Best movies like American Chinatown

America needs a defender... China offers its master.

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like American Chinatown Starring Tae-joon Lee, Robert Z'Dar, Bobby Kim, Liat Goodson, and more. If you liked American Chinatown then you may also like: West Side Story, The Quest, The Switchblade Sisters, Keep 'Em Slugging, King of Chinatown and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

A sect of the Triads controls the streets of Chinatown led by tough fighter Yong. But things get complicated when Lily, the adopted sister of Triads boss Eric, arrives on the scene. Yong is torn between his love for Lily and his commitment to uphold the Triads' honor. He cannot run from destiny or hide from fate. And now, Chinatown will put Eric's honor and Yong's fighting skills to the test.

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Know any good movies to watch like American Chinatown 1996. With a similar plot or stoyline. Suggest it.

West Side Story

In the slums of the upper West Side of Manhattan, New York, a gang of Polish-American teenagers called the Jets compete with a rival gang of recently immigrated Puerto Ricans, the Sharks, to "own" the neighborhood streets. Tensions are high between the gangs but two romantics, one from each gang, fall in love leading to tragedy.

The Quest

Ghang-gheng, the ancient winner-take-all competition in which the deadliest fighters from around the world employ the most spectacular feats of martial arts skills ever displayed in order to win the prized Golden Dragon. But fighting prowess alone will not be enough for Chris to triumph over such daunting foes.

The Switchblade Sisters

A tough gang of teenage girls are looking for love and fighting for turf on the mean streets of the city! Bad girls to the core, these impossibly outrageous high school hoodlums go where they want ... and create mayhem wherever they go!

Keep 'Em Slugging

A gang of tough street kids decide to go straight and get jobs in order to free draft-age men for the war effort. However, because of their past tangles with the law, they can't find anybody who'll hire them. Finally one of them gets a job at the department store where his sister works, but runs afoul of a store executive who is in league with a ring of hijackers.

King of Chinatown

A Chinese-American surgeon faces a moral dilemma after operating on the mob boss in charge of vice and protection rackets in her city's Chinatown.

Bowery Blitzkrieg

The East Side Kids discover that one of their own, Danny, is torn between staying and school and becoming a boxer, and is getting mixed up with gangsters.

The Corruptor

Danny is a young cop partnered with Nick, a seasoned but ethically tainted veteran. As the two try to stop a gang war in Chinatown, Danny relies on Nick but grows increasingly uncomfortable with the way Nick gets things done.

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun-Li

When a teenager, Chun-Li witnesses the kidnapping of her father by wealthy crime lord M. Bison. When she grows up, she goes on a quest for vengeance and becomes the famous crime-fighter of the Street Fighter universe.

Firepower

In the year 2007, crime has risen at an exponential rate. Once highly populated metropolises such as Los Angeles are no longer inhabitable. These cities have transformed into "Hell Zones," ruled by violent street gangs. The Hell Zone, formerly called the "Zone of Personal Freedom," is a safe-haven for criminal warpaths everywhere. This Hell Zone in LA is controlled by a criminal mastermind named Drexal (Joseph Ruskin). For the sake of entertaining his crowds of decadent losers and underlings, Drexal has staged a series of lethal, no-holds-barred matches in the "Death Ring," where the winner takes all of the glory...while the defeated one shall lose his self-respect (or maybe just his head). Meanwhile, two brave cops, Braniff (Chad McQueen), and Sledge (Gary Daniels) must risk their badges...and their lives when they enter Los Angeles's "Hell Zone."

Ring of Fire

Johnny Woo (Wilson) is a Chinese doctor who has given up fighting in the ring. His brother is a teacher at a kickboxing club. When Johnny falls in love with Julie (Ford), whose brother is a teacher in a rival kickboxing club, tension begins to build...

Joe Palooka, Champ

After losing heavyweight contender Al Costa to mob boss Florini fight promoter Knobby Walsh recruits small town boy Joe Palooka to take his place. First in the series.

The Weapons of Death

In San Francisco's Chinatown, a band of thugs kidnaps a girl for a large Chinese gang. Her half-brother gathers a team of expert fighters to get her back.

The Stork Pays Off

Gangster Deak Foster and his three henchmen, Brains Moran, Ears-to-the-Ground Hinkle and Photofinish Farris, take over what they think is a night club run by a rival, Stud Rocco, only to discover it is a nursery run by Irene Perry. All fall under the benign influence to the point where the three henchmen go to night school to be educated and Deak falls in love with Julie.

Sucker Punch

Ray 'Harley' Davidson is a hustler. With flash clothes and a fast mouth, Harley lives life in the fast lane. With his passion for all things gambling, money runs like water through Harley's hands and as quickly as he makes a killing he takes a beating, normally at the poker table. Nominally an illegal prize-fight manager, Harley hasn't produced a live one in months, until Charles Buchinsky literally wanders into his life. Charles Buchinsky, street fighter extraordinaire. He's from out of town looking for a fight and the chance to tie up a few loose ends. Keeps himself to himself, lets his fists do the talking and his word is his bond. Victor Maitland, top illegal fight promoter and porn baron. Hates losing and loves the prestige of managing the best hitter in town. Harley dreams of bringing Maitland down and after seeing Buchinsky at work, engineers a fragile partnership. The duo soon becomes a hot ticket...

Gang War

Saxophone player Clyde meets a woman named Flowers, and teaches her to dance. He later discovers that gangster boss "Blackjack" is also in love with her. "Blackjack" is also battling gang boss Mike Luego in a violent turf war.

Code of the Cow Country

Jim West, foreman of John Calhoun's ranch, falls in love with Helen, the boss's daughter, after rescuing her from a runaway horse. Her brother, Ted, falls into the companionship of Bill Jackson, a notorious gambler and saloon keeper, who persuades Ted to sign I. O. U.'s while under the influence of alcohol. Jim, in company with Red Irwin, a tough deputy sheriff, confronts the gambler and forces a confession. Jackson plans a raid on the Calhoun cattle, forcing Ted to be his ally. Dolores, a dancehall girl, overhears the plot and tells Jim, causing Helen to misunderstand his motives.

Fathers & Sons

A beach runner and bookworm has difficulty communicating with his son. He meets a psychic on a pier at the beach and soon his world turns topsy-turvy with a serial killer coming between him and his son. The ensuing E.S.P. experiences and danger bond father and son.

Purgatory Comics

Purgatory Comics tells the story of a young woman named Cola who runs from her adult responsibilities and hides in a failing comic book store. This leaves Cola to question how long she can hide from her complicated past.

Tiger Claws II

Released five years after the first installment, Tiger Claws II finds Yeung's martial arts serial killer, Chong, busted out of jail by a team of heavies in the employ of gangster Dai Lo Fu and whisked across the country to San Fransisco's Chinatown. When NYC cop Tarek Richards learns of a rash of recent killings using Chong's distinctive M.O.— a claw-like mark across the face of the victim— he contacts his old partner, Linda Masterson, who is now living in L.A., for help. But Chong, as it turns out, has nothing to do with the murders. He's just being used by crime kingpin Lo Fu, who needs to combine his energy with Chong's to open some sort of time portal to provide vital supplies for the ancient Shaolin monks. In truth, though, Lo Fu greedily plans to use the portal to smuggle heavy modern artillery back and rule Qing Dynasty-era China himself.

Fist 2 Fist

Still haunted by his failure to prevent the murder of a young couple years earlier, a mixed martial arts teacher must confront the skeleton in his closet when the boy who was orphaned by the killing shows up at his door.

East L.A. Warriors

As host of gladiator-style duels in which gangbangers battle to the death, East Los Angeles drug kingpin Chesare (Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs) capitalizes on gang antagonisms. But Chesare hasn't counted on the tactics of vengeance-minded Aurelio (Tony Bravo) and his sidekick Paulo (Kamar De Los Reyes). Vowing to fight without weapons, the determined duo stages a risky coup in the hopes of ending Chesare's reign of terror.

Raw Target

This high-powered action flick follows kickboxing champion Johnny Rider, who quits the ring after accidentally killing an opponent but is forced to employ his skills again to avenge the death of his brother at the hands of crime boss Rod Sparks (Nicholas Hill). After infiltrating Rod's gang, Johnny is targeted himself by Bill Williams (Ron Hall), a cop seeking revenge for the death of his own brother -- the fighter killed by Johnny.

Boomerang Bill

When New York City police officer O'Malley learns of a young man who is about to embark on a life of crime by taking part in a robbery, he takes the boy aside and tells him the story of Boomerang Bill, another wanna-be gangster who wanted to be a big shot in the New York crime scene. It seems that Bill fell for a pretty young dance-hall girl, and went up against local gang boss Tony the Wop when he insulted her. Tony, who never forgot a slight, found a way to make things very, very tough for Boomerang Bill, in a way that he never saw coming.

China Girl

Teenage lovers Tony (Richard Panebianco) and Tyan-Hwa (Sari Chang) tip the balance of power in New York's Little Italy and Chinatown.

Cage

A GI in Vietnam saves his buddy's life, but in the process is shot in the head. The injury results in brain damage to the point where he basically has a child's brain in a (very large) man's body. When they get out of the army the two open up a bar together, but some local gangsters make things tough for them after they refuse to take part in brutal "cage" matches where fighters battle to the point of serious injury and/or death.

Los Angeles Streetfighter

Tony, the new kid at school, befriends gang leader Young, whose top rival is Chan. When Young defeats Chan in battle, two mysterious men offer Tony and Young jobs at a security agency, with one of their new clients being among the city's most notorious drug dealers.

Vanishing Son III

The saga picks up in Washington, DC where Jian-wa is competing in a classical music competition. Back in LA, Jian-wa's brother Wago is wanted by the F.B.I. and manage to pull Jian-wa back to L.A. for questioning. They also want him to infiltrate his brother's gang in order to save his Wago. Can Jian-wa get Wago to see the truth about things before it's too late?

Survive The Night

On their way home from Brooklyn, psychiatrist Vic, daughter Julie and sister Stacey run short of gas. They leave the highway to search for a petrol station - but end up erring around in South Bronx. A youth gang led by the sadistic Ice stops their car and starts terrorizing them. Without fuel, the 3 women soon have to flee by foot and defend their life with all means possible.

White Wall

In the near future, everything has changed. Basic human rights have become the rarest of luxuries. No one knows when this started but everyone knows how. The VXII, the deadliest virus ever created, spread like wildfire and decimated the majority of the world's population. The non-infected survivors now cling to life in four quarantined cities behind a wall. Shawn Kors and his brother, Jude, survived the VXII only to grow up in a squalid internment camp for orphaned children. Under the care of the militia, they were pitted against other children in backwoods death matches. Shawn, Jude, and the few who escaped became notorious for their incredible fighting skills. They have since parted ways. Shawn now makes a comfortable living as a janitor at the local medic station. He spends his days dreaming of curing the VXII. When Shawn discovers the discarded body of a fellow internment camp friend, he is forced out of hiding and pulled into a rabbit hole of conspiracy and violence.

Gas House Kids

The Gas House Kids tackle a gang of criminals in the hope of winning the reward and helping a returning war veteran make a life with his girl.

Chuck Steel: Night of the Trampires

It's not 1985 anymore...it's 1986, and Chuck Steel is 'the best God damn cop on the force' according to his long suffering boss, Captain Jack Schitt. But even this maverick, renegade, loose cannon, lone wolf, cop on the edge, who doesn't play by the rules has his work cut out when the Governor of LA decides to reduce the licensing hours for clubs and bars triggering a sudden, inexplicable spate of high profile disappearances in the city. The disappearances all have the same thing in common, a crime scene covered in blood but with no sign of the victim. The police are perplexed until they get a break in the case when one of the victims manages to escape. Chuck goes to interview the victim at the hospital but is confronted by a crazed old man who introduces himself as Abraham Van Rental. He warns a disbelieving Chuck that an evil scourge is about to descend on the city of Los Angeles - the scourge of the TRAMPIRES - a mutated hybrid of vampire and tramp.

Killer Bean Forever

When things go bad in Beantown, top assassin Killer Bean is called to clean-up the mess. Detective Cromwell finds himself in the middle between Killer Bean and mob boss Cappuccino.

Dragon Fight

Jimmy and Tiger are members of the Chinese national wushu team. The two are in Los Angeles to perform exhibitions. However, for Tiger, he plans to defect to L.A. to make a name for himself. When Jimmy learns of Tigers plan to defect, an attempt to stop him fails and Jimmy ends up missing his flight to China. Now a fish out of water, Jimmy's only hope is Andy, a wisecracking youngster in L.A. Meanwhile, Tiger works for a mafia boss. When Tiger loses a fortune in cocaine in a detergent box that Andy accidentally took, Andy and Jimmy soon have no choice but to face the wrath of Tiger and his men. Their only ally is Penny, the girlfriend of Tiger's boss. Two men who were once best friends have now become bitter enemies.

Death Warrior

A gritty MMA fighter is forced into a twisted, underground gambling ring in which he must fight to the death with other MMA fighters in order to save his wife from certain death at the hands of a maniacal crime boss. In a desperate race against time, he is forced into a series of increasingly violent life and death matches while simultaneously piecing together the puzzle which leads him to uncover

Street

Remo Street is a young fighter who comes from a world where nothing is easy, so when he is faced with the opportunity to train with a world class coach, he has to choose between the long hard road to honor and glory, or succumbing to a brutal future as a cage fighter for the Russian Mafia.

Unrivaled

On these streets everyone is fighting for a way out, but after a lifetime of hard knocks, a down-on-his-luck cage fighter gets the opportunity of a lifetime when he is chosen to compete against the MMA world champion during a massive competition. The stakes are high and the reward great...but should he lose, it will cost him his life.

The Great Challenge

A multicultural band of acrobatic do-gooders take on gangsters of three great nations in this action-packed sequel to the French box-office smash Yamakasi. The Yamakasi are a team of crime fighters who can scale buildings and urban towers with the ease of a fly walking up the wall; after leaving their home base in Paris to set up operations in England, the men decide to set up a satellite facility

Fighting Spirit

Billy is a young fighter whose sister Judith was hurt after a near gang rape. When he learns she must have surgery, crime boss Russell has Billy compete in illegal street fights. When Billy learns he may get killed, he quits but is later killed by Russell and his men, who were the ones responsible for Judith's accident. After his death, Billy must rely on one man to seek revenge for him: his best friend David. However, David must train in the martial arts before he can seek revenge. Davidy seeks guidance from the ghost of Billy as well as Billy's trainer and ally, Murphy.

Street Warrior

An Iraqi war vet returns home to find that his brother is in a coma from participating in an illegal underground fight club.

Chinatown Nights

Joan Fry, a society woman, falls in love with Chuck Riley, the white-leader of a powerful gang in Chinatown, and he quickly drags her down into the depths with him. But seeing her so much in love with him causes him to realize he isl in love with her, and he determines to lift her up again. "Boston" Charley, the rival gang-leader, has other plans.

Street Fighter - Round One - FIGHT!

In Round One - FIGHT!: Ryu and Ken find themselves setting out to investigate the murder of their martial arts master. Their search for answers takes them to Japan where M. Bison and his assorted minions including Cammy, Vega, and Sagat keep a close eye on Ryu for reasons unknown.

Born to Be a Warrior

Couple of guys from a small town in Montenegro come to the big city, they plan to leave their mark in the new environment by winning in street fights but keep the chivalry they brought from back home. One of them (Dragomir Stojanovic), deals with injustice with his fists, hiding behind "tough guy" facade his deep sensitivity. Along the way he finds love with a pretty young girl.

Strike Back

A beautiful young woman and tough blackbelt fighter, Nicki Donato reaches desperation when the disappearance of her younger sister Anna shatters her family. In her search to find her sister, Nicki is thrust into an underground world of drugs, rave clubs, and a religious cult. Nicki's martial arts abilities are pushed to the limit as she infiltrates the inner core of the cult compound and attempts bring down the self-declared messiah of the cult.

Dinty

Dinty is a newsboy whose fight to care for his ailing mother leads him into conflicts with the other boys on the street and then with drug smugglers in Chinatown.

Rise of the Footsoldier: Part II

On the 6th December 1995, three Essex gang members were brutally murdered in cold blood. It’s now early 1997 and whoever killed the three men have yet to be brought to justice. An associate of the men, still mourning the loss of his friends, is convinced that it’s only a matter of time before he’s next. For him, the only way out is to go back in and work his way back up the criminal ladder. The higher he gets, the more violent the jobs become, his quest for power turning into an obsession. With life and family on the line can he hold his nerve together one last time in order to get out alive?

Sket

When a young woman is cruelly and indiscriminately attacked by a notorious gang led by the violent Trey, her little 16 year old sister Kayla wants revenge and will stop at nothing to get it, even if it means joining a rival girl gang led by the volatile and damaged man-hating Danielle.

Love's Portrait

Lily is a museum curator who finds a painting that looks just like her. Lily’s search for the artist leads her to Ireland, where she meets William, a charming man who helps her on her quest and may also know more about the portrait’s origins than he’s letting on.

The Jade Pendant

Fleeing an arranged marriage in China, the independent Peony signs a contract to work as a “flower girl” in America, where she meets Tom, an American Born Chinese cook whose father works on the Transcontinental Railroad. Thwarted by a Hong Kong Triad boss seeking to extend his power into America, theirs is the tale of the first great Chinese immigration to the United States – a story of romance, bigotry, passion, food and a search for everlasting love – set against the largest mass lynching in American history, in Los Angeles’ Chinatown, in 1871.

Trance

Tony works in an auction house, where he is surrounded by many valuable works of art. Enlisting the help of London gangster Brendan and his associates, Tony hatches a plan to steal a priceless Goya painting. Things get complicated when the heist leaves Tony concussed and Brendan with no painting. When Brendan takes Tony to a Harley Street hypnotherapist to try to cure his amnesia and remember what he did with the painting, the hypnotherapist realises she's onto something, and uses her considerable skill to manipulate minds and memories to her own advantage..

13 East Street

When police inspector Gerald Blake wants to infiltrate a London stolen-goods gang, he does a thorough job of it. First, he robs a jewelry store, gets caught and is sentenced to prison. Then he teams up with gang-member Joey to make their escape. Once in the gang, Blake identifies the boss, Larry, and most of the other thieves, but not the "inside man." As a big fur job looms closer, the detective's task is complicated by the playful but seductive advances of Judy, a dazzling blonde who happens also to be the jealous Larry's girl friend.

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