15 Movies Like Once a Thief
Loved Once a Thief? Based on its unique Cinema DNA—including its pacing, themes, and emotional tone—we've curated the ultimate list of what you should watch next.
#1
The Legend of Drunken Master
Returning home with his father after a shopping expedition, Wong Fei-Hong is unwittingly caught up in the battle between foreigners who wish to export ancient Chinese artifacts and loyalists who don't want the pieces to leave the country. Fei-Hong must fight against the foreigners using his Drunken Boxing style, and overcome his father's antagonism as well.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#2
Shaolin Soccer
A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#3
Kung Fu Hustle
It's the 1940s, and the notorious Axe Gang terrorizes Shanghai. Small-time criminals Sing and Bone hope to join, but they only manage to make lots of very dangerous enemies. Fortunately for them, kung fu masters and hidden strength can be found in unlikely places. Now they just have to take on the entire Axe Gang.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#4
The 33D Invader
A young woman named Future is sent from the year 2046 to the year 2011 in Hong Kong. Future was sent by the United Nations in order to get pregnant, where she can then extract her genes and repopulate the earth as 99% of males have become infertile in the future due to attacks from Planet Xucker. Two assassins from Xuckler are sent after her to stop her. Future meets three University students: Felix, Dan-san and Sing. The men are obsessed with female students next door: Chin-chin, Chen-chen and Sai-sai. The students agree to help Future find a mate at the university.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#5
Drunken Master
After getting into trouble, a mischievous young man is sent to train under a brutal, but slovenly old beggar, who teaches him the secret of the Drunken Fist.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#6
Trap House
An undercover DEA agent and his partner embark on a game of cat and mouse with an audacious, and surprising group of thieves – their own rebellious teenagers, who have begun robbing from a dangerous cartel, using their parents' tactics and top-secret intel to do it.
💡Why it's a match: A highly-rated genre match based on the viewing habits of people who liked Once a Thief.
#7
Chungking Express
Two melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal server at a late-night restaurant.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#8
Sakra
Qiao Feng is the respected leader of a roving band of martial artists. After he is wrongfully accused of murder and subsequently exiled, Qiao Feng goes on the run in search of answers about his own mysterious origin story—and the unknown enemies working to destroy him from the shadows.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#9
Crazy Love
What was supposed to be summer school in England becomes an adventurous, exotic and romantic journey for a beautiful teenage girl. [from the Tai Seng Catalog] A nice story of a free-spirited (or, depending on your viewpoint, prick-teasing) young woman on a short journey of discovery.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#10
Infernal Affairs
Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#11
The Untold Story
Macau cops begin to suspect a man running a pork buns restaurant of murder, after tracing the origin of a case full of chopped up human remains that washed ashore, which leads them to him.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#12
Fallen Angels
An indifferent hitman, his infatuated business partner and an ex-convict search for love and meaning as their lives cross paths in Hong Kong.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#13
New Police Story
Sent into a drunken tailspin when his entire unit is killed by a gang of thrill-seeking punks, disgraced Hong Kong police inspector Wing needs help from his new rookie partner, with a troubled past of his own, to climb out of the bottle and track down the gang and its ruthless leader.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#14
Armour of God
After an adventurer known as the Asian Hawk steals a mysterious sword known to be a piece of the Armour of God, a magical suit of armour that dates back to the Crusades, a cult of Satanic monks kidnap his ex-girlfriend and demand he turn over the sword and recover the rest of the armour.
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.
#15
The Gigolo
Fung looks like a super-heartthrob and was born with a special endowment, making him the high school idol. He was expelled from school when he was caught fighting on campus. When his mom, the sole provider of his family with her poultry business, had to stop working due to her back problems, Fung decides to support his family financially. And from that moment, his life takes on a tumultuous change…
💡Why it's a match: A fantastic follow-up watch to Once a Thief.