Movies like The Duel (1981)
The best movies like The Duel (1981) are The International (2009), Absolution (2024) and Destroyer (2018). If The Duel 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 ratedHeat (1995)7.9/10 from 8,886 votes
- NewestAbsolution (2024)Released 2024
The 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbsolution (2024)
An aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children. He is determined to leave a positive legacy for his grandson, but the criminal underworld isn’t done with him and won’t loosen their grip willingly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisDestroyer (2018)
When Erin Bell was a young cop, she was given an undercover assignment that ended badly and destroyed her life. Years later, she must face her demons in order to make peace with her past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisOverdrive (2017)
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCopshop (2021)
On the run from a lethal assassin, a wily con artist devises a scheme to hide out inside a small-town police station. However, when the hit man turns up at the precinct, an unsuspecting rookie cop finds herself caught in the crosshairs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSleepless (2017)
Undercover Las Vegas police officer Vincent Downs, who has a lot of enemies, is caught in a high stakes web of corrupt cops and the mob-controlled casino underground. When a heist goes wrong, a crew of homicidal gangsters kidnap Downs’ teenage son T. In one sleepless night, Downs will have to rescue his son, evade an internal affairs investigation, and bring the kidnappers to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisRun (1991)
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & 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 & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisTriple 9 (2016)
A gang of criminals and corrupt cops plan the murder of a police officer in order to pull off their biggest heist yet across town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & 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 thisHonest Thief (2020)
A bank robber tries to turn himself in because he's falling in love and wants to live an honest life...but when he realizes the Feds are more corrupt than him, he must fight back to clear his name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Too Deep (1999)
Drug lord Dwayne Gittens rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as "God" on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold on the city is undercover cop Jeffrey Cole. But as Cole takes on an assumed identity to penetrate Gittens' criminal empire, he makes a disturbing discovery -- he kind of likes being a gangster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Newton Boys (1998)
The story of the Newton gang, the most successful bank robbers in history, owing to their good planning and minimal violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCash Out (2024)
Criminal mastermind Mason is about to execute the score of a lifetime when his lover and key member of his crew, Decker, takes the team down and reveals she’s an undercover Interpol agent. Heartbroken, Mason escapes and retires from the life of crime until his younger brother Shawn is out of his league taking on a big bank heist all on his own. Mason has no choice left but to come to the rescue, while Interpol brings Decker in hoping to unnerve him. Before the SWAT teams storm the bank, Mason must use every tool in his arsenal to not only escape with the prize, but also the love of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood Ties (2013)
Two brothers, on either side of the law, face off over organized crime in Brooklyn during the 1970s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeat (1995)
Obsessive master thief Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective Vincent Hanna pursues him without rest. Each man recognizes and respects the ability and the dedication of the other even though they are aware their cat-and-mouse game may end in violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhantom Halo (2014)
Two brothers barely scrape by as their father continues to gamble and drink away the money they do bring home. They hatch a plan for a robbery but at what price?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisPushover (1954)
A police detective falls for the bank robber's girlfriend he is supposed to be tailing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Real McCoy (1993)
Karen McCoy is released from prison with nothing but the clothes on her back. Before being incarcerated, Karen was the bank robber of her time, but now she wishes for nothing more than to settle down and start a new life. Unfortunately, between a dirty parole officer, old business partners, and an idiot ex, she will have to do the unthinkable in order to save her son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies 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 thisThe Dead Pool (1988)
Dirty Harry Callahan returns for his final film adventure. Together with his partner Al Quan, he must investigate the systematic murder of prominent figures. By the time Harry learns that the murders are part of a sick game to predict such deaths, it may be too late.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Client (1994)
A street-wise kid, Mark Sway, sees the suicide of Jerome Clifford, a prominent Louisiana lawyer, whose current client is Barry 'The Blade' Muldano, a Mafia hit-man. Before Jerome shoots himself, he tells Mark where the body of a Senator is buried. Clifford shoots himself and Mark is found at the scene, and both the FBI and the Mafia quickly realize that Mark probably knows more than he says.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOld Men in New Cars: In China They Eat Dogs II (2002)
The last wish of the dying "Monk" is for his foster child, Harald, to find his real son, Ludvig. But the latter is currently in a Swedish prison cell...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTouch of Evil (1958)
A border-town bombing draws Mexican investigator Miguel Vargas into a corruption-ridden police investigation led by crooked captain Hank Quinlan, setting off a deadly struggle over power, justice, and truth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBandidas (2006)
When a ruthless robber baron takes away everything they cherish, a rough-and-tumble, idealistic peasant and a sophisticated heiress embark on a quest for justice, vengeance…and a few good heists.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKatakata (2021)
Coerced to foil a terrorist plot against a children's school, two brothers must decide the value of character or risk losing their ultimate reward.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Pixie (2020)
To avenge her mother's death, Pixie masterminds a heist but must flee across Ireland from gangsters, take on the patriarchy, and choose her own destiny.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Duel?
The closest matches to The Duel are The International (2009), Absolution (2024) and Destroyer (2018). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Duel?
Start with The International (2009), the closest match to The Duel.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Duel?
Heat (1995), rated 7.9/10 by 8,886 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Duel?
Absolution (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Duel chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Duel, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.