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Movies like Public Enemy

Key Features:
Undercover cop, Serial killer, Crime investigation, Moral ambiguity, Redemption, Violence-high, Corruption, Justice, Cat and mouse, Psychological thriller, Police procedural
Tone:
gritty, serious, suspense-driven
Target Audience:
Crime thriller enthusiasts, Fans of police procedurals, Viewers interested in morally complex characters, Those who enjoy suspenseful narratives
Emotional Arc:
Distrust → Pursuit → Confrontation

Public Enemy

2002-01-25
Public Enemy Poster - Find Similar Movies

A notorious dirty cop makes an honest attempt to catch a serial killer who even murdered his own parents.

Genres
Action, Crime
Cast
Sul Kyung-gu, Lee Sung-jae, Kang Shin-il, Kim Jung-hak, Do Yong-gu, Ahn Nae-sang, Lee Moon-sik, Sung Ji-ru, Yoo Hai-jin, Lee Kan-hee
Crew
Kim Hyeon-jeong, Kang Woo-suk, Jung Yoon-sup, Baek Seung-jae, Chae Yoon-suk
Rating
7.2(66 votes)
Public EnemyPublic Enemy
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New World
New World(2013)
7.413

An undercover cop has his loyalties tested when the boss of the corporate gang he's spent years infiltrating dies.



The Prison
7.1

An imprisoned ex-police inspector discovers that the entire penitentiary is controlled by an inmate running a crime syndicate and becomes part of the crime empire.



Believer
Believer(2018)
7.198

After a traumatic event, a drug trafficker turns sides and conspires with a dangerously ambitious undercover police officer to bring down the mysterious kingpin of a major drug cartel.



Veteran
Veteran(2015)
6.915

When an old collaborator gets severely injured, a veteran policeman tries to figure out the way to bring to justice the ultimately suspected aggressor, a spoiled young executive, heir to a mega corporation, who believes he is above the law.



Breaking News
6.887

After a disastrous failure to stop a robber gang, the police attempt to redeem themselves through a series of publicity stunts and shootouts.



The Gangster, the Cop, the Devil

After barely surviving a brutal attack by a sadistic serial killer, crime boss Jang Dong-su is left humiliated. Determined to catch the killer known as K, he forms an uneasy alliance with Jung Tae-seok, a relentless and incorruptible detective who often disrupts his illegal business. However, while Jang Dong-su wants K dead, Jung Tae-suk is determined to bring him to justice. With a deal in place—whoever finds K first will decide his fate—the hunt begins, blurring the lines between crime and law.



A Hard Day
7.1

After trying to cover up a car accident that left a man dead, a crooked homicide detective is stalked by a mysterious man claiming to have witnessed the event.



The Chronicles of Evil

A detective accidentally kills a man and disposes of the body to protect his career. The next day he sees that someone has hanged the corpse from a crane for all to see. He takes charge of the murder investigation to protect himself and find out who did it.



Real
Real(2017)
5.328

Jang Tae-Young is a popular trouble shooter in the criminal world. He is cold and ambitious. He dreams of building a casino hotel one day. A reporter then goes to Jang Tae-Young.



Nameless Gangster
6.872

A corrupt customs official joins forces with a vicious gangster to form the most powerful crime partnership in Busan.



Inside Men
6.919

A disgruntled henchman teams up with an ambitious prosecutor to bring down a leading presidential candidate and the news editor behind him who is truly pulling the strings.



Drug War
Drug War(2012)
6.879

A drug cartel boss is arrested in a raid and coerced into betraying his former accomplices as part of an undercover operation.



I, the Executioner
6.946

The veteran detective Seo Do-cheol and his team at Major Crimes, relentless in their pursuit of criminals, join forces with rookie cop Park Sun-woo to track down a serial killer who has plunged the nation into turmoil.



Phantom Detective
6.883

Hong Gil-dong is an infallible private detective with an exceptional memory and quirky personality. While chasing the only target he failed to find, he gets entangled in a much bigger conspiracy than he bargained for.



Cold Eyes
Cold Eyes(2013)
7.5

Ha Yoon-ju becomes the newest member of a unit within the Korean Police Forces Special Crime Department that specializes in surveillance activities on high-profile criminals. She teams up with Hwang Sang-jun, the veteran leader of the unit, and tries to track down James who is the cold-hearted leader of an armed criminal organization.



Office
Office(2015)
6.4

To nab a sales manager who's at large after murdering his family, a detective investigates the man's colleagues, who seem to be hiding something.



Hit-and-Run Squad
7.158

Min-jae, a rookie police officer with a natural born talent for driving, is assigned to the perfect team: the Hit-and-Run Squad. But at the same time, for police detective Si-yeon, it is a place she is unjustly demoted to for doing her job. The two team up to arrest the rich and powerful speed maniac Jae-chul who is suspected of committing crimes for his obsession for speed.



Bad Guy
Bad Guy(2002)
6.514

A pimp enforcer takes revenge on a woman who rejected his advances by tricking her into prostitution, but complications arise.



The Enforcer
6.693

An undercover cop struggling to provide for his son and ailing wife, must infiltrate a ruthless gang. But things turn sour when another cop blows his cover and he quickly finds himself battling for his life and the lives of his family.



Nowhere to Hide
6.7

Detective Woo is on the trail of the mysterious gangster Sungmin, a master of disguise who always manages to elude his pursuers. Eventually, the cop tracks down and confronts the master-criminal in the suburbs of a coal-mining town.



A Better Tomorrow
6.065

An idealistic policeman must bring down his estranged older brother, now a powerful gangster in a South Korean port city.



No Mercy
No Mercy(2010)
7.4

Forensic pathologist Kang is assigned to examine the dismembered corpse of a female murder victim. Detective Min points to a fanatic environmentalist, Lee Sung-ho, as the primary suspect. But when Kang’s daughter is kidnapped, a manipulative game begins between Kang and Lee, who holds secrets about the homicide case.



V.I.P.
V.I.P.(2017)
7.8

A son to a high-ranked official in North Korea commits a series of murders going across the countries around the world. The movie depicts the following events as South Korea, North Korea and Interpol start chasing down after him.



A Dirty Carnival

A small-time thug who collects debts for the local triad is torn between his criminal aspirations and his devotion to family.



Asura: The City of Madness

A shady cop finds himself in over his head when he gets caught between Internal Affairs and the city’s corrupt mayor.



Hindsight
Hindsight(2011)
6.478

A young assassin is sent to kill a retired mob boss. But things get complicated when she begins to like him.



Haunters
Haunters(2010)
6.357

Cho-in has special powers that allow him to control everyone he can see, that is until he meets Kyu-nam, the only person he can't control. A series of events begins a confrontation that pushes both men to the brink.



Voice of a Murderer

After Gyeong-bae's son is kidnapped, he receives a call from the kidnapper asking for 100 million won. The detectives are teamed up for the case, yet the culprit gets away at every opportunity.



A Company Man
6.822

A contract killer becomes disenchanted with his line of work and spares the lives of his two latest would-be-victims. But the assassination company he works for has no intentions of letting him quit.



Assassination
7.307

In Japanese-occupied Korea, three freedom fighters are assigned a mission to assassinate a genocidal military leader and his top collaborator. But the plan goes completely awry amidst double-crossings, counter-assassinations, and a shocking revelation about one of the assassins' past.



Dirty
Dirty(2005)
5.3

Two gangbangers turned cops try and cover up a scandal within the LAPD.



Shiri
Shiri(1999)
6.4

North Korea's 8th Special Forces hijack a shipment of CTX, a potent new liquid explosive, and threatens South Korea as part of a plot to re-unify the two countries. Ryu and Lee, special agents of O.P., South Korea's secret intelligence service, attempt to track down the terrorists and find the CTX. Meanwhile Hee, the 8th's ultra-bad female sniper, resurfaces to wreak havoc and haunt Ryu.



Revenger
Revenger(2018)
5.524

Hell-bent on avenging the murder of his family, a former detective infiltrates a remote island that serves as a prison for vicious death row criminals.



PTU
PTU(2003)
6.935

Follows a police tactical unit during one dangerous night on the streets of Hong Kong as they try to recover a cop's stolen gun. Things turn deadly when they run into a web of gangland crimes.



Cold War II
6.2

A suspected criminal mastermind escapes from police custody, throwing the city into turmoil. With the police department now divided, rival police chiefs are forced to take their fight to the streets of Hong Kong with deadly consequences.



Q & A
Q & A(1990)
5.8

A young district attorney seeking to prove a case against a corrupt police detective encounters a former lover and her new protector, a crime boss who refuses to help him.



The Killer
7.7

While his girlfriend is away on a trip, retired assassin Bang Ui-kang is tasked with looking after her friend's 17-year-old daughter. After a street attack, Bang Ui-kang becomes embroiled in a murder investigation and dangerous trafficking gang.



The King
The King(2017)
7.341

A young Korean man surpasses his difficult childhood by becoming a powerful prosecutor, but soon learns that real power comes at a price.



Parasite
Parasite(2019)
8.5

All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.



Invisible Target
6.7

When the Ronin Gang robs an armored car, three cops — Chan, Fong and Wai — go on the warpath. Each has a personal interest in bringing down Ronin leader Tien: he killed Chan's fiancée, humiliated Fong and kidnapped Wai's brother.



Overheard
Overheard(2009)
6.9

The story revolves around three members of a police surveillance squad conducting an investigation into a financial investment group involved in criminal fraud. The focus of the plot, however, is actually on the three officers themselves who stumble upon an opportunity to capitalize on information they gathered during their surveillance.



Mantis
Mantis(2025)
6.21

Mantis, an ace assassin, returns to the contract killer industry after a hiatus, encountering his trainee friend Jae-yi and a retired legendary killer Dok-go, who now runs the organization.



Secret Reunion
6.373

Two spies share a secret bond, despite their loyalties. A North Korean assassin is sent to Seoul to kill a dissident, but instead he teams up with a South Korean agent in search for revenge.



Next Sohee
7.327

A female detective investigates the cause of a high school girl’s death and uncovers a disturbing truth.



Jo Pil-ho: The Dawning Rage

On the run from a dogged internal affairs agent, a corrupt cop reluctantly teams up with a defiant teen to unravel a conspiracy before it's too late.



Missing You
7.25

A girl who lost her father to a serial killer, a detective and a killer are intertwined in a chaotic relationship and are met with an unprecedented series of events.



A Bittersweet Life
7.4

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.



A Violent Prosecutor

After a prosecution lawyer is framed and convicted for murder, he tries to catch the real murderer from jail with the help of a con artist.



The Target
6.992

At the same time as murder suspect Yeo-hoon is brought unconscious to the emergency room following a shooting incident, an assailant breaks into the house of Tae-jun, the emergency room's doctor in charge, and kidnaps his wife. The kidnapper calls the doctor and tells him to bring Yeo-hoon to him. To retrieve his wife, Tae-jun has no option but to save the patient and sneak him away before the police can notice.



The Unjust
6.6

An honest cop has to compromise with his principles when he is told to find a scapegoat for a high-profile serial killer case in exchange for a big promotion.



The Client
6.9

Kang Seong-hee, a famous lawyer, takes up a case wherein he has to defend a man who is the main suspect in his wife's death. However, a formidable public attorney tries to test his mettle in court.



Line Walker
6.429

The details of undercover police officers are deleted from a police database and a senior officer is left struggling to know who are the undercover officers and who are the criminals.



Special ID
5.9

A career-long undercover Hong Kong cop is sent to Mainland China when his former protégé becomes the primary suspect in a murder.



The Roundup: Punishment

'Monster Cop' Ma Seok-do investigates an illegal online gambling business led by a former STS Baek and an IT genius CEO Chang. Ma proposes an unexpected alliance to Jang and begins hunting down the criminals.



The Chaser
7.8

Joong-ho is a dirty detective turned pimp, who's in financial trouble as several of his girls have recently disappeared without clearing their debts. While trying to track them down, he finds a clue that the vanished girls were all called up by the same client, whom one of his girls is meeting with right now.



P Storm
P Storm(2019)
6.438

Liu Yue Ping reports to the ICAC about a rich 2G Cao Yuen Yuen who bribed officers of the Hong Kong Correctional Services (HKCS) from inside the prison. William Luk decides to infiltrate the prison as an inmate to conduct his investigation, while his partner Ching Tak Ming and Chief Inspector Lau Po-keung back him up from the outside.



The Suspect
6.9

Betrayed and on the run, a former North Korean agent tries to seek revenge on the man who killed his wife, find his missing daughter, and uncover the secrets hidden inside the eyeglasses of a dead man.



The Childe
7.13

Han, a Filipino-Korean boxer hits the final punch against his opponent at an illegal game and returns home with a few dollars to pay for his mother's surgery.



The Killer
7.6

Mob assassin Jeffrey is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteuse Jennie is blinded in the crossfire of his most recent hit, Jeffrey chooses to retire after one last job to pay for his unintended victim's sight-restoring operation. But when Jeffrey is double-crossed, he reluctantly joins forces with a rogue policeman to make things right.



The Stool Pigeon
5.8

Living in the guilt of sacrificing his informant in a previous operation, Criminal Intelligence Inspector Don Lee is wary when his superior orders him to send another informant to spy on the criminal operations of Barbarian, a vicious gangster plotting a jewelry heist. He seeks ex-convict Ghost, who agrees to work for Don despite vowing to go straight since he's desperately in need of money to repay a debt and save his sister. Ghost's driving skills help him infiltrate Barbarian's gang and earn his trust, but by feeding information to Don and hooking up with Barbarian's girlfriend Dee, Ghost is pushing himself into a tight and deadly corner...



The Public Eye
6.2

A crime photographer gets involved in a conspiracy.



Joint Security Area

Two North Korean soldiers are killed in the border area between North and South Korea, prompting an investigation by a neutral body. The sergeant is the shooter, but the lead investigator, a Swiss-Korean woman, receives differing accounts from the two sides.



Contract Killer
7.014

Financially troubled, a newbie hitman reluctantly takes the job of finding the plotted killer of a Japanese tycoon.



Violent Cop
7.222

A detective breaks all rules of ethical conduct while investigating a colleague’s involvement in drug pushing and Yakuza activities.



Memoir of a Murderer
7.393

A former serial killer with Alzheimer's fights to protect his daughter from her mysterious boyfriend who may be a serial killer too.



Women of Mafia
5.1

A maligned police officer receives one last chance to save her career when she must break up a crime syndicate by masquerading as one of their own.



Felony
Felony(2014)
5.7

Three detectives become embroiled in a tense struggle after a tragic accident that leaves a child in critical condition. One is guilty of a crime, one will try to cover it up, and the other attempts to expose it. How far will these men go to disguise and unravel the truth?



That Demon Within
5.6

By a strange twist of fate, dutiful Hong Kong policeman Dan saves the life of the leader of a violent gang of armed robbers. When they commit another crime, Dan is determined to put an end to their activities. He works with the leader, whom the gang had betrayed, to engineer a plan to wreak havoc within the gang and let the gangsters kill one another. But it becomes increasingly obvious to Dan and to his colleagues that Dan is suffering from a severe mental disorder, and Dan finds that instead of upholding the law as a righteous police officer, he has now become a fugitive wanted for murder.



Street Kings
6.638

Tom Ludlow is a disillusioned L.A. Police Officer, rarely playing by the rules and haunted by the death of his wife. When evidence implicates him in the execution of a fellow officer, he is forced to go up against the cop culture he's been a part of his entire career, ultimately leading him to question the loyalties of everyone around him.



The Sniper
6

A police sniper teams up with a hot-headed rookie to take down his former friend and teammate, who is exacting revenge on the police force.



The Detective
6.4

A private detective is drawn into a complex murder mystery when he is hired to track down a missing young woman.



Secretly, Greatly
6.978

Three elite North Korean sleeper agents live under cover for so long that they believe their cover stories are their real identities. They are shocked when they are ordered to kill one another or face death at the hands of an elite hit team.



Shinjuku Triad Society

Tatsuhito, a cop, pursues Chinese warlord Wang through the underworld of Shinjuku and over to Taiwan.



Firestorm
Firestorm(2013)
6.2

Hong Kong. When Cao Nan and his group of thieves rob an armored car in broad daylight, they don't hesitate to murder innocent people on the run. Lui Ming Chit, a veteran police inspector, is forced to use sinister tactics to catch them.



Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance

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.



Tell Me Something
6.2

Detective Cho, a cop on the edge, is mourning his mother's recent death while under investigation for graft; on top of that he is suddenly put in charge of a seemingly-impenetrable mystery.



Raging Fire
6.965

Cheung Sung-bong is a highly respected cop with a long history of success in dangerous cases. However, his past soon comes back to haunt him when a former protégé resurfaces, seeking revenge.



Bullet to the Head
5.631

After watching their respective partners die, a cop and a hitman form an alliance in order to bring down their common enemy.



The French Detective

When political thugs murder an opponent's volunteer and also kill a cop, chief inspector Verjeat believes the politician who hired them is as guilty as the murderous goon. Verjeat's pursuit of the councilman, Lardatte, gets him a warning from his superiors. When he embarrasses Lardatte while disarming a hostage (the dead volunteer's father), Verjeat is told he's being transferred within a week. He speeds up his hunt for the goon and, with Lefévre, one of his young detectives, he engineers a complicated scheme to buy more time before the transfer. How should Verjeat play out his values of honor and duty?



Vendetta
Vendetta(2013)
5.916

Special ops interrogation officer Jimmy Vickers tracks down a gang who slaughtered his parents while at the same time avoiding being tracked down by his old unit and the cops. With police closing in and his old unit on his trail, he has to evade capture long enough to complete his gruesome crusade.



Protégé
Protégé(2007)
6.8

A special agent has for 8 years been deep undercover in Asia's lucrative organized crime trade as he plays protégé to one of the key players, Banker. Now, Nick has but he has started to feel loyalty to his new environment and to the money.



Hunt
Hunt(2022)
6.727

After a high-ranking North Korean official requests asylum, KCIA Foreign Unit chief Park Pyong-ho and Domestic Unit chief Kim Jung-do are tasked with uncovering a North Korean spy, known as Donglim, who is deeply embedded within their agency. When the spy begins leaking top secret intel that could jeopardize national security, the two units are each assigned to investigate each other.



Pitbull: Public Orders

Policemen from two precincts are joining forces to fight the Mokotowska Group.



Grudge
Grudge(2021)
6

Ahead of a promotion, a police chief becomes entangled in a deadly incident and uncovers an intrigue fueled by grudge that threatens his colleagues.



Green Fish
6.89

Returning home and finding his town drastically changed, a former soldier falls in with gangsters.



The Merciless
7.2

Jae-ho, who aims to become the number one in a crime organization, gets to build up trust with Hyun-su, an ambitious newbie in the prison. While they try to take over the organization after the prison release, their ulterior motives starts to emerge.



Miss Baek
Miss Baek(2018)
7.5

A woman's past as a convict follows her everywhere and because of this she doesn't open up to others. But then she strikes up a friendship with a broken child who has suffered from domestic violence and decides to save the girl from the cruel world. A man who holds feelings for the woman, tries to protect her in his own way.



Master
Master(2016)
6.969

Korea’s biggest network marketing scam reveals a far greater network of corruption and conspiracy lurking underneath.



The Outlaws
7.684

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 police, lead by the badass loose cannon Ma Seok-do, to bring them down. Based on a true story.



One Nite in Mongkok
6.782

A gangster's son is accidentally killed during a drunken dispute with a rival gang, and Officer Milo's task force is assigned to the case. He soon learns that a hitman has been hired to take out the rival gang leader. While Milo and his crew desperately try to find and stop the hired gun, fearing all-out war in the streets, Lai Fu, a smart but inexperienced killer from a small town in the mainland, arrives in Hong Kong to do his job.



The Yellow Sea
7.343

A Korean man in China takes an assassination job in South Korea to make money and find his missing wife. But when the job is botched, he is forced to go on the run from the police and the gangsters who paid him.



Kill Boksoon
6.849

At work, she's a renowned assassin. At home, she's a single mom to a teenage daughter. Killing? That's easy. It's parenting that's the hard part.



Blind
Blind(2011)
7.4

A blind witness and a runaway help the police find the suspect in a hit and run until the culprit realizes that they are close on his trail. The killer tracks her down and Soo-ah realizes that in order to save Gi-sub she would have to risk her life.



Confession of Murder

A serial killer reappears 15 years after his murder spree with a book detailing his crimes. The resentful cop who failed to catch him before is assigned to protect him. The families of the victims plan revenge. And as the media circus spirals out of control, a masked man called "J" appears claiming to be the real killer.



Direct Action
5.018

Frank Gannon, a veteran cop, is being hunted by his fellow police officers after they learned he has betrayed the brotherhood and exposed to the feds wide scale corruption of the LAPD. He has one day left to prove his case and survive.



Gang Related
6.4

After murdering an undercover DEA agent, two corrupt cops scramble to cover up what they've done.



El diario de una prostituta

During a murder investigation, the police uncover a human trafficking network that involves a politician the media is protecting.



Dog Bite Dog
6.6

A young Cambodian man who has been trained to fight for money in his country is hired to kill someone in Hong Kong. He performs the hit and then flees from Hong Kong police, who are wrestling with internal problems of a model cop and his son, who is also on the force and who was told by his dad not to become a police officer.



Broken
Broken(2014)
7

Following the brutal rape and murder of his 16-year-old daughter, Sang-hyeon stumbles into an ever-widening conspiracy of rage, revenge, and murder.

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