Movies like No Way Back (1990)
The best movies like No Way Back (1990) are City on Fire (1987), Righteous Kill (2008) and In Too Deep (1999). If No Way Back hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInfernal Affairs (2002)7.8/10 from 1,974 votes
- NewestHavoc (2025)Released 2025
City on Fire (1987)
Ko Chow is an undercover cop who is under pressure from all sides. His boss, Inspector Lau, wants him to infiltrate a gang of ruthless jewel thieves; his girlfriend wants him to commit to marriage or she will leave Hong Kong with another lover; and he is being pursued by other cops who are unaware that he is a colleague. Chow would rather quit the force, feeling guilty about betraying gang members who have become his friends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRighteous Kill (2008)
Two veteran New York City detectives work to identify the possible connection between a recent murder and a case they believe they solved years ago; is there a serial killer on the loose, and did they perhaps put the wrong person behind bars?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLine Walker (2016)
The details of undercover police officers are deleted from a police database and a senior officer is left struggling to know who are the undercover officers and who are the criminals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFight Back to School (1991)
Chow Sing Sing is about to be kicked out of the Royal Hong Kong Police's elite Special Duties Unit. But a senior officer decides to give him one last chance: Star must go undercover as a student at the Edinburgh High School in Hong Kong to recover the senior officer's missing revolver.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNighthawks (1981)
When one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStreet Kings (2008)
Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
SnoozefestMovies like thisWelcome to the Punch (2013)
When notorious criminal Jacob Sternwood is forced to return to London, it gives detective Max Lewinsky one last chance to take down the man he's always been after.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Hard Way (1991)
Seeking to raise his credibility as an actor and to land a role as a tough cop on a new show, Hollywood action star Nick Lang works a deal with New York City Police Capt. Brix, who by chance is one of his fans. Nick will be paired with detective Lt. John Moss and learn how to act like a real cop. But when Nick drives John crazy with questions and imitating him, he gets in the way of John's pursuit of a serial killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Three Days (2020)
After getting mixed up with a dangerous crime syndicate, an undercover cop wakes up to discover he is missing his partner, his wife, and three days of his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWar (2007)
FBI agent Jack Crawford is out for revenge when his partner is killed and all clues point to the mysterious assassin Rogue. But when Rogue turns up years later to take care of some unfinished business, he triggers a violent clash of rival gangs. Will the truth come out before it's too late? And when the dust settles, who will remain standing?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mob (1951)
An undercover officer tracks waterfront corruption from California to New Orleans and back.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwilight (1998)
A retired detective accepts a simple task, unaware that it will tear open old, forgotten, but deadly wounds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCurry & Pepper (1990)
Two best friends and cop partners become the subject of a beautiful news reporter's documentary. The two soon find themselves competing for screen time as well as the love of the reporter while after a murderous arms dealer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisInfernal Affairs (2002)
Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBulletproof (1996)
An undercover police officer named Rock Keats befriends a drug dealer and car thief named Archie Moses in a bid to catch the villainous drug lord Frank Coltan. But the only problem is that Keats is a cop, his real name is Jack Carter, and he is working undercover with the LAPD to bust Moses and Colton at a sting operation the LAPD has set up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisStarsky & Hutch (2004)
Join uptight David Starsky and laid-back Ken "Hutch" Hutchinson as they're paired for the first time as undercover cops. The new partners must overcome their differences to solve an important case with help from street informant Huggy Bear and persuasive criminal Reese Feldman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Woman in Black and the Black Dragon (1966)
Celebrity Sadora is seriously wounded in an air crash. Police commissioner Suen and subordinate Ko Cheung find out Sadora was under duress from the Black Dragon Gang to collude with the criminals who had held his daughter hostage. When Ko, assuming Sadora's identity to safeguard his life, is abducted by the gang, Suen turns to 'Black Musketeer' Muk Lan-fa. By blatantly refusing to cooperate with the authorities, Muk escapes the surveillance of both the police and the gang. Acting alone, she scouts the location of the lair but ends up being imprisoned in the same cell with Ko. The captives use every trick in the book to escape. An undaunted Muk returns to infiltrate the den, while her sister Sau-chen, Suen and Ko are lying in wait. The hostages are released and the gang wiped out in a battle fiercely fought. (Synopsis based on visual audiomaterials)
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Underclassman (2005)
A young detective goes undercover at an elite private school to destroy an international stolen car ring.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisJet Boy (2001)
A coming-of-age story of a reluctant 13-year-old hustler named Nathan who will do whatever it takes to feel loved.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlainclothes (2025)
In 1990s New York, an undercover police officer receives an assignment to lure and arrest gay men. However, he's surprised to discover a scintillating connection with one of his targets. As their secret connection deepens and internal pressure to deliver arrests intensifies, he finds himself torn between duty and desire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTransit (2008)
The rather convoluted plot follows Santiago, a car thief and supposed electronic genius who works undercover for the police and is attempting to shut down an auto theft ring. Various crime organizations are involved, each plotting against each others. To complicate matters, several law enforcement branches are also competing against each others.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Kill Two Birds (1975)
Two female tourists are taken hostage by criminals who are chasing a man recently released from prison who knows the whereabouts of stolen money
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Stranger (2022)
Two strangers strike up a conversation on a long journey. However, neither is who they appear to be, each carry secrets that threaten to ruin them — and in the background, one of the nation's largest police operations is closing in.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Great Masquerade (1974)
In order to infiltrate a gang of drug smugglers, a cop is sent undercover to participate in a drag-queen beauty contest aboard a cruise ship.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Renegades (1989)
While investigating police corruption in his department, undercover cop Buster McHenry is forced to participate in a heist, leading to innocent casualties and the theft of an ancient Lakota tribal spear. After McHenry ends up severely wounded, he is taken in by Native American Hank Storm, who is out to recover the spear and avenge the death of a loved one in the heist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
SnoozefestMovies like thisCatherine's Grove (1997)
Undercover cop Doyle is working on a serial killer case that's left a trail of dead transvestites. Then, moonlighting as a private eye, Doyle and his girlfriend are hired by a rich young man to find his sister. The search leads to her mysterious uncle, and the possibility of becoming the killer's next victim.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like No Way Back?
The closest matches to No Way Back are City on Fire (1987), Righteous Kill (2008) and In Too Deep (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after No Way Back?
Start with City on Fire (1987), the closest match to No Way Back.
What is the highest-rated movie like No Way Back?
Infernal Affairs (2002), rated 7.8/10 by 1,974 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like No Way Back?
Havoc (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to No Way Back chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside No Way Back, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.