Movies like Colt 38 Special Squad (1976)
The best movies like Colt 38 Special Squad (1976) are In Too Deep (1999), The Rookie (1990) and McQ (1974). If Colt 38 Special Squad hooked you with its action and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDogman (2018)7.5/10 from 2,333 votes
- NewestIn Cold Light (2026)Released 2026
- In ItalianI'm Not Scared (2003)Also in Italian
In 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 thisThe 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 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 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 thisI'm Not Scared (2003)
In a tiny community enclosed by wheat fields, the adults shelter indoors, while six children venture out on their bikes across the scorched, deserted countryside. Exploring a dilapidated and uninhabited farmhouse, nine-year-old Michele discovers a secret so momentous, so terrible, that he dares not tell anyone about it...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDogman (2018)
Marcello, a small and gentle dog groomer, finds himself involved in a dangerous relationship of subjugation with Simone, a former violent boxer who terrorizes the entire neighborhood. In an effort to reaffirm his dignity, Marcello will submit to an unexpected act of vengeance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Name Is Vendetta (2022)
After old enemies kill his family, a former mafia enforcer and his feisty daughter flee to Milan, where they hide out while plotting their revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
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 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 & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisShoot First, Die Later (1974)
When mobsters try to put an honest policeman on the payroll, he seeks revenge on the mob. But, he soon learns that his actions, however honest, have dire consequences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisConfessions of a Police Captain (1971)
A police captain arranges the release of a criminally insane prisoner, who soon winds up dead. When the District Attorney takes on the case, he uncovers corruption in the department and vows to take down the man who's responsible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAngel of Evil (2010)
Set in Italy in the 1970s, VALLANZASCA is the true story of the Italian underworld’s most infamous outlaw. A criminal by age 9, Renato Vallanzasca grew up to become the country’s most notorious mobster before the age of 27. Vallanzasca and his gang wrested control of the Milan underworld with a string of high profile robberies, kidnappings and murders. In the process, he captivated the public and earned the nickname ‘il bel Renè’ – for his devilish charm and handsome face. Arrested multiple times, his daring escapes from prison enraged the government, angered his rivals and fed his legend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFree Hand for a Tough Cop (1976)
A cop recruits a criminal and his cohorts to help track down a violent crime lord who has kidnapped the ill daughter of a rich family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPiranhas (2019)
A gang of teenage boys stalk the streets of Naples armed with hand guns and AK-47s to do their mob bosses' bidding – until they decide to be the bosses themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNostalgia (2022)
Felice returns to his native Rione Sanità in Naples to look after his dying mother, having lived abroad for the last forty years. Here he discovers that his old friend Oreste has become a notorious crimeboss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHigh Crime (1973)
An Italian police inspector matches wits with a powerful European drug ring. As he comes closer to the top of the underworld organization, his odds of survival decrease.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Cold Light (2026)
Fresh out of prison, Ava's attempt to reclaim her drug operation collapses when she witnesses a brutal crime, forcing her to flee into a nightmarish underworld where allies are scarce and enemies multiply by the minute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisRome, Armed to the Teeth (1976)
A tough, violent cop who doesn't mind bending the law goes after a machine-gun-carrying, hunchbacked psychotic killer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisBoys Cry (2018)
Mirko and Manolo are best friends and live in the suburbs of Rome. They both live in poor conditions with their single parents, are still in school and struggle with occasional odd jobs to make ends meet. Together they share dreams of women, of sex and money, of a better life to come. Then, after killing a man in a hit-and-run one night, they get involved with the local mafia and their lives change dramatically.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood Relative (2017)
After a botched robbery, a local crime syndicate sends a rookie enforcer to take care of a loose end. When the hit goes sideways and his civilian girlfriend ends up missing, her brother, Rodd, a mild-mannered guidance counselor, conducts an exhaustive search through the city to find her. With the support of a martial artist instructor, Bruce, the pair consistently becomes overwhelmed by a violent outfit of criminals looking to silence them. However, Rodd has a mysterious and dangerous past of his own, and with the help of his friend, they formulate a plan to take on the organization in this nail-biting action thriller.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Catchfire (1990)
A witness to a mob assassination flees for her life from town to town, switching identities, but cannot seem to elude Milo, the chief killer out to get her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisViper Club (2018)
ER nurse Helen Sterling struggles to free her grown son, a journalist captured by terrorists in the Middle East. After hitting walls with the FBI and State agencies, she discovers a clandestine community of journalists, advocates, and philanthropists who might be able to help.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Logorama (2009)
Two cops portrayed by Michelin Men chase an armed Ronald McDonald through the streets of a fictionalized, stylized city.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFirst Name: Carmen (1983)
A woman involved with a terrorist group becomes dangerously close to the police officer guarding the bank they plan to rob.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTwisted Pair (2018)
Identical twin brothers become hybrid A.I (artificial intelligence) entities, yet torn in different directions to achieve justice for humanity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisKiller Elite (2011)
Based on a shocking true story, Killer Elite pits two of the world’s most elite operatives—Danny, an ex-special ops agent and Hunter, his longtime mentor—against the cunning leader of a secret military society. Covering the globe from Australia to Paris, London and the Middle East, Danny and Hunter are plunged into a highly dangerous game of cat and mouse—where the predators become the prey.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLiving & Dying (2007)
Four desperate bank robbers are forced to abandon their lucrative heist plans and become the reluctant heroes when two of their hostages turn out to be psychotic killers who won't stop until everyone in the bank has been ruthlessly slaughtered. As the police surround the building and the killers begin methodically executing the hostages.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
The 24th Day (2004)
Tom and Dan's one-night stand turns into an intense power-play between captor and captive.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmazon Queen (2021)
A dream vacation of a lifetime quickly turns into a hijacking, endangering passengers and crew, on a boat journey down the Amazon River and into the Brazilian rainforest. Desperate criminals storm aboard, pursuing a lost fortune in the jungle. Now under threat, and with food and fuel running low, the once idealistic tourists - now hostages - must use all their ingenuity as their Amazon cruise becomes a descent into a desperate struggle for survival.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & thriller
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Colt 38 Special Squad?
The closest matches to Colt 38 Special Squad are In Too Deep (1999), The Rookie (1990) and McQ (1974). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Colt 38 Special Squad?
Start with In Too Deep (1999), the closest match to Colt 38 Special Squad.
What is the highest-rated movie like Colt 38 Special Squad?
Dogman (2018), rated 7.5/10 by 2,333 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Colt 38 Special Squad?
In Cold Light (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Colt 38 Special Squad?
Yes: I'm Not Scared (2003), Dogman (2018) and My Name Is Vendetta (2022).
How are movies similar to Colt 38 Special Squad chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Colt 38 Special Squad, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.