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Movies like Freelancers (2012)

The best movies like Freelancers (2012) are The Rookie (1990), State Property (2002) and Al Capone (1959). If Freelancers hooked you with its mystery and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. The Rookie (1990)

    Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime

  2. State 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 & action

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  3. Al 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 action & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  4. Out 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 action & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)

    Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. Convict (2014)

    Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the prison boss has it in for him and does everything possible to break Ray even going after his fiance.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. The 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 action & crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. Payback (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 action & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. The Crew (2008)

    Hoping to raise enough capital to finance a legitimate business and leave behind his life of crime, Liverpool underworld boss Ged Brennan sends his brother Ratter and a crew to pull a daring final heist. But when Ratter kills a drug kingpin during the job, Brennan must turn to rival crook Franner to avert an all-out gangland war.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. Marlowe (1969)

    Mysterious Orfamay Quest hires Los Angeles private investigator Philip Marlowe to find her missing brother. Though the job seems simple enough, it leads Marlowe into the underbelly of the city, turning up leads who are murdered with ice picks, exotic dancers, blackmailed television stars, and self-preserving gangsters. Soon, Marlowe's life is on the line right along with his case.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & mystery

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. The 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

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. Stranger on the Third Floor (1940)

    Newspaper reporter Michael Ward plunges into a nightmare of guilt, fearing that his "evidence" has sentenced the wrong man to death.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. The 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

  14. Blindfire (2020)

    A police officer who while responding to a violent hostage call, kills the African American suspect only to later learn of his innocence. Sensing this was a set-up, and facing repercussions, he must track down the person responsible while examining his own accountability and the ingrained racism which brought him to this point.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Until Death (2007)

    Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime

  16. Rise 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 this
  17. Cop Land (1997)

    Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And when Freddy uncovers a massive, deadly conspiracy among these local residents, he is forced to take action and make a dangerous choice between protecting his idols and upholding the law.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. In 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

  19. Exit 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 action & crime

  20. Kiss 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 action & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  21. 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: Similar story and style · both drama & action

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  22. Lady Snowblood (1973)

    A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  23. Rocky III (1982)

    Following Rocky Balboa's intense battle with his most powerful adversary yet – the ferocious Clubber Lang – Rocky joins forces with former rival Apollo Creed in an effort to get back his fighting spirit.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  24. Rocky IV (1985)

    Rocky Balboa holds the world heavyweight championship, but a new challenger has stepped forward: Drago, a six-foot-four, 261-pound fighter who has the backing of the Soviet Union. This time, Rocky's training regimen takes him to Siberia, where he prepares for a globally televised match in the heart of Moscow. But nothing can truly prepare him for what he's about to face – a fight to the finish, in which he must defend not only himself, but also the honor of his country!

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  25. Kızgın Güneş (1972)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime

  26. Carne (1991)

    After a dreadful incident coupled with an ungovernable paroxysm of violence, a butcher will fall into a downward spiral that will burn to the ground whatever dignity still remained in him.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  27. Bandidas (2006)

    When a ruthless robber baron takes away everything they cherish, a rough-and-tumble, idealistic peasant and a sophisticated heiress embark on a quest for justice, vengeance…and a few good heists.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  28. This Man Must Die (1969)

    When his young son is killed in a hit and run accident, Charles Thenier resolves to hunt down and murder the killer. By chance, Thenier makes the acquaintance of an actress, Helène Lanson, who was in the car at the time of the accident. He then meets Helène’s brother-in-law, Paul Decourt, a truly horrible individual.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  29. Hannibal Rising (2007)

    The story of the early, murderous roots of the cannibalistic killer, Hannibal Lecter – from his hard-scrabble Lithuanian childhood, where he witnesses the repulsive lengths to which hungry soldiers will go to satiate themselves, through his sojourn in France, where as a medical student he hones his appetite for the kill and learnt sword skills from his Japanese girlfriend, who happened to have similar fate

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  30. Samaritan Girl (2004)

    Jae-Young is an amateur prostitute who sleeps with men while her best friend Yeo-Jin "manages" her, fixing dates, taking care of the money, and making sure the coast is clear. When Jae-Young falls in love with one of those men, she suppresses her feelings towards him in respect of her friend who's jealous.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this

Like Freelancers and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Freelancers?

The closest matches to Freelancers are The Rookie (1990), State Property (2002) and Al Capone (1959). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Freelancers?

Start with The Rookie (1990), the closest match to Freelancers.

What is the highest-rated movie like Freelancers?

Lady Snowblood (1973), rated 7.5/10 by 449 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Freelancers?

Blindfire (2020) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like Freelancers?

Yes: The Rookie (1990), State Property (2002) and Al Capone (1959).

How are movies similar to Freelancers chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Freelancers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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