Movies like JCVD (2008)
The best movies like JCVD (2008) are Killing American Style (1988), Hunt to Kill (2010) and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003). If JCVD hooked you with its drama and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLéon: The Professional (1994)8.3/10 from 16,775 votes
- NewestLast Bullet (2025)Released 2025
- In FrenchDealer (2014)Also in French
Killing American Style (1988)
A gang of hot headed brutes lead by Tony Stone and sexual sadist John Lynch execute a robbery with some inside help. A bloody shoot-out with the LAPD ensues and the criminals are apprehended. After a brief stint in the slammer, the gang escapes a prison-bus with the help of Tony s brother Jesse who is critically wounded in the process. He needs a doctor, fast. A hospital visit too risky, they seek out other options. Now on the run, they commandeer a palatial residence, taking hostages. All - American good guy John Morgan returns home becoming a pawn; sent out to retrieve the doctor.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Hunt to Kill (2010)
U.S. Border Patrol agent Jim Rhodes is a tough divorcée mourning the loss of his murdered partner while struggling to raise his rebellious daughter in the mountains of Montana. But when a crew of trigger-happy fugitives takes Rhodes and his daughter hostage, the rugged wilderness will explode in all-terrain vengeance. Is there any wounded animal more dangerous than a lawman left for dead?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisCradle 2 the Grave (2003)
Gang leader Tony pulls off a major diamond heist with his crew, but cop-turned-criminal Ling knows who has the loot and responds by kidnapping Tony's daughter and holding her for ransom. Unfortunately, Tony's lost the diamonds as well. As he frantically searches for his daughter and the jewels, Tony pairs with a high-kicking government agent who once worked with Ling and seeks revenge on him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · 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: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDealer (2014)
After giving up a life of cocaine trafficking, Dan is offered a chance to achieve his dream : moving to Australia with his daughter. He accepts the deal and starts a downward spiral sucking him back into 24 hours of hell.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
The Last Mercenary (2021)
A legendary secret service agent comes out of hiding and returns to France to help the son he's never met get out of trouble.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInferno (1999)
Eddie Lomax is a drifter who has been in a suicidal funk since the death of his close friend Johnny. Riding his motorcycle into a small desert town where Johnny once lived, Lomax is confronted by a gang of toughs, who beat him and steal his bike. However, Lomax is not a man to take an injustice lying down, and soon he begins exacting a violent revenge on the men who stole his motorcycle, with local handyman Jubal Early lending a hand and several area ladies offering aid and comfort.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bouncer (2018)
A tough nightclub bouncer struggling to raise his 8-year-old daughter is forced to go undercover after an unfortunate event.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Bullet (2025)
Car genius Lino returns to conclude his vendetta against Areski and the corrupt commander who ruined their lives in this turbo-charged trilogy finale.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLéon: The Professional (1994)
Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlood and Bone (2009)
In Los Angeles, an ex-con takes the underground fighting world by storm in his quest to fulfill a promise to a dead friend.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGo Fast (2008)
Marek, a crime squad officer, sets out to avenge the death of his partner and best friend, who was killed by drug traffickers. He asks for a posting to a new undercover unit created to infiltrate a drug gang that imports hashish from Morocco using the "Go Fast" method. A fleet of high-powered speedboats and cars races across the Mediterranean to Spain and then France, loaded with drugs.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisBon Cop Bad Cop (2006)
When the body of the executive of hockey Benoit Brisset is found on the billboard of the border of Quebec and Ontario, the jurisdiction of the crime is shared between the two police forces and detectives David Bouchard from Montreal and Martin Ward from Toronto are assigned to work together. With totally different styles, attitudes and languages.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMedellin (2023)
To save his little brother from the hands of dangerous narcos of the Medellín cartel, Reda has a plan that is as simple as it is totally insane: put together a team and raid Colombia. But this adventure is going to get completely out of control when he decides to kidnap the son of the cartel leader to exchange him for his brother's life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisKickboxer (1989)
If your enemy refuses to be humbled... Destroy him. Accompanied by his brother Kurt, American kickboxing champion Eric Sloane, arrives in Thailand to defeat the Eastern warriors at their own sport. His opponent: ruthless fighter and Thai champion, Tong Po. Tong not only defeats Eric, he paralyzes him for life. Crazed with anger, Kurt vows revenge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWasabi (2001)
Hubert is a French policeman with very sharp methods. After being forced to take 2 months off by his boss, who doesn't share his view on working methods, he goes back to Japan, where he used to work 19 years ago, to settle the probate of his girlfriend who left him shortly after marriage without a trace.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSkin Trade (2014)
After his family is killed by a Serbian gangster with international interests. NYC detective Nick goes to S.E. Asia and teams up with a Thai detective to get revenge and destroy the syndicates human trafficking network.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKiss 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: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDistrict B13 (2004)
Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Hell (2003)
A man must survive a prison where hardened criminals battle to the death for the warden's entertainment.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this6 Bullets (2012)
An ex-mercenary known for finding missing children is hired by a mixed martial arts fighter whose daughter has been kidnapped.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUndisputed (2002)
Monroe Hutchens is the heavyweight champion of Sweetwater, a maximum security prison. He was convicted to a life sentence due to a passionate crime. Iceman Chambers is the heavyweight champion, who lost his title due to a rape conviction to ten years in Sweetwater. When these two giants collide in the same prison, they fight against each other disputing who is the real champion.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPound of Flesh (2015)
In China to donate his kidney to his dying niece, former black-ops agent Deacon awakes the day before the operation to find he is the latest victim of organ theft. Stitched up and pissed-off, Deacon descends from his opulent hotel in search of his stolen kidney and carves a blood-soaked path through the darkest corners of the city. The clock is ticking for his niece and with each step he loses blood.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisMojave Diamonds (2023)
A former MMA fighter and his brothers must rescue their kidnapped family from a dangerous crime syndicate after $50M of illegal diamonds gets stolen.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Falcon 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: Fans watch both · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmpire of the Wolves (2005)
When the young detective Paul Nerteaux finds the third slashed female corpse of illegal Turkish immigrants, he decides to ask for support to the experienced dark retired detective Jean-Louis Schiffer to chase the serial killer. Together, they infiltrate in the Turkish mafia trying to find the answer to the crimes. Meanwhile, the worker Anna Heymes is being submitted to a brain treatment and has severe headaches and glimpses of memories and visions. When these two parallel events collide, disclose that the Turkish organization "The Wolves" is behind them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThick as Thieves (1999)
Two master thieves go at odds with one another as one sets the other up for a crime. The first, a suave pro who does his job and then hides in his own privacy, listening to old jazz records and caring for his ailing dog, Wally. The other is a local gangster with a taste for the finer life, who decides to eliminate the competition. This ignites a war between the two men and their aides. An angry mob boss and a female police officer try to sort the mess before things get too out of hand.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSilverton Siege (2022)
After a failed sabotage mission, a trio of anti-apartheid freedom fighters ends up in a tense bank hostage situation. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStander (2003)
The life and career of Andre Stander, a South African police officer turned bank robber.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAd Vitam (2025)
When he and his pregnant wife are attacked in their home, a former elite agent becomes trapped in a deadly manhunt tied to his own painful past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like JCVD?
The closest matches to JCVD are Killing American Style (1988), Hunt to Kill (2010) and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after JCVD?
People who watched JCVD most often go on to Killing American Style (1988), Hunt to Kill (2010) and Cradle 2 the Grave (2003).
What is the highest-rated movie like JCVD?
Léon: The Professional (1994), rated 8.3/10 by 16,775 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like JCVD?
Last Bullet (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like JCVD?
Yes: Dealer (2014), The Last Mercenary (2021) and The Bouncer (2018).
How are movies similar to JCVD chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside JCVD, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.