20 best movies like Connected (2008)

A martial arts instructor working at a police academy gets imprisoned after killing a man by accident. But when a vicious killer starts targeting martial arts masters, the instructor offers to help the police in return for his freedom.

A man looking for the release of a long-time prisoner takes a police officer, his daughter, and a group of strangers hostage.

A sinful martial arts expert wants to start a new tranquil life, only to be hunted by a determined detective and his former master.

The taciturn police commander Zhang leads an undercover drugs team and in his continuous battle against the ubiquitous drug barons, takes up arms against his arch enemy, Timmy Choi. When he gets hold of Choi, he makes a deal with him: in exchange for his life (in China you can get the death penalty for producing only 50 grams of drugs) the young criminal will help the police infiltrate a sizeable drug network.

In search of an ancient Chinese scroll, a Chinese agent battles against Japanese Yakuzas and British mercenaries.

A laborer moves to Shanghai in the hope of becoming rich. But ends up using his kung fu skills to survive. Remake of The Boxer From Shantung.

Having conquered the Asian underworld, crime boss Don sets in motion a plan that will give him dominion over Europe.

A man meets his lookalike, who's not just a killer of evil, but also a kind hearted man. Together, they team up to fight against a dreaded gangster.

A fortnight before her eighteenth birthday, Sonia goes missing. Her family receives a call informing them that she has been kidnapped and her estranged father, a US-based businessman, must now follow the kidnapper’s instructions to the letter if he is to entertain any hopes of seeing her alive again. Is this a mere kidnapping or is there more to it than what meets the eye?

A special agent's plans to reconcile with his ex-fiancé are ruined when she boards a private jet that is targeted by hijackers working for the same crime lord that he is chasing.

Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is kidnapped. The Federal authorities suspect that Laura's father is involved with Mr. Ko, a Hong Kong drug kingpin, so the NYC police commissioner sends the two cops to Hong Kong to investigate.

Tang Lung arrives in Rome to help his cousins in the restaurant business. They are being pressured to sell their property to the syndicate, who will stop at nothing to get what they want. When Tang arrives he poses a new threat to the syndicate, and they are unable to defeat him. The syndicate boss hires the best Japanese and European martial artists to fight Tang, but he easily finishes them off.

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 installment, he meets Anna and they attempt to take down a group of ruthless Russian human traffickers who also have kidnapped Frank’s father.

Yuen Biao plays Jason Chan a lawyer, angry at the way the law seems to protect the bad guys, he decides to take the law into his own hands when a key witness and his entire family are murdered. but Cindy Si is soon on his case and it all spirals into a situation only a few will survive.

A casino security guard is forced into violence from when the Hong Kong mob threatens his friends.

A parolee (Paul Walker) becomes the target of a massive police manhunt after inadvertently picking up a rental car with a female whistleblower tied up in the trunk. Now, as the police attempt to silence the woman before she can testify about the city's rampant corruption, the ex-con who just regained his freedom must defend her life, and clear his own name.

Hired assassin John Lee is asked by Chinatown crime boss Terence Wei to murder the young son of policeman Stan Zedkov. Lee has the boy in his sights, but his conscience gets the better of him, and he spares the child's life. Afraid that Wei will take revenge on his family in China, Lee seeks out expert forger Meg Coburn to obtain the passport he needs to get out of the country, but a band of replacement killers is soon on his trail.

Akira Saito, a Japanese businessman lives in Tokyo with his Japanese-American wife Aiko and their children, Takeshi and Tomoya. When the family has a chance to move to the United States so that Aiko can teach the children about their American heritage, they pack up and head for Houston, Texas and run a restaurant. This is where the trouble begins....

Master thief Will Montgomery is just released from the State penitentiary after serving a 10 year sentence, is contacted by Vincent, his ex comrade in crime, who is holding Will’s teenage daughter ransom in a hijacked taxi cab. Vincent will only surrender her when Will reveals the whereabouts of the 20 million dollars he contrived to conceal from their last robbery.

Two police pursuit drivers, a hothead rookie and his long-suffering, almost-retired mentor, face off against an escape car driver from the latter's past.

During the warlords era in China, a village located in rural area called Pucheng fell into dangerous situation when its government allocated all its military force to the front line, the cruel commandant Cao from the enemy troops arrived the village and killed the innocent, the guardians of Pucheng were desperate to fight against Cao for justice and to protect their homeland.

The head of an elite Hong Kong surveillance unit (Simon Yam) keeps one eye on his rookie apprentice (Kate Tsui) and the other on a notorious criminal (Tony Leung Ka Fai) he suspects of masterminding a recent jewel heist in this tense thriller from filmmaking duo Johnnie To and Nai-Hoi Yau. Of course, the criminal knows all along he's being watched. But that doesn't stop him from trying to pull off the biggest score of his career.

An ex-mercenary known for finding missing children is hired by a mixed martial arts fighter whose daughter has been kidnapped.

Vincent is a crooked cop whose drug heist goes wrong when he is stabbed and the criminals he is robbing discover his identity. Vincent escapes with a huge bag of cocaine, but discovers his loot belongs to a powerful mob boss who kidnaps Vincent's son. Vincent has until the end of the night to return the stash and save his son.

With an honest job and a loving wife, Nick Brenner believed he had safely escaped his violent, criminal history. But his old crew hasn't forgotten about him or the money he stole, and when they take what Nick now values the most - his wife - he has nothing left to lose. Confronted by the town sheriff, who is also his father-in-law, Nick must decide if he will stay on his new path or indulge in his need for revenge and force his enemies to pay for what they have done.

The Singh family comprises of Shamsher his step-son Sikandar, twins Suraj and Sanjana. They run a business of illegal arms and trade with the help of their friend Yash. Things get dramatic when Jessica meets Sikandar and the family ties are strained under each character’s ulterior motives.

The life of a young computer systems analyst is thrown into turmoil after arriving in Istanbul to start a new job. She soon finds her passport missing, her credit cards useless, her bank account empty and her identity stolen. As the story progresses we find people and events may not be what they seem ...

An infamous terrorist has evaded capture for a long time by being extremely clever and ruthless. Things get interesting when he hijacks a plane carrying famous security expert John Cutter, who isn't about to stand this sort of thing.

A group of Chicago mob ruthless enforcers are sent to Kansas City to settle things with the owner of a slaughterhouse who has taken money that is not his to keep.

Danny, a respected cop, is setup after an investigation goes wrong. While laying low in his new jail cell, Danny is forced to get involved in the inmates underground cage fighting circuit. With the help of Irving, a former mixed martial arts champion, Danny devises a scheme to bring justice and innocence to his family's name, if he can get out of the cage alive.

A Chicago cop is caught in the middle of a gang war while his own comrades shun him because he wants to take an irresponsible cop down.

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.

Roland Sallinger is an LA cop who after nearly being killed by his greedy partner, and eventually being forced to retire for medical reasons, flees to San Antonio, Texas, after being asked to work as a bodyguard for the daughter of a wealthy businessman. The businessman had been a colleague of Sallinger years before, when they were both cops. When mobsters kidnap the businessman's daughter, he hunts them down to rescue her and protect her

A classical art professor and collector, who doubles as a professional assassin, is coerced out of retirement to avenge the murder of an old friend.

Yue Feng (Yue Song) is a young thug with exceptional streetfighting abilities. He will stop at nothing to defeat all challengers - until, in an tragic accident, he kills a fellow competitor and is sent to prison. Eight years later, Yue Feng emerges a changed man. He no longer fights, and is looking for a new life of peace and fulfillment. But it's brutal on the streets, and redemption doesn't come easy. His brotherhood is destroyed, family members murdered, and a loved one humiliated - a deadly chain reaction that leaves him no choice but to unleash his power in the name of justice.

Trinh, a mercenary, must complete a series of organized crime jobs for her boss in order to win the release of her kidnapped daughter. She hires several mercenaries to help, including Quan, who she becomes attracted to. Trinh and Quan's relationship becomes complicated as it becomes evident that their motivations are not the same.

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 a gangster hitman. They use all means of excessive force to find them.

A young man receives an emergency phone call on his cell phone from an older woman. She claims to have been kidnapped – and the kidnappers have targeted her husband and child next.

Set in Shanghais Gangster era of the early 1900s, THE LAST TYCOON tells the tale of CHENG (Chow Yun-Fat), a young man who is set up by the chief of police (Sammo Hung) and must leave the life he knows and QIU (Monica Mok), the woman he loves, to start again. After escaping prison CHENG quickly and violently moves his way up the ladder of Shanghais criminal underworld to become on the most powerful mob bosses in Shanghais history. But fame and notoriety take their toll when CHENG finds himself stuck between the looming Japanese army and the scheming local secret service. Matters are only made worse when he bumps into the love of his life QIU, along with her writer husband. Will love re-kindle in the dusk of an era?

After his family is killed by a Serbian gangster with international interests. NYC detective Nick goes to S.E. Asia and teams up with a Thai detective to get revenge and destroy the syndicates human trafficking network.

Trained in clandestine combat from childhood, the Jinyiwei were masters of the 14 Blades; eight being for torture, five for killing, and the last blade reserved for suicide when a mission failed. An elite force of secret agents with a license to kill, the Jinyiwei devoted their lives and lethal prowess to the service of the Emperor alone. When the Imperial Court is taken over by evil eunuch Jia (Law Kar Ying), the best of the Jinyiwei, Qinglong (Donnie Yen) is assigned to steal a list identifying those still loyal to the Emperor. However unbeknownst to Qinglong, the Jinyiwei have fallen under the control of Jia, and during the mission Qinglong is betrayed and barely escapes with his life. Now as the most wanted man in the land, Qinglong must seek out and rally the loyalists to rise against Jia and restore the Emperor to power. In his way are the deadliest assassins in the land, his former brethren, the Jinyiwei.

Tyler is a restless, streetwise 21-year-old Hong Kong native who's had trouble gaining the trust of others all his life. He secretly fantasizes about living the good life in South America. After a while, he is forced to deal with the reality of impending fatherhood. Hankering for quick cash, however, he joins a bodyguard company. Later, he makes friends with a once disillusioned mercenary determined to begin life in a new way. However, their companionship is brief: they both are uncontrollably forced toward opposite sides of a deadly showdown...

A robber escapes from prison with a single objective in mind: to track down his former cellmate, a serial killer who intends to pin his crimes on him. A cop is sent after the robber who, despite his best efforts, soon becomes Public Enemy Number One. As the protagonists are driven to their limits, it becomes increasingly unclear who is the hunter and who is the prey.

A Texan with a secret past searches Europe with his son after the KGB kidnaps his wife.

Eight years after fleeing the Congo following his assassination of that country's minister of mining, former assassin Jim Terrier is back, suffering from PTSD and digging wells to atone for his violent past. After an attempt is made on his life, Terrier flies to London to find out who wants him dead -- and why. Terrier's search leads him to a reunion with Annie, a woman he once loved, who is now married to an oily businessman with dealings in Africa.

Chapman is an ex-marine in Brazil's slums, battling the yakuza outfit who attacked his sister and left her for dead.

A fireman takes an unexpected course of action when a man whom he's been ordered to testify against—after being held up at a local convenience store—threatens him.

Kham is the last in long line of guards who once watched over the King of Thailand's war elephants. Traditionally, only the perfect elephants could successfully help defend the throne, after his harrowing quest to retrieve the elephants, Kham returns to his village to live in peace. But for someone as good in martial arts as him, peace is but a wishful thought...

This intense action-thriller unfolds in real time as two embattled souls fight for their lives. Gary Oldman stars as a vicious crime boss out to kill Nick, the lone witness set to testify against him. He hires a mysterious female motorcycle courier to unknowingly deliver a poison-gas bomb to slay Nick, but after she rescues Nick from certain death, the duo must confront an army of ruthless hired killers in order to survive the night.

The region where the borders of North Korea, China, and Russia come together, forms a sort of modern day wild west, where more than half of the population relies on illegal activity in order to survive. In Yanbian, on the Chinese side of the border, Gu-nam wiles away his days driving a cab and spends his nights getting drunk and gambling. His wife went to Seoul to work and send back money, but it’s been months since he has heard from her. When local crime lord Myun offers to erase Gu-nam’s debts in exchange for a contract killing in Seoul, Gu-nam reluctantly accepts.