Movies like The Verdict (1982)
The best movies like The Verdict (1982) are The Rainmaker (1997), A Civil Action (1998) and Changing Lanes (2002). If The Verdict hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGood Will Hunting (1997)8.2/10 from 14,573 votes
- NewestA Vast Algorithm of Humanity: The Movie (2026)Released 2026
The Rainmaker (1997)
Fresh out of law school and desperate for work, idealistic rookie Rudy Baylor takes on a powerful insurance company accused of denying a dying boy’s claim. Teaming up with a scrappy, unlicensed paralegal, he finds himself in a David-versus-Goliath courtroom battle that tests his ethics, courage, and belief in justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Civil Action (1998)
Jan Schlickmann is a cynical lawyer who goes out to 'get rid of' a case, only to find out it is potentially worth millions. The case becomes his obsession, to the extent that he is willing to give up everything—including his career and his clients' goals—in order to continue the case against all odds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChanging Lanes (2002)
A rush-hour fender-bender on New York City's crowded FDR Drive, under most circumstances, wouldn't set off a chain reaction that could decimate two people's lives. But on this day, at this time, a minor collision will turn two complete strangers into vicious adversaries. Their means of destroying each other might be different, but their goals, ultimately, will be the same: Each will systematically try to dismantle the other's life in a reckless effort to reclaim something he has lost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJuror #2 (2024)
While serving as a juror in a high profile murder trial, family man Justin Kemp finds himself struggling with a serious moral dilemma…one he could use to sway the jury verdict and potentially convict—or free—the accused killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAwakenings (1990)
Dr. Malcolm Sayer, a shy research physician, uses an experimental drug to "awaken" the catatonic victims of a rare disease. Leonard is the first patient to receive the controversial treatment. His awakening, filled with awe and enthusiasm, proves a rebirth for Sayer too, as the exuberant patient reveals life's simple but unutterably sweet pleasures to the introverted doctor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPhiladelphia (1993)
Two lawyers join forces to sue a prestigious law firm for AIDS discrimination. As their unlikely friendship develops, their courage overcomes the prejudice and corruption of their powerful adversaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJust Mercy (2019)
The powerful true story of Harvard-educated lawyer Bryan Stevenson, who goes to Alabama to defend the disenfranchised and wrongly condemned — including Walter McMillian, a man sentenced to death despite evidence proving his innocence. Bryan fights tirelessly for Walter with the system stacked against them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIf I Stay (2014)
Mia Hall, a talented young cellist, thought the most difficult decision she would ever have to make would be whether to pursue her musical dreams at prestigious Juilliard or follow her heart to be with the love of her life, Adam, a rock singer/guitarist. However, a car wreck changes everything in an instant, and now Mia's life hangs in the balance. Suspended between life and death, Mia faces a choice that will decide her future.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoman J. Israel, Esq. (2017)
Hard-nosed liberal lawyer Roman J. Israel has been fighting the good fight forever while others take the credit. When his partner – the firm's frontman – has a heart attack, Israel suddenly takes on that role. He soon discovers some unsettling truths about the firm – truths that conflict with his values of helping the poor and dispossessed – and finds himself in an existential crisis that leads to extreme actions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Children Act (2018)
In the midst of a marital crisis, a High Court judge must decide if she should order a life-saving blood transfusion for a teen with cancer despite his family's refusal to accept medical treatment for religious reasons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this90 Minutes in Heaven (2015)
A man involved in a horrific car crash is pronounced dead, only to come back to life an hour and a half later, claiming to have seen Heaven.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisGood Will Hunting (1997)
Will Hunting is a headstrong, working-class genius who is failing the lessons of life. After one too many run-ins with the law, Will's last chance is a psychology professor, who might be the only man who can reach him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBreakthrough (2019)
Tragedy strikes when a woman named Joyce's son falls through the ice on a frozen lake and is trapped underwater for over 15 minutes. After being rushed to the hospital, the 14-year-old boy continues to fight for his life as Joyce, her husband and their pastor stay by his bedside and pray for a miracle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Judge (2014)
A successful lawyer returns to his hometown for his mother's funeral only to discover that his estranged father, the town's judge, is suspected of murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLet Him Have It (1991)
In 1950s England, slow-witted Derek Bentley falls in with a group of petty criminals led by Chris Craig, a teenager with a fondness for American gangster films. Chris and Derek's friendship leads to their involvement in the true case which would forever shake England's belief in capital punishment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe File on Thelma Jordon (1949)
Cleve Marshall, an assistant district attorney, falls for Thelma Jordon, a mysterious woman with a troubled past. When Thelma becomes a suspect in her aunt's murder, Cleve tries to clear her name.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInherit the Wind (1960)
Schoolteacher Bertram Cates is arrested for teaching his students Darwin's theory of evolution. The case receives national attention and one of the newspaper reporters, E.K. Hornbeck, arranges to bring in renowned defense attorney and atheist Henry Drummond to defend Cates. The prosecutor, Matthew Brady is a former presidential candidate, famous evangelist, and old adversary of Drummond.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Apostle (1997)
After his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCry of the City (1948)
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInsomnia (2002)
Two Los Angeles homicide detectives are dispatched to a northern town where the sun doesn't set to investigate the methodical murder of a local teen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHalf Past Ten (2008)
An alcoholic married man discovers he has fallen out of love with his moody wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Two drag performers and a transgender woman travel across the desert to perform their unique style of cabaret.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLove Bites (2025)
Just out of their teens, young men Liam and Anatole were in the throes of an exciting relationship- until they had fight, and Anatole disappeared. Liam can’t accept breakup. And, since his boyfriend doesn’t reply to his calls and text messages, Liam decides to follow him to a Halloween organized by one of Anatole’s friends to try find him. The wild night that ensues will test boys’ true feelings for each other, as well as force them to confront some hard inner truths once and for all.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
What Christmas Left Behind (2024)
A war. Two friends. Chaos will reign.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Holdovers (2023)
A curmudgeonly instructor at a New England prep school is forced to remain on campus during Christmas break to babysit the handful of students with nowhere to go. Eventually, he forms an unlikely bond with one of them — a damaged, brainy troublemaker — and with the school’s head cook, who has just lost a son in Vietnam.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWorking Girl (1988)
When a secretary's idea is stolen by her boss, she takes a risky chance to reclaim it by impersonating him and running the project from his position.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lady from Shanghai (1947)
A romantic drifter gets caught between a corrupt tycoon and his voluptuous wife.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Vast Algorithm of Humanity: The Movie (2026)
Do-ah initiates a lawsuit against her husband's uncle who takes away a piece of land that her husband's grandfather left them. Do-ah decides to initiate the lawsuit, unable to stand by when the land and medicine business that her family has worked so hard to realize is stolen before her eyes. But she has no material evidence, and she knows nothing about legal procedures or what to do in court, leading to an extremely difficult situation for her. However in the midst of these troubles, she is reminded of the mysterious and rare treasure that can be used to solve any situation and to locate the expansive at land inside of her which she used to know.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
No Justice (1989)
A violent sadist has been appointed a deputy sheriff by his uncle, the alcoholic and corrupt county sheriff, who runs a drug-smuggling and bootlegging operation on the side. When the sheriff's nephew decides to steal the land of some local "half-breeds", a young deputy in the department decides it's time to stand up to him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Helping Hand (TBA)
Six months after losing his mother, Jared's life collapses into depression, addiction, and emotional numbness, pushing away the last person who cares for him. Alone in his apartment, he is visited by Depression - a seductive female entity who comforts him only to guide him toward his suicide. At his breaking point, a glowing divine hand interrupts his descent, pulling him into The Abyss where his despair takes physical form. On the edge of hopelessness, Jared encounters a breathtaking vision of God's glory, revealing the truth about healing and the presence he ignored. Returned to life with renewed peace, Jared begins his journey toward restoration.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Verdict?
The closest matches to The Verdict are The Rainmaker (1997), A Civil Action (1998) and Changing Lanes (2002). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Verdict?
Start with The Rainmaker (1997), the closest match to The Verdict.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Verdict?
Good Will Hunting (1997), rated 8.2/10 by 14,573 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Verdict?
A Vast Algorithm of Humanity: The Movie (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Verdict?
Yes: The Rainmaker (1997), A Civil Action (1998) and Changing Lanes (2002).
How are movies similar to The Verdict chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Verdict, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.