Movies like Sweeney 2 (1978)
The best movies like Sweeney 2 (1978) are The Rookie (1990), No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990) and In Too Deep (1999). If Sweeney 2 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 ratedThe Getaway (1972)7.2/10 from 709 votes
- NewestMisdirection (2026)Released 2026
The Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisNo Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 · both drama & action
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 · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Getaway (1972)
A recently released ex-convict and his loyal wife go on the run after a heist goes wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Substitute (1996)
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Organization (1971)
After a group of young revolutionaries break into a company's corporate headquarters and steal $5,000,000 worth of heroin to keep it off the street, they call on San Francisco Police Lieutenant Virgil Tibbs for assistance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRun (1991)
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
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 · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Born Losers (1967)
A biker gang incites a reign of terror in a California coastal town that culminates in four teenage girls being raped. Vietnam veteran Billy Jack has had enough, however, and takes on the depraved bikers single-handedly. He rescues young Vicky Barrington from their clutches, but then has to contend with not only the thugs, but also the ineffectual and racist local lawmen, who have it out for the half-Native American Billy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Man's Land (1987)
A rookie cop goes undercover to infiltrate a gang of car thieves led by smooth and charming Ted. The rookie becomes too involved and starts to enjoy the thrill and lifestyle of the game, and becomes romanticly involved with the leaders sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
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 action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Charlie (2023)
When his aging mob boss is whacked, Charlie Swift, a loyal friend and hired gun, will stop at nothing to destroy the upcoming crew that took him out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
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 thisEmpire (2002)
Big time drug dealer Victor Rosa is looking to get out of the game and sees his chance with a big deal with a new friend who happens to be a Wall St. stockbroker. Thinking this will be his chance to go out on top, Victor soon finds out that he's been double crossed and his last option is to get revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Enforcer (2022)
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to save the young girl from the deadly organization he’s spent his life building.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisLethal Weapon 3 (1992)
Riggs and Murtaugh pursue a former officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
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 thisWire Room (2022)
New recruit Justin Rosa must monitor arms-smuggling cartel member Eddie Flynn — and keep him alive at all costs. When a SWAT team descends on Flynn’s home, Rosa breaks protocol and contacts the gangster directly to save his life. As gunmen break into the Wire Room and chaos erupts, Mueller and Rosa make a final, desperate stand against the corrupt agents and officials who seek to destroy evidence and kill them both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVanishing Point (1971)
Kowalski works for a car delivery service, and takes delivery of a 1970 Dodge Challenger to drive from Colorado to San Francisco. Shortly after pickup, he takes a bet to get the car there in less than 15 hours.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFrom Dusk Till Dawn 2: Texas Blood Money (1999)
A bank-robbing gang of misfits heads to Mexico with the blueprints for the perfect million-dollar heist, but when one of the crooks wanders into the wrong bar, the thieving cohorts develop a thirst for blood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisNot For, or Against (Quite the Contrary) (2003)
"Ni Pour, Ni Contre" tracks the fall of a young TV camerawoman, Caty, after she becomes involved with a group of petty criminals and their enigmatic leader, Jean. The gang lives hand-to-mouth until the day Jean plans a daring bank robbery. Although other gang members feel out of their league, Jean persuades them to take part and Caty finds herself in a hellish world of betrayal, violence and murder.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night is Mine (1958)
Four criminals break into the home of a jewelry merchant, Sanpodo, rob the diamonds, and escape. However, one of them receives a bullet during a skirmish between bandits, and the second is wounded by the police. To help their wounded comrades, criminals lock themselves in a city clinic...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Sea of Love (1989)
Seen-it-all New York detective Frank Keller is unsettled - he has done twenty years on the force and could retire, and he hasn't come to terms with his wife leaving him for a colleague. Joining up with an officer from another part of town to investigate a series of murders linked by the lonely hearts columns he finds he is getting seriously and possibly dangerously involved with Helen, one of the main suspects.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMatar al Nani (1988)
The story of El Nani, a juvenile delinquent from the years of the Transition, whose disappearance in a police station after an interrogation has not yet been clarified, putting the accent on the denunciation of police brutality and speculating on the outcome of the story. A story that mixes political denunciation and social chronicle of an era.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Mad Money (2008)
Three female employees of the Federal Reserve plot to steal money that is about to be destroyed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSavage Fire (2017)
In the city of Cajamar, in the middle of ruined nature, lonely characters deal with the police, rodeos and mysterious fires.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Nebelnacht (1969)
When a motorcyclist dies in an accident, lieutenant Kreutzer and his colleague Arnold receive the order to investigate the backgrounds of this mysterious case. Although the leads point to murder, head physician Dr. Nikolai, the driver of the car involved in the accident, maintains his innocence and even has an alibi. With a lot of arduous detail work, Kreutzer follows all leads and evidence. Both Nikolai’s colleagues and his son act suspiciously. Eventually, Kreutzer convicts the criminal who secretly used the physician’s car for his criminal dealings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
Short Circuit 2 (1988)
Robot Johnny 5 moves to the city to help his friend Ben Jahrvi with his toy manufacturing enterprise, only to be manipulated by criminals who want to use him for their own nefarious purposes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Sweeney 2 and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sweeney 2?
The closest matches to Sweeney 2 are The Rookie (1990), No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990) and In Too Deep (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sweeney 2?
Start with The Rookie (1990), the closest match to Sweeney 2.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sweeney 2?
The Getaway (1972), rated 7.2/10 by 709 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sweeney 2?
Misdirection (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Sweeney 2?
Yes: The Rookie (1990), No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990) and In Too Deep (1999).
How are movies similar to Sweeney 2 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sweeney 2, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.