Movies like Cops and Desperados (1988)
The best movies like Cops and Desperados (1988) are Moscow Mission (2023), Al Capone (1959) and Caught in Time (2020). If Cops and Desperados hooked you with its action, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Shipment (2021)6.7/10 from 261 votes
- NewestTrap House (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseMoscow Mission (2023)Also in Chinese
Moscow Mission (2023)
Tough Chinese detectives go on a mission to Moscow to hunt down ruthless robbers who have been plaguing the trans-Siberian railway with violence and chaos.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAl Capone (1959)
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaught in Time (2020)
Based on real life events from the 1990s, a ruthless gang manages to pull off several high risk – high reward heists, meticulously planned out and executed over nearly a decade. When a police detective thinks he's figured out their pattern, the head of the gang starts to openly taunt him, resulting in a race to the ultimate showdown between cops and robbers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbsolution (2024)
An aging ex-boxer gangster working as muscle for a Boston crime boss receives an upsetting diagnosis. Despite a faltering memory, he attempts to rectify the sins of his past and reconnect with his estranged children. He is determined to leave a positive legacy for his grandson, but the criminal underworld isn’t done with him and won’t loosen their grip willingly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Shipment (2021)
A former U.S. Navy Seal is forced to become the international criminal he once fought against when a powerful and violent drug cartel kidnaps his wife and daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisS.W.A.T. (2019)
The story centers on the Chinese Special Police Unit, from their hard training to their first mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarbarosa (1982)
Karl Westover, an inexperienced farm boy, runs away after unintentionally killing a neighbor, whose family pursues him for vengeance. He meets Barbarosa, a gunman of near-mythical proportions, who is himself in danger from his father-in-law Don Braulio, a wealthy Mexican rancher. Don Braulio wants Barbarosa dead for marrying his daughter against the father's will. Barbarosa reluctantly takes the clumsy Karl on as a partner, as both of them look to survive the forces lining up against them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisWelcome to the Punch (2013)
When notorious criminal Jacob Sternwood is forced to return to London, it gives detective Max Lewinsky one last chance to take down the man he's always been after.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
SnoozefestMovies like thisKids from Shaolin (1984)
Romance blossoms between two rival families practicing Shaolin and Wudang kungfu respectively. despite familial opposition - until they overcome a gang of scheming bandits together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Shot (2019)
A car fixer jumps off stairs after illegal demolition. Police officer tries to find the crime and catch the evil boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Black Book (2023)
After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing of Killers (2023)
Garan is a part of a group of international hitmen who are contracted to take out the most dangerous killer in the world, only to find out that they're the ones being hunted.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegacy (2020)
While on a hunting trip in the isolated wilderness, a father and his adopted teenage son are turned into the prey of unknown assailants. They are unexpectedly joined in their fight for survival by a stranger who reveals the disturbing truth about the son's biological father, an international crime lord, and why that crime lord has sent trained assassins to kill the teenager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRise of the Footsoldier (2007)
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this96 Minutes (2025)
Former bomb disposal expert and his fiancée board a high-speed train. Also, a well-known physics teacher who was involved in an affair scandal, also boards the same train in order to win back his wife. At the same time, there's a bomb on the train!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDragon Fist (1979)
After the death of his master, martial arts student Tong Huo-wan travels with his adoptive family to seek redress from the man responsible but finds himself torn between righteousness and filial piety after becoming entangled in a feud between a local clan and gangsters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Paper Tigers (2020)
Three middle aged men polish their martial arts skills to avenge their fallen master.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOverdrive (2017)
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cops and Desperados?
The closest matches to Cops and Desperados are Moscow Mission (2023), Al Capone (1959) and Caught in Time (2020). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cops and Desperados?
Start with Moscow Mission (2023), the closest match to Cops and Desperados.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cops and Desperados?
The Shipment (2021), rated 6.7/10 by 261 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cops and Desperados?
Trap House (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Cops and Desperados?
Yes: Moscow Mission (2023), Caught in Time (2020) and S.W.A.T. (2019).
How are movies similar to Cops and Desperados chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cops and Desperados, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.