Narcotics Crime backdrop

Narcotics Crime movies

Drug-trade crime about networks, enforcement pressure, violence economics, and survival inside the pipeline.

VFW

1. VFW

Action Crime Horror Thriller Military Action
6.1
20191h 32min

Overview

A typical night for veterans at a VFW turns into an all-out battle for survival when a desperate teen runs into the bar with a bag of stolen drugs. When a gang of violent punks come looking for her, the vets use every weapon at their disposal to protect the girl and themselves from an unrelenting attack.

Themes

Survival under siege, Collective resilience, Veteran camaraderie, Violence under pressure, Drug trade consequences, Moral injury and guilt

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Eye for an Eye

2. Eye for an Eye

Drama Thriller Crime Narcotics Crime Revenge Thriller
6.6
20191h 47min

Overview

Mario, an exemplary man, lives in a village on the Galician coast. In the old people’s home, where he works as a nurse, everyone appreciates him. When the best known narco in the area, Antonio Padín, recently released from prison, enters the residence, Mario tries to make Antonio feel at home. Now, Padín's two sons, Kike and Toño, are in charge of the family business. The failure of an operation will put Kike in jail and cause them to owe a large debt to a Colombian supplier. Toño will turn to the nurse to try to convince his father to assume the debt. But Mario has his own plans.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Illness and dependency, Debt coercion, Family power dynamics, Caregiver complicity, Illicit deals and manipulation

Available on

Netflix
Netflix Standard with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Driven

3. Driven

Thriller History Crime Cover-Up Thriller Narcotics Crime
6.4
20191h 53min

Overview

FBI informant Jim Hoffman lures troubled automobile magnate John DeLorean to an undercover sting for cocaine trafficking.

Themes

Debt-driven ambition, True story framing, Informant loyalty tensions, Fbi pressure and deception, Witness protection risk

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Shaft

4. Shaft

Action Crime Comedy Mystery Buddy Action
6.4
20191h 51min

Overview

JJ, aka John Shaft Jr., may be a cyber security expert with a degree from MIT, but to uncover the truth behind his best friend’s untimely death, he needs an education only his dad can provide. Absent throughout JJ’s youth, the legendary locked-and-loaded John Shaft agrees to help his progeny navigate Harlem’s heroin-infested underbelly.

Themes

Family loyalty under strain, Loyalty under pressure, Trust and deception, Intergenerational duty, Crime versus legitimacy, Silence and complicity in crime

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

First Love

5. First Love

Crime Action Comedy Narcotics Crime Martial Arts Action
6.7
20191h 48min

Overview

One night in Tokyo, Leo, a young boxer, meets his first love, Monica, an imprisoned sex worker. Caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme, they find themselves pursued by a corrupt cop, a yakuza, his nemesis, and a female assassin.

Themes

Loyalty under threat, Fate vs agency, Trauma and addiction, Illness as leverage, Crime underworld pressure, Deception within crime

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Cold Pursuit

6. Cold Pursuit

Crime Action Narcotics Crime One-Person Army
6.2
20191h 59min

Overview

The quiet family life of Nels Coxman, a snowplow driver, is upended after his son's murder. Nels begins a vengeful hunt for Viking, the drug lord he holds responsible for the killing, eliminating Viking's associates one by one. As Nels draws closer to Viking, his actions bring even more unexpected and violent consequences, as he proves that revenge is all in the execution.

Themes

Deception as leverage, Justice under pressure, Loyalty and betrayal dynamics, Family disruption by crime, Revenge through violence, Escalation of gang conflict

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Peacock Premium
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The Mule

7. The Mule

Crime Drama Narcotics Crime
7.0
20181h 56min

Overview

Earl Stone, a man in his eighties, is broke, alone, and facing foreclosure of his business when he is offered a job that simply requires him to drive. Easy enough, but, unbeknownst to Earl, he's just signed on as a drug courier for a Mexican cartel. He does so well that his cargo increases exponentially, and Earl hit the radar of hard-charging DEA agent Colin Bates.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Family obligations under stress, Economic desperation drives crime, Power dynamics within illicit networks, Aging and risk in illicit work, Old man, Drug cartel

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

White Boy Rick

8. White Boy Rick

Crime Drama Narcotics Crime Coming-of-Age Drama
6.5
20181h 51min

Overview

The story of Richard Wershe Jr., a teenager who became an undercover informant for the police during the 1980s, and was ultimately arrested for drug trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.

Themes

Economic precarity, Deception and coercion, Law enforcement pressure, Family strain under crime, Informant dynamics, Illicit economy lure

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

The World Is Yours

9. The World Is Yours

Comedy Crime Dark Comedy Narcotics Crime
6.3
20181h 34min

Overview

To escape his life of crime, a Paris drug dealer takes on one last job involving Spain, unhinged gangsters, his longtime crush and his scheming mother.

Themes

Group dynamics under pressure, Gambling debt pressure, Family influence on crime, Pursuit of a fresh start, Crime life vs escape, Improvisation under constraints

Available on

Amazon Video
The Roku Channel
GlewedTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Birds of Passage

10. Birds of Passage

Drama Crime Narcotics Crime Historical Drama
7.5
20182h 5min

Overview

During the marijuana bonanza, a violent decade that saw the origins of drug trafficking in Colombia, Rapayet and his indigenous family get involved in a war to control the business that ends up destroying their lives and their culture.

Themes

Loyalty and betrayal, Tradition vs modernization, Dowry pressures, Indigenous family disruption, Drug trade emergence, External influence and exploitation

Available on

Apple TV
fuboTV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.