50 Movies Like The Protégé (2021) You Need to Watch Next
Updated August 2026
View The Protégé details →If you loved The Protégé (2021) by Martin Campbell, here are 50 movies that share its content DNA. iRankMovies measures real similarity using cosine similarity across eight weighted dimensions — genre (50%), tone (12%), pace (10%), structure (8%), era (7%), theme (6%), audience (4%) and narrative perspective (3%) — not just the rating. The closest matches according to our analysis are Blitz, The Last Stand, The Girl in the Spider's Web. Every title is ranked by how closely it matches and backed by the iRank Score, a composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb across 12,000+ analysed titles.
The Best Movies Similar to The Protégé
Selected for their real similarity in content, these are the movies that share the most with The Protégé in terms of theme, narrative tone, and cinematic style. Every recommendation goes beyond genre — we evaluate the type of conflict, pacing, dramatic context, and the experience they create for viewers.
Blitz
2011 · Elliott Lester
A tough cop is dispatched to take down a serial killer who has been targeting police officers.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Last Stand
2013 · Kim Jee-woon
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
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Girl in the Spider's Web
2018 · Fede Álvarez
After being enlisted to recover a dangerous computer program, hacker Lisbeth Salander and journalist Mikael Blomkvist find themselves caught in a web of spies, cybercriminals and corrupt government of
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Swordfish
2001 · Dominic Sena
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
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
2009 · Tony Scott
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 mastermin
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The November Man
2014 · Roger Donaldson
An ex-CIA operative is brought back in on a very personal mission and finds himself pitted against his former pupil in a deadly game involving high level CIA officials and the Russian president-elect.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Shelter
2026 · Ric Roman Waugh
A man living in self-imposed exile on a remote island rescues a young girl from a violent storm, setting off a chain of events that forces him out of seclusion to protect her from enemies tied to his
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
A Working Man
2025 · David Ayer
Levon Cade left behind a decorated military career in the black ops to live a simple life working construction. But when his boss's daughter, who is like family to him, is taken by human traffickers,
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Fast X
2023 · Louis Leterrier
Over many missions and against impossible odds, Dom Toretto and his family have outsmarted, out-nerved and outdriven every foe in their path. Now, they confront the most lethal opponent they've ever f
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Beekeeper
2024 · David Ayer
One man's campaign for vengeance takes on national stakes after he is revealed to be a former operative of a powerful and clandestine organization known as Beekeepers.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Ballerina
2025 · Len Wiseman
Taking place during the events of John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum, Eve Macarro begins her training in the assassin traditions of the Ruska Roma.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Furious 7
2015 · James Wan
Deckard Shaw seeks revenge against Dominic Toretto and his family for his comatose brother.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Equalizer 3
2023 · Antoine Fuqua
Robert McCall finds himself at home in Southern Italy but he discovers his friends are under the control of local crime bosses. As events turn deadly, McCall knows what he has to do: become his friend
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
From Paris with Love
2010 · Pierre Morel
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
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Equalizer 2
2018 · Antoine Fuqua
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.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Extraction 2
2023 · Sam Hargrave
Back from the brink of death, highly skilled commando Tyler Rake takes on another dangerous mission: saving the imprisoned family of a ruthless gangster.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Fate of the Furious
2017 · F. Gary Gray
When a mysterious woman seduces Dom into the world of crime and a betrayal of those closest to him, the crew face trials that will test them as never before.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Bad Boys for Life
2020 · Bilall Fallah
Marcus and Mike are forced to confront new threats, career changes, and midlife crises as they join the newly created elite team AMMO of the Miami police department to take down the ruthless Armando A
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Point Break
1991 · Kathryn Bigelow
In Los Angeles, a gang of bank robbers who call themselves The Ex-Presidents commit their crimes while wearing masks of Reagan, Carter, Nixon and Johnson. Believing that the members of the gang could
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Crank
2006 · Brian Taylor
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 unl
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Wanted
2008 · Timur Bekmambetov
Doormat Wesley Gibson is an office worker whose life is going nowhere. He meets an attractive woman named Fox and discovers that his recently murdered father - whom Wesley never knew - belonged to the
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Crank: High Voltage
2009 · Mark Neveldine
Chelios faces a Chinese mobster who has stolen his nearly indestructible heart and replaced it with a battery-powered ticker that requires regular jolts of electricity to keep working.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Transporter Refueled
2015 · Camille Delamarre
The fast-paced action movie is again set in the criminal underworld in France, where Frank Martin is known as The Transporter, because he is the best driver and mercenary money can buy. In this instal
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Wild Card
2015 · Simon West
When a Las Vegas bodyguard with lethal skills and a gambling problem gets in trouble with the mob, he has one last play… and it's all or nothing.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Taken 2
2012 · Olivier Megaton
In Istanbul, retired CIA operative Bryan Mills and his wife are taken hostage by the father of a kidnapper Mills killed while rescuing his daughter.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Blackhat
2015 · Michael Mann
Nicholas Hathaway, a furloughed convict, and his American and Chinese partners hunt a high-level cybercrime network from Chicago to Los Angeles to Hong Kong to Jakarta. As Hathaway closes in, the stak
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Night Comes For Us
2018 · Timo Tjahjanto
After sparing a girl's life during a massacre, an elite Triad assassin is targeted by an onslaught of murderous gangsters.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Memory
2022 · Martin Campbell
Alex, an assassin-for-hire, finds that he's become a target after he refuses to complete a job for a dangerous criminal organization. With the crime syndicate and FBI in hot pursuit, Alex has the skil
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Cobra
1986 · George P. Cosmatos
A tough-on-crime street cop must protect the only surviving witness to a strange murderous cult with far reaching plans.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Ava
2020 · Tate Taylor
A black ops assassin is forced to fight for her own survival after a job goes dangerously wrong.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Desperado
1995 · Robert Rodriguez
El Mariachi plunges headfirst into the dark border underworld when he follows a trail of blood to the last of the infamous Mexican drug lords, Bucho, for an action-packed, bullet-riddled showdown. Wit
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Hitman: Agent 47
2015 · Aleksander Bach
An assassin teams up with a woman to help her find her father and uncover the mysteries of her ancestry.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
S.W.A.T.
2003 · Clark Johnson
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 f
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Hard Boiled
1992 · John Woo
A cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover cop who's working as
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Run All Night
2015 · Jaume Collet-Serra
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 on
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Safe
2012 · Boaz Yakin
After a former elite agent rescues a 12-year-old Chinese girl who's been abducted, they find themselves in the middle of a standoff between Triads, the Russian Mafia and high-level corrupt New York Ci
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Jolt
2021 · Tanya Wexler
A bouncer with an anger management problem goes on a furious and resentful rampage after the murder of a friend.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Lethal Weapon 3
1992 · Richard Donner
Riggs and Murtaugh pursue a former officer who uses his knowledge of police procedure and policies to steal and sell confiscated guns and ammunition to local street gangs.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Rip
2026 · Joe Carnahan
Trust frays when a team of Miami cops discovers millions in cash inside a run-down stash house, calling everyone — and everything — into question.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
The Outlaws
2017 · Kang Yun-sung
In Chinatown, law and order is turned upside down when a trio of feral Chinese gangsters arrive, start terrorizing civilians, and usurping territory. The beleaguered local gangsters team up with the p
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Lethal Weapon
1987 · Richard Donner
A veteran cop and an unstable detective become partners who must put their differences aside in order to bring down a heroin-smuggling ring run by ex-Special Forces.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Lethal Weapon 4
1998 · Richard Donner
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.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Lethal Weapon 2
1989 · Richard Donner
Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Bullitt
1968 · Peter Yates
Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch o
In common: Action · Crime · Thriller
Patriots Day
2016 · Peter Berg
In the aftermath of an unspeakable act of terror, Police Sergeant Tommy Saunders joins courageous survivors, first responders and investigators in a race against the clock to hunt down the Boston Mara
In common: Action · Crime
Contraband
2012 · Baltasar Kormákur
When his brother-in-law runs afoul of a drug lord, family man Chris Farraday turns to a skill he abandoned long ago—smuggling—to repay the debt. But the job goes wrong, and Farraday finds himself want
In common: Action · Crime
Lock Up
1989 · John Flynn
Frank Leone is nearing the end of his prison term for a relatively minor crime. Just before he is paroled, however, Warden Drumgoole takes charge. Drumgoole was assigned to a hell-hole prison after hi
In common: Action · Crime
Assassins
1995 · Richard Donner
Assassin Robert Rath arrives at a funeral to kill a prominent mobster, only to witness a rival hired gun complete the job for him -- with grisly results. Horrified by the murder of innocent bystanders
In common: Action · Crime
Mechanic: Resurrection
2016 · Dennis Gansel
Arthur Bishop thought he had put his murderous past behind him when his most formidable foe kidnaps the love of his life. Now he is forced to travel the globe to complete three impossible assassinatio
In common: Action · Crime
xXx: State of the Union
2005 · Lee Tamahori
Darius Stone's criminal record and extreme sports obsession make him the perfect candidate to be the newest XXX agent. He must save the U.S. government from a deadly conspiracy led by five-star genera
In common: Action · Crime
Popular series
Breaking Bad
2008 · Michelle MacLaren
Walter White, a New Mexico chemistry teacher, is diagnosed with Stage III cancer and given a prognosis of only two years left to live. He becomes filled with a sense of fearlessness and an unrelenting
Frieren: Beyond Journey's End
2023 · Kazutaka Yamanaka
After the party of heroes defeated the Demon King, they restored peace to the land and returned to lives of solitude. Generations pass, and the elven mage Frieren comes face to face with humanity’s m
Avatar: The Last Airbender
2005 · Michael Dante DiMartino
In a war-torn world of elemental magic, a young boy reawakens to undertake a dangerous mystic quest to fulfill his destiny as the Avatar, and bring peace to the world.
