Best movies like Burning Ambition

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Burning Ambition Starring Frankie Chan Fan-Kei, Simon Yam, Yukari Ôshima, Kara Hui Ying-Hung, and more. If you liked Burning Ambition then you may also like: Vengeance, Hard Boiled, Full Contact, Dragon Squad, Triad Wars 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.

This is director/martial arts star Frankie Chan's unofficial remake of the Kinji Fukasaku film SHOGUN'S SAMURAI (1978). Instead of Japanese samurai in a period setting, we get modern day Chinese gangsters battling each other for the position left vacant after the mysterious death of their head honcho.

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Vengeance

A French chef swears revenge after a violent attack on his daughter's family in Macau, during which her husband and her two children are murdered. To help him find the killers, he hires three local hit-men working for the mafia.

Hard Boiled

A cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover cop who's working as a gangster hitman. They use all means of excessive force to find them.

Full Contact

In an effort to get his buddy out of a gambling debt, Jeff agrees to join forces with Judge in a weapons heist. The job goes bad and Judge betrays Jeff. Jeff plots the ultimate revenge on Judge and his followers and it is a question of whether he can follow through with his plan.

Dragon Squad

A team of Interpol agents arrive in the city to testify against a local crime lord. However on the way to court the vehicle carrying the Triad boss is attacked and the crime lord snatched, not by his own people but by another foe.

Triad Wars

In the midst of a violent gang war, a series of misfortunes threaten the fate of a gang boss and his mob.

The Longest Nite

Caught in the middle of a fierce gang war in Macau, a corrupt cop named Sam handles negotiations between two Triad leaders who plan to join forces. He meets a suspicious bald man named Tony, who keeps following him around and disrupting his personal business. But when Sam finds out he's a suspect in a nightclub owner's murder, he's sure his stalker has something to do with it.

Sudden Fury

Intent on seizing control of South East England's cocaine business, small-time crime boss Randall hires notorious hit-man Walker to take out his competition. When Randall betrays the hit-man, however, the tables are turned.

Tiger Cage

Something fishy is going on in the anti-Drug Trafficking Unit of the HK Police, and only a few honest cops know that the corruption goes all the way to the top. However, they must prove their case quickly, and by unconventional means, after they are framed for murder and drug-trafficking themselves. Dodging bullets from cops and criminals alike, the race is on to clear their names, protect their loved ones, and bring their corrupt colleagues to justice.

China O'Brien

China O'Brien; big city police woman; martial arts trainer, is forced to hand in her badge and head home to her father and the small town where she grew up. The peaceful town she knew is now struggling against the clutches of organized crime. When her father, the town sheriff, is killed China decides to run for his position and clean up the town. The poll results spark a series of confrontations that finally decide who runs the town . . .

Man Wanted

Undercover cop Lok Hwa takes two years to become the trusted lieutenant of rising Hong Kong drug lord, Feng. The night of the big bust, Feng's flaming car crashes spectacularly into the sea; Feng is presumed dead. Hwa returns to the force and to June, his patient girl friend. Also, to save Feng's lover Yung from a life of crime, Hwa gives her his pager number and promises to be there for her. A year later, Feng reappears, asking Hwa's aid with one last task before he returns to the mainland forever. Feeling sentimental, Hwa agrees to help and finds himself set up to take the fall in a drug war. June is in danger, too, and death awaits as Yung realizes it's Hwa she loves.

SPL: Kill Zone

Chan, an articulate senior detective nearing the end of his career, is taking care of the daughter of a witness killed by ruthless crime lord Po. Martial arts expert Ma is set to take over as head of the crime unit, replacing Chan who wants an early retirement.

Tiger on the Beat

A seasoned cop and his rookie partner are a pair of mismatched partners in this Hong Kong action-comedy in the style of 'Lethal Weapon'. The wacky twosome are up in arms as they try to solve the murder of a heroin trafficker.

Thunder Cop

Cop action movie clumsily inter-cut with slapstick. Dumb cop befriends triad guy who wants to go straight but is being set up by his unscrupulous drug dealing colleagues.

American Dragons

Murders in Seoul, Korea and in America pair two cops from each of the countries together to solve the crimes. The investigation leads to a gang war between the Mafia and the Yakuza, but one that may not be of either of their making. A shadowy assassin is killing the leaders and an Italian assassin may have his own agenda.

Peace Hotel

After his wife's murder, widow Wong A Ping sets up a Peace Hotel to act as a sanctuary for anyone who needs protecting. One day a mysterious women shows up who seeks shelter from a gang hunting her. Vowing to never turn anyone away, Wong A Ping must decide whether to help the women or risk confronting the gang.

Escape from Brothel

Hung and Ann are down-on-their luck prostitutes trapped in Hong Kong. Pauline's boyfriend, Sam, back in China, who is under the impression that she is away working at a factory, is double-crossed by Billy Chow, and while looking to escape; flees for Hong Kong and winds up at the Brothel where Pauline is employed. He is crushed when he finds out the truth, but by this point, everyone involved on all sides is too deeply involved to turn back. This is the type of movie that could only come from HK. It combines plenty of gory fighting, romance, violent A great scenes and comedy, all into one. A grand finale, where those who haven't already been killed fight it out on a construction site. In summary; heaps of sex and violence-has a few great bits, but not recommended for the weak-hearted.

High Voltage

Donnie Yen is back with a vengeance in this electric action thriller. The star of Fist of Fury, Hero and Highlander goes up against Hong Kong's deadliest gangsters in a no holds barred duel to the death. Donnie Yen has proven to be one of martial arts most reliable and dedicated martial arts stars. Through the years he's been the lead in his own films, as well as co-starring with the modern legends such as Jet Li and Jackie Chan.

Mercenaries from Hong Kong

Ti Lung plays a Vietnam vet who's now an 'honourable' mercenary-for-hire taking on an assignment tracking down an assassin who's fled to Cambodia after murdering an industrialist from Hong Kong. He recruits a team for the task which consists of who's who of the Shaw Brother's action stars (Lo Lieh, Johnny Wang Lung Wei, Wong Yue, Chan Wei Man and comedy relief Nat Chan). However once they arrived for the mission nothing is what it seems with the standard plot-twists and turns as we find out who's the traitor among the group.

7.3 / 10 1988 Action Crime
suggested by: positivevibes

City War

Two cops--both partners and best friends--find their friendship and their lives at stake when they try to take down a ruthless drug dealer.

Bullet for Hire

Two hitmen, both good friends who work for the Triad, get a new partner, a nervous young rookie who starts off badly by blowing an assignment, but soon becomes proficient at his bloody work. When one of them is blackmailed into helping the police, a Triad boss grows suspicious.

Coolie Killer

Ko leads a team of Hong Kong assassins that are taken out one by one. Ko manages to flee to the countryside, where he aims to find out who's behind this and to gain the strength to fight back. Helping him is local girl Tong, whilst chasing Ko is the long arm of the law, represented by cop Chung.

6.5 / 10 1985 Action Crime
suggested by: user168cah87kej

Hong Kong Godfather

After receiving a life imprisonment sentence for a NY Chinatown massacre, Jia Shi Lan, alias Hei Lan, obtains a pardon through the Mafia's influence. Returning to Hong Kong, Hei Lan attempts to use the stature and fortitude of Brother Han, an elder, but good-natured underworld boss, to gain power and spread the Mafia's influence throughout Southeast Asia. After a deadly double cross leaves many of Han's society dead, two former members, one a cop, the other a florist, and the sole remaining loyalist join forces to bring down the criminal empire of Hei Lan.

Long Arm of the Law III

Michal Mak's second sequel to his brother's action classic finds an ex-soldier/escaped death row prisoner fleeing to Hong Kong and forced to work for a gang of criminals when they kidnap the woman he loves.

Long Arm of the Law II

This sequel to the critically-acclaimed box-office winner Long Arm of the Law maintains the same stark realism of the original. In Saga Two, the Royal Hong Kong Police put into operation a new plan to counteract the problem of increasing violent crimes committed by new arrivals from across the border in China. In agreement with Chinese authorities, three Hong Kong detectives go undercover as illegal immigrants in order to infiltrate the powerful gang that is organizing the crime wave. The action is tough and graphic, reminiscent of The French Connection, Hong Kong style.

3.8 / 10 1994 Crime
suggested by: JungleJavelina

Rock n' Roll Cop

A Hong Kong cop is sent to mainland China to find a group of killers. Meanwhile, a cop discovers that his former love is aiding the gang of crooks.

5.8 / 10 1989 Action
suggested by: user505o8xbl43g

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.

Cheetah on Fire

In Hong Kong, a weapon dealer has a special computer chip, which is needed to build a secret missile. He is trying to sell it to a foreign goverment. The local secret police, the CIA and an enemy band is looking for him, but he has a very rich and influential man as his partner.

suggested by: user974mrdl8qko

Run and Kill

A man returns home to find his wife with another man. He goes to a bar and begins to drink, waking up the next day to find that he owes a mafioso money for killing his wife.

Long Arm of the Law IV: Underground Express

The final entry in Michael and Johnny Mak's Long Arm of the Law series, Underground Express once again tells a story of gangsters versus police, focusing on the difference between how both factions act depending if they're coming from Hong Kong or Mainland China.

Killer Angels

Three female cops form a special unit and get their main witness out of the clutches of a gang. The witness holds the key to Chu Chung Sing, a gang-lord who runs a night-club. They will have to face a ruthless but sentimental killer.

Killer's Romance

A triad assassin is sent to kill a female witness to a murder only to fall in love with her instead.

Walk on Fire

Sergeant Kwok Wah (Andy Lau) and Ho Lung (Ray Lui) are both colleagues and best friends. Ho Lung has developed hatred with a gang leader Dick. Dick sends Hung (Cherie Chung) as a bait to kill Ho Lung. Swore to take revenge for his best friend, Kwok Wah works with Ho Lung's partner Mother (Kent Cheng) to unveil the enemy. Kwok Wah saves Hung during an operation and Hung starts to like Kwok Wah. Kwok Wah and Mother follow their plan to capture Dick, but it ends in vain and both of them get into a gunfight. Hung is killed for saving Kwok Wah during the gunfight. Though heart-broken, Kwok Wah and Mother go on fighting the villain...

Point of No Return

Woefully underrated HK action drama concerning hitmen and gangsters. Circa 1990, were there any other characters befitting of a HK film? Nope! Jacky Cheung dresses the part as a hitman who falls for the lovely Joey Wong. Wong is reduced to the part of a flower vase but the juice of the film is the loving early 90's HK action. Some crazy characters in this one. Look out for the colorful hitman duo of Ken Lo as 'Puma' and Ling Gwai-yuet as Lily. Are there better action films from this era? Sure. But this one doesn't disappoint.

Her Vengeance

Kit-Ying is an unassuming nightclub employee in Macao who inadvertently angers a gang of drunken patrons. They follow her home after her shift and mount a viscous gang assault. After her traumatic ordeal, she vows to hunt them down one by one.

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