Movies like Modern Detective (1985)
The best movies like Modern Detective (1985) are The Dream Team (1989), Breathless (2012) and LaRoy, Texas (2024). If Modern Detective hooked you with its comedy and crime, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLaRoy, Texas (2024)6.8/10 from 200 votes
- NewestMisdirection (2026)Released 2026
The Dream Team (1989)
Four mental patients on a field trip in New York City must save their caring chaperone, who ends up being taken to a hospital in a coma after accidentally witnessing a murder, before the killers can find him and finish the job.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreathless (2012)
Lorna is a strong-willed Texas woman who’s had enough of her untrustworthy husband Dale’s criminal acts and lack of husbandry. Fed up, she enlists the help of her old friend, Tiny, to help her figure out what to do with Dale after his latest double-cross involving the theft of $100,000 from a bank.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisLaRoy, Texas (2024)
Broke and depressed, Ray is mistaken for a dangerous hitman and given an envelope of cash. Along with his P.I. friend Skip, he must escape the actual hitman to make it out of LaRoy alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCa$h (2010)
A stroke of good luck turns lethal for Sam Phelan and his wife Leslie when they are faced with a life-changing decision that brings strange and sinister Pyke Kubic to their doorstep. As Pyke leads Sam and Leslie on a tumultuous adventure through the streets of Chicago, each are pulled deeper and deeper into a desperate spiral of deception and violence – all in the name of money.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Magnificent Scoundrels (1991)
Valentino is a mediocre con artist who crosses paths with Kwan, a fellow con artist. Together, they impersonate various people and create numerous schemes to make money. Meanwhile, gangsters are making a scheme of their own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRob N Roll (2024)
A fierce robber has plotted a major heist. But unfortunately, his plan was unintentionally foiled by two dispirited middle-aged best friends, and the stolen cash disappears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDog Bite Dog (2006)
A young Cambodian man who has been trained to fight for money in his country is hired to kill someone in Hong Kong. He performs the hit and then flees from Hong Kong police, who are wrestling with internal problems of a model cop and his son, who is also on the force and who was told by his dad not to become a police officer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHostile Takeover (2025)
Follows Pete, a professional hitman, as he faces a group of assassins after the boss of a crime syndicate suspects disloyalty due to his attendance at Workaholics Anonymous meetings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & 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 crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShock Wave 2 (2020)
After suffering life changing injuries in the line of duty, bomb disposal officer Fung turns his back on the police. But when a devastating series of bombings sweep Hong Kong, the police suspect their former ally may be involved after he is found unconscious at a crime scene. Now faced with memory loss and recalling only fragments of his former life, Fung sets out to uncover the truth and find out who he really is.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEnter the Fat Dragon (2020)
After being dumped by his fiancé, heartbroken Hong Kong police officer Fallon Zhu gains 200+ pounds. His superiors demote him to the job of escorting convicts to Japan. When a convict in his custody mysteriously dies, he must team up with citizen Thor to solve the mystery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOverheard 2 (2011)
Manson Law, a celebrated stockbroker in Hong Kong, is injured in a car accident. The police, led by Inspector Jack Ho, discovers a military surveillance device in the car wreck. Meanwhile, the wiretapper Joe Szema is unveiling his extensive plan that targets the mysterious financial conglomerate, the Landlord Club. The fate of these three men soon intertwines in the cat-and-mouse game that may bring down the entire stock market.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
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 · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrap House (2025)
An undercover DEA agent and his partner embark on a game of cat and mouse with an audacious, and surprising group of thieves – their own rebellious teenagers, who have begun robbing from a dangerous cartel, using their parents' tactics and top-secret intel to do it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFull Alert (1997)
A police inspector becomes obsessed with apprehending a criminal planning a major heist at the Hong Kong Jockey Club in the weeks leading up to Hong Kong's return to China.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTiger Cage II (1990)
An ex-cop and divorce lawyer team up with a gangster to clear their names after getting involved in a dirty money scheme led by a vicious money launderer, who plans to expand his business and wipe out anyone who stands in his way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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 thriller & 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 crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFight Back to School 2 (1992)
Star Chow, an officer in the elite police unit, resigns when he is made a scapegoat for a botched investigation. He goes undercover at a school to complete the case and realizes a bumbling detective is also undercover as a student.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Modern Detective?
The closest matches to Modern Detective are The Dream Team (1989), Breathless (2012) and LaRoy, Texas (2024). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Modern Detective?
Start with The Dream Team (1989), the closest match to Modern Detective.
What is the highest-rated movie like Modern Detective?
LaRoy, Texas (2024), rated 6.8/10 by 200 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Modern Detective?
Misdirection (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Modern Detective chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Modern Detective, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.