Movies like Piledriver (2007)
The best movies like Piledriver (2007) are Sympathy for the Underdog (1971), Altered Carbon: Resleeved (2020) and Falcon Rising (2014). If Piledriver hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBranded to Kill (1967)7.2/10 from 265 votes
- NewestA Family (2021)Released 2021
- In JapaneseSympathy for the Underdog (1971)Also in Japanese
Sympathy for the Underdog (1971)
A yakuza gang gets driven out of Yokohama by a big gang from Tokyo. They relocate to Okinawa to violently start over.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAltered Carbon: Resleeved (2020)
On the planet Latimer, Takeshi Kovacs must protect a tattooist while investigating the death of a yakuza boss alongside a no-nonsense CTAC.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFalcon Rising (2014)
Chapman is an ex-marine in Brazil's slums, battling the yakuza outfit who attacked his sister and left her for dead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFemale Yakuza Tale (1973)
Ocho is accidentally captured by a drug trafficking cartel who use Chinese women to smuggle drugs into Japan by hiding it in their vaginas. She is tortured, and manages to escape, fighting both the male yakuzas and a gang of female thieves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Outsider (2018)
A former American G.I. joins a yakuza family after his release from prison in post-World War II Osaka.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Yakuza (1974)
When George Tanner does business with high-ranking Yakuza Tono, Tono kidnaps his daughter, and George summons his old friend, private eye Harry Kilmer, to Japan to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDarc (2018)
To bring down a global human trafficking ring, an Interpol agent recruits the help of a brutal criminal with inside knowledge of the yakuza.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdrift in Tokyo (2007)
A thug offers to pay a law student's gambling debt if the student will accompany him on a trip across Tokyo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattles Without Honor and Humanity: Deadly Fight in Hiroshima (1973)
Repeatedly beat to a pulp by gamblers, cops, and gangsters, lone wolf Shoji Yamanaka finally finds a home as a Muraoka family hitman and falls in love with boss Muraoka's niece. Meanwhile, the ambitions of mad dog Katsutoshi Otomo draws our series' hero, Shozo Hirono, and the other yakuza into a new round of bloodshed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYakuza Apocalypse (2015)
When young protege Akira Kageyama is bitten by his dying vampire boss, Genyo Kamiura, he must get used to his new powers before seeking revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Yakuza (1993)
When Nick Davis leaves prison after one year in solitairy, he is hired to operate a forklift in a warehouse in the harbor owned by the Japanese Yakuza patriarch Isshin Tendo. The place is assaulted by the Italian Mafia lead by Dino Campanela and Nick rescues and saves the life of Shuji Sawamoto, who is the representative of Yakuza interests in America. Shuji hires Nick to work for Yakuza and becomes his godfather in the family after his oath to join Yakuza. However, Nick is a lonely FBI undercover agent assigned to penetrate the criminal organization. When the FBI discovers that Campanela is organizing a massive attack to destroy the Yakuza, Nick's boss Littman calls off the operation to leave the dirty work to the Italian Mafia. But the connection of Nick with Shuji and his goddaughter Yuko forces him to help his Japanese family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisTokyo Drifter (1966)
After yakuza boss Kurata dissolves his own criminal empire, a rival kingpin offers a position to Kurata's top operative, Tetsuya "Phoenix Tetsu" Hondo. When the fiercely loyal Tetsu declines, Otsuka taps unstoppable Tatsuzo the "Viper", a ruthless gun-for-hire, to assassinate him. As the Viper trails his target through the countryside, the agile Phoenix Tetsu grows concerned that one of his former associates has betrayed him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGraveyard of Honor (2002)
A barkeeper saves a yakuza boss' life and thus makes his way up in the organization. However, his fear of nothing soon causes problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGraveyard of Honor (1975)
A self-destructive man becomes a powerful member of the yakuza but quickly loses his self-control. Based on the true story of Rikio Ishikawa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Family (2021)
Taken in by the yakuza at a young age, Kenji swears allegiance to his old-school boss, pledging to adhere to the family code amid ever-changing times.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Great Yokai War (2005)
A young boy with a troubled home life becomes "chosen," and he stumbles into the middle of a great war of yōkai (a class of mythological creatures), where he meets a group of friendly yōkai who become his companions through his journey. Now he must fight to protect his friends and free the world of the yōkai from oppression.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond Outrage (2012)
As the police launch a full-scale crackdown on organized crime, it ignites a national yakuza struggle between the Sanno of the East and Hanabishi of the West. What started as an internal strife in Outrage has now become a nationwide war in Outrage Beyond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGantz: Perfect Answer (2011)
Summoned by the black sphere, Kei and Masaru fight against extraterrestrials until Masaru grows tired of fighting and refuses to continue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Return of Sister Street Fighter (1975)
When Koryu's childhood friend Shurei is abducted by gangsters, the desperate young woman recruits a female martial artist and a tough-as-nails stranger to join her for a dangerous rescue mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSailor Suit and Machine Gun (1981)
A high-school girl inherits a declining yakuza organization, which seeks to repair its fortunes under her leadership.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGozu (2003)
Minami mistakenly kills a gangster associate of his named Brother. Almost as soon as the murder takes place, the body of the deceased man is gone, prompting Minami to conduct a search. While looking, he finds a mysterious isolated hotel where he decides to take a rest. Not only are the front desk clerks a bit strange, but even the ambiance feels unusual. Minami soon realizes he may have gotten more than he bargained for.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmbition Without Honor 2 (1997)
Tetsuya, a young yakuza, returns to his family after his adoptive father is wounded in an attack from a rival gang. In his battle against dishonorable enemies and corrupt yakuza politics, he makes an unlikely ally in a rebel cop.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Ghost Squad (2018)
After a group of girls get murdered, they come back as ghosts and seek revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Branded to Kill (1967)
After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSummer of the Lion Kings (1991)
Katsu, who belongs to the Murai group of the Sakagami Union, was frustrated by the distance from the yakuza world he had envisioned. At that time, Katsu, who met Osamu who belongs to the conflicting Dainippon Kyokushinkai, feels the real gangster scent of Osamu.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
CONFLICT II: Conclusion (2016)
The Tendokai is attacked by the Daitoa-dan. Believing there's a traitor within the organization, Washio (Hitoshi Ozawa) orders Oda (Kōji Matoba), a wakagashira-hosa of Tendokai who has just been released from prison, to investigate. Meanwhile, Washio presses the client behind the whole affair, former METI official Masaoka (Jiro Okazaki), to reveal the truth. But before long, both Nagi Toyama (Akane Hotta)—whom Washio was protecting—and Sumire (Kokoro Nakayama), daughter of Washio’s former senior Kawashima (Naomasa Rokuhira), are kidnapped by Daitoa-dan. To make matters worse, Sumire is drugged and used as bait to lure Washio out. Blinded by rage, Washio storms the Daitoa-dan headquarters alone— But what awaits him there…? An epic finale marking the 20th anniversary of All In Entertainment, featuring a star-studded cast that defines the ninkyo (chivalry) genre! The fierce showdown over the casino rights between yakuza and mafia finally reaches its conclusion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Into the Sun (2005)
After the assassination of Tokyo's Governor by Yakuza members, the CIA bureau chief for Tokyo puts out a call to an agent that had been raised in Japan and trained by ex-Yakuza. Using his former ties, he quickly determines that a war is brewing between old-guard Yakuza members and a young, crazed leader with ties to the Chinese Tong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisSweet Trap (1963)
An office worker who dreams of a peaceful happiness with her boyfriend is forced into prostitution by yakuza.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Death Row Family (2017)
Takanori, from a yakuza family goes to prison for a crime he didn't commit. As soon as he gets out his brother brings him in for a robbery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Zatoichi Meets the One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
Zatoichi is a blind massage therapist and swordsman who finds out that something troubling is taking place on the outskirts of town. After discovering who the guilty parties are -- an accomplished Chinese martial artist named Wang Kang and his youthful attendant -- Zatoichi finds them and discovers that the pair's mixed up with a dangerous bunch of terrorist samurai who murdered the boy's parents. Now, Zatoichi must step in to save the day.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Piledriver?
The closest matches to Piledriver are Sympathy for the Underdog (1971), Altered Carbon: Resleeved (2020) and Falcon Rising (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Piledriver?
Start with Sympathy for the Underdog (1971), the closest match to Piledriver.
What is the highest-rated movie like Piledriver?
Branded to Kill (1967), rated 7.2/10 by 265 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Piledriver?
A Family (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Piledriver?
Yes: Sympathy for the Underdog (1971), Altered Carbon: Resleeved (2020) and Female Yakuza Tale (1973).
How are movies similar to Piledriver chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Piledriver, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.