Movies like For the Emperor (2014)
The best movies like For the Emperor (2014) are Mr. Six (2015), My Wife is a Gangster 3 (2006) and The Man from Nowhere (2010). If For the Emperor hooked you with its action and crime, 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
- NewestMisdirection (2026)Released 2026
- In KoreanMy Wife is a Gangster 3 (2006)Also in Korean
Mr. Six (2015)
Many years ago Mr. Six was a notorious gangster. That was back when there was still such a thing as honour among thieves, when criminals earned respect and maintained principles. These days Mr. Six is all but forgotten, a living relic residing in a narrow alley. One day Six's son, Xiaobo, is abducted by some spoiled punks after he scratches their precious Ferrari. Mr. Six realizes that he must do whatever it takes to get his son back — even if that means returning to the life he thought he had left behind.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Wife is a Gangster 3 (2006)
When Aryong, the daughter of a triad boss from Hong Kong is accused of killing the boss of a competing triad, she goes into hiding in Korea. Upon arriving, she is guided by a nimble but loyal Gi-chul and his motley crew, who are assigned to protect her until her return.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man from Nowhere (2010)
A reclusive pawnshop owner goes on a brutal rampage to rescue a young girl kidnapped by a criminal organization.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Divine Move 2: The Wrathful (2019)
In the 1990s, when Go gambling fever swept Korea, Gui-su loses everything because his father gambled obsessively until there was nothing left. Left all alone in the world, Gui-su meets a mentor and Go teacher, Il-do, and goes through vicious training to become the grandmaster of Go. He sets out for revenge on the world that destroyed his life, but soon finds himself chased by an unknown loner pursuing his own vendetta.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & action
A Company Man (2012)
A contract killer becomes disenchanted with his line of work and spares the lives of his two latest would-be-victims. But the assassination company he works for has no intentions of letting him quit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAsura: The City of Madness (2016)
A shady cop finds himself in over his head when he gets caught between Internal Affairs and the city’s corrupt mayor.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBangkok 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: Fans watch both · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Outlaws (2017)
In Chinatown, law and order is turned upside down when a trio of feral Chinese gangsters arrive, start terrorizing civilians, and usurping territory. The beleaguered local gangsters team up with the police, lead by the badass loose cannon Ma Seok-do, to bring them down. Based on a true story.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNew World (2013)
An undercover cop has his loyalties tested when the boss of the corporate gang he's spent years infiltrating dies.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Bittersweet Life (2005)
Kim Sun-woo is an enforcer and manager for a hotel owned by a cold, calculative crime boss, Kang who assigns Sun-woo to a simple errand while he is away on a business trip; to shadow his young mistress, Hee-soo, for fear that she may be cheating on him with a younger man with the mandate that he must kill them both if he discovers their affair.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Berlin File (2013)
When an illicit arms deal goes bad, North Korean spy Pyo Jong-seong finds himself targeted not just by the South Koreans but also his own bosses.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVeteran (2015)
When an old collaborator gets severely injured, a veteran policeman tries to figure out the way to bring to justice the ultimately suspected aggressor, a spoiled young executive, heir to a mega corporation, who believes he is above the law.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNameless Gangster (2012)
Ik-hyeon, a corrupt officer, joins forces with another crook, Hyung-bae, to continue his illegal activities before he loses his job. Eventually, he decides to escape and pin the blame on his partner.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMarine Boy (2009)
Marine Boy is the story of a former national swimmer who finds himself in debt, and out of desperation is employed as a mule by a gangster boss, smuggling drugs by sea.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
The Wild (2023)
Woo-chul used to be a successful boxer, but he had to go to prison because his opponent died in the middle of a match. Now that he’s been released, he intends to become a model citizen. Meanwhile, his friend Do-shik will do whatever it takes to get ahead. After choosing different paths, they will be forced to plot against and betray one another.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
A Man of Reason (2023)
After spending a decade in prison, a hitman learns that he has a daughter and just wants a chance at a normal life. But his former mob boss wants him back at any cost, sending merciless assassins after him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisV.I.P. (2017)
A son to a high-ranked official in North Korea commits a series of murders going across the countries around the world. The movie depicts the following events as South Korea, North Korea and Interpol start chasing down after him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBloody Tie (2006)
A crystal meth dealer with a tragic past is forced to team up with a renegade cop to take down a powerful crime lord.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thieves (2012)
A gang of South Korean thieves team up with a Hong Kong crew to steal a diamond necklace from a heavily-guarded casino safe in Macau. As the cops close in, old betrayals — and misunderstandings — resurface.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBangkok Dog (2024)
Agent Andrew Kang is sent to Thailand on a dangerous undercover mission to take down the human trafficking ring run by the sadistic crimelord Dominick Mesias. His street smarts and fighting skills win over the local gangsters and he rises up the Bangkok underworld but the closer he gets to cracking the case, the more he loses himself in the role.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & crime
Hwayi: A Monster Boy (2013)
After being kidnapped as a small child and raised by the five men who abducted him, a teenage boy is now forced to join their life in crime.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Yellow Sea (2010)
A Korean man in China takes an assassination job in South Korea to make money and find his missing wife. But when the job is botched, he is forced to go on the run from the police and the gangsters who paid him.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe City of Violence (2006)
Tae-su, a detective fighting organized crime, returns to his hometown for his high school friend Wang-jae's funeral. There, he meets his old friends Pil-ho, Dong-hwan and Seok-hwan and they reminisce. Suspecting something fishy about Wang-jae's death, Tae-su and Seok-hwan start investigating it, each in his own way. Their investigations lead to a land development project that Pil-ho is directing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both action & thriller
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: Fans watch both · both thriller & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Swindlers (2017)
A group of swindlers unite to hunt down an infamous con man who was known dead, amid their hidden motives and deception.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShade (2003)
Tiffany, Charlie and Vernon are con artists looking to up the ante from their typical scams. They figure a good way of doing this is taking down Dean "The Dean" Stevens, a well-known cardsharp, in a rigged game. However, they first need enough money to enter a game with Stevens, so they decide to strike a deal with fellow crook Larry Jennings to scam a local gangster -- which turns out to be a bad idea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMisdirection (2026)
A desperate couple have pulled off a string of high-end break-ins to pay off a mob debt. When they attempt to rob their latest victim, they find themselves caught in a deadly game of cat and mouse. The tables are turned and the hunters become the hunted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRun All Night (2015)
Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon has seen better days. Longtime best friend of a mob boss, Jimmy is haunted by the sins of his past—as well as a dogged police detective who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. But when Jimmy’s estranged son becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy has just one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGangnam Blues (2015)
Jong-dae and Yong-ki make a living by picking up paper and empty bottles. Both then join different gangster clan and becomes involved in a struggle of political interests over development in Gangnam, Seoul.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe System (2022)
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like For the Emperor?
The closest matches to For the Emperor are Mr. Six (2015), My Wife is a Gangster 3 (2006) and The Man from Nowhere (2010). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after For the Emperor?
People who watched For the Emperor most often go on to Mr. Six (2015), My Wife is a Gangster 3 (2006) and The Man from Nowhere (2010).
What is the highest-rated movie like For the Emperor?
Infernal Affairs (2002), rated 7.8/10 by 1,974 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like For the Emperor?
Misdirection (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Korean movies like For the Emperor?
Yes: My Wife is a Gangster 3 (2006), The Man from Nowhere (2010) and The Divine Move 2: The Wrathful (2019).
How are movies similar to For the Emperor chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside For the Emperor, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.