It’s not difficult to understand why someone would want to watch a film that evokes “The Departed.” Indeed, the 2007 Academy Award best picture winner is not only one of famed director Martin Scorsese’s most critically-adored and audience-beloved films (it has a 91% critical rating and a 94% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes), but it is also the only film for which Martin Scorsese has won an Academy Award for best director. The film boasts a stacked cast of accomplished, veteran actors, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson, Matt Damon, and Martin Sheen, and a script so well-written it won an Academy Award for best adapted screenplay. In short, “The Departed” is a contemporary classic and one of the best crime movies ever made.
It’s actually a little diminishing to call “The Departed” a cop movie simply because it is such a full story with characters and stakes that operate independent of the film’s law enforcement structures. It’s a cop movie, sure, but it’s also a movie about the psychological effects of wealth disparity and proximity to organized crime. It’s a movie about loyalty and trust, and whether or not a good person is capable of surviving amidst a sea of corruption and danger. “The Departed” is about Boston, toxic masculinity, and the sense of abandonment that leaves young men vulnerable to manipulation. Viewers can enjoy similar topics, themes, and a high level of quality in these films once they’re done with “The Departed.”
Infernal Affairs
One untold truth about “The Departed” that many people may not realize is that it is actually based on a 2002 Hong Kong film called “Infernal Affairs.” In “Infernal Affairs,” a Hong Kong triad boss named Hon Sam recruits a young man named Lau Kin-ming to become a police officer in the Hong Kong Police Force and work for him as a mole. Chan Wing-yan, a different cadet at the Hong Kong police academy, is recruited by the police superintendent to go undercover in Hon Sam’s organization as a mole for the police. If we replaced the names Hon Sam, Lau Kin-ming, and Chan Wing-yan with Frank Costello, Colin Sullivan, and William Costigan Jr., we’d have word-for-word the opening premise to “The Departed.”
The two stories are very similar, even at the end, with both Lau Kin-ming and Colin Sullivan choosing to turn on their criminal benefactors. There are certainly some plot differences — for example, Lau and Chan do not both have a sexual relationship with the same woman, as Colin and Billy do. One of the more interesting thematic differences between the two films is the extra understanding between Lau and Chan. There is a standoff between the moles in both movies, but it is only in “Infernal Affairs” that Lau, Colin’s counterpart, really explains his desire for honor and a fresh start. However, despite these differences, “The Departed” is essentially a remake of “Infernal Affairs,” so fans of Martin Scorsese’s classic will no doubt love it.
Reservoir Dogs
Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in “The Departed” is a wide-eyed police recruit when he is asked by Sergeant Sean Dignam and Captain Oliver Queenan to go undercover as a mole in Frank Costello’s criminal organization. To accomplish this, Costigan must flame out of the Police Academy and get sentenced to jail, thus procuring a solid enough criminal background that Costello won’t immediately suspect him of being a spy for the Boston Police. Billy is forced to derail his life for the sake of the operation, and it is clear throughout the film that leading a double life has taken from him a large emotional and mental toll.
“Reservoir Dogs,” a 1992 film directed by Quentin Tarantino, is different from “The Departed” in plot and aesthetic. It follows a group of criminals, known to each other only by pseudonyms assigned to them by the crime boss who has planned their forthcoming heist. As the movie goes on, the audience learns more backstory about the men and that one of them is actually an undercover cop who has sabotaged the operation. In the interest of remaining spoiler-free, we won’t name names (though there’s a big clue early on as to who it is), but his idealist attitude going into his undercover mission is nearly heartbreaking considering how the film ends. “Reservoir Dogs” offers an even more violent and abrupt loss of innocence for its goodhearted protagonist than “The Departed.”
The Town
“The Town” isn’t really about cops, but it is about criminals and the bittersweet town that is Boston, Massachusetts. Directed by Ben Affleck, who grew up in Massachusetts, “The Town” follows a group of childhood friends-turned-career criminals led by Affleck’s Doug MacRay. Doug and his buddies carry out robberies and heists with the backing of a local mobster until he begins to second-guess his life choices thanks to a pretty bank manager named Claire (Rebecca Ferguson). Doug spends most of the film attempting to unravel the web of criminal connections that he has woven as a career criminal, and ultimately he is unable to do so, a theme that fans of “The Departed” will appreciate.
“The Town” isn’t as good as “The Departed.” It won’t be placed on top 100 lists for decades to come. However, it is a movie about the seedy underbelly of Boston and how difficult it is to extract oneself from loyalties, obligations, and debts that accumulate when you have very few financial options available to you. Everything that happens in the town (including the action sequences that intimidated Ben Affleck himself) happens because young, lonely men make impulsive decisions about their lives based on the few emotional attachments they’ve been allowed (by societal expectation and accessibility) to cultivate. Billy Costigan and Colin Sullivan could easily fit in with Doug and his gang.
Cop Land
It’s actually quite difficult to find a movie about cops that doesn’t involve at least some level of corruption within bodies of law enforcement. Indeed, when a group of people have as much power as do those who enforce the law, it seems inevitable that at least one person will be tempted to bend the rules. “The Departed” is about corruption, first and foremost. The intertwining of Frank Costello’s criminal organization and the Boston Police Department is so central to both organizations’ structures that imploding one automatically leads to fallout for the other. It’s almost comical how Billy Costigan and Colin Sullivan, figures that represent organizational corruption, are juxtaposed for much of the film.
“Cop Land” takes a simpler approach in its address of police corruption. One of our 50 best cop movies of all time, this is a high-intensity action flick with clear stakes and a well-constructed plot. Sylvester Stallone stars as a young, New Jersey sheriff named Freddy Heflin who begins the film as a strong supporter of the many New York Police Department (NYPD) cops that live in his small town. As he comes to know more about these cops and their off-the-books criminal dealings — and addresses the unlawful shooting of two young, black men — Freddy becomes disillusioned. “Cop Land” features one of Stallone’s most underrated performances and is ahead of its time in its admonishment of police brutality and carelessness.
Goodfellas
Easily one of Martin Scorsese’s best films, “Goodfellas” is based on the true story of gangster and career criminal Henry Hill. The film depicts Henry (Ray Liotta) as he grows from boy to man and happily launches himself into the life of a gangster, having fallen in love with its frenetic pace and corresponding hedonistic lifestyle. Henry works with associates Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci) throughout the years on various criminal schemes. Ultimately, Henry’s actions catch up with him and he is forced to enter witness protection with his family after he realizes Jimmy will likely have him killed for his knowledge of Jimmy’s crimes.
“Goodfellas” isn’t a cop movie, and it’s not all that similar to “The Departed” in terms of plot structure, either. However, it’s a great watch for people who love “The Departed” and want more exploration of its broader themes of trust, loyalty, and guilt. Martin Scorsese often chooses to direct pictures with an emphasis on violence and action, and “Goodfellas” is no exception. Audiences even get to see both versions of Scorsese’s psychopath — the cold, calculated monster (Jimmy Conway) and the insecure, raging thug (Tommy DeVito).
Spotlight
It’s easy to forget that cops and criminals aren’t the only people out there banding together to make seismic changes in the day-to-day lives of everyday people. “Spotlight” follows the special investigative team at the Boston Globe in the early 2000’s. The team seeks to investigate and examine stories that require more effort and a longer period of research than regular news or features. At the urging of the Globe’s editor-in-chief, the Spotlight team, led by its editor Walter Robinson (Michael Keaton), begins to investigate a 1973 police case in which a Boston priest was arrested for child molestation that was never publicized. They soon realize that they are dealing with an enormous cover-up by the Boston Archdiocese.
Catholic guilt is an important theme in “The Departed,” and while this is true in other Scorsese films as well, it’s especially important in “The Departed” because the film takes place in Boston. Boston is a city with a large Irish-Catholic population and the Irish-Catholic characters in “The Departed” are often forced to struggle with guilt over their immorality, trying to balance it with their religious beliefs. “Spotlight” literally puts a spotlight on Boston Catholicism and forces the viewer to reckon with the hypocrisy of the church. It provides an interesting intellectual follow-up to the more introspective religiosity that can be found in Scorsese’s other films.
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Training Day
“Training Day” is a little bit like “The Departed” except the combined gravitas of its all-star cast is solely matched in “Training Day” by an incredible performance from Denzel Washington. “Training Day” takes place over the course of one day as an LAPD officer named Jake Hoyt (Ethan Hawke) shadows an experienced narcotics detective named Alonzo Harris (Washington). Hoyt is hoping to learn from Harris, but is quickly let down when he realizes how corrupt Harris has become throughout his time working narcotics. Harris is far more concerned with making money and appeasing the Russian criminals he recently pissed off than enforcing the law.
Jake is yet another young, idealistic figure who believes in the sanctity of the law and his duty as a police officer, much like Leonardo DiCaprio’s character in “The Departed.” It only takes one day of working with Alonzo for Jake to become disillusioned with the idea that he can trust any fellow officer. Despite the fact that “Training Day” begins with Alonzo forcing Jake to smoke PCP out of a pipe and just gets more violent and illicit from there, it is actually a far more optimistic film than “The Departed.” Ultimately, it is Jake’s commitment to doing the right thing that sees him through the day’s many dangers — and it is Alonzo’s lack of care for his neighborhood that leads to his own demise.
Sicario
The regional specificity of “The Departed” is a big part of why it hits viewers so authentically; it’s not difficult to believe that most of the main characters in “The Departed” came from a rough part of Boston. The location of a story should be a huge factor in determining plot, character, background, aesthetic, and nearly every other element of note, and yet it’s not always the case — a lot of movies are just set in a generic interpretation of New York City, for example. Another movie that appropriately utilizes geography is “Sicario,” a 2015 action film from director Denis Villeneuve.
“Sicario” follows FBI Special Agent Kate Macer (Emily Blunt) as she works with other law enforcement officers in a joint, anti-drug task force on the US-Mexico border. Macer is immediately suspicious of the task force’s commander, a CIA agent named Matt Graver (Josh Brolin), and his CIA-trained assassin, a man named Alejandro Gillick (Benicio del Toro). The goal of the task force is to take down the Mexican Sonora Cartel by tracking one of its top lieutenants, but Macer quickly realizes that Graver and Gillick do not intend to avoid illegal activity in pursuit of their goals. “Sicario” is a dark, furious film that doesn’t shy away from exploring the gray area that sometimes exists between law enforcement and criminal activity, much like “The Departed.”
Gone Baby Gone
As a movie buff who grew up in Boston, I can’t resist diving into “Gone Baby Gone,” a gripping crime thriller from 2007. Directed by Ben Affleck and based on Dennis Lehane’s novel of the same name, this film features my brother Casey Affleck as Patrick Kenzie, a private eye with a Boston-based detective agency. My partner Angie Gennaro (Michelle Monaghan) and I are brought in to help find missing four-year-old Amanda McCready, who vanished from her home.
We follow countless leads and uncover a tangled web of connections and criminal activities that shake up everyone involved. Eventually, I manage to locate little Amanda, but the choice I face at the end will change not only hers, but many other lives – including my own. The suspense is relentless in this intense Boston-set mystery.
Patrick may not be a police officer, but he works with several throughout the film and ultimately accomplishes more within a period of several months than many officers will in their entire careers. “Gone Baby Gone” occupies many of the same philosophical spaces as “The Departed,” but also takes it a step further by forcing Patrick to stare his own regrets in the face (literally). Colin Sullivan and Billy Costigan both perish before they have a real chance to reckon with their actions, so it’s refreshing being able to see the aftermath of Patrick’s decisions in “Gone Baby Gone.” Unlike “The Departed,” it ends on a contemplative, non-violent note, but its themes and tone will absolutely satisfy fans of Martin Scorsese’s film.
Killers of the Flower Moon
According to IMDb, Martin Scorsese has 78 director credits to his name as of 2025, including critically lauded films like “The Wolf of Wall Street,” “Casino,” and “Raging Bull.” Aside from “Goodfellas,” though, the only other Scorsese film we decided to put on our list of movies like “The Departed” is the 2023 feature “Killers of the Flower Moon.” At first glance the two films have very little in common. “The Departed” is about the interconnectedness of criminals and cops in contemporary Boston, while “Killers of the Flower Moon” is based on the true story of multiple murders of Osage Nation Natives by money-hungry white men in the early 21st century. However, there’s actually a lot about “Killers of the Flower Moon” that fans of “The Departed” will love.
A big theme in “The Departed” is the idea of guilt. Billy Costigan is forced to commit many crimes during his time as a mole in Frank Costello’s organization and his soul deteriorates as a result. Ernest Burkhart (Leonardo DiCaprio) from “Killers of the Flower Moon” makes Billy look like an angel — he participates in a conspiracy to murder his Osage wife’s family members. Burkhart even goes so far as to poison his wife, Mollie (Lily Gladstone), and he is so overcome with guilt at this and the death of his daughter (in which he is complicit) that he can’t even admit to her what he has done. “Killers of the Flower Moon” is a tribute to the beauty and sorrow of the Osage people and depicts a thought-provoking subplot exploring the pitfalls of loyalty and the limits of guilt.
Heat
One of the most exciting things about “The Departed” is its cast of insanely talented actors. If that’s your favorite thing about “The Departed,” then you’ll no doubt enjoy Michael Mann’s “Heat,” as it features multiple Hollywood heavyweights like Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Jon Voight, and Val Kilmer. “Heat” is a 1995 crime thriller written by Mann, who based the film on a real-life Chicago police officer named Chuck Adamson and his chasing of a criminal named Neil McCauley (after whom De Niro’s character is named). There’s plenty that “Heat” doesn’t tell you about the real-life story, but the plot follows the basic arc of Adamson’s pursuit of McCauley, who plans to carry out one last major heist with his crew while also evading Al Pacino’s LAPD Lieutenant Vincent Hanna (who was based on Adamson).
In “Heat,” the age-old game of cat-and-mouse between police officer and criminal takes center stage, contrasting sharply with the intense paranoia found in “The Departed.” Despite this difference, both films share similarities: “Heat” is characterized by its intense violence, high action content, and strong focus on masculinity and the relationships that develop among men in their demanding and harrowing professions. Thematically, it serves as a fitting sequel to “The Departed.
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2025-03-17 20:17