Movies like Impulse (2023)
The best movies like Impulse (2023) are State of Play (2009), Relay (2025) and The Insider (1999). If Impulse hooked you with its thriller and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAll the President's Men (1976)7.7/10 from 2,195 votes
- NewestPatriot (2026)Released 2026
State of Play (2009)
When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRelay (2025)
A broker of lucrative payoffs between corrupt corporations and the individuals who threaten them breaks his own rules when a new client seeks his protection to stay alive.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Insider (1999)
A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnemy of the State (1998)
When the videotape of the murder of a congressman unknowingly ends up in the hands of labor lawyer and dedicated family man Robert Clayton Dean, he is framed for the murder. With the help of the mysterious Brill, Dean attempts to throw the NSA off his trail and prove his innocence.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Pelican Brief (1993)
A law student's theory about the recent deaths of two Supreme Court justices embroils her in a far-reaching web of murder, corruption, and greed.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMichael Clayton (2007)
A law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multi-billion dollar class action suit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bricklayer (2023)
Someone is blackmailing the CIA by assassinating foreign journalists and making it look like the agency is responsible. As the world begins to unite against the U.S., the CIA must lure its most brilliant – and rebellious – operative out of retirement, forcing him to confront his checkered past while unraveling an international conspiracy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Ides of March (2011)
Dirty tricks stand to soil an ambitious young press spokesman's idealism in a cutthroat presidential campaign where 'victory' is relative.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Independent (2022)
It's the final weeks of the most consequential presidential election in history. America is poised to elect either its first female president or its first viable independent candidate. Reporting history as it's made, an idealistic young journalist teams up with her idol, legendary journalist Nick Booker, to uncover a conspiracy that places the fate of the election, and the country, in their hands.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Sloane (2016)
An ambitious lobbyist faces off against the powerful gun lobby in an attempt to pass gun control legislation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPatriot (2026)
When a Malayali DRW analyst tries to expose a corrupt regional politician from Kerala and his malpractices regarding spyware, he goes on the run, becomes a vlogger, and must clear his name of the false allegations levelled against him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
The Contender (2000)
The vice president is dead, and as the president makes his choice for a replacement, a secret contest of wills is being waged by a formidable rival. When Senator Laine Hanson is nominated as the first woman in history to hold the office, hidden agendas explode into a battle for power.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe China Syndrome (1979)
While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, opportunistic reporter Kimberly Wells witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant. Wells is determined to publicize the incident, but soon finds herself entangled in a sinister conspiracy to keep the full impact of the incident a secret.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSyriana (2005)
The Middle Eastern oil industry is the backdrop of this tense drama, which weaves together numerous story lines. Bennett Holiday is an American lawyer in charge of facilitating a dubious merger of oil companies, while Bryan Woodman, a Switzerland-based energy analyst, experiences both personal tragedy and opportunity during a visit with Arabian royalty. Meanwhile, veteran CIA agent Bob Barnes uncovers an assassination plot with unsettling origins.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShooter (2007)
A top Marine sniper, Bob Lee Swagger, leaves the military after a mission goes horribly awry and disappears, living in seclusion. He is coaxed back into service after a high-profile government official convinces him to help thwart a plot to kill the President of the United States. Ultimately double-crossed and framed for the attempt, Swagger becomes the target of a nationwide manhunt. He goes on the run to track the real killer and find out who exactly set him up, and why, eventually seeking revenge against some of the most powerful and corrupt leaders in the free world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Caller (2008)
Jimmy Stevens, a senior VP at an international energy firm, blows the whistle on his company's deadly and corrupt practices in Latin America. Knowing he will be assassinated for his betrayal, he places an anonymous call securing the services of private detective Frank Turlotte to trail him from a distance.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
All the President's Men (1976)
During the 1972 elections, two reporters' investigation sheds light on the controversial Watergate scandal that compels President Nixon to resign from his post.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ghost Writer (2010)
A writer stumbles upon a long-hidden secret when he agrees to help former British Prime Minister Adam Lang complete his memoirs on a remote island after the politician's assistant drowns in a mysterious accident.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree Days of the Condor (1975)
When bookish CIA researcher Joe Turner finds all his co-workers dead, he, together with a woman he has kidnapped, must work together to outwit those responsible until he determines who he can really trust.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe House of Cards (2013)
An elite firm of assassins must face their own mortality as they are hunted down one by one by a mysterious assailant. Caught up in the drama is a disgraced journalist who is more connected to the assassins' world than he could ever know.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Agent Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence for the CIA when Admiral Greer is diagnosed with cancer. When an American businessman, and friend of the president, is murdered on his yacht, Ryan starts discovering links between the man and drug dealers. As former CIA agent John Clark is sent to Colombia to kill drug cartel kingpins in retaliation, Ryan must fight through multiple cover-ups to figure out what happened and who's responsible.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fugitive (1993)
Wrongfully convicted of murdering his wife and sentenced to death, Richard Kimble escapes from the law in an attempt to find the real killer and clear his name.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEagles of the Republic (2025)
George Fahmy, Egypt's most adored actor, is pressured to star in a film commissioned by the highest authorities. He reluctantly accepts and finds himself thrown into the inner circle of power. Like moth drawn to flame, he begins an affair with the mysterious wife of the general overseeing the project.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe International (2009)
An interpol agent and an attorney are determined to bring one of the world's most powerful banks to justice. Uncovering money laundering, arms trading, and conspiracy to destabilize world governments, their investigation takes them from Berlin, Milan, New York and Istanbul. Finding themselves in a chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Firm (1993)
Mitch McDeere is a young man with a promising future in Law. About to sit his Bar exam, he is approached by 'The Firm' and made an offer he doesn't refuse. Seduced by the money and gifts showered on him, he is totally oblivious to the more sinister side of his company. Then, two Associates are murdered. The FBI contact him, asking him for information and suddenly his life is ruined. He has a choice - work with the FBI, or stay with the Firm. Either way he will lose his life as he knows it. Mitch figures the only way out is to follow his own plan...
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Virtuoso (2021)
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Killer (2024)
Zee is a feared contract killer known as "the Queen of the Dead," but when she refuses to murder a young blind woman, she finds herself hunted both by criminal colleagues and a determined police detective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHostile Takeover (2025)
Follows Pete, a professional hitman, as he faces a group of assassins after the boss of a crime syndicate suspects disloyalty due to his attendance at Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing of Killers (2023)
Garan is a part of a group of international hitmen who are contracted to take out the most dangerous killer in the world, only to find out that they're the ones being hunted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExit Protocol (2025)
An assassin whose specialty is killing other assassins trying to get out of the business decides to try to get out himself and must then team up with his former mark to escape the hired killers now gunning for them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Impulse?
The closest matches to Impulse are State of Play (2009), Relay (2025) and The Insider (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Impulse?
People who watched Impulse most often go on to State of Play (2009), Relay (2025) and The Insider (1999).
What is the highest-rated movie like Impulse?
All the President's Men (1976), rated 7.7/10 by 2,195 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Impulse?
Patriot (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Impulse?
Yes: State of Play (2009), Relay (2025) and The Insider (1999).
How are movies similar to Impulse chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Impulse, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.