Movies like Direct Action

If you like "Direct Action" you are looking for suspenseful, rough and serious movies about / with police corruption, police detective, fighting the system, rivalry, partner, law enforcement and workplace themes of Action, Crime and Thriller genre shot in USA or Canada.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps: 1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below). 2. Look for them in the presented list.
Direct Action (2004)
 5.0
 2K
Direct Action (2004)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 97 min.
Story: Frank Gannon, a veteran cop, is being hunted by his fellow police officers after they learned he has betrayed the brotherhood and exposed to the feds wide scale corruption of the LAPD. He has one day left to prove his case and survive.
Style: suspenseful, rough, serious, realistic, cult classic, fast, detective, cult film
Audience: boys' night
Plot: police corruption, police detective, fighting the system, rivalry, partner, law enforcement, workplace, dishonesty, uncover truth, workplace situations, one man army, swat team, hitman, nypd, armed forces, undercover, rebellion, vengeance, society, workplace intrigue, righting the wronged, martial arts, fight, prostitute, abduction ...
Time: contemporary
Place: los angeles
Keyword: partners

Movie in categories

Most similar movies to Direct Action

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out suspenseful, rough, serious and realistic films with plots about pistol, machine gun, rivalry, shootout, one man army, martial arts and fistfight mostly in Action, Thriller and Crime genres. Some movies like Direct Action: Detention (2003), Rapid Fire (1992), The Defender (2004), Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991), The Cutter (2005). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
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 4.1
 2K
Detention (2003)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 98 min.
Story: A heroic high school teacher leads a band of students trapped in school by violent drug-runners.
Style: realistic, serious, rough, suspense, fast ...
Audience: boys' night, kids
Plot: hostage, rescue, survival, corrupt cop, confined, high school student, dedicated educator, danger, youth, master warrior, teachers and students, teacher ...
Time: 21st century
Place: bosnia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 6.3
 10K
Rapid Fire (1992)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: College student Jake Lo is pursued by smugglers, mobsters and crooked federal agents after he witnesses a murder by a Mafia kingpin.
Style: exciting, intense, serious, suspenseful, cult classic ...
Audience: boys' night, manly
Plot: martial arts, gangster, police investigation, police corruption, justice, gunfight, danger, fighting crime, tough law enforcer, fight scenes, violent, murder ...
Time: year 1992, 90s
Place: chicago, los angeles, usa, bangkok thailand, beijing china ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 4.8
 2K
The Defender (2004)
Genre: Action, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, Germany, Romania
Duration: 91 min.
Story: The global war on terror rages on. When a government official goes missing, Lance, a man with an impressive record of service to his country, finds himself protecting the man who embodies everything he has dedicated his life to fight against.
Style: serious, rough, exciting, realistic, suspenseful ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: terrorism, undercover, state affairs, daring rescue, danger, save the day, chases and races, law enforcement, conspiracy, undercover agent, shootout, spy ...
Time: 90s, 21st century
Place: romania, europe, new york, washington d.c.
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Showdown in Little Tokyo (1991)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 79 min.
Story: An American with a Japanese upbringing, Chris Kenner is a police officer assigned to the Little Tokyo section of Los Angeles. Kenner is partnered with Johnny Murata, a Japanese-American who isn't in touch with his roots. Despite their ...
Style: serious, realistic, rough, exciting, grindhouse ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: martial arts, yakuza, samurai, buddy cop, rescue, redemption, organized crime, one man army, interracial relations, machismo, partner, partners against crime ...
Time: year 1991, 90s
Place: los angeles, tokyo, asia, usa, japan
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
 4.8
 2K
The Cutter (2005)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min.
Story: A former cop turned Los Angeles P.I. takes on a case of a missing diamond cutter that leads him on an adventure of love and villainy spanning of mob to the present day Jewelry District.
Style: serious, suspenseful, rough, suspense, action packed ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: private detective, rescue, chase, missing person, martial arts, police investigation, daring rescue, rivalry, danger, escapades, master criminal, law enforcement ...
Place: los angeles, usa, europe, germany, vienna ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 5.6
 26K
The Punisher (1989)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story: The avenging angel of Marvel Comics fame comes brilliantly to life in this searing action-adventure thriller! Dolph Lundgren stars as Frank Castle, a veteran cop who loses his entire family to a mafia car bomb. Only his ex-partner believes Castle ...
Style: futuristic, cult classic, exciting, stylized, serious ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: vigilante, superhero, crime fighter, mafia, vigilante justice, vengeance, torture, comic book, gangster, one man army, revenge, vigilantism ...
Time: 80s
Place: new york
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
The Russian Specialist (2005)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 94 min.
Story: A Russian ex-hit man is called back to Russia for one last job. This time against his former employees, the Russian mob.
Style: realistic, serious, rough, suspenseful, perverse ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: heroes, gangster, danger, gang, death, payback, kidnapping, prostitute, vigilante, soldier, chases and races, rivalry ...
Time: year 2005, 21st century
Place: los angeles
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Executive Target (1997)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story: His wife held hostage, a stunt driver is forced to drive a getaway car in a plot to kidnap the President from a motorcade.
Style: suspense, cult classic, independent film, fast, captivating ...
Plot: car chase, car, die hard, terrorism, political conspiracy, violent, speed, heroes, kidnapping, confined, chases and races, gang ...
Time: 90s
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
Hidden Agenda (2001)
Genre: Action, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 95 min.
Story: Former government Jason Price (Dolph Lundgren) makes people disappear for a living. But when a top lieutenant for a crime syndicate asks Price to help him drop out of sight, things take a grisly, unexpected turn. A mysterious hit man known as The ...
Style: exciting, serious, suspenseful, suspense, cult classic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: undercover, special agent, government agency, dishonesty, law enforcement, uncover truth, danger, spy, conspiracy, espionage, car bomb, tough heroes ...
Time: 21st century
Place: pittsburgh, boston
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 5.6
 37K
Exit Wounds (2001)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 101 min.
Story: 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 ...
Style: stylized, suspense, black comedy, detective, realistic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: police corruption, chase, police, aikido, martial arts, kidnapping, police investigation, corrupt cop, conspiracy, secret service, justice, drug dealing ...
Time: year 2001, 2000s
Place: detroit, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 6.1
 14K
Dark Angel (1990)
Genre: Action, Crime, Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story: Jack Caine is a Houston vice cop who's forgotten the rule book. His self-appointed mission is to stop the drugs trade and the number one supplier Victor Manning. Whilst involved in an undercover operation to entrap Victor Manning, his partner ...
Style: detective, suspense, rough, serious, suspenseful ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: reluctant partners, drug lord, heroin, police investigation, buddy cop, evil alien, investigation, good versus evil, humanoid alien, tough cop, space and aliens, alien ...
Time: 80s, 90s
Place: houston texas, austin texas, texas
⇓ similarity ⇓
75%
 5.3
 4K
The Hitman (1991)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 95 min.
Story: After surviving an attempt on his life by his former partner, officer Cliff Garrett (Norris) exacts revenge on those who wronged him by going undercover as a hit man. He works to gain the reputation and trust needed in order to be accepted by the ...
Style: exciting, realistic, rough, serious, suspenseful ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: hitman, martial arts, fighting crime, undercover, revenge, mafia, working undercover, gang, special agent, frame up, partners against crime, manhunt ...
Time: 90s, year 1991
Place: usa, seattle, vancouver
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
An Eye for an Eye (1981)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story: Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places.
Style: suspense, serious, cult classic, exciting, tense ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: martial arts, chase, vigilante, revenge, vigilantism, police, partner, danger, fighting crime, drug dealing, rivalry, chases and races ...
Time: 80s, year 1981
Place: san francisco, bay area, usa, california
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 5.7
 6K
Army of One (1993)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min.
Story: Wellman Santee (Dolph Lundgren) a former race car driver, whose livelihood is transporting exotic stolen super cars, is involved, with his partner Eddie, in shoot out, resulting in the deaths of his friend and a highway cop. Santee is framed for the ...
Style: serious, realistic, rough, suspenseful, independent film ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: car chase, revenge, shootout, on the run, hostage, chase, one against many, fugitives, organized crime, frame up, criminal heroes, police investigation ...
Time: 90s
Place: california, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 5.6
 37K
Raw Deal (1986)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA, Netherlands
Duration: 106 min.
Story: Mark Kaminsky is kicked out of the FBI for his rough treatment of a suspect. He winds up as the sheriff of a small town in North Carolina. FBI Chief Harry Shannon, whose son has been killed by a mobster named Patrovina, enlists Kaminsky in a ...
Style: intense, rough, realistic, suspenseful, serious ...
Audience: boys' night, manly, adult
Plot: fbi, one man army, vigilante, small town, gangster, revenge, mafia, tough heroes, heroes, law enforcement, working undercover, partners against crime ...
Time: 80s, 20th century, year 1986, year 1985
Place: chicago, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 5.8
 32K
Hard to Kill (1990)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story: Mason Storm, a 'go it alone' cop, is gunned down at home. The intruders kill his wife, and think they've killed both Mason and his son too. Mason is secretly taken to a hospital where he spends several years in a coma. His son ...
Style: suspense, serious, exciting, suspenseful, cult classic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: hospital, martial arts, revenge, vigilante, one man army, coma, murder, violence, hitman, conspiracy, mixed martial arts, police corruption ...
Time: 80s, year 1983, year 1990, 90s
Place: los angeles, chicago, california
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 5.5
 24K
Maximum Risk (1996)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story: A policeman takes his twin brother's place and inherits his problems and a beautiful girlfriend. He is forced to kickbox his way from France to the U.S. and back while playing footsie with the FBI and Russian mafia. Not just muscles with a ...
Style: exciting, suspense, serious, suspenseful, metafiction ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: martial arts, chase, gangster, gunfight, heroes, car chase, hidden identity, undercover, switching roles, law enforcement, lone wolves, dishonesty ...
Time: 90s
Place: new york, usa, france, paris france, europe ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Bullet to the Head (2012)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA, India, Switzerland
Duration: 92 min.
Story: After watching their respective partners die, a cop and a hitman form an alliance in order to bring down their common enemy.
Style: exciting, intense, brutal, serious, realistic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: hitman, revenge, corruption, assassin, organized crime, tough law enforcer, conspiracy, betrayal, murder, police corruption, brutality, tough guy ...
Time: year 2012, future, 21st century
Place: new orleans, louisiana, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Movie in collections
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Out for Justice (1991)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min.
Story: Gino Felino (Steven Seagal) is an NYPD detective from Brooklyn who knows everyone and everything in his neighborhood. Killing his Partner was someone's mistake, because he's now Out For Justice.
Style: detective, suspense, neo noir, cult classic, bloody ...
Audience: manly, boys' night
Plot: vigilante, martial arts, gangster, psychopath, organized crime, aikido, revenge, car chase, shootout, violence, hitman, serial killer ...
Time: year 1991, 90s
Place: brooklyn new york city, new york, usa, coney island brooklyn new york city
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Out for a Kill (2003)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Aruba, USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story: An unsuspecting university professor is an unwitting accomplice in a foiled Chinese cocaine deal. Wrongly imprisoned, he escapes to take his revenge and prove his innocence.
Style: realistic, serious, rough, suspenseful, fast ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: martial arts, vigilante, good versus evil, organized crime, gangster, prison, murder, chinese mafia, revenge, prisoner, violence, law enforcement ...
Place: china, paris france, hong kong, asia, new haven connecticut ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 4.8
 4K
Blackjack (1998)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story: After saving Casey, a daughter of his friend, from hired assassins, Jack Devlin is hit with a strange phobia - fear of white color. But when his other friend, who works as a bodyguard for a supermodel, is wounded, Jack decides to step in for him. ...
Style: suspense, fast, serious, realistic, exciting ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: hitman, tough heroes, terrorism, manhunt, witness, gangster, one man army, assassination attempt, danger, heroes, chase, scarecrow ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
Place: atlantic city, atlantic city new jersey, new york
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
Black Moon Rising (1986)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min.
Story: An FBI free-lancer stashes a stolen Las Vegas-crime tape in a high-tech car stolen by someone else.
Style: exciting, serious, rough, suspenseful, cult classic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: car chase, chase, fbi, revenge, law enforcement, vengeance, brutality, twists and turns, murder, on the run, crime gone awry, rivalry ...
Time: 80s
Place: las vegas, los angeles
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 3.5
 8K
Ticker (2001)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min.
Story: Ray Nettles, a detective of San Francisco, and his partner Fuzzy must take up to one of the most dangerous terrorist gangs of the city. When one of the terrorists, the beautiful scientist Claire Manning is arrested, Swan, the leader of the ...
Style: serious, rough, realistic, suspenseful, fast ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: terrorism, reluctant partners, chase, hostage, save the day, master criminal, daring rescue, police investigation, unlikely partners, confined, danger, investigation ...
Place: san francisco, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
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New Police Story (2004)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 123 min.
Story: Sent into a drunken tailspin when his entire unit is killed by a gang of thrill-seeking punks, disgraced Hong Kong police inspector Wing (Jackie Chan) needs help from his new rookie partner, with a troubled past of his own, to climb out of the ...
Style: exciting, stylized, suspenseful, rough, serious ...
Audience: kids, boys' night
Plot: martial arts, hostage, redemption, partner, police, kung fu, fight scenes, gang, undercover cop, gunfight, rivalry, haunted by the past ...
Time: year 2004, 2000s
Place: hong kong, china, asia
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 5.7
 10K
Until Death (2007)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Bulgaria, Germany, USA
Duration: 101 min.
Story: Van Damme plays a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin, and everyone dislikes him. Because of an accident he is put into a coma, and comes out of it a better person. He wakes up wanting to put things right.
Style: rough, serious, suspense, action packed, cult classic ...
Plot: addiction, vengeance, life is a bitch, police, violence, brutality, heroin addict, betrayal, chase, revenge, martial artist, gory ...
Time: year 2007, year 2006, 2000s
Place: new orleans
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 3.2
 402
Death Train (2003)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min.
Story: A man is supposed to guard a shipment of diamonds being sent by rail. But a man robs the train and kills the men guarding the diamonds. The robbers derail the train and hope to get away with their crime. The robbers get caught in Mexico and are sent ...
Style: suspenseful, rough, exciting, suspense, fast ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: terrorism, train, on the run, save the day, hostage, danger, undercover, gunfight, die hard, hijacking, railway, subway ...
Time: 2000s, 21st century
Place: mexico
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 5.7
 2K
Hollow Point (1996)
Genre: Action, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: Livingston is trying to merge the Russians, Chinese and Italian gangsters into one group with huge amounts of money and power. FBI agent Susan and DEA agent Max are trying to stop them.
Style: exciting, humorous, entertaining, light, suspense ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: chase, espionage, reluctant partners, hitman, fbi, undercover, rivalry, danger, race against time, law enforcement, special agent, buddy cop ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
⇓ similarity ⇓
100%
 5.6
 9K
Skin Trade (2014)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: Thailand, Canada, USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story: After his family is killed by a Serbian gangster with international interests. NYC detective Nick goes to S.E. Asia and teams up with a Thai detective to get revenge and destroy the syndicates human trafficking network.
Style: serious, realistic, exciting, rough, suspenseful ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: martial arts, sex slavery, gangster, ak 47, tough heroes, rivalry, vengeance, police investigation, master criminal, fight, investigation, husband wife relationship ...
Time: 21st century
Place: usa, asia, thailand, new jersey, cambodia ...
⇓ similarity ⇓
34%
 3.8
 5K
Kill Switch (2008)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 96 min.
Story: A troubled detective travels to Memphis in order to track down a pair of serial killers.
Style: serious, suspenseful, rough, fast, realistic ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: investigation, psychopath, murder, mind game, race against time, law enforcement, rivalry, martial arts, serial killer, vigilante, tough law enforcer, chases and races ...
Place: memphis, usa
⇓ similarity ⇓
29%
The Shepherd: Border Patrol (2008)
Genre: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min.
Story: A Texas cop battles ex-navy seals who are trying to traffic drugs from Mexico into the USA.
Style: rough, suspenseful, realistic, serious, exciting ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: martial arts, border patrol, corrupt cop, police investigation, partners against crime, drug dealing, danger, confined, tough law enforcer, master criminal, police corruption, gunfight ...
Place: new mexico, new orleans, usa, latin america, mexico
⇓ similarity ⇓
27%
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