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Infernal Affairs poster

Movies that feel likeInfernal Affairs (2002)

Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.

If you loved Infernal Affairs, the closest films we have are 36th Precinct (2004), Red Rock West (1993) and The Experiment (2001). All three share Infernal Affairs' tense and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is The Yellow Sea (2010).

πŸ… 94% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Alan Mak Siu-Faicontemplativetensegritty
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Criterion Channel

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If Infernal Affairs hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: Infernal Affairs II (2003) Β· Infernal Affairs III (2003)

36th Precinct poster
36th Precinct
2004 Β· dir. Olivier Marchal
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.1crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Contemplative and tense in the same breath

In Paris, two cops are competing for the vacant job of chief of police, in the middle of the search for a gang of violent thieves. The movie is directed by Olivier Marchal, a former police officer who spent 12 years with the French police before creating this story, taken in part from real events of the 1980s.

Red Rock West poster
Red Rock West
1993 Β· dir. John Dahl
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7crime Β· thriller

Thriller built on grit, twice over

The difference: Easier on the stillness than Infernal Affairs

When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialize in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money, and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.

The Experiment poster
The Experiment
2001 Β· dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel
πŸ… 72%β˜… 7.7drama Β· thriller

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

20 volunteers agree to take part in a seemingly well-paid experiment advertised by the university. It is supposed to be about aggressive behavior in an artificial prison situation. A journalist senses a story behind the ad and smuggles himself in among the test subjects. They are randomly divided into prisoners and guards. What seems like a game at the beginning soon turns into bloody seriousness.

Traffic poster
Traffic
2000 Β· dir. Steven Soderbergh
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.5thriller Β· drama Β· crime

Tense crime, and it commits to that

An exploration of the United States of America's war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter is abusing cocaine within their comfortable suburban home. In Mexico, a flawed, but noble policeman agrees to testify against a powerful general in league with a cartel, and in San Diego, a drug kingpin's sheltered trophy wife must learn her husband's ruthless business after he is arrested, endangering her luxurious lifestyle.

Police Story 2 poster
Police Story 2
1988 Β· dir. Jackie Chan
πŸ… 84%β˜… 7action Β· crime Β· thrillerMax

Both rooted in Hong Kong

The difference: Takes it somewhere less contemplative than Infernal Affairs does

The Hong Kong super-cop must stop a group of blackmailing bombers at the same time that the villains of the first Police Story are out for revenge.

Layer Cake poster
Layer Cake
2004 Β· dir. Matthew Vaughn
πŸ… 81%β˜… 7.2drama Β· thriller Β· crime

Both lean on grit more than on drama

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

The Unjust poster
The Unjust
2010 Β· dir. Ryoo Seung-wan
β˜… 6.5crime Β· thrillerNetflix

Tense thriller in both cases

An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.

John Q poster
John Q
2002 Β· dir. Nick Cassavetes
πŸ… 26%β˜… 7.1drama Β· thriller Β· crimeStarz

Contemplative crime in both cases

The difference: The scrappier of the two with critics

John Quincy Archibald is a father and husband whose son is diagnosed with an enlarged heart and then finds out he cannot receive a transplant because HMO insurance will not cover it. Therefore, he decides to take a hospital full of patients hostage until the hospital puts his son's name on the donor's list.

The Yellow Sea poster
The Yellow Sea
2010 Β· dir. Na Hong-jin
πŸ… 88%β˜… 7.3drama Β· thriller Β· crime

Different title, same corner of the shelf

A Korean man in China takes an assassination job in South Korea to make money and find his missing wife. But when the job is botched, he is forced to go on the run from the police and the gangsters who paid him.

We Own the Night poster
We Own the Night
2007 Β· dir. James Gray
πŸ… 57%β˜… 6.8drama Β· crime Β· thriller

Both know what they want from thriller

A New York nightclub manager tries to save his brother and father from Russian mafia hitmen.

Miller's Crossing poster
Miller's Crossing
1990 Β· dir. Joel Coen
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.7drama Β· thriller Β· crime

The same crime instincts

Set in 1929, a political boss and his advisor have a parting of the ways when they both fall for the same woman.

The Killer poster
The Killer
1989 Β· dir. John Woo
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.7action Β· crime Β· dramaRent or buy

Cut from the same drama cloth

The difference: Sits closer to action than Infernal Affairs does

Mob assassin Jeffrey is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteuse Jennie is blinded in the crossfire of his most recent hit, Jeffrey chooses to retire after one last job to pay for his unintended victim's sight-restoring operation. But when Jeffrey is double-crossed, he reluctantly joins forces with a rogue policeman to make things right.

In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Infernal Affairs’ defining feeling.