Movies like The Hard Way (1991)
The best movies like The Hard Way (1991) are CHiPs (2017), Who Is Cletis Tout? (2001) and The Heat (2013). If The Hard Way hooked you with its action and comedy, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Thin Man (1934)7.5/10 from 569 votes
- NewestDeep Cover (2025)Released 2025
CHiPs (2017)
The adventures of two California Highway Patrol motorcycle officers as they make their rounds on the freeways of Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho Is Cletis Tout? (2001)
With a hitman’s gun aimed at him, Finch tells the story of how he broke out of jail, fell in love, and took the identity of a man wanted by the Mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Heat (2013)
Uptight and straight-laced, FBI Special Agent Sarah Ashburn is a methodical investigator with a reputation for excellence--and hyper-arrogance. Shannon Mullins, one of Boston P.D.'s "finest," is foul-mouthed and has a very short fuse, and uses her gut instinct and street smarts to catch the most elusive criminals. Neither has ever had a partner, or a friend for that matter. When these two wildly incompatible law officers join forces to bring down a ruthless drug lord, they become the last thing anyone expected: buddies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Boys: Ride or Die (2024)
After their late former Captain is framed, Lowrey and Burnett try to clear his name, only to end up on the run themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like this21 Jump Street (2012)
When cops Schmidt and Jenko join the secret Jump Street unit, they use their youthful appearances to go undercover as high school students. They trade in their guns and badges for backpacks, and set out to shut down a dangerous drug ring. But, as time goes on, Schmidt and Jenko discover that high school is nothing like it was just a few years earlier -- and, what's more, they must again confront the teenage terror and anxiety they thought they had left behind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Happytime Murders (2018)
In a world where humans coexist with puppets—who are seen as lesser citizens—cast members of a beloved 1990s children's television series begin getting murdered one by one. Puppet Phil Philips, an ex-LAPD detective-turned-private eye, takes on the case at the request of his old boss in order to assist his former partner, Detective Connie Edwards.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like this22 Jump Street (2014)
After making their way through high school (twice), big changes are in store for officers Schmidt and Jenko when they go deep undercover at a local college. But when Jenko meets a kindred spirit on the football team, and Schmidt infiltrates the bohemian art major scene, they begin to question their partnership. Now they don't have to just crack the case - they have to figure out if they can have a mature relationship. If these two overgrown adolescents can grow from freshmen into real men, college might be the best thing that ever happened to them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop: Axel F (2024)
Forty years after his unforgettable first case in Beverly Hills, Detroit cop Axel Foley returns to do what he does best: solve crimes and cause chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTango & Cash (1989)
Ray Tango and Gabriel Cash are two successful narcotics detectives who can't stand each other. Crime lord Yves Perret, furious at the loss of income they have caused him, plots an elaborate revenge against them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this2 Guns (2013)
A DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who have been tasked with investigating one another find they have been set up by the mob -- the very organization the two men believe they have been stealing money from.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShaft (2019)
JJ, aka John Shaft Jr., may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. Absent throughout JJ’s youth, the legendary locked-and-loaded John Shaft agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem’s heroin-infested underbelly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeep Cover (2025)
Kat is an improv comedy teacher beginning to question if she’s missed her shot at success. When an undercover cop offers her the role of a lifetime, she recruits two of her students to infiltrate London’s gangland by impersonating dangerous criminals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop (1984)
Fast-talking, quick-thinking Detroit street cop Axel Foley has bent more than a few rules and regs in his time, but when his best friend is murdered, he heads to sunny Beverly Hills to work the case like only he can.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Boys II (2003)
Detectives Marcus Burnett and Mike Lowrey of the Miami Narcotics Task Force are tasked with stopping the flow of the drug Ecstasy into Miami. They track the drugs to the whacked-out Cuban drug lord Johnny Tapia, who is also involved in a bloody war with Russian and Haitian mobsters. If that isn't bad enough, there's tension between the two detectives when Marcus discovers that playboy Mike is secretly romancing Marcus’ sister, Syd.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLethal Weapon 3 (1992)
Riggs and Murtaugh pursue a former officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpenser Confidential (2020)
Spenser, a former Boston patrolman who just got out from prison, teams up with Hawk, an aspiring fighter, to unravel the truth behind the death of two police officers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStarsky & Hutch (2004)
Join uptight David Starsky and laid-back Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson as they're paired for the first time as undercover cops. The new partners must overcome their differences to solve an important case with help from street informant Huggy Bear and persuasive criminal Reese Feldman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisSuper Troopers 2 (2018)
When an international border dispute arises between the U.S. and Canada, the Super Troopers- Mac, Thorny, Foster, Rabbit and Farva, are called in to set up a new Highway Patrol station in the disputed area.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisFamily of Cops (1995)
Paul Fein is a veteran police detective whose son Eddie is also a cop. Paul is assigned to investigate the murder of a prominent businessman, and he soon learns that the field of suspects has been narrowed down to two—the victim's sexually freewheeling wife Anna, and Paul's wild-child daughter Jackie. Neither Paul nor Eddie believe that Jackie could have committed the murder, and soon Paul is using himself as a decoy in a bid to find out more about what Anna does and doesn't know about her husband's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRemo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)
Tough Brooklyn street cop Sam Makin is unwillingly recruited as an assassin for a secret United States organization known as CURE, who fake his death and give him a new identity: Remo Williams. With his appearance surgically altered, Williams is trained to be a human killing machine by his aged, derisive and impassive Korean martial arts master Chiun.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMadigan's Millions (1968)
When a deported gangster dies in Italy, the U.S. Treasury Department is very interested in the one million dollars Madigan owed the government, but managed to take to Italy with him. They send Agent Jason Phister over to Italy to nose out the million. His criteria for the job is that no one would ever guess he's an agent of the United States government.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Dragnet (1987)
LAPD Sgt. Joe Friday -- the equally straight-laced nephew of the famous police sergeant of the same name -- is paired up with a young, freewheeling detective named Pep Streebeck. After investigating some strange robberies at the local zoo and the theft of a stockpile of pornographic magazines, they uncover cult activity in the heart of the city and are hot on the case to figure out who's behind it all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this15 Minutes (2001)
When Eastern European criminals Oleg and Emil come to New York City to pick up their share of a heist score, Oleg steals a video camera and starts filming their activities, both legal and illegal. When they learn how the American media circus can make a remorseless killer look like the victim and make them rich, they target media-savvy NYPD Homicide Detective Eddie Flemming and media-naive FDNY Fire Marshal Jordy Warsaw, the cops investigating their murder and torching of their former criminal partner, filming everything to sell to the local tabloid TV show "Top Story."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisVan der Merwe PI (1985)
South African beauty and former Miss World, Anneline Kriel stars in this action comedy about Van der Merwe, a struggling private eye. The detective’s bad luck seems set to change when drug lord Jack Barnard hires him to find Barnard’s missing girlfriend, Angel Labuschagne.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
The Thin Man (1934)
Former detective Nick Charles has retired from police work, preferring a life of cocktails, parties, and relaxation with his wealthy wife, Nora. Their holiday is interrupted when the daughter of Nick’s former client asks for help finding her missing father, eccentric inventor Clyde Wynant. When Wynant’s body is discovered, Nick is drawn back into the investigation, with Nora eagerly joining him. As the couple questions Wynant’s family, friends, and business associates, a tangled web of greed, deception, and murder begins to unravel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBad Company (2002)
When a Harvard-educated CIA agent is killed during an operation, the secret agency recruits his twin brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMiss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous (2005)
After her triumph at the Miss United States pageant, FBI agent Gracie Hart becomes an overnight sensation — and the new "face of the FBI". But it's time to spring into action again when the pageant's winner, Cheryl, and emcee, Stan, are abducted.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisMy Lucky Stars (1985)
Two Hong Kong cops are sent to Tokyo to catch an ex-cop who stole a large amount of money in diamonds. After one is captured by the Ninja-gang protecting the rogue cop, the other one gets his old Orphanage gang, dubbed the "Five Lucky Stars," to help him. They don't like this much, but they do it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Gigolo (1980)
Julian makes a lucrative living as an escort to older women in the Los Angeles area. He begins a relationship with Michelle, a local politician's wife, without expecting any pay. One of his clients is murdered and Detective Sunday begins pumping him for details on his different clients, something he is reluctant to do considering the nature of his work. Julian begins to suspect he's being framed. Meanwhile Michelle begins to fall in love with him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeauty Betrayed (2002)
A gun fires and supermodel Lily Sampson is dead. Two cops, Clark and his new partner Allie, are on the case. Their only clues are a revealing videotape of the victim in a searing game of bondage with a famous fashion photographer, and Lily's high school yearbook which reveals a mysterious twin sister and clues to a lifelong rivalry with another model.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Like The Hard Way and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Hard Way?
The closest matches to The Hard Way are CHiPs (2017), Who Is Cletis Tout? (2001) and The Heat (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Hard Way?
Start with CHiPs (2017), the closest match to The Hard Way.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Hard Way?
The Thin Man (1934), rated 7.5/10 by 569 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Hard Way?
Deep Cover (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Hard Way?
Yes: CHiPs (2017), Who Is Cletis Tout? (2001) and The Heat (2013).
How are movies similar to The Hard Way chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Hard Way, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.