜… 6.9action Β· thriller Β· crime

Relentless drama in both cases

Chev Chelios, a hit man wanting to go straight, lets his latest target slip away. Then he awakes the next morning to a phone call that informs him he has been poisoned and has only an hour to live unless he keeps adrenaline coursing through his body while he searches for an antidote.

Feels alike?
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 poster
Kill Bill: Vol. 1
2003 Β· dir. Quentin Tarantino
πŸ… 85%β˜… 8.2action Β· crime

From the 2000s, and it lands the same way

An assassin is shot by her ruthless employer, Bill, and other members of their assassination circle – but she lives to plot her vengeance.

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In the mood for more kinetic?

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