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Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance poster

Movies that feel likeSympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)

A deaf man and his girlfriend resort to desperate measures in order to fund a kidney transplant for his sister. Things go horribly wrong, and the situation spirals rapidly into a cycle of violence and revenge.

If you loved Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, the closest films we have are Lady Vengeance (2005), Man on Fire (2004) and Fist of Fury (1972). All three share Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance's contemplative and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Ballerina (2023).

🍅 53% Rotten Tomatoes★ 7.5 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Park Chan-wookkineticcontemplativetenserelentless
11 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · Amazon Prime Video · Shudder

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If Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance hit the spot, these will too

Lady Vengeance poster
Lady Vengeance
2005 · dir. Park Chan-wook
🍅 76%★ 7.5drama · thrillerRent or buy

Both are Park Chan-wook's work, and they rhyme

The difference: Less kinetic, more its own thing

Released after being wrongfully convicted and imprisoned for 13 years, a woman begins executing her elaborate plan of retribution.

Man on Fire poster
Man on Fire
2004 · dir. Tony Scott
🍅 39%★ 7.7action · drama · thrillerStarz

Both are working the same pair: kidnapping, revenge

Jaded ex-CIA operative John Creasy reluctantly accepts a job as the bodyguard for a 10-year-old girl in Mexico City. They clash at first, but eventually bond, and when she's kidnapped he's consumed by fury and will stop at nothing to save her life.

Fist of Fury poster
Fist of Fury
1972 · dir. Lo Wei
★ 7.2drama · action · thriller

The same preoccupation in both: revenge

The difference: Made in the 1970s, in a different era of the craft

During the Japanese occupation of Shanghai, Chen Zhen, the star pupil of a recently-deceased martial arts teacher battles a Japanese dojo which seeks the demise of his fighting school.

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

Kinetic where it counts, contemplative underneath

The difference: Leans further into crime

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.

The Villainess poster
The Villainess
2017 · dir. Jung Byung-gil
🍅 85%★ 6.6action · thrillerPrime Video

The same mix in both: tension, then relentlessness

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

Honed from childhood into a merciless killing machine by a criminal organization, assassin Sook-hee is recruited with the promise of freedom after ten years of service. However, secrets from her past destroy everything she’s worked for and now she embarks on a roaring rampage of revenge.

Jawan poster
Jawan
2023 · dir. Atlee
★ 6.9action · thrillerNetflix

Both lean on momentum more than on action

An emotional journey of a prison warden, driven by a personal vendetta while keeping up to a promise made years ago, recruits inmates to commit outrageous crimes that shed light on corruption and injustice, in an attempt to get even with his past, and that leads him to an unexpected reunion.

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

One thread runs through both: kidnapping

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.

Game of Death poster
Game of Death
1978 · dir. Robert Clouse
🍅 38%★ 5.9drama · action · thriller

Drama built on stillness, twice over

A martial arts movie star must fake his death to find the people who are trying to kill him.

Ballerina poster
Ballerina
2023 · dir. Lee Chung-hyun
🍅 91%★ 6.3action · thrillerNetflix

Thriller with a pulse of tension, in both cases

Grieving the loss of a best friend she couldn't protect, an ex-bodyguard sets out to fulfill her dear friend's last wish: sweet revenge.

Cold in July poster
Cold in July
2014 · dir. Jim Mickle
🍅 84%★ 6.7drama · thriller

Relentless drama, and it commits to that

While investigating noises in his house one balmy Texas night in 1989, Richard Dane puts a bullet in the brain of a low-life burglar. Although he’s hailed as a small-town hero, Dane soon finds himself fearing for his family’s safety when Freddy’s ex-con father rolls into town, hell-bent on revenge.

Headshot poster
Headshot
2016 · dir. Kimo Stamboel
🍅 73%★ 6.3action · thriller · dramaNetflix

Kinetic action in both cases

A young man washes ashore, his memory gone - but his past comes back to haunt him after he is nursed back to health and his killing ability is needed when he takes on a powerful drug lord.

Never Back Down poster
Never Back Down
2008 · dir. Jeff Wadlow
🍅 21%★ 6.6drama · action

Contemplative thriller in both cases

Jake, full of anger after his father's death, is just starting to find a place for himself at his new Orlando high school - until Ryan, head of an underground MMA fight club, picks Jake out as a prime opponent. After being trounced by Ryan in front of the entire school, Jake begins training under the firm, moral guidance of a MMA master, where he learns how to fight... and how to avoid a fight. But it becomes obvious that a rematch will be inevitable if Jake wants to stop Ryan and his bullying, once and for all.

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The best-reviewed films that share Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance’s defining feeling.