Films like Léon: The Professional
15 picks with a similar feel
What defines Léon: The Professional, going by its Boxlist taste profile: Heavy and small-scale: a raw crime drama, dark rather than wholesome. Best if you like close-up stories over spectacle. Its strongest markers on Boxlist are themes of competition, injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry, plus tags such as s.w.a.t., tragic love and hotel room.
Here are 15 films with a similar feel, ranked by how closely they match that profile. Treat them as picks to try, not a definitive list.
Based on Léon: The Professional (1994).
- 1
True Romance (1993)
Film7.6
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and dark, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: neo-noir, loss of loved one.
- 2
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Film7.9More intricate
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and gritty, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: hitman, neo-noir.
- 3
Payback (1999)
Film6.8More intricate
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and gritty, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: neo-noir, revenge.
- 4
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Film8.7More intricate
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and intimate, with themes of injustice and vengeance and underdogs. Common ground: police brutality, corruption.
- 5
Cop Land (1997)
Film6.7More intricate
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and dark, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: corruption, neo-noir, murder.
- 6
Drive (2011)
Film7.6
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and dark, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: neighbor, neo-noir, revenge.
- 7
The Equalizer (2014)
Film7.2Faster-paced
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also dark and weighty, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: assassin, hitman, corruption.
- 8
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
Film8.6More intricate
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and gritty, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: revenge.
- 9
John Wick: Chapter 2 (2017)
Film7.2Faster-paced
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and dark, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: hitman, neo-noir.
- 10
Prisoners (2013)
Film8.0More intricate
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and dark, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: neo-noir, revenge.
- 11
Four Brothers (2005)
Film6.7More intricate
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and dark, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry. Common ground: revenge, murder.
- 12
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
Film7.6
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and intimate, with themes of injustice and vengeance and deep rivalry.
- 13
Breathless (1960)
Film7.7
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also intimate and weighty, with themes of injustice and vengeance and resilience and survival. Common ground: hotel room, loss of loved one.
- 14
Green Street Hooligans (2005)
Film7.2
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and gritty, with themes of competition and injustice and vengeance. Common ground: revenge.
- 15
Training Day (2001)
Film7.4More intricate
Why it's like Léon: The Professional: Also weighty and dark, with themes of competition and deep rivalry. Common ground: police brutality, neo-noir.
Boxlist compares Léon: The Professional with every film in its catalogue on ten taste scores (pace, tone, weight, realism and more), story themes, genres and TMDB keywords, and ranks the closest. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 6.7 or more from at least 1,000 votes, new releases wait until their ratings settle, and only one title per franchise makes the list. It is an approximation of feel, so treat it as a starting point. Ratings are TMDB audience scores out of 10.
Which of these suit you?
Take the taste test and every pick shows how well it matches you.
Take the taste testQuestions
- What should I watch if I like Léon: The Professional?
- Picks with a similar feel include True Romance, No Country for Old Men, Payback and The Shawshank Redemption. Each shares part of Léon: The Professional's taste profile, themes or tags; the full list has 15 films.
- How are these films like Léon: The Professional chosen?
- Boxlist compares Léon: The Professional with every film in its catalogue on ten taste scores (pace, tone, weight, realism and more), story themes, genres and TMDB keywords, and ranks the closest. Every pick has a TMDB rating of 6.7 or more from at least 1,000 votes, new releases wait until their ratings settle, and only one title per franchise makes the list. It is an approximation of feel, so treat it as a starting point.