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Once Upon a Time in Mexico poster

Movies that feel likeOnce Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

A corrupt CIA agent Sands hires hitman El Mariachi to assassinate a Mexican general hired by a drug kingpin attempting a coup d'état of the President of Mexico.

If you loved Once Upon a Time in Mexico, the closest films we have are New Police Story (2004), Below Zero (2021) and Crank (2006). All three share Once Upon a Time in Mexico's kinetic and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Rolling Thunder (1977).

🍅 66% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Robert Rodriguezkineticgrittytenserelentless
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Essential

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If Once Upon a Time in Mexico hit the spot, these will too

Looking for the series itself? Also in this series: El Mariachi (1993) · Desperado (1995)

New Police Story poster
New Police Story
2004 · dir. Benny Chan
🍅 63%★ 6.9action · thriller · crime

One thread runs through both: revenge

The difference: Played as drama first

Sent into a drunken tailspin when his entire unit is killed by a gang of thrill-seeking punks, disgraced Hong Kong police inspector Wing needs help from his new rookie partner, with a troubled past of his own, to climb out of the bottle and track down the gang and its ruthless leader.

Below Zero poster
Below Zero
2021 · dir. Lluís Quílez
🍅 86%★ 6.2action · crime · thrillerNetflix

Both keep coming back to the same thing: revenge

When a prisoner transfer van is attacked, the cop in charge must fight those inside and outside while dealing with a silent foe: the icy temperatures.

Crank poster
Crank
2006 · dir. Brian Taylor
🍅 62%★ 6.9action · thriller · crime

Kinetic and gritty in the same breath

Chev Chelios, a hit man wanting to go straight, lets his latest target slip away. Then he awakes the next morning to a phone call that informs him he has been poisoned and has only an hour to live unless he keeps adrenaline coursing through his body while he searches for an antidote.

Extraction 2 poster
Extraction 2
2023 · dir. Sam Hargrave
🍅 79%★ 7action · thriller · crimeNetflix

Both land tension and relentlessness at once

The difference: Made in the 2020s, in a different era of the craft

Back from the brink of death, highly skilled commando Tyler Rake takes on another dangerous mission: saving the imprisoned family of a ruthless gangster.

Four Brothers poster
Four Brothers
2005 · dir. John Singleton
★ 6.8action · crimeParamount+

Action built on momentum, twice over

The difference: Less tense, more its own thing

Four adopted brothers return to their Detroit hometown when their mother is murdered and vow to exact revenge on the killers.

The Furious poster
The Furious
2026 · dir. Kenji Tanigaki
🍅 98%★ 7.2action · crime · thrillerStarz

Gritty crime in both cases

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

After a criminal network kidnaps Wang Wei's daughter and the corrupt police refuse to assist him, Wei sets out on his own to locate her. Navin, a tenacious journalist whose wife has mysteriously vanished, is his only ally. In this explosive martial arts showdown, the unlikely duo fights the kidnappers ruthlessly driven by a furious vengeance.

Run All Night poster
Run All Night
2015 · dir. Jaume Collet-Serra
🍅 59%★ 6.6action · crime · thriller

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

Brooklyn mobster and prolific hit man Jimmy Conlon has seen better days. Longtime best friend of a mob boss, Jimmy is haunted by the sins of his past—as well as a dogged police detective who’s been one step behind Jimmy for 30 years. But when Jimmy’s estranged son becomes a target, Jimmy must make a choice between the crime family he chose and the real family he abandoned long ago. Now, with nowhere safe to turn, Jimmy has just one night to figure out exactly where his loyalties lie and to see if he can finally make things right.

The Equalizer 2 poster
The Equalizer 2
2018 · dir. Antoine Fuqua
🍅 52%★ 6.7action · thriller · crimeParamount+

Western with a pulse of relentlessness, in both cases

Robert McCall, who serves an unflinching justice for the exploited and oppressed, embarks on a relentless, globe-trotting quest for vengeance when his former partner is murdered.

The Man from Nowhere poster
The Man from Nowhere
2010 · dir. Lee Jeong-beom
🍅 100%★ 7.7action · thriller · crimePrime VideoPeacock

Both lean on momentum more than on action

A reclusive pawnshop owner goes on a brutal rampage to rescue a young girl kidnapped by a criminal organization.

Blue Ruin poster
Blue Ruin
2014 · dir. Jeremy Saulnier
🍅 96%★ 7.1crime · thrillerPrime VideoPeacock

Crime built on grit, twice over

When the quiet life of a beach bum is upended by dreadful news, he sets off for his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. However, he proves an inept assassin and finds himself in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.

Naked Weapon poster
Naked Weapon
2002 · dir. Tony Ching Siu-Tung
★ 5.5action · drama · thriller

Thriller built on tension, twice over

A mysterious woman, known as Madame M, kidnaps forty pre-teen girls and transports them to a remote island to train them as the most deadly assassins. CIA operative Jack Chen follows the case for 6 years with no leads, but when a series of assassinations begin to occur, Jack suspects that Madame M is back in business.

Rolling Thunder poster
Rolling Thunder
1977 · dir. John Flynn
🍅 82%★ 6.9drama · thriller · action

Relentless western, and it commits to that

A recently-returned Vietnam POW loses his family and his right hand during a violent home invasion, and seeks retribution against those responsible.

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The best-reviewed films that share Once Upon a Time in Mexico’s defining feeling.