Movies like Zero: A Spy Story (2021)
The best movies like Zero: A Spy Story (2021) are 16 Blocks (2006), The Seven-Ups (1973) and Batman (1943). If Zero: A Spy Story hooked you with its adventure and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPickup on South Street (1953)7.4/10 from 342 votes
- NewestIslands (2025)Released 2025
- In ItalianLast Night of Amore (2023)Also in Italian
16 Blocks (2006)
An aging cop is assigned the ordinary task of escorting a fast-talking witness from police custody to a courthouse, but they find themselves running the gauntlet as other forces try to prevent them from getting there.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Seven-Ups (1973)
A tough detective who is part of an elite New York City unit is trying to find out who killed his partner, but uncovers a plot to kidnap mobsters for money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBatman (1943)
Japanese master spy Daka operates a covert espionage-sabotage organization located in Gotham City's now-deserted Little Tokyo, which turns American scientists into pliable zombies. The great crime-fighters Batman and Robin, with the help of their allies, are in pursuit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Night of Amore (2023)
On the night before retirement, police lieutenant Amore is called to investigate the off-duty death of his longtime partner, who fell prey of an illegal scheme Amore himself was secretly part of.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPalermo - Milan One Way (1996)
A mob accountant accepts to be witness for the prosecution at a trial involving Mafia higher-ups. Seven cops are tasked with escorting him and his family alive from Sicily to the courtroom in the North, but it won't be easy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Fog (2017)
A gripping and chilling thriller that brings us to a hazy mountain village where an enigmatic detective is investigating the sudden disappearance of fifteen-year-old girl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Glass Key (1942)
A crooked politician finds himself being accused of murder by a gangster from whom he refused help during a re-election campaign.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Organization (1971)
After a group of young revolutionaries break into a company's corporate headquarters and steal $5,000,000 worth of heroin to keep it off the street, they call on San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs for assistance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThey Made Me a Fugitive (1947)
After being framed for a policeman's murder, a criminal escapes prison and sets out for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThick as Thieves (2009)
A master thief recruits a notorious thief to help him steal two famous Faberge eggs from an impenetrable vault in an effort to pull off one final job and repay his debt to the Russian mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Saint (1997)
Simon Templar (The Saint), is a thief for hire, whose latest job to steal the secret process for cold fusion puts him at odds with a traitor bent on toppling the Russian government, as well as the woman who holds its secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDick Tracy (1990)
The comic strip detective finds his life vastly complicated when Breathless Mahoney makes advances towards him while he is trying to battle Big Boy Caprice's united mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & crime
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPickup on South Street (1953)
In New York City, an insolent pickpocket, Skip McCoy, inadvertently sets off a chain of events when he targets ex-prostitute Candy and steals her wallet. Unaware that she has been making deliveries of highly classified information to the communists, Candy, who has been trailed by FBI agents for months in hopes of nabbing the spy ringleader, is sent by her ex-boyfriend, Joey, to find Skip and retrieve the valuable microfilm he now holds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDiabolik: Who Are You? (2023)
Captured by a ruthless gang of bank robbers, foes Diabolik and Ginko find themselves facing certain death. While Eva Kant and Altea forge an unlikely alliance to rescue their lovers, Diabolik reveals his mysterious past to the Inspector.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIslands (2025)
In this twisty thriller, a tennis coach at a tropical resort finds himself at the center of a missing persons mystery. Tom teaches tennis during the day and parties at night. When an enigmatic tourist arrives, Tom is unable to shake the feeling he has met her before. Tension and attraction grow, until her husband disappears, and the police suspect Tom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAppointment with Death (1988)
Emily Boynton, the stepmother to three children, blackmails the family lawyer into destroying a second will of her late husband that would have freed the children from her dominating influence. She takes herself, the children, and her daughter-in-law on holiday to Europe and the Holy Land. At a dig, Emily is found dead and Hercule Poirot investigates.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDanger: Diabolik (1968)
International man of mystery Diabolik and his sensuous lover Eva Kant pull off heist after heist, all while European cops led by Inspector Ginko and envious mobsters led by Ralph Valmont are closing in on them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlacklight (2022)
Travis Block is a shadowy Government agent who specializes in removing operatives whose covers have been exposed. He then has to uncover a deadly conspiracy within his own ranks that reaches the highest echelons of power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast X (2023)
Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved and outdriven every foe in their path. Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they've ever faced: A terrifying threat emerging from the shadows of the past who's fueled by blood revenge, and who is determined to shatter this family and destroy everything—and everyone—that Dom loves, forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrank (2006)
Chev Chelios, a hit man wanting to go straight, lets his latest target slip away. Then he awakes the next morning to a phone call that informs him he has been poisoned and has only an hour to live unless he keeps adrenaline coursing through his body while he searches for an antidote.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEastern Promises (2007)
A Russian teenager living in London dies during childbirth but leaves clues in her diary that could tie her child to a rape involving a violent Russian mob family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKilla Season (2006)
Flea was a basketball player, happy with his subtle hustle, until a Dominican connect introduced him to a new way to spread the work and make money.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Bangkok Dangerous (2008)
When carrying out a hit, assassin Joe always makes use of the knowledge of the local population. On arriving in Bangkok, Joe meets street kid Kong and he becomes his primary aide. But when Kong is nearly killed, he asks Joe to train him up in the deadly arts and unwittingly becomes a target of a band of killers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBurn Out (2018)
Tony, a promising young motorcycle racer, is forced to do perilous drug runs to save the mother of his child from a dangerous mobster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCloud (2024)
Ryōsuke Yoshii, an ordinary reseller, carelessly earns grudges by people and becomes entangled in a life-threatening struggle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLos cómplices del infierno (1995)
Sandra and Deborah are two women trying to escape from a tragic recent event. They go for a vacation on a beach house but are then followed by an evil cult.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Avalanche Express (1979)
CIA agent Harry Wargrave is sent to aid Gen. Marenkov, a senior Russian official, who is defecting to the west. Wargrave decides they should travel to safety on a train across Europe, the "Atlantic Express". During the journey, they must survive attacks by terrorists and an avalanche, all planned by Russian spy-catcher Nikolai Bunin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisGhost Rider (2007)
In order to save his dying father, young stunt cyclist Johnny Blaze sells his soul to Mephistopheles and sadly parts from the pure-hearted Roxanne Simpson, the love of his life. Years later, Johnny's path crosses again with Roxanne, now a go-getting reporter, and also with Mephistopheles, who offers to release Johnny's soul if Johnny becomes the fabled, fiery 'Ghost Rider'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlood, Skulls and Chrome (2024)
A Stack City-based outlaw motorcycle club The Steel Knights have lost a big deal from a Mexican cartel to rival the Lake Street Boyz gang. When two reckless members of the MC kill the cartel's liaison, the MC soon finds themselves fighting for survival against threats from the outside and within.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Zero: A Spy Story?
The closest matches to Zero: A Spy Story are 16 Blocks (2006), The Seven-Ups (1973) and Batman (1943). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Zero: A Spy Story?
Start with 16 Blocks (2006), the closest match to Zero: A Spy Story.
What is the highest-rated movie like Zero: A Spy Story?
Pickup on South Street (1953), rated 7.4/10 by 342 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Zero: A Spy Story?
Islands (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Zero: A Spy Story?
Yes: Last Night of Amore (2023), Palermo - Milan One Way (1996) and The Girl in the Fog (2017).
How are movies similar to Zero: A Spy Story chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Zero: A Spy Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.