Movies like The Essence 3: Now or Never (2020)
The best movies like The Essence 3: Now or Never (2020) are Belly (1998), Ill Manors (2012) and Violent Saturday (1955). If The Essence 3: Now or Never hooked you with its crime and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBonnie and Clyde (1967)7.5/10 from 1,884 votes
- NewestViolent Ends (2025)Released 2025
Belly (1998)
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIll Manors (2012)
Ensemble film revolving around characters living in Forest Gate, London. Over the course of a few days, six inter-linking stories explore issues of drug use, prostitution and urban poverty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisViolent Saturday (1955)
Three men case a small town very carefully, with plans to rob the bank on the upcoming Saturday, which turns violent and deadly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sound of Fury (1950)
A family man – desperate for a job – latches onto a friend who encourages him into being a criminal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlunder Road (1957)
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies 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 drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue Believer (1989)
Eddie Dodd is a burnt out former civil rights lawyer who now specializes in defending drug dealers. Roger Baron, newly graduated from law school, has followed Eddie's great cases and now wants to learn at his feet. With Roger's idealistic prodding, Eddie reluctantly takes on a case of a young Korean man who, according to his mother, has been in jail for eight years for a murder he didn't commit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Murderer (2022)
The True story of how charismatic con man Jason Derek Brown bankrolls his extravagant lifestyle through a series of scams. On Brown’s trail: Lance Leising, a dogged FBI special agent determined to put Brown behind bars. When Brown’s funds run low and his past catches up with him, he plots his most elaborate scheme yet, pitting himself against Leising in a deadly game of cat and mouse — and becoming the most unlikely and elusive fugitive on the FBI’s most-wanted list.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCry of the City (1948)
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Skin (2019)
A Marine veteran working as a school janitor tries to mend his relationship with his son after a divorce. When his son is killed by a police officer found innocent without standing trial, he takes matters into his own hands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEach Dawn I Die (1939)
A corrupt D.A. with governatorial ambitions is annoyed by an investigative reporter's criticism of his criminal activities and decides to frame the reporter for manslaughter in order to silence him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOut of Exile (2023)
Recently paroled thief Gabriel Russell tries to balance his life and mend a troubled family as an FBI agent hunts him down, along with his crew after a botched armored car robbery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisViolent Ends (2025)
A man raised in a violent crime family struggles to build an honest life with his fiancée but is dragged back into the criminal world after his cousin’s armed robbery leaves an innocent person caught in the crossfire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Protector (1985)
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisIn the Blood (2014)
When her husband goes missing during their Caribbean vacation, a woman sets off on her own to take down the men she thinks are responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
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 crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisTed Bundy: American Boogeyman (2021)
Set in a gritty and decadent 1970s America, American Boogeyman follows the elusive and charming killer and the manhunt that brought him to justice involving the detective and the FBI rookie who coined the phrase ‘serial killer’.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBonnie and Clyde (1967)
In the 1930s, bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow, and together they start a violent crime spree throughout the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPerro callejero (1980)
An abandoned child steals to survive and has problems when he decides to steal from the priest who helps him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Essence: Part II (2019)
Marcus' feud with Isaac threatens to leave a lasting impact.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
The Essence (2019)
Off a major event, Isaac attempts to get his life back on track. Will he succeed in doing so?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Step Back (2021)
A young man finds himself in troubled times, can he regain footing in his life?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
District (2018)
A young adult learns that some boys in the hood are simply just goods to wealthy men in the area. It's a tale that truly questions how much you value your self-worth.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
The Gold Connection (1979)
Martial arts teacher Ah Wei (Bruce Li) discovers a hidden stash of Vietnamese gold while scuba diving with his friends and divides it up between them. The gang who stole and stashed the gold track Wei and his friends down one by one, in order to get back what they believe to be their property. Wei must use his Kung Fu skills to defend himself, and the people he cares about, in this brutal and thrilling martial arts noir.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Hell of a Day (2011)
Gianni is a young criminal who is indebted to the nasty gang boss "Er Tajola". He must find a bunch of money by evening and he'll dive into absurd and dangerous situations.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Independence Night (1948)
Park, Ohn - Ran (Kim Shin - jae) has been watching the surroundings of the pawn shop owner Min - ga, who is the enemy who killed his father with Song (Choi Dong - san) for five years. The private house tries to rape her daughter who does not recognize her daughter Sunhee to leave the ring. Young-gil (Choi In-gyu) goes in front of the pawn shop and saves Sun-hee and the two hide in a nearby warehouse. Sunhee left after the mother who was driven by the private house and came back from liberation. Song binds Sunhee and Kyungil, but Olan releases her, saying that the house is the enemy and not the daughter. And after hearing the conversation between the two, he finds that he is his younger brother.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Daisychain (2021)
A young woman who sees no reason to continue her miserable existence, hires a professional to end it for her. However even for a professional, the job may not be as easy as it looks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Essence 3: Now or Never?
The closest matches to The Essence 3: Now or Never are Belly (1998), Ill Manors (2012) and Violent Saturday (1955). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Essence 3: Now or Never?
Start with Belly (1998), the closest match to The Essence 3: Now or Never.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Essence 3: Now or Never?
Bonnie and Clyde (1967), rated 7.5/10 by 1,884 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Essence 3: Now or Never?
Violent Ends (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Essence 3: Now or Never?
Yes: Belly (1998), Ill Manors (2012) and Violent Saturday (1955).
How are movies similar to The Essence 3: Now or Never chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Essence 3: Now or Never, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.