In Netflix’s Beckett, you saw a lone American desperately try to find his way back to the States, after he is framed for a crime he didn’t comitt. After him are unknown political forces who will stop at nothing to end his life to silence him. Are you in the mood for more movies where the good-guy protagonist is on the run and just about makes it? You will love these 8 movies like Beckett.
And, here are movies like Stillwater. This recently released Matt Damon movie has some resemblance to what you saw in Beckett. Damon is a father who travels to France to try to free his wrongly imprisoned daughter. The movie has a bit of everything on offer. Romance, drama and of course action.
8 Thrilling Movies like Beckett (2021) – Featuring Protagonists on the Run
1 The Fugitive (1993)
IMDB 7.8 | 277K Ratings
Stars: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Julianne Moore
We went back to 1993 to find and put this movie at the top of our list in recommendations for movies like Beckett. The Fugitive is an intelligent, fast and no-stops manhunt chase movie with a good guy on the run. Harrison Ford is brilliant as the high profile fugitive who is wrongly accused of murder. The plot beautifully weaves Ford in and out of really sticky situations that he finds his way out of. It isn’t a shoot-up action. Rather, its one that will have you gnawing away at your fingernails. Tommy Lee Jones is as brilliant as the agent after Ford. So, you have two powerful acting performances to enjoy amidst all the thrill and action.
We don’t think you can go wrong with the Fugitive as the movie to watch after Beckett.
2 Out of Time (2003)
IMDB 6.5 | 59K Ratings
Stars: Denzel Washington, Sanaa Lathan, Eva Mendes
Don’t let this movies rather average 6.6 rating fool you. The constant excitement it can offer is very similar to what you enjoyed in Beckett. Matt (Denzel Washington) is a police chief in a Florida town. He is going through a divorce with his detective wife Alex (Eva Mendes). Matt begins a steamy affair with a woman named Ann (Sanaa Lathan). He then finds out she is suffering from a terminal cancer. Desperately wanting to help her out, Matt steals a large sum of money from a drug bust to pay for her medical expenses. But then, Ann dies in a mysterious fire and Matt is suspect number one. He has not days but just hours to prove his innocence.
It’s a movie that gets into 5th gear very early and stays there until the end. Denzel Washington is brilliant as the desperate but determined protagonist.
3 Run All Night (2015)
IMDB 6.6 | 105K Ratings
Stars: Liam Neeson, Ed Harris, Joel Kinnaman
Run All Night is about regret and revenge packed into an action-filled night. Just like what you saw in Beckett, Neeson’s character is calm and level headed even in the most pressing situations. His main objective is to get through the night and not end up on the wrong side of the gun. A movie that deserves a lot better than the 6.6 rating it garnered at IMDB.
Neeson couldn’t have asked for a better supporting cast than Joel Kinnaman and Ed Harris.
4 Midnight Run (1988)
IMDB 7.5 | 81K Ratings
Stars: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto
Midnight Run has a plot similar to what you saw in Beckett, but with an infusion of some very tasteful comedy. The cast is brilliant, starting with Robert De Niro. De Niro is Jack Walsh, a bounty hunter. He is hired to do a ‘midnight run’, what is supposed to be a simple job to find a mob accountant that goes by the name of The Duke (Charles Grodin). Once found, Jack needs to bring him back to L.A. But, what Jack doesn’t expect is for the FBI and the mob itself to try to get their hands on The Duke, setting him off on cross-country run. Making matters more difficult is the erratic behavior of the criminal accountant. This is where Robert De Niro’s iconic irritability provides the comedic element to the movie.
A movie that somehow strikes a brilliant balance between action and comedy, without looking stupid or silly.
5 Enemy of the State (1998)
IMDB 7.3| 233K Ratings
Stars: Will Smith, Gene Hackman, Jon Voight
Join Voight is Thomas Reynolds, a corrupt National Security Agency official. Reynolds has a congressman murdered to ensure the easy passage of a sweeping surveillance legislation that will tremendously profit him. But, his murder is caught on camera and the video falls in the hands of Robert Clayton Dean (Will Smith), who is then framed for the murder. Robert is a family man and labor lawyer who doesn’t know what is about to hit him. But, with help from an ex-intelligence agent friend in “Brill” (Gene Hackman), Robert tries to escape the web of surveillance and constant pursuit to both prove his innocense and expose Reynolds for his crime.
A bit of a high-tech thriller, but with very similar action and suspense that you enjoyed in Beckett.
6 The Bourne Identity (2002)
IMDB 7.9 | 521K Ratings
Stars: Matt Damon, Franka Potente, Chris Cooper, Clive Owen
Matt Damon wakes up bullet riddled and without any memories of his past. He doesn’t know who he is, other than the fact that he has exceptional self-defense and linguistic skills. The Bourne Identity is about Damon trying to figure out his identity with the help of a temperamental and unlikely partner in Maria (Franka Potente). The action sequences are mind boggling and very unexpected as well, for Damon has no idea why, when or who is after his life.
A movie so successful that it led to a whole Bourne franchise, giving you more movies to watch if you liked this one that started it all.
7 The Negotiator (1998)
IMDB 7.3 | 135K Ratings
Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Kevin Spacey, David Morse
The Negotiator has a runtime of 2 hours and 18 minutes. But, don’t let that detract you from watching this movie. The time is brilliantly used to build the suspense into the plot where Danny Roman (Samuel L. Jackson), a police hostage negotiator, takes a corrupt Internal Affairs investigator Niebaum (J.T. Walsh) hostage. Chris Sabian (Kevin Spacey) is then roped in as the police’s hostage negotiator who now has the task of negotiating with another hostage negotiator.
The very intelligent standoff brilliantly builds up tension and emotion before climaxing into action. Though it can be a little chatty at times, you have two of the best actors in this genre facing off against each other, still keeping you entertained.
8 Judgment Night (1993)
IMDB 6.6 | 16K Ratings
Stars: Emilio Estevez, Cuba Gooding Jr., Denis Leary
Three friends are out on what they think will be a fun night watching a boxing match. But, on the way to the area, a traffic jam makes them take a shortcut through a tough neighborhood. While driving by there, they witness a gang murder by Fallon (Denis Leary). Fallon now knows that the three friends know and he wants them gone.
The movie is about the friends trying to flee from the misfortune the fateful wrong turn has brought them. A 90’s classic. The plot is a bit illogical or maybe even dumb at times. But, if you can forgive that and focus on the action and suspense, you will not be disappointed.