Movies like The Awakener (2018)
The best movies like The Awakener (2018) are Batman: Year One (2011), Death Wish 3 (1985) and Black Site (2022). If The Awakener hooked you with its thriller and action, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Dark Knight (2008)8.5/10 from 37,343 votes
- NewestCitizen Vigilante (2026)Released 2026
Batman: Year One (2011)
A wealthy playboy named Bruce Wayne and a Chicago cop named Jim Gordon both return to Gotham City where their lives unexpectedly intersect.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath Wish 3 (1985)
Architect/vigilante Paul Kersey arrives back in New York City and is forcibly recruited by a crooked police chief to fight street crime caused by a large gang terrorizing the neighborhoods.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Site (2022)
A group of officers based in a labyrinthine top-secret prison must fight for their lives against Hatchet, a brilliant and infamous high-value detainee. When he escapes, his mysterious and deadly agenda has far reaching and dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDesperation Road (2023)
Ex-con Russell Gaines is attempting to rebuild his life with the help of his father, Mitchell. However, the arrival of Maben sends his new life into chaos, leading the pair to go on the run - as their violent pasts catch up to them, the pair must learn to trust each other if they hope to live out the rest of their days.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBest of the Best 2 (1993)
In an underground fight club, blackbelt Travis Brickley is killed after losing to the evil martial arts master Brakus. Travis' death is witnessed by Walter Grady, the son of his best friend Alex Grady. Alex and his partner, Tommy Lee, vow to avenge their friend's death by defeating Brakus and shutting down the fight club.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut for Justice (1991)
Gino Felino is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who knows everyone and everything in his neighborhood. Killing his partner was someone's big mistake... because he's now out for justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Equalizer (2014)
McCall believes he has put his mysterious past behind him and dedicated himself to beginning a new, quiet life. But when he meets Teri, a young girl under the control of ultra-violent Russian gangsters, he can’t stand idly by – he has to help her. Armed with hidden skills that allow him to serve vengeance against anyone who would brutalize the helpless, McCall comes out of his self-imposed retirement and finds his desire for justice reawakened. If someone has a problem, if the odds are stacked against them, if they have nowhere else to turn, McCall will help. He is The Equalizer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisS.W.A.T.: Under Siege (2017)
When a D.E.A. and S.W.A.T. cartel takedown ends in a shootout, S.W.A.T. Agent Travis Hall seizes a mysterious prisoner taking him into custody. Before long, the S.W.A.T. compound is under siege by wave-after-wave of assault teams attempting to recover the prisoner known as “The Scorpion” for the tattoo blazed across his back. When Travis discovers that his prisoner is a Secret Ops double agent planted within the cartel, it’s up to him and his expert S.W.A.T. team to keep “The Scorpion” and his billion dollar secrets safe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisMagnum Force (1973)
"Dirty" Harry Callahan is a San Francisco Police Inspector on the trail of a group of rogue cops who have taken justice into their own hands. When shady characters are murdered one after another in grisly fashion, only Dirty Harry can stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Days of American Crime (2020)
In the not-too-distant future, as a final response to crime and terrorism, the U.S. government plans to broadcast a signal that will make it impossible for anyone to knowingly break the law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perfect Weapon (1991)
Jeff, a young delinquent, is enrolled by his father in a kenpo school, in the hopes of teaching the boy some self-discipline. Years later, Jeff's mentor, Kim, is being threatened by one of the Korean mafia families. Jeff tries to help his old friend, but is too late to prevent Kim's death at the hands of an unknown hitman. Vowing revenge, Jeff takes on all of the families, using his martial arts skills to find the man who killed his friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
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 action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwo Rabbits (2012)
Edgar is a young upper-middle class man, close to completing 30 years old, he lives a full life crisis and is in a position common to the vast majority of Brazilians. On the one hand the power, represented by a corrupt state, abusive and absent in their taxes before their obligations. On the other, crime increasingly organized violence became a constant in the lives of citizens in large cities. Edgar responds to all this as a modern vigilante. With the help of ingredients such as technology, counter-information and manipulation, Edgar concocts a brilliant plan, using the greed of their opponents as the reason for its destruction. As the plot unfolds, we know more about the dark past of each character as Edgar fit the pieces together in an intriguing puzzle that makes up the film's plot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Double (2011)
The mysterious murder of a US senator bearing the distinctive trademark of the legendary Soviet assassin 'Cassius', forces retired CIA operative, Paul Shepherson to team with rookie FBI agent, Ben Geary to solve the crime. Having spent his career chasing Cassius, Shepherdson is convinced his nemesis is long dead, but is pushed to take on the case by his former supervisor, Tom Highland. Geary, who wrote his Master's thesis on Shepherdson's pursuit of the Soviet killer, is certain that Cassius has resurfaced.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCoffy (1973)
After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Working Man (2025)
Levon Cade left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life working construction. But when his boss's daughter, who is like family to him, is taken by human traffickers, his search to bring her home uncovers a world of corruption far greater than he ever could have imagined.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
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 · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisV for Vendetta (2006)
In a world in which Great Britain has become a fascist state, a masked vigilante known only as “V” conducts guerrilla warfare against the oppressive British government. When V rescues a young woman from the secret police, he finds in her an ally with whom he can continue his fight to free the people of Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCode 8 Part II (2024)
In a world where superpowered people are heavily policed by robots, an ex-con teams up with a drug lord he despises to protect a teen from a corrupt cop.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCitizen Vigilante (2026)
A man takes justice into his own hands, hunting down criminals. His vigilante crusade makes him a social media star but puts him at odds with the local police chief.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaybreak (2015)
A young scholar witnesses the murder of a drug pusher and has to decide to either inform the police or help the brother of the murdered man, who is out for vengeance.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
The Dark Knight (2008)
Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lt. Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as the Joker.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLucky Number Slevin (2006)
Slevin is mistakenly put in the middle of a personal war between the city’s biggest criminal bosses. Under constant watch, Slevin must try not to get killed by an infamous assassin and come up with an idea of how to get out of his current dilemma.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPredator (1987)
A team of elite commandos on a secret mission in a Central American jungle come to find themselves hunted by an extraterrestrial warrior.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGladiator (2000)
After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus, one of Rome's most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDoggie March (1963)
It tells the story of Rock, a puppy whose mother is killed by a tiger and a fox. To fulfill his revenge, will achieve together a large number of animals. An animated collaboration between Osamu Tezuka and Toei Animation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Zatoichi (2003)
Blind traveler Zatoichi is a master swordsman and a masseur with a fondness for gambling on dice games. When he arrives in a village torn apart by warring gangs, he sets out to protect the townspeople.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMinority Report (2002)
John Anderton is a top 'Precrime' cop in the late-21st century, when technology can predict crimes before they're committed. But Anderton becomes the quarry when another investigator targets him for a murder charge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSin City (2005)
Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark… Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home — Crooked cops, sexy dames, desperate vigilantes. Some are seeking revenge, others lust after redemption, and then there are those hoping for a little of both. A universe of unlikely and reluctant heroes still trying to do the right thing in a city that refuses to care.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar Trek II: The Wrath of Khan (1982)
The starship Enterprise and its crew is pulled back into action when old nemesis, Khan, steals a top secret device called Project Genesis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Awakener?
The closest matches to The Awakener are Batman: Year One (2011), Death Wish 3 (1985) and Black Site (2022). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Awakener?
Start with Batman: Year One (2011), the closest match to The Awakener.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Awakener?
The Dark Knight (2008), rated 8.5/10 by 37,343 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Awakener?
Citizen Vigilante (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Awakener chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Awakener, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.