Movies Like Private Detective DOBU 1

If you liked Private Detective DOBU 1 (1981), a action and drama movie directed by Yūsuke Watanabe, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
Mexicali (2026)
★ 7.7/10Also action and drama
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
2
Beast (2026)
★ 7.5/10Also action and drama
MMA legend Patton James, now a commercial fisherman, is pulled back into the cage when his brother is in danger. Reuniting with his old coach Sammy, he commits to one final fight in one championship against the brutal…
3
WWE WrestleMania 37: Night 1 (2021)
★ 7.9/10Also action and drama
The 37th annual Showcase of the Immortals is back in business at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida as night one will feature Sasha Banks defending her SmackDown Women's Championship against Bianca Belair, Damian…
4
Welcome to Sudden Death (2020)
★ 6.1/10Also action and drama
Jesse Freeman is a former special forces officer and explosives expert now working a regular job as a security guard in a state-of-the-art basketball arena. Trouble erupts when a tech-savvy cadre of terrorists kidnap…
5
Rev (2020)
★ 6/10Also action and drama
A young thief with a history of grand theft auto becomes an informant and helps police bring down a criminal enterprise involved in the smuggling of hundreds of exotic super cars.
6
Only the Strong (1993)
★ 6.9/10Also action and drama
Former Green Beret Louis Stevens returns to his hometown of Miami after completing military service in Brazil, only to learn that his old high school has become a haven for gangs and drug dealers. After Stevens uses…
7
44 Minutes: The North Hollywood Shoot-Out (2003)
★ 6.6/10Also action and drama
After a failed bank robbery, two heavily armed men hold the Los Angeles Police Department at bay for 44 minutes.
8
Embattled (2020)
★ 6.7/10Also action and drama
The eldest son of a ruthlessly tough MMA champion must fight his way out of the abusive cycle his father has continued.
9
Stowaway (2022)
★ 6/10Also action
A tenacious party girl fights to survive after three thieves commandeer her luxury yacht. Unable to escape and trapped on the yacht at high seas, the prey becomes the hunter as she turns the tables on the intruders and…
10
Run (1991)
★ 6/10Also action and drama
When a law student accidentally kills the son of a mob boss in a fight, he finds himself relentlessly pursued by the mob and the police.
11
Birth of the Dragon (2017)
★ 5.8/10Also action and drama
Set against the backdrop of San Francisco’s Chinatown, this cross-cultural biopic chronicles Bruce Lee’s emergence as a martial-arts superstar after his legendary secret showdown with fellow martial artist Wong Jack Man.
12
Overdrive (2017)
★ 6.1/10Also action
Master car thieves square off against French gangsters in the South of France with money, women and lives all on the line.
13
Detective Conan: The Bride of Halloween (2022)
★ 6.5/10Also action
Shibuya, Tokyo, is bustling with the Halloween season. A wedding is being held at Shibuya Hikarie, where Detective Miwako Sato of the Metropolitan Police Department is dressed in a wedding dress. While Conan and the…
14
The Black Book (2023)
★ 6.7/10Also action
After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.
15
Hunting Season (2025)
★ 7.4/10Also action and drama
When a reclusive survivalist and his daughter rescue a mysterious, wounded woman from a river, they become entangled in a deadly web of violence and revenge, forcing them to confront a brutal criminal to survive.
16
Seeking Justice (2011)
★ 5.9/10Also action and drama
After his wife is assaulted, a husband enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score.
17
In Full Bloom (2019)
★ 6.8/10Also action and drama
Set shortly after the end of World War II, a philosophical boxing drama of two fighters from opposite worlds (USA and Japan) who are pulled together for a questionable fight arranged by their unscrupulous managers and…
18
Tokyo Fist (1995)
★ 6.8/10Also action and drama
A businessman, Tsuda, runs into a childhood friend, Kojima, on the subway. Kojima is working as a semiprofessional boxer. Tsuda soon begins to suspect that Kojima might be having an affair with his fiancée Hizuru…
19
The Enforcer (2022)
★ 7/10Also action and drama
A noir thriller set in Miami, the film follows an enforcer who discovers his femme fatale boss has branched out into cyber sex trafficking, putting a young runaway he’s befriended at risk. He sacrifices everything to…
20
Convict (2014)
★ 6.5/10Also action and drama
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the…