Movies like China O'Brien (1990)
The best movies like China O'Brien (1990) are Rebel Ridge (2024), Exit Wounds (2001) and Walking Tall (1973). If China O'Brien hooked you with its action and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNormal (2026)7.2/10 from 794 votes
- NewestNormal (2026)Released 2026
Rebel Ridge (2024)
A former Marine confronts corruption in a small town when local law enforcement unjustly seizes the bag of cash he needs to post his cousin's bail.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExit 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisWalking Tall (1973)
Ex-wrestler and Tennessee Sheriff Buford Pusser walks tall and carries a big stick as he tussles with county-wide corruption and moonshining thugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRapid Fire (1992)
College student Jake Lo is pursued by smugglers, mobsters and crooked federal agents after he witnesses a murder by a Mafia kingpin.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode of Silence (1985)
A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Man from Hong Kong (1975)
Australian authorities arrest a man believed to be connected to the Sydney criminal underworld and send for Inspector Fang Sing Leng from Hong Kong to question him. After the alleged criminal is assassinated, Inspector Leng and the Sydney police try to hunt down those responsible and hope to solve their case along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008)
A Texas cop battles ex-navy seals who are trying to traffic drugs from Mexico into the USA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNormal (2026)
An unassuming substitute sheriff with a troubled past responds to a bank robbery in a small, sleepy town and unknowingly uncovers something far more explosive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHavoc (2025)
When a drug heist swerves lethally out of control, a jaded cop fights his way through a corrupt city's criminal underworld to save a politician's son.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisClose Range (2015)
A rogue soldier turned outlaw is thrust into a relentless fight with a corrupt sheriff, his obedient deputies, and a dangerous drug cartel in order to protect his sister and her young daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragged Across Concrete (2019)
Two policemen, one an old-timer, the other his volatile younger partner, find themselves suspended when a video of their strong-arm tactics becomes the media's cause du jour. Low on cash and with no other options, these two embittered soldiers descend into the criminal underworld to gain their just due, but instead find far more than they wanted awaiting them in the shadows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMcQ (1974)
Police Lieutenant Lon McQ investigates the killing of his best friend and uncovers corrupt elements of the police department dealing in confiscated drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDesperation Road (2023)
Ex-con Russell Gaines is attempting to rebuild his life with the help of his father, Mitchell. However, the arrival of Maben sends his new life into chaos, leading the pair to go on the run - as their violent pasts catch up to them, the pair must learn to trust each other if they hope to live out the rest of their days.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisNinja: Shadow of a Tear (2013)
Fight everyone and trust no one: it's the code of survival practiced by martial-arts master Casey Bowman after his life of domestic bliss is shattered by a savage act of violence. Vowing revenge, the fearless American stealthily tracks the killer from Osaka to Bangkok to Rangoon with the help of a wise and crafty sensei. His only clues: a series of victims whose necks bear the distinctive mark of strangulation by barbed wire. Fighting to avenge as well as to survive, Casey must sharpen his razor-like responses and take his battle skills to the next level, even using deep meditation to fake his own death. His target: the sinister drug lord Goro, who is flooding the streets with deadly meth cooked at his remote jungle factory. To prepare for his ultimate confrontation, Casey must finally become an invisible warrior worthy of the name Ninja. But just when his prey is cornered, an unexpected twist shows Casey that his battle is only beginning: he truly can trust no one.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUntil 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Place Beyond the Pines (2013)
A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Falls on Manhattan (1997)
A newly elected District attorney finds himself in the middle of a police corruption investigation that may involve his father and his partner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark Blue (2002)
Set during the Rodney King riots, a robbery homicide investigation triggers a series of events that will cause a corrupt LAPD officer to question his tactics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop II (1987)
Axel Foley returns to the land of sunshine and palm trees to investigate the near-fatal shooting of police Captain Andrew Bogomil. With the help of Sgt. Taggart and Det. Rosewood, they soon uncover that the shooting is associated with a series of "alphabet" robberies masterminded by a heartless weapons kingpin—and the chase is on.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fighters (1982)
Renny Basuki is a young woman and a former judo champion who, after her father's demise, tries to look after her impoverished family. When her younger brother is diagnosed with a deadly disease, she is desperate to afford his surgery costs. One day, Indra, a professional wrestling manager, offers Renny and her friend Mia to join a female wrestling troupe. They agree but Renny's mother disapproves her wrestling career.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
An Eye for an Eye (1981)
Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe 3 Penny Opera (1931)
In London at the turn of the century, underworld kingpin Mack the Knife marries Polly Peachum without the knowledge of her father, the equally enterprising 'king of the beggars'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Chivalry, The Gunman and The Killer (1977)
A gang of tough swordswomen take over a fort in a small city. These women terrorise everyone, killing indiscriminately. Two heroes, one clad in white, one in black, are sought out by an aging hero and brought in to fight the swordswomen.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
The Wrong Arm of the Law (1963)
The crooks in London know how it works. No one carries guns and no one resists the police. Then a new gang appears that go one better. They dress as police and steal from the crooks. This upsets the natural order of the police/criminal relationship and the police and the crooks join forces to catch the IPOs (Impersonating Police Officers), including an armoured car robbery in which the police must help the gangs to set a trap.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoul of Chiba (1977)
This mid-1970s martial arts classic stars Sonny Chiba as Mu Yun Tek, a young man trained in the Thai fighting style since childhood to one day avenge his parents' death. When a fellow student kills their teacher, Mu Yun's thirst for vengeance grows. The brutal action never stops as Mu Yun teams up with an Interpol agent (Tadashi Yamashita) to find the culprit, who insists that their former master was a drug dealer who had to be destroyed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Macon County Line (1974)
A vengeful Southern sheriff is out for blood after his wife is brutally killed by a pair of drifters. Low-budget film set in Georgia in 1953 and at the time of release, purported to be based on a true story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Underworld (1927)
Boisterous gangster kingpin Bull Weed rehabilitates his former lawyer from his alcoholic haze, but complications arise when he falls for Weed's girlfriend.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Jade Fox (1979)
In her bid for domination of the kingdom, a wicked woman invites opponents to their doom at her 'Fairyland' estate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Like China O'Brien and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like China O'Brien?
The closest matches to China O'Brien are Rebel Ridge (2024), Exit Wounds (2001) and Walking Tall (1973). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after China O'Brien?
Start with Rebel Ridge (2024), the closest match to China O'Brien.
What is the highest-rated movie like China O'Brien?
Normal (2026), rated 7.2/10 by 794 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like China O'Brien?
Normal (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like China O'Brien?
Yes: Rebel Ridge (2024), Exit Wounds (2001) and Walking Tall (1973).
How are movies similar to China O'Brien chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside China O'Brien, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.