Movies like Emil and the Detectives (1964)
The best movies like Emil and the Detectives (1964) are How to Rob a Bank (2007), Red Notice (2021) and Excess Baggage (1997). If Emil and the Detectives hooked you with its action and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedReservoir Dogs (1992)8.1/10 from 16,026 votes
- NewestThe Family Plan 2 (2025)Released 2025
How to Rob a Bank (2007)
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisRed Notice (2021)
An Interpol-issued Red Notice is a global alert to hunt and capture the world's most wanted. But when a daring heist brings together the FBI's top profiler and two rival criminals, there's no telling what will happen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExcess Baggage (1997)
A rich brat fakes her own kidnapping, but in the process ends up locked in the trunk of a car that gets stolen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSee Spot Run (2001)
A drug sniffing agent canine is a target for an assassin boss so the FBI calls Witness Protection to send him somewhere else. Meanwhile a single Mom puts her 6 year old boy James in the care of her irresponsible, mailman, neighbor, Gordon, when the babysitter bails on her. Meanwhile, an assassin mob boss hires 2 goons to kill Agent 11. But when 11 escapes from the van when they tried to kill him, he hides in Gordon's Mailtruck that James is in too. And guess what they name him. Spot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Naked Gun (2025)
Only one man has the particular set of skills... to lead Police Squad and save the world: Lt. Frank Drebin Jr. Following in his father's footsteps, he must solve a murder case to prevent Police Squad from closure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOcean's Eight (2018)
Debbie Ocean, a criminal mastermind, gathers a crew of female thieves to pull off the heist of the century at New York's annual Met Gala.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisK-9: P.I. (2002)
Dooley and his K-9 partner Jerry Lee are ready to retire from the police force. But before he can retire with his pension he must work as a P.I. to find a set of high tech computer chips.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisStark Raving Mad (2002)
A crook quietly plots his revenge against the boss who murdered his brother while working for him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGotcha! (1985)
A student on a trip to France is tricked into smuggling secrets across the Iron Curtain by a sexy spy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Family Plan 2 (2025)
Now that Dan's assassin days are behind him, all he wants for Christmas is quality time with his kids. But when he learns his daughter has her own plans, he books a family trip to London—putting them all in the crosshairs of an unexpected enemy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWho's Harry Crumb? (1989)
Harry Crumb is a bumbling and inept private investigator who is hired to solve the kidnapping of a young heiress which he's not expected to solve because his employer is the mastermind behind the kidnapping.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisArctic Dogs (2019)
Animals band together to save the day when the evil Otto Von Walrus hatches a sinister scheme to accelerate global warming and melt the Arctic Circle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & comedy
SnoozefestMovies 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 action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThick as Thieves (2009)
A master thief recruits a notorious thief to help him steal two famous Faberge eggs from an impenetrable vault in an effort to pull off one final job and repay his debt to the Russian mob.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKnight and Day (2010)
A fugitive couple goes on a glamorous and sometimes deadly adventure where nothing and no one – even themselves – are what they seem. Amid shifting alliances and unexpected betrayals, they race across the globe, with their survival ultimately hinging on the battle of truth vs. trust.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pink Panther Strikes Again (1976)
Charles Dreyfus, who has finally cracked over inspector Clouseau's antics, escapes from a mental institution and launches an elaborate plan to get rid of Clouseau once and for all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRetribution (2023)
When a mysterious caller plants a bomb under his car seat, a bank executive begins a high-speed chase across the city to complete a specific series of tasks — all with his kids trapped in the back seat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWild Target (2010)
Victor Maynard is a middle-aged, solitary assassin who lives to please his formidable mother, despite his own peerless reputation for lethal efficiency. His professional routine is interrupted when he finds himself drawn to one of his intended victims. After sparing her life, he unexpectedly acquires a young apprentice. Believing Victor to be a private detective, his two new companions tag along, while he attempts to thwart the murderous attentions of his unhappy client.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Return of the Pink Panther (1975)
The famous Pink Panther jewel has once again been stolen and Inspector Clouseau is called in to catch the thief. The Inspector is convinced that 'The Phantom' has returned and utilises all of his resources – himself and his Asian manservant – to reveal the identity of 'The Phantom'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShaft (2000)
New York police detective John Shaft arrests Walter Wade Jr. for a racially motivated slaying. But the only eyewitness disappears, and Wade jumps bail for Switzerland. Two years later Wade returns to face trial, confident his money and influence will get him acquitted -- especially since he's paid a drug kingpin to kill the witness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLadyhawke (1985)
Captain Etienne Navarre is a man on whose shoulders lies a cruel curse. Punished for loving each other, Navarre must become a wolf by night whilst his lover, Lady Isabeau, takes the form of a hawk by day. Together, with the thief Philippe Gaston, they must try to overthrow the corrupt Bishop and in doing so break the spell.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNo Good Deed (2002)
While doing a friend a favor and searching for a runaway teenager, a police detective stumbles upon a bizarre band of criminals about to pull off a bank robbery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisAlong Came a Spider (2001)
After the harrowing death of his partner, forensic psychologist and best-selling author Alex Cross cannot forgive himself and has retreated to the peace of retirement. But when a brilliant criminal kidnaps a senator's young daughter, he is lured back into action as the kidnapper wants to deal with Alex personally. Teamed with Jezzie Flanigan, the Secret Service agent assigned to protect the missing girl, Alex follows a serpentine trail of clues that leads him to a stunning discovery - the kidnapper wants more than just ransom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReservoir Dogs (1992)
A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors -- veteran Mr. White, newcomer Mr. Orange, psychopathic parolee Mr. Blonde, bickering weasel Mr. Pink and Nice Guy Eddie -- unravel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisGo for Zucker (2004)
Germany director Dani Levy filmed this comedy about Jewish life in today’s Germany along side the familiar east-west conflict. With it great success this film is a joyful comedy of humor and knowledge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKlute (1971)
A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDial M for Murder (1954)
When her American lover visits London, a wealthy woman’s jealous husband hatches a plan to murder her and inherit her fortune.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisReclaim Your Brain (2007)
Frustrated, because he is forced to produce bad TV-shows, a manager of a TV-station, enters the station and manipulates the ratings, to initiate a TV-revolution.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFC Venus (2006)
Anna is persuaded by her boyfriend Paul to move from Berlin to his home town of Imma. What the notorious soccer hater doesn't know, however, is that joining his best friend Steffen's law firm is just a pretext. In reality, Paul and his buddies are there to save the soccer club he co-founded, Eintracht Imma 95, from relegation. Anna soon realizes that the players' wives have nothing to say to their soccer junkies: Artificial turf in the bedroom, Effenberg bedding and weekends on the soccer pitch. When she finds out the real reason for the move, she mobilizes her fellow sufferers to counter-attack after a fierce bout of frustration and challenges Paul and his friends to the ultimate duel on the soccer pitch. The bet is on: women against men. If the women win, soccer is over - and Paul has to go back to Berlin with Anna. Forever. If the men win, there will be no more complaining.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Like Emil and the Detectives and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Emil and the Detectives?
The closest matches to Emil and the Detectives are How to Rob a Bank (2007), Red Notice (2021) and Excess Baggage (1997). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Emil and the Detectives?
Start with How to Rob a Bank (2007), the closest match to Emil and the Detectives.
What is the highest-rated movie like Emil and the Detectives?
Reservoir Dogs (1992), rated 8.1/10 by 16,026 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Emil and the Detectives?
The Family Plan 2 (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Emil and the Detectives?
Yes: How to Rob a Bank (2007), Red Notice (2021) and Excess Baggage (1997).
How are movies similar to Emil and the Detectives chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Emil and the Detectives, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.