Movies Like El Malviviente

If you liked El Malviviente (2003), a action movie directed by Carlos Méndez, 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
The Get Out (2026)
★ 6/10Also action
A nightclub owner is on the verge of leaving his dangerous past behind for retirement with his girlfriend. When masked gunmen rob him and he finds himself squeezed by ruthless cartels, a mysterious newcomer arrives…
2
The Shipment (2021)
★ 6.7/10Also action
A former U.S. Navy Seal is forced to become the international criminal he once fought against when a powerful and violent drug cartel kidnaps his wife and daughter.
3
Border Hunters (2025)
★ 6.1/10Also action
After his police officer brother is killed by a drug dealer who flees to the protection of his cartel-connected uncle in Mexico, an American man with a diverse law enforcement/military background goes south of the…
4
El padrino: The Latin Godfather (2004)
★ 7.2/10Also action
In the streets of East Los Angeles, Manny is a formidable drug dealer. Impressed by his extravagant lifestyle and prowess, his young son, Kilo, yearns to follow in his footsteps. Kilo resolves to learn how to prosper…
5
Code of Silence (1985)
★ 5.9/10Also action
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.
6
El Infierno (2010)
★ 8/10Also action
After being deported back to Mexico, a man has no choice but to join the vicious drug cartel that has corrupted his hometown in order to survive.
7
Rapid Fire (1992)
★ 6.4/10Also action
College student Jake Lo is pursued by smugglers, mobsters and crooked federal agents after he witnesses a murder by a Mafia kingpin.
8
Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man (1991)
★ 6.3/10Also action
It's the lawless future, and renegade biker Harley Davidson and his surly cowboy buddy, Marlboro, learn that a corrupt bank is about to foreclose on their friend's bar to further an expanding empire. Harley and…
9
Wanted Man (2024)
★ 6.5/10Also action
Follows a police officer who must retrieve an eyewitness and escort her after a cartel shooting leaves several DEA agents dead, but then he must decide who to trust when they discover that the attack was executed by…
10
The System (2022)
★ 7.3/10Also action
When a young soldier, newly returned from war, gets caught up in a drug bust, he is recruited by the authorities to go undercover in a notoriously dangerous prison in order to figure out what is really going on.
11
Facing El Chapo (2026)
★ 8.8/10Also action
Two Mexican officers must survive the final hours of their shift after crossing a ruthless cartel boss.
12
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.
13
Setback (2011)
★ 8.5/10Also action
A race against time between a man whose son requires urgent treatment and a stockbroker who suddenly lost his investors' money and ruined his own family.
14
The Marine 5: Battleground (2017)
★ 6.6/10Also action
While working as an EMT back stateside Jake Carter after responding to a distress call, finds himself caught up protecting a person of interest from a biker gang ruthlessly hunting them down.
15
The Substitute (1996)
★ 7/10Also action
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon…
16
Run (1991)
★ 6/10Also action
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.
17
Rise of the Footsoldier (2007)
★ 6.4/10Also action
Carlton Leach rises from one of the most feared generals of the football terraces to becoming a member of a notorious gang of criminals who rampaged their way through London and Essex in the late '80s and early '90s.
18
Runner (2026)
★ 8.3/10Also action
A former soldier is thrown into a brutal race against time when a critical medical delivery makes him and his unlikely partner the targets of a ruthless cartel. As the mission spirals into a deadly manhunt, every…
19
Lion Fist (2026)
★ 7.2/10Also action
Martial arts fighter Joe goes to prison for four years and takes his wife's blame for a drug bust. After his release, he learns that his son needs expensive surgery because of a life-threatening tumor. Joe's only…
20
Romeo Must Die (2000)
★ 6.3/10Also action
Two warring gang families (one African-American, the other Chinese) maneuver for bragging rights to the Oakland, California docks. Han Sing and Trish O'Day uncover a trail of deceit that leaves most of the warring…