Heist films have been around, in some form or fashion, since time immemorial. Opinions vary on the actual origin of the heist genre, with some crediting John Huston's 1950 film The Asphalt Jungle, while others argue that films as old as The Great Train Robbery (1903) fit the genre's parameters.
Along the way, tropes of the form have coalesced, with Akira Kurosawa contributing the "assembling the team" scene (which is ubiquitous in heist films nowadays), and the "one last job" concept that originated, some say, with Sam Peckinpah's timeless film The Wild Bunch (1969). There have been films where we don't even see the actual heist (like Reservoir Dogs), and others used by police departments as an example of the proper approach to a gun battle (Heat).
Nowadays, the heist genre continues, redoubling itself by mixing with other film genres, like comedy (Ocean's 8) and Christmas movies (Violent Night). This cross-pollination of genre has elevated the heist film beyond seen-it-all old guys plotting bank robberies from the back of auto body shops to more dynamic and inventive refashionings of larcenous tales.
Some recent films have demonstrated this development of the form, though they were missed by many thanks to poor marketing or lesser-known actors. Here are 10 great recent heist films you probably missed.
10 Army of the Dead (2021)
Army of the Dead ran up a hefty budget (close to $100 million) by creating a sumptuous atmosphere of neon-bathed computer graphics. Netflix gave the film plenty of marketing, and the critical response to the film was impressive, leading to a box office take of... only $1 million.
Granted, the runtime was a bit excessive, and Dave Bautista may not have had the acting chops to helm his own action franchise, but Army of the Dead was a visual feast, with a heist plot at its core that makes it inherently entertaining.
Army of the Dead Would Have Benefited From a Clearer Marketing Campaign
Writer-director Zack Snyder has proven his bankability with his forays into the Watchmen and MCU franchises, and was well on his way towards another success with Army of the Dead. But the ambiguity of the film's advertising made it unclear that this was a heist film, and Scott Ward (Bautista) and his crew would have had a bigger audience had Netflix focused on marketing the intense plot to liberate $200 million from a bank vault on the zombie-ridden streets of Las Vegas.
9 The Score (2021)
The Score put on display the musical and acting savant Johnny Flynn, who had, by that point, already played David Bowie in Stardust. The film may have been the first to cross a heist film with a musical, and what it lacked in story it made up for with heart and inventiveness. While inserting musical numbers into high action scenes proved to be a bit much for a widespread audience, the British film took great risks — warranting a watch.
How the Heist Unfolds in The Score
Johnny Flynn composed 23 tracks for the film, guiding a story about two small-time crooks, with differing views on the potential outcomes of their criminal endeavor. When Troy (Will Poulter) falls for a local barista, he begins to doubt if he's quite the career criminal, compared to his volatile companion in crime.
8 Shimmer Lake (2017)
Shimmer Lake cast The Office's Rainn Wilson in a rare dramatic turn as Andy Sikes, the brother of a cop, with whom he squares off during a heist and subsequent cover-up. Andy is an attorney-gone-crooked, in a twisting-and-turning plot with some nice comedic touches thanks to Wilson and John Michael Higgins.
Why Shimmer Lake is Worth Your Time
Shimmer Lake seamlessly blends the heist genre with an Anytown, USA tale replete with local meth-heads and townies. Among them are indie film darlings like Ron Livingston and Rob Corddry — whose performances create a quirky atmosphere to contrast the film's dark events.
7 The Delinquents (2023)
The Delinquents is a Spanish heist comedy about Morán (Daniel Elías), a man so bored of his existence as a bank clerk, that he robs the bank of exactly double what he would have made for the duration of his career. That second half goes to a friend, on the condition he hold the money until after Morán turns himself in to the authorities and serves his sentence. As in all heist films, the plan goes awry when it gets gummed up by an investigation.
The Delinquents Takes a Novel Approach to the Heist Genre
Rotten Tomatoes was a big fan of The Delinquents, and the film was lauded for its everyman plot and how it does away with conventional heist tropes and high action in favor of a dialogue-driven arc.
6 Wheelman (2017)
wheelman
- Release Date
- October 20, 2017
- Director
- Jeremy Rush
- Runtime
- 82
Wheelman was yet another glorious marriage of a Joe Carnahan crime film with the muted acting talents of Frank Grillo. In the film, Grillo plays Wheelman, a family man desperate to keep his life together when a heist he's serving as getaway-driver for quickly dissolves into a life-threatening scenario.
Why Wheelman Got a Surprisingly-High RT Critics Score
At a compact 82-minute runtime, Wheelman uses great economy in unraveling its story, which sits shotgun with Grillo for most of the film. The film does away with frills and overwrought heist plot devices to create a high-suspense crime saga that moves as fast as Wheelman's BMW E46.
5 Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves proved that a heist plot could be comfortably wedged into the world of fantasy — even a world as nerdy as D&D. The star power of Chris Pine helps the pace of the film, which dipped well below box office expectations thanks to an exorbitant $150 million budget.
How Dungeons and Dragons Brought the Game into the 21st Century
Dungeons and Dragons clearly took a nod from the MCU in its scope, but had trouble overcoming backlash from fans of the original game. Still, upscaling the project was necessary in the post-Game of Thrones world of fantasy expectations. The movie makes for a great watch, thanks in no small part to the film's experiential approach to stealing the "Tablet of Reawakening."
4 Dragged Across Concrete (2019)
Dragged Across Concrete made an unlikely duo out of Mel Gibson and Vince Vaughn, who both act primarily in action films these days, thanks to recent underwhelming appearances in comedy and drama. Enter director Craig Zahler, known for his brutally-graphic films Bone Tomahawk and his previous collaboration with Vaughn, Brawl in Cell Block 99. Unfortunately, Zahler's films don't fare well at the gate, but Dragged Across Concrete has a tender heart at the core of its violent gun battles.
Strategy Is the Name of the Game in Dragged Across Concrete
Detectives Ridgeman and Lurasetti (Gibson and Vaughn) square off with more than a few opponents during their hastily-hatched heist scheme. That leads to some gun battles and hand-to-hand combat that tests these now-long-in-the-tooth action stars.
3 Kajillionaire (2020)
Want to see a heist film with a 90% critic's score on RT that almost nobody saw? You've found it. Kajillionaire was the brainchild of writer/director/author/performance artist Miranda July, crafting petty crimes around a truly dysfunctional family. The film centers around the curiously-named Old Dolio (Evan Rachel Wood), an unwanting small-time crook whose family ropes her into a life of crime.
Kajillionaire Was Too Artsy for Traditional Heist Fans
Despite incredible performances from Wood and Richard Jenkins, Kajillionaire is centered much more around themes like mental health and family dysfunction than the silly heists this family commits.
2 Cut Throat City (2020)
Cut Throat City put all of Wu-Tang producer-extraordinaire RZA's talents on display as a film director. Long a fan of Kung Fu films and action, a pursuit that ushered in his collaborations with Quentin Tarantino, RZA set the New Orleans film to the backdrop of Hurricane Katrina. After the storm, things get desperate, leading the young author of a graphic novel to turn to a local drug lord for help. That leads to a heist plot.
Cut Throat City's Brutal Action Scenes Stand Out
RZA, like Tarantino, incorporated his love of old action films into this hastily-conceived heist plot, leading to a messy crime with messier fallout. The style makes it worth a watch, but it's easy to see why it was overlooked, too.
1 Den of Thieves (2018)
Den of Thieves
- Release Date
- January 18, 2018
- Director
- Christian Gudegast
- Runtime
- 140
Den of Thieves may be the most-seen on this list thanks to a second life on platforms like Prime Video, but it remains under-appreciated as maybe the best heist film of the 2010's. At the time of its release, Pablo Schreiber was merely Liev's younger brother, O'Shea Jackson was an unproven nepo baby, and Gerard Butler was trudging through one mediocre action film after another.
Despite Low Critical Marks, Den of Thieves is Supremely Entertaining
The film was a critical disaster, as well — but sometimes, a film becomes annointed by its audience, and Den of Thieves provided many with an unexpectedly great desk-watch during the darkest days of the Pandemic. Disregard the film's paltry 41% RT rating — it's just what you'll need to unwind after a long day of work.
For some other films you may have missed, check out this video on the top crime movies of 2023:
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