Movies like Bullet in the Head (1990)
The best movies like Bullet in the Head (1990) are A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon (1989), Hard Boiled (1992) and City on Fire (1987). If Bullet in the Head hooked you with its action and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInfernal Affairs (2002)7.8/10 from 1,974 votes
- NewestTwilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024)Released 2024
A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon (1989)
Before the events of A Better Tomorrow (1986), Mark 'Gor' Lee heads to Saigon during the Vietnam War to bring home his uncle and cousin, but his task becomes complicated when a well-known criminal tries to help him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCity on Fire (1987)
Ko Chow is an undercover cop who is under pressure from all sides. His boss, Inspector Lau, wants him to infiltrate a gang of ruthless jewel thieves; his girlfriend wants him to commit to marriage or she will leave Hong Kong with another lover; and he is being pursued by other cops who are unaware that he is a colleague. Chow would rather quit the force, feeling guilty about betraying gang members who have become his friends.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Better Tomorrow II (1987)
A restauranteur teams up with a police officer and his ex-con brother to avenge the death of a friend's daughter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · 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: Fans watch both · 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: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Line of Duty 3 (1988)
Genji Nakamura and his partner Michiko Nishiwaki are thieves for the notorious Red Army terrorist organization in Japan. After pulling off the jewelry heist of the century in which dozens of people get killed, they are now planning to use the jewelry they've snatched to buy an arms cache.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Beast 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: Fans watch both · both crime & action
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: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLong Arm of the Law (1984)
A group of desperate Chinese criminals hope to make a quick, effortless score in Hong Kong. Things go afoul, and the gang must hide out until the heat dies down, besmirched with the blood of an undercover cop.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFull Contact (1992)
In an effort to get his buddy out of a gambling debt, Jeff agrees to join forces with Judge in a weapons heist. The job goes bad and Judge betrays Jeff. Jeff plots the ultimate revenge on Judge and his followers and it is a question of whether he can follow through with his plan.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTiger Cage (1988)
Something fishy is going on in the anti-Drug Trafficking Unit of the HK Police, and only a few honest cops know that the corruption goes all the way to the top. However, they must prove their case quickly, and by unconventional means, after they are framed for murder and drug-trafficking themselves. Dodging bullets from cops and criminals alike, the race is on to clear their names, protect their loved ones, and bring their corrupt colleagues to justice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024)
In 1980s Hong Kong, troubled youth Chan Lok-kwun, a mainland refugee, struggles to survive in the Kowloon Walled City by joining underground fights. Betrayed by crime boss Mr. Big while trying to buy a fake ID, he steals drugs from him and seeks refuge in the Walled City, where he encounters Cyclone, a compassionate yet authoritative crime lord.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mission (1999)
Triad boss Lung, who has just escaped being killed in an assassination attempt hires the killers Curtis, James, Mike, Roy and Shin for his protection.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInfernal Affairs (2002)
Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTragic Hero (1987)
After being released from prison, Tang Kat-Yung exacts revenge on Lee Ah Chai.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Exiled (2006)
A friendship is formed between an ex-gangster, and two groups of hitmen - those who want to protect him and those who were sent to kill him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Enforcer (1995)
An undercover cop struggling to provide for his son and ailing wife, must infiltrate a ruthless gang. But things turn sour when another cop blows his cover and he quickly finds himself battling for his life and the lives of his family.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · 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: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Hero Never Dies (1998)
Jack and Martin are gunmen who work for two rival kingpins. Jack and Martin have been fighting on their bosses behalf for close to a year. When a truce is made both Jack and Martin are cut loose. The two men then decide to join forces and take on the gangsters who used them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRighting Wrongs (1986)
Jason Chan, a Hong Kong lawyer, is angry at the way the law protects criminals and decides to take the law into his own hands, dishing out vigilante justice when a key witness and his entire family are murdered. But hotshot cop Cindy Si is soon on Chan's case, and the situation unravels into a fight that only a few will survive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSex for Sale (1993)
A Triad trafficking in firearms and drugs between Hong Kong and Zhuhai but most of their illicit activities were raided by the Chinese Police Officer, Ng. The Triad whistle blower Yuen, who was so angry that he kidnapped Ng's wife, maltreated her until she was unwillingly to be a prostitute in Hong Kong. Yuen's niece was a narcotics agent in Hong Kong Anti-drugs and Narcotics Bureau, cooperated with Ng to put Yuen in jail....
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
She Shoots Straight (1990)
Hong Kong police officer Mina Kao marries Huang Tsung-Pao, who is a member of a law enforcement dynasty. His father and his many sisters are also officers, and the eldest sister Chia-Ling is one of the highest ranking women in the police department. When a Vietnamese gang begins a rampage through the city, the women must overcome their suspicion of one another to bring the criminals to justice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Running Out of Time (1999)
Police inspector and excellent hostage negotiator Ho Sheung-Sang finds himself in over his head when he is pulled into a 72 hour game by a cancer suffering criminal out for vengeance on Hong Kong's organized crime syndicates.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPrison on Fire II (1991)
The rivalry between two Chinese prison factions heats up as a seasoned inmate forms an alliance that could cost him more than his freedom.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTiger Cage II (1990)
An ex-cop and divorce lawyer team up with a gangster to clear their names after getting involved in a dirty money scheme led by a vicious money launderer, who plans to expand his business and wipe out anyone who stands in his way.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous Encounters of the First Kind (1980)
Three lazybones friends manufacture a firebomb and place it in a cinema. Pearl, a sadistic young girl, has observed the scene, follows the bombers and starts to manipulate them. The four criminals plan more and more daring acts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMissing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
Prequel to the first Missing In Action, set in the early 1980s it shows the capture of Colonel Braddock during the Vietnam war in the 1970s, and his captivity with other American POWs in a brutal prison camp, and his plans to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisPlatoon (1986)
As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Worth the HypeMovies 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 action & crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Bullet in the Head?
The closest matches to Bullet in the Head are A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon (1989), Hard Boiled (1992) and City on Fire (1987). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Bullet in the Head?
People who watched Bullet in the Head most often go on to A Better Tomorrow III: Love and Death in Saigon (1989), Hard Boiled (1992) and City on Fire (1987).
What is the highest-rated movie like Bullet in the Head?
Infernal Affairs (2002), rated 7.8/10 by 1,974 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Bullet in the Head?
Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Bullet in the Head chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Bullet in the Head, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.