Harsh Times
Jim Davis is an ex-Army Ranger who finds himself slipping back into his old life of petty crime after a job offer from the LAPD evaporates. His best friend is pressured by his girlfriend Sylvia to find a job, but Jim is more interested in hanging out and making cash from small heists, while trying to get a law enforcement job so he can marry his Mexican girlfriend.
Movies Like Harsh Times
Similar in style, tone, and themes — find your next watch.
Cutter's Way
1981★ 6.5
Alex Cutter is a boozy, belligerent and deeply cynical Vietnam veteran whose encounter with a landmine during the war has left him minus an eye, a leg and an arm. When his drifter playboy friend Richard Bone is falsely accused of murder, Cutter sets out for revenge in his own inimitable style.
The Substitute
1996★ 7.0
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
The Rookie
1990★ 5.9
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
What Doesn't Kill You
2008★ 6.0
Two childhood friends from South Boston turn to crime as a way to get by, ultimately causing a strain in their personal lives and their friendship.
Farewell, My Lovely
1975★ 6.6
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.
Killing Zoe
1993★ 6.2
Zed is an American vault-cracker who travels to Paris to meet up with his old friend Eric. Eric and his gang have planned to raid the only bank in the city which is open on Bastille day. After offering his services, Zed soon finds himself trapped in a situation beyond his control when heroin abuse, poor planning and a call-girl named Zoe all conspire to turn the robbery into a very bloody siege.
Klute
1971★ 6.8
A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.
Busting
1974★ 6.2
Defying orders to lay-off the case, two Los Angeles vice-squad cops go after a local mobster and use unorthodox methods to achieve results.
Rise of the Footsoldier 3: The Pat Tate Story
2017★ 6.2
Notorious gangster, Pat Tate, rises through the ranks of Essex's criminal underworld. A prequel to the 'Rise of the Footsoldier' franchise.
Strange Days
1995★ 7.0
In the last days of 1999, ex-cop turned street hustler Lenny Nero receives a disc which contains the memories of the murder of a prostitute. With the help of bodyguard Mace, he starts to investigate and is pulled deeper and deeper in a whirl of murder, blackmail and intrigue.
Colors
1988★ 6.5
A confident young cop is shown the ropes by a veteran partner in the dangerous gang-controlled barrios of Los Angeles, where the gang culture is enforced by the colors the members wear.
Mulholland Falls
1996★ 6.0
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
The Last Boy Scout
1991★ 6.8
Somewhere in Los Angeles, the city of broken dreams, a stripper is murdered. Now, the private detective she had hired and her ex-footballer boyfriend are going to find her murderer... if they don't kill each other first. But the more they dig, the deeper they become enmeshed in a web of extortion, blackmail and corrupt politics hidden beneath the surface of professional football.
Gangster Squad
2013★ 6.4
Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop… except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara and Jerry Wooters who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.
Waist Deep
2006★ 6.4
An ex-convict gets tangled up with a gang after his car is hijacked with his son inside.
Cherry
2021★ 7.3
Cherry drifts from college dropout to army medic in Iraq—anchored only by his one true love, Emily. But after returning from the war with PTSD, his life spirals into drugs and crime as he struggles to find his place in the world.
Dead Man Running
2009★ 5.8
A loan shark gives ex-con Nick a period of 24 hours in order to pay back the money he owes. Up against it, Nick involves his best mate on a multi-part mission in order to raise the cash before it's too late for them both
Small Engine Repair
2021★ 6.1
The seemingly casual reunion of three old friends at an out-of-the-way repair shop masks a hidden agenda fuelled by the arrival of a privileged young yuppie.
Detective Knight: Rogue
2022★ 6.0
As Los Angeles prepares for Halloween, mask-wearing armed robbers critically wound detective James Knight’s partner in a shootout following a heist. With Knight in hot pursuit, the bandits flee L.A. for New York, where the detective’s dark past collides with his present case and threatens to tear his world apart…unless redemption can claim Knight first.
Sharky's Machine
1981★ 6.2
Police officer Tom Sharky gets busted back to working vice, where he happens upon a scandalous conspiracy involving a local politician. Sharky's new 'machine' gathers evidence while Sharky falls in love with a woman he has never met.