Movies Like The Merciless (2017)

The Merciless is a 2017 action, crime, mystery film from Byun Sung-hyun with a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Deep Cover and Shot Caller.

Action Crime Mystery

Deep Cover

1992

Black police officer Russell Stevens applies for a special anti-drug squad which targets the highest boss of cocaine delivery to LA—the Colombian foreign minister's nephew. Russell works his way up from the bottom undercover, until he reaches the boss.

6.8

MagicScore

Shot Caller

2017

A newly-released prison gangster is forced by the leaders of his gang to orchestrate a major crime with a brutal rival gang on the streets of Southern California.

7.0

MagicScore

Buffalo '66

1998

Billy is released after five years in prison. In the next moment, he kidnaps teenage student Layla and visits his parents with her, pretending she is his girlfriend and they will soon marry.

7.1

MagicScore

Beyond the Law

1993

Dan Saxon is an undercover cop who infiltrates a biker gang to nail the scum behind a drug-smuggling operation. In order to maintain the trust of the gang's leader, he must commit ever more dangerous and heinous crimes. Just how far 'beyond the law' will Saxon go?

6.2

MagicScore

Running Scared

1986

Two street-wise Chicago cops have to shake off some rust after returning from a Key West vacation to pursue a drug dealer that nearly killed them in the past.

6.0

MagicScore

The Mod Squad

1999

Three youthful delinquents escape conviction for their crimes by teaming with the LAPD.

4.3

MagicScore

Destroyer

2018

When Erin Bell was a young cop, she was given an undercover assignment that ended badly and destroyed her life. Years later, she must face her demons in order to make peace with her past.

5.9

MagicScore

The Departed

2006

To take down South Boston's Irish Mafia, the police send in one of their own to infiltrate the underworld, not realizing the syndicate has done likewise. While an undercover cop curries favor with the mob kingpin, a career criminal rises through the police ranks. But both sides soon discover there's a mole among them.

8.2

MagicScore

The Mob

1951

An undercover officer tracks waterfront corruption from California to New Orleans and back.

6.6

MagicScore

#10

Street Kings

2008

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.

6.6

MagicScore

#11

District B13

2004

Set in the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.

6.8

MagicScore

#12

From Paris with Love

2010

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 when he lands an assignment with Charlie Wax. Trigger-happy Charlie soon has James crying for his desk job, but when he learns that the same guys they're trying to catch are after him, James realises that Charlie may be his only hope of survival.

6.3

MagicScore

#13

The Veteran

2011

Soldier Robert Miller returns home from Afghanistan unable to fit back into society. Living on a violent council estate and finding work in undercover surveillance, he becomes obsessed with taking down a group of local gangsters who are intrinsically tied to a suspected terrorist cell. Taking the situation into his own hands, Robert embarks on a brutal quest for justice, with devastating consequences.

5.8

MagicScore

#14

New World

2013

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

7.4

MagicScore

#15

Brooklyn's Finest

2010

Enforcing the law within the notoriously rough Brownsville section of the city and especially within the Van Dyke housing projects is the NYPD's sixty-fifth precinct. Three police officers struggle with the sometimes fine line between right and wrong.

6.3

MagicScore

#16

Death Warrant

1990

Canadian policeman Louis Burke is assigned in a jail to investigate the murders of prisoners and jailors. While there, Louis, using his outstanding martial arts skills, is able to save his life and make himself respected in this violent world.

6.2

MagicScore

#17

Narc

2002

When the trail goes cold on a murder investigation of a policeman, an undercover narcotics officer is lured back to the force to help solve the case.

6.7

MagicScore

#18

Nighthawks

1981

When one of Europe's most lethal terrorists shows up in New York, an elite undercover cop is assigned to take him down by any means necessary.

6.4

MagicScore

#19

A Stranger Among Us

1992

Detective Emily Eden is a tough New York City cop forced to go undercover to solve a puzzling murder. Her search for the truth takes her into a secret world of unwritten law and unspoken power, a world where the only way out is deeper in.

5.5

MagicScore

#20

An Eye for an Eye

1981

Sean Kane is forced to resign from the San Francisco Police Department's Narcotics Division when he goes berserk after his partner is murdered. He decides to fight alone and follows a trail of drug traffickers into unexpected high places.

5.1

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Merciless?

The top films similar to The Merciless by MovieMagicScore are Deep Cover (6.8), Shot Caller (7.0), Buffalo '66 (7.1). Each shares action/crime/mystery themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Merciless worth watching?

The Merciless holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10 from 132 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Merciless?

The Merciless (2017) is a action, crime, mystery film directed by Byun Sung-hyun, starring Sul Kyung-gu, Yim Si-wan, Kim Hie-won.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Merciless?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more action recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Deep Cover Movies like Shot Caller Movies like Buffalo '66 Movies like Beyond the Law Movies like Running Scared Movies like The Mod Squad

About movies like The Merciless

This ranked list pairs The Merciless (2017), a action and crime and mystery film from Byun Sung-hyun, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Sul Kyung-gu take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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