Movies like Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980)
The best movies like Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980) are Dog Bite Dog (2006), Iron Angels (1987) and Vengeance (2009). If Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind hooked you with its crime and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFallen Angels (1995)7.7/10 from 1,415 votes
- NewestZ Storm (2014)Released 2014
Dog Bite Dog (2006)
A young Cambodian man who has been trained to fight for money in his country is hired to kill someone in Hong Kong. He performs the hit and then flees from Hong Kong police, who are wrestling with internal problems of a model cop and his son, who is also on the force and who was told by his dad not to become a police officer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIron Angels (1987)
Yeung’s poppy fields are torched by a law enforcement task force, she retaliates by ordering police officials assassinated. The Angels break into Yeung’s corporate offices, eventually tracing her headquarters. After Alex Fong’s character is captured and held by Yeung, the Angels mount an assault to rescue him. A complex sub-plot involving an armored car bullion robbery eventually leads the Angels to a final showdown with Yeung and her men.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVengeance (2009)
A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Macau, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime and Tide (2000)
A streetwise young man becomes a bodyguard to score quick cash. He befriends a disillusioned mercenary determined to begin life anew. They find themselves working together to foil an assassination attempt, but their partnership ultimately can't last.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn to a Better Tomorrow (1994)
An adventure that delves into the dark caverns of the underworld and tells the tale of three chivalrous gangsters who attempt to escape the powerful clutch of their gang leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Wish 3 (1985)
Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Dead Pool (1988)
Dirty Harry Callahan returns for his final film adventure. Together with his partner Al Quan, he must investigate the systematic murder of prominent figures. By the time Harry learns that the murders are part of a sick game to predict such deaths, it may be too late.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrooklyn Rules (2007)
Brooklyn, 1985. With the mob world as a backdrop, three life-long friends struggle with questions of love, loss and loyalty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisSPL: Kill Zone (2005)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier (2007)
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Born Losers (1967)
A biker gang incites a reign of terror in a California coastal town that culminates in four teenage girls being raped. Vietnam veteran Billy Jack has had enough, however, and takes on the depraved bikers single-handedly. He rescues young Vicky Barrington from their clutches, but then has to contend with not only the thugs, but also the ineffectual and racist local lawmen, who have it out for the half-Native American Billy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWanted (2008)
Doormat Wesley Gibson is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. He meets an attractive woman named Fox and discovers that his recently murdered father - whom Wesley never knew - belonged to the Fraternity, a secret society of assassins which takes its orders from Fate itself. Fox and Sloan, the Fraternity's leader, teach Wesley, through intense training, to tap into dormant powers and hone his innate killing skills. Though he enjoys his newfound abilities, he begins to suspect that there is more to the Fraternity than meets the eye.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Line of Duty 4 (1989)
Two detectives who are up to their necks in trouble and in each other's face, as they try to shut down a drug-trafficking scheme that could be connected with international ties to organized crime. But in the midst of their investigation, innocent immigrant dock worker Luk Wan-Ting gets caught up in the mix when he witnesses the murder of an intelligence operative and is framed for the crime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisRampage (2009)
The boredom of small town life is eating Bill Williamson alive. Feeling constrained and claustrophobic in the meaningless drudgery of everyday life and helpless against overwhelming global dissolution, Bill begins a descent into madness. His shockingly violent plan will shake the very foundations of society by painting the streets red with blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWake of Death (2004)
Ben Archer, an ex-mob enforcer, seeks revenge against a ruthless Chinese kingpin responsible for his wife's brutal murder. When Archer joins forces with his old underworld friends, an all-out war is waged against the Chinese Triad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Long Good Friday (1980)
In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMotorway (2012)
Two police pursuit drivers, a hothead rookie and his long-suffering, almost-retired mentor, face off against an escape car driver from the latter's past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZ Storm (2014)
ICAC principal investigator William Luk takes his job seriously, and he needs every last scintilla of support from his team to take on the powerful and cunning Supt Wong, who is corrupt to the core. Wong is an enthusiastic tool of the monstrous Malcolm Wu, a cowboy big-time share trader who will stop at nothing to secure a large slice of the upcoming float of the HK government pension fund, worth billions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolice Story 2 (1988)
The Hong Kong super-cop must stop a group of blackmailing bombers at the same time that the villains of the first Police Story are out for revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPolice Story 3: Super Cop (1992)
A Hong Kong detective teams up with his female Red Chinese counterpart to stop a Chinese drug czar.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way of the Dragon (1972)
After a Chinese restaurant in Rome is threatened by the mafia, who will stop at nothing to acquire the property, the owner recruits a family friend in Hong Kong, kung fu expert Tang Lung, to help them defend their business.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaked Weapon (2002)
A mysterious woman, known as Madame M, kidnaps forty pre-teen girls and transports them to a remote island to train them as the most deadly assassins. CIA operative Jack Chen follows the case for 6 years with no leads, but when a series of assassinations begin to occur, Jack suspects that Madame M is back in business.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFlatfoot in Hong Kong (1975)
Inspector Rizzo is accused of drug trafficking. In order to clear his name he has to find out who is the person, from a Mafia ring, who has infiltrated his police department.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFallen Angels (1995)
An indifferent hitman, his infatuated business partner and an ex-convict search for love and meaning as their lives cross paths in Hong Kong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Better Tomorrow (1986)
A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Racket (1951)
The big national crime syndicate has moved into town, partnering up with local crime boss Nick Scanlon. McQuigg, the only honest police captain on the force, and his loyal patrolman, Johnson, take on the violent Nick.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man from Hong Kong (1975)
Australian authorities arrest a man believed to be connected to the Sydney criminal underworld and send for Inspector Fang Sing Leng from Hong Kong to question him. After the alleged criminal is assassinated, Inspector Leng and the Sydney police try to hunt down those responsible and hope to solve their case along the way.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnter the Dragon (1973)
A martial artist agrees to spy on a reclusive crime lord using his invitation to a tournament there as cover.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind?
The closest matches to Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind are Dog Bite Dog (2006), Iron Angels (1987) and Vengeance (2009). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind?
Start with Dog Bite Dog (2006), the closest match to Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind?
Fallen Angels (1995), rated 7.7/10 by 1,415 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind?
Z Storm (2014) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dangerous Encounters of the First Kind, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.