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Swordfish poster

Movies that feel likeSwordfish (2001)

Rogue agent Gabriel Shear is determined to get his mitts on $9 billion stashed in a secret Drug Enforcement Administration account. He wants the cash to fight terrorism, but lacks the computer skills necessary to hack into the government mainframe. Enter Stanley Jobson, a n'er-do-well encryption expert who can log into anything.

If you loved Swordfish, the closest films we have are Spy Game (2001), The Last Stand (2013) and Ong-Bak (2003). All three share Swordfish'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 Infernal Affairs II (2003).

🍅 27% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Dominic Senakineticgrittytense
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If Swordfish hit the spot, these will too

Spy Game poster
Spy Game
2001 · dir. Tony Scott
🍅 64%★ 7.1action · crime · thrillerNetflix

Both keep coming back to the same thing: terrorism

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

On the day of his retirement, a veteran CIA agent learns that his former protégé has been arrested in China, is sentenced to die the next morning in Beijing, and that the CIA is considering letting that happen to avoid an international scandal.

The Last Stand poster
The Last Stand
2013 · dir. Kim Jee-woon
🍅 61%★ 6.3action · crime · thrillerPrime Video

Common ground: hostage

Ray Owens is sheriff of the quiet US border town of Sommerton Junction after leaving the LAPD following a bungled operation. Following his escape from the FBI, a notorious drug baron, his gang, and a hostage are heading toward Sommerton Junction where the police are preparing to make a last stand to intercept them before they cross the border. Owens is reluctant to become involved but ultimately joins in with the law enforcement efforts.

Ong-Bak poster
Ong-Bak
2003 · dir. Prachya Pinkaew
🍅 85%★ 7.2action · crime · thrillerPrime Video

The same mix in both: momentum, then grit

When the head of a statue sacred to a village is stolen, a young martial artist goes to the big city and finds himself taking on the underworld to retrieve it.

Infernal Affairs II poster
Infernal Affairs II
2003 · dir. Alan Mak Siu-Fai
🍅 75%★ 7.2action · thriller · crimeMax

Both lean on tension more than on action

In this prequel to the original, a bloody power struggle among the Triads coincides with the 1997 handover of Hong Kong, setting up the events of the first film.

The Boondock Saints poster
The Boondock Saints
1999 · dir. Troy Duffy
🍅 26%★ 7.6action · thriller · crimePrime VideoHulu

Crime with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

Tired of the crime overrunning the streets of Boston, Irish Catholic twin brothers Conner and Murphy are inspired by their faith to cleanse their hometown of evil with their own brand of zealous vigilante justice. As they hunt down and kill one notorious gangster after another, they become controversial folk heroes in the community. But Paul Smecker, an eccentric FBI agent, is fast closing in on their blood-soaked trail.

Hard Target poster
Hard Target
1993 · dir. John Woo
🍅 63%★ 6.2action · thriller · crimePrime Video

Gritty thriller in both cases

When a woman's father goes missing, she enlists a local to aid in her search. The pair soon discover that her father has died at the hands of a wealthy sportsman who hunts homeless men as a form of recreation.

Gone in Sixty Seconds poster
Gone in Sixty Seconds
2000 · dir. Dominic Sena
🍅 25%★ 6.5action · crime · thriller

Dominic Sena working the same nerve twice

Ex-car thief Randall Raines is forced out of retirement to save his brother Kip after a boost gone wrong. With the help of allies old and new, they race to meet the demands of notorious crime boss Raymond Calitri as the police are in hot pursuit.

The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3 poster
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
2009 · dir. Tony Scott
🍅 51%★ 6.4crime · thriller · action

Both are built on the same subject: hostage

Armed men hijack a New York City subway train, holding the passengers hostage in return for a ransom, and turning an ordinary day's work for dispatcher Walter Garber into a face-off with the mastermind behind the crime.

Lethal Weapon 4 poster
Lethal Weapon 4
1998 · dir. Richard Donner
🍅 54%★ 6.6action · crime · thriller

Tense action, and it commits to that

With personal crises and age weighing in on them, LAPD officers Riggs and Murtaugh must contend with a deadly Chinese crime lord trying to get his brother out of prison.

S.W.A.T. poster
S.W.A.T.
2003 · dir. Clark Johnson
🍅 48%★ 6.1action · thriller · crime

Crime built on momentum, twice over

Hondo Harrelson recruits Jim Street to join an elite unit of the Los Angeles Police Department. Together they seek out more members, including tough Deke Kay and single mom Chris Sanchez. The team's first big assignment is to escort crime boss Alex Montel to prison. It seems routine, but when Montel offers a huge reward to anyone who can break him free, criminals of various stripes step up for the prize.

From Paris with Love poster
From Paris with Love
2010 · dir. Pierre Morel
🍅 37%★ 6.4action · crime · thriller

Another one that scratches it

James Reese has a good job as an ambassador's aid in France, but his real passion is a side gig—working in a minor role in the CIA. He would love to be a full-fledged agent and can't believe his luck when he lands an assignment with Charlie Wax. Trigger-happy Charlie soon has James crying for his desk job, but when he learns that the same guys they're trying to catch are after him, James realises that Charlie may be his only hope of survival.

Transporter 2 poster
Transporter 2
2005 · dir. Louis Leterrier
★ 6.3action · thriller · crime

Tense action in both cases

Professional driver, and former Special Forces officer, Frank Martin is living in Miami, where he is temporarily filling in for a friend as the chauffeur for a government narcotics control policy director and his family. The young boy in the family is targeted for kidnapping, and Frank immediately becomes involved in protecting the child and exposing the kidnappers.

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The best-reviewed films that share Swordfish’s defining feeling.