Movies like Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1997)
The best movies like Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 (1997) are Enter the Phoenix (2004), See Spot Run (2001) and Young and Dangerous 2 (1996). If Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 hooked you with its action and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPolice Story (1985)7.6/10 from 1,130 votes
- NewestDouble Threat (2022)Released 2022
Enter the Phoenix (2004)
Georgie Hung was sent to Thailand by his triad boss father when he was a kid and never returns. After his father dies, the gang intends to bring Georgie home to take charge. But Georgie strikes an identity swap deal with his flatmate Sam, since he wants nothing to do with triad work, while Sam has always dreamed of being a gang boss. The only problem: Sam is straight, and Georgie is gay.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSee Spot Run (2001)
A drug sniffing agent canine is a target for an assassin boss so the FBI calls Witness Protection to send him somewhere else. Meanwhile a single Mom puts her 6 year old boy James in the care of her irresponsible, mailman, neighbor, Gordon, when the babysitter bails on her. Meanwhile, an assassin mob boss hires 2 goons to kill Agent 11. But when 11 escapes from the van when they tried to kill him, he hides in Gordon's Mailtruck that James is in too. And guess what they name him. Spot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYoung and Dangerous 2 (1996)
Chicken is back in exile. Hung Hing, a triad, is trying to ally with Chicken's new group, the Taiwanese triad San Luen. A contest is on in Hong Kong. The winner will head the Causeway Bay branch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInfernal Affairs II (2003)
In this prequel to the original, a bloody power struggle among the Triads coincides with the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, setting up the events of the first film.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeast Cops (1998)
Tung is a street cop in Hong Kong who's friends with a Triad named Fai. Fai hires a hit man to murder a business rival; the hit goes wrong and Fai, implicated in the incident, goes on the run.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSafe (2012)
After a former elite agent rescues a 12-year-old Chinese girl who's been abducted, they find themselves in the middle of a standoff between Triads, the Russian Mafia and high-level corrupt New York City politicians and police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBorn to Be King (2000)
Triad member Chicken is designated by Taiwan's San Luen Gang to marry Nanako, the daughter of the fifth generation leader of the Yamada Gang in Japan. Later, the leader of the triad group gets murdered. Actually, all the San Luen Gang members suspect Chicken attacked their leader Liu, in order to make a chance for him to rule the Gang and thus have adopted an extremely hostile attitude towards him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod of Gamblers III: Back to Shanghai (1991)
While battling a psychic gambler, Sing hurtles back in time to 1937 Shanghai. Now he must come to grips with his family history and get back to 1991.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFist of Fury 1991 (1991)
Lau Ching, a Mainlander with an incredibly powerful right arm, arrives in Hong Kong to find his cousin. He befriends with a drifter named Handsome, and a martial artist girl named Mandy. In order to woo her, Ching participates in a fighting competition in hopes of winning a $10 million prize, and must defeat his love rival, Wai, in the ring.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Longest Nite (1998)
A corrupt cop named Sam handles negotiations between two Triad leaders who plan to join forces. However, he meets a suspicious bald man named Tony, who keeps following him around and disrupting his personal business.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGolden Job (2018)
A group of former mercenaries reunite to plan an epic heist: boosting a truck full of medicine held by a foreign intelligence agency to supply a refugee camp in need. But when they find the truck is actually filled with stolen gold, the band of brothers realize they’ve been double-crossed by one of their own - and putting the situation right will be all out war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMillionaires' Express (1986)
What happens when a glamorous express, with high government officials, wealthy merchants, concubines and a gang of brigands on board, speeds towards the small town of Hanshui, where escaping bank robbers, corrupt officials, and gamblers await? Well, let's just say the Titanic had a smoother maiden voyage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDouble Threat (2022)
With ruthless mobsters on her tail, a young woman with a split personality becomes entangled with a man on a pilgrimage across the country to scatter his brother's ashes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Legend (1993)
The secret Red Lotus Flower Society is committed to the overthrow of the evil Manchu Emperor and his minions. One of his Governors is sent on a mission to retrieve a list of members of that secret society. Meanwhile, Canton kung fu practitioner Fong Sai-Yuk falls in love with the beautiful daughter of a rich merchant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDragon Lord (1982)
Dragon and his madcap pal Cowboy spend their days getting into mischief, frustrating the elders, chasing girls, and competing in the village sport. When Dragon overhears a fiendish plot by smugglers to sell China's national treasures overseas, the pair leap into action. Also, Cowboy's wealthy father is kidnapped by the villainous and lethal Big Boss, and the scene is set for a furious martial arts showdown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLethal Weapon 4 (1998)
With personal crises and age weighing in on them, LAPD officers Riggs and Murtaugh must contend with a deadly Chinese crime lord trying to get his brother out of prison.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisProject Gutenberg (2018)
The Hong Kong police is hunting a counterfeiting gang led by a mastermind code-named "Painter" . The gang possesses exceptional counterfeiting skills which makes it difficult to distinguish the authenticity of its counterfeit currency. The scope of their criminal activities extends globally and greatly attracts the attention of the police. In order to crack the true identity of "Painter", the police recruits a painter named Lee Man to assist in solving the case.
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 thisLegend of the Dragon (1991)
Chow Siu-lung leaves his hometown in order to study kung fu in the city but ends up getting conned by his own uncle instead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTriad Wars (2008)
In the midst of a violent gang war, a series of misfortunes threaten the fate of a gang boss and his mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPolice Story (1985)
Officer Chan Ka Kui manages to put a major Hong Kong drug dealer behind the bars practically alone, after a shooting and an impressive chase inside a slum. Now, he must protect the boss' secretary, Selina, who will testify against the gangster in court.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Killer (1989)
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.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOnce Upon a Time in China II (1992)
Wong Fei-Hung faces the White Lotus Society, a fanatical cult seeking to drive the Europeans out of China through violence, even attacking Chinese who follow Western ways. Wong must also defend revolutionary Dr. Sun Yat Sen from the military.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Accidental Spy (2001)
A fun-filled story about an ordinary guy about to kick into an action-packed adventure. Jackie Chan plays a bored and unsuccessful salesman who never thought his life would amount to anything. All that changes one day when he becomes an instant hero by foiling an attempted bank robbery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Killer from China (1991)
An honorable assassin from the Mainland arrives in Hong Kong on an assignment to blow gaping holes in the unlucky members of a Triad gang.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
The Legend of Drunken Master (1994)
Returning home with his father after a shopping expedition, Wong Fei-hung is unwittingly caught up in the battle between foreigners who wish to export ancient Chinese artifacts and loyalists who don't want the pieces to leave the country. Fei-hung must fight against the foreigners using his Drunken Boxing style, and overcome his father's antagonism as well.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHard Boiled (1992)
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.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBullet in the Head (1990)
Three childhood friends from the slums of Hong Kong flee to war-time Saigon after accidentally murdering a gang leader, but their troubles only escalate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNew Police Story (2004)
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.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Too Many Ways to Be No. 1?
The closest matches to Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 are Enter the Phoenix (2004), See Spot Run (2001) and Young and Dangerous 2 (1996). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Too Many Ways to Be No. 1?
Start with Enter the Phoenix (2004), the closest match to Too Many Ways to Be No. 1.
What is the highest-rated movie like Too Many Ways to Be No. 1?
Police Story (1985), rated 7.6/10 by 1,130 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Too Many Ways to Be No. 1?
Double Threat (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Too Many Ways to Be No. 1 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Too Many Ways to Be No. 1, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.