feelsalike.comSign in
The Punisher poster

Movies that feel likeThe Punisher (2004)

When undercover FBI agent Frank Castle's wife and son are slaughtered, he becomes 'the Punisher' -- a ruthless vigilante willing to go to any length to avenge his family.

If you loved The Punisher, the closest films we have are A Bittersweet Life (2005), Four Brothers (2005) and A Better Tomorrow (1986). All three share The Punisher'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 The Square (2008).

🍅 30% Rotten Tomatoes★ 6.4 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Jonathan Hensleighkineticgrittycontemplativerelentless
7 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Paramount Plus Essential

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

Not on subscription streaming right now. Rent or buy below.

See it on the Mood Map

If The Punisher hit the spot, these will too

A Bittersweet Life poster
A Bittersweet Life
2005 · dir. Kim Jee-woon
🍅 100%★ 7.4action · drama · crime

Common ground: revenge

The difference: Critics rated this one higher still

Kim Sun-woo is an enforcer and manager for a hotel owned by a cold, calculative crime boss, Kang who assigns Sun-woo to a simple errand while he is away on a business trip; to shadow his young mistress, Hee-soo, for fear that she may be cheating on him with a younger man with the mandate that he must kill them both if he discovers their affair.

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

Both are built on the same subject: revenge

The difference: Trades the stillness of The Punisher for an angle of its own

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

A Better Tomorrow poster
A Better Tomorrow
1986 · dir. John Woo
🍅 95%★ 7.4action · crime · drama

The same mix in both: momentum, then grit

A reforming ex-gangster tries to reconcile with his estranged policeman brother, but the ties to his former gang are difficult to break.

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

Contemplative where it counts, relentless underneath

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than The Punisher does

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.

Green Street Hooligans poster
Green Street Hooligans
2005 · dir. Lexi Alexander
🍅 45%★ 7.4crime · drama

Gritty crime, and it commits to that

After being wrongfully expelled from Harvard University, American Matt Buckner flees to his sister's home in England. Once there, he is befriended by her charming and dangerous brother-in-law, Pete Dunham, and introduced to the underworld of British football hooliganism. Matt learns to stand his ground through a friendship that develops against the backdrop of this secret and often violent world. 'Green Street Hooligans' is a story of loyalty, trust and the sometimes brutal consequences of living close to the edge.

Lady Snowblood poster
Lady Snowblood
1973 · dir. Toshiya Fujita
🍅 100%★ 7.6action · crime · dramaMax

Action with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

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

A strikingly beautiful young woman is trained from birth to be a deadly instrument of revenge against the swindlers who destroyed her family.

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

Drama built on stillness, twice over

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.

In the Fade poster
In the Fade
2017 · dir. Fatih Akin
🍅 75%★ 7.1drama · crimePrime Video

Both lean on relentlessness more than on crime

Katja's life collapses after the deaths of her husband and son in a bomb attack. After a time of mourning and injustice, Katja seeks revenge.

Once Upon a Time in Mexico poster
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
2003 · dir. Robert Rodriguez
🍅 66%★ 6.3action · crime · thrillerPrime VideoParamount+

Kinetic action in both cases

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.

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

Drama with a pulse of grit, in both cases

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 Square poster
The Square
2008 · dir. Nash Edgerton
🍅 86%★ 6.7crime · drama · thriller

Both keep coming back to the same thing: neighbor

Ray, a construction worker trapped in an unhappy marriage, pursues an affair with his neighbor, Carla. Carla's husband, Greg, is a mobster who keeps large sums of drug money in their home. With this in mind, Carla comes up with a plan: She and Ray will steal Greg's money, burn down her house, convince Greg the money was lost in the fire and then run away together. Carla's scheme, however, doesn't go off as planned.

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

Both lean on relentlessness more than on action

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.

In the mood for more kinetic?

all kinetic movies →

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