The Top 10 Best Heist Movies
Heist Movies Always Steal the Show
If anything, Solo: A Star Wars Story proved that good heist movies can be few and far between. Luckily this month is featuring a spin-off from one of the greatest heist movies of all time, which got me thinking about what some of the other greats might be. In order to do that though, I had to dig through a ton of films and really take some time to think about what a heist movie really is. For me, it’s about a group of people trying to steal something and get away with it. That eliminated some amazing movies like The Sting, Inception, and Reservoir Dogs since they didn’t actually focus on the act of planning and executing a robbery. Even with narrowing my focus, that still left me with a ton of great films. Fortunately, I was able to narrow it down to a group of ten movies that I believe are the best and brightest caper flicks I’ve seen over the years. Of course, there are a ton of other great larceny films out there, so be sure to let me know what some of your favorites are in the comments after the article. That being said, let’s hear it for some of the best heist movies of all time!
10. Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels
Guy Ritchie’s feature film debut is still one of the great heist movies of all time. While some argue that Snatch is his better movies, which it might be. However, it’s not really much of a heist film. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking though is all about pulling off a perfect robbery. The twist is that no one in the film really knows what they’re doing. They’re all small time cons who go after the score of a lifetime in order to save themselves from some very colorful criminals. In typical Guy Ritchie fashion, the bizarre and quirky characters set the tone for the rest of the film. Of course, no heist movie is complete without some memorable characters trying to pull off the perfect job. Guy Ritchie though is masterful when it comes to creating those kinds of heroes.
9. Logan Lucky
One of the more recent heist movies to hit theaters, missing it was one of my biggest regrets of 2017 (and trust me I’ve got a ton of regrets). It’s the ultimate blue-collar caper movie featuring the likes of Daniel Craig, Channing Tatum, and Adam Driver as a group of West Virginia good old boys with their eyes of getting a piece of what the 1% have. The beauty of this film is that all of the actors initially come off as dumber than a Trump supporter. As the film goes on though it slowly becomes clear that education is not a firm indicator of intelligence as this unlikely group sets out to rob one of the biggest races in the country. Of course, with that much money involved betrayal isn’t far away and things get hairy for the heroes.
8. Ronin
Ronin is a total cult classic. It’s filled with subdued action sequences that never outside the overall story. In it, a group of mercenaries is hired to steal a briefcase, the thing is that no one knows what’s in the case. Still, mercenaries don’t really ask questions as long as they can cash the check. At least, that is, until they start getting betrayed by one another. What starts as an elite team of professional bad guys splinters into fractions all racing to get a hold of some mystery box. As far as heist movies go, Ronin is much more action packed and fast paced than a lot of the other films on this list. It very much feels like a blend of a heist movie and an espionage thriller, which makes it a more than memorable flick.
7. The Town
Whether you’re a fan of Batffleck or not, Ben Affleck has proven that he’s a damn fine director. One of his first big successful films was The Town. A heist movie set out in Boston with a group of Beantown Boys decide to follow in the family business and start robbing banks for money and street cred. As good as the crew is, things go south when the FBI comes poking around and one of their jobs ends with them taking a hostage. While they let her go unharmed, paranoia gets the better of some of them and ends up dividing the crew when they need to stick together the most. While Affleck managed to make a great heist movie, it’s Jeremy Renner’s performance that makes this film so incredible.
6. Baby Driver
This was easily one of my favorite movies of 2017 and one that proved that Edgar Wright is one of the best directors in Hollywood. The film mostly follows a getaway driver that is the best in the business. Still, he assists on more than a few heists along the way and manages to make even the dumbest criminals impossible to catch by the police. Sure, there’s no one big score in the film, but the fact that Baby works with some many crews and manages to remain a total professional makes his film more than worthy to show up on this list. Of course, Baby is no stranger to Top 10 lists around here, but this one is pretty much made for him. At least until a Top 10 Getaway Drivers list pops up. Besides having a charming, charismatic lead, it’s got an amazing soundtrack and some of the best car chases I’ve seen in years.