Movies like New Jack City (1991)
The best movies like New Jack City (1991) are We Die Young (2019), Menace II Society (1993) and The Substitute (1996). If New Jack City hooked you with its thriller and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedScarface (1983)8.2/10 from 13,672 votes
- NewestWe Die Young (2019)Released 2019
We Die Young (2019)
Lucas, a 14-year-old boy inducted into the gang life in Washington D.C., is determined that his 10-year-old brother won't follow the same path. When an Afghanistan war veteran comes into the neighborhood, an opportunity arises.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMenace II Society (1993)
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Substitute (1996)
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuper Fly (1972)
Priest, a New York City drug kingpin, devises a scheme to get out of the business and retire with a big payday, but his plans are complicated when a street dealer rats him out to the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Corruptor (1999)
Danny is a young cop partnered with Nick, a seasoned but ethically tainted veteran. As the two try to stop a gang war in Chinatown, Danny relies on Nick but grows increasingly uncomfortable with the way Nick gets things done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut for Justice (1991)
Gino Felino is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who knows everyone and everything in his neighborhood. Killing his partner was someone's big mistake... because he's now out for justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPayback (1999)
With friends like these, who needs enemies? That's the question bad guy Porter is left asking after his wife and partner steal his heist money and leave him for dead -- or so they think. Five months and an endless reservoir of bitterness later, Porter's partners and the crooked cops on his tail learn how bad payback can be.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiller's Crossing (1990)
Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYear of the Dragon (1985)
In New York, racist Capt. Stanley White becomes obsessed with destroying a Chinese-American drug ring run by Joey Tai, an up-and-coming young gangster as ambitious as he is ruthless. While pursuing an unauthorized investigation, White grows increasingly willing to violate police protocol, resorting to progressively violent measures -- even as his concerned wife, Connie, and his superiors beg him to consider the consequences of his actions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing of New York (1990)
A former drug lord returns from prison determined to wipe out all his competition and distribute the profits of his operations to New York's poor and lower classes in this stylish and ultra violent modern twist on Robin Hood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExit Wounds (2001)
Maverick cop Orin Boyd always brings down the domestic terrorists he tracks, but he ruffles feathers with his unorthodox techniques -- and soon finds himself reassigned to the toughest district in Detroit. When he discovers a group of detectives secretly operating a drug ring, Boyd joins forces with an unlikely ally -- gangster Latrell Walker -- to bring down the rotten cops.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisState Property (2002)
A Philadelphia gang member becomes a drug kingpin and starts a feud with vicious rivals in his quest for the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAl Capone (1959)
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScarface (1983)
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisClose Range (2015)
A rogue soldier turned outlaw is thrust into a relentless fight with a corrupt sheriff, his obedient deputies, and a dangerous drug cartel in order to protect his sister and her young daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiss of the Dragon (2001)
Liu Jian, an elite Chinese police officer, comes to Paris to arrest a Chinese drug lord. When Jian is betrayed by a French officer and framed for murder, he must go into hiding and find new allies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGotti (1996)
John Gotti, the head of a small New York mafia crew breaks a few of the old family rules. He rises to become the head of the Gambino family and the most well-known mafia boss in America. Life is good, but suspicion creeps in, and greed, rule-breaking and his high public profile all threaten to topple him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe French Connection (1971)
Tough narcotics detective 'Popeye' Doyle is in hot pursuit of a suave French drug dealer who may be the key to a huge heroin-smuggling operation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Lieutenant (1992)
While investigating a young nun's rape, a corrupt New York City police detective, with a serious drug and gambling addiction, tries to change his ways and find forgiveness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Double Hour (2009)
A chambermaid and a former cop meet at a speed dating event and a romance develops. But during a romantic getaway things suddenly take a turn for the worse when her mysterious past is revealed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJesse Stone: No Remorse (2010)
Police Chief Jesse Stone, who was suspended by the Paradise, Mass. Town Council, begins moonlighting for his friend, State Homicide Commander Healy, by investigating a series of murders in Boston, leaving Rose and Suitcase to handle a crime spree in Paradise on their own. Jesse pours his energy into his work in an effort to push away his twin demons: booze and women. When his investigation leads to notorious mob boss Gino Fish, Jesse's pursuit becomes hazardous.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Interpreter (2005)
After Silvia Broome, an interpreter at United Nations headquarters, overhears plans of an assassination, an American Secret Service agent is sent to investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pleasure of Being Robbed (2008)
A curious and lost Eleonore looks for something everywhere, even in the bags of strangers who find themselves sadly smiling only well after she's left their lives. They owe her their thanks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Musketeers of Pig Alley (1912)
A man recognizes the thief who had previously robbed him as one of the men involved in an unrelated mob shootout.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPay The Price (2014)
When a college freshman gets fired, he begins looking for new ways to pay for school. Along the way, he stumbles across a drug deal and sees his opening. Things get off to a quick and easy start, but when a big deal goes wrong, he must reconsider what is truly best for him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Up the Down Staircase (1967)
Sylvia, a novice schoolteacher, is hired to teach English in a high school, but she’s met with an apathetic faculty, a delinquent student body and an administration that drowns its staff in paperwork. The following days go from bad to worse as Sylvia struggles to reach her most troubled students.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
La golfa del barrio (1982)
Left grief-stricken when his bride dies unexpectedly on their wedding night, desperate newlywed Juan Pablo jumps into a relationship with a sexy pickpocket in this romantic Mexican drama. At first, Juan Pablo desires only the touch of a woman, but things change when he begins to have strong feelings for Rosa. Sasha Montenegro, Susana Cabrera, Roberto Montiel, Eduardo de la Peña, Anaís de Melo and Delia Magaña star.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
An Eye for an Eye (1981)
Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisNo Way to Treat a Lady (1968)
Christopher Gill is a psychotic killer who uses various disguises to trick and strangle his victims. Moe Brummel is a single and harassed New York City police detective who starts to get phone calls from the strangler and builds a strange alliance as a result. Kate Palmer is a swinging, hip tour guide who witnesses the strangler leaving her dead neighbor's apartment and sets her sights on the detective. Moe's live-in mother wishes her son would be a successful Jewish doctor like his big brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like New Jack City?
The closest matches to New Jack City are We Die Young (2019), Menace II Society (1993) and The Substitute (1996). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after New Jack City?
Start with We Die Young (2019), the closest match to New Jack City.
What is the highest-rated movie like New Jack City?
Scarface (1983), rated 8.2/10 by 13,672 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like New Jack City?
We Die Young (2019) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like New Jack City?
Yes: We Die Young (2019), Menace II Society (1993) and The Substitute (1996).
How are movies similar to New Jack City chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside New Jack City, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.