Cinema is finally back in full swing, with recent box office juggernauts like Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey and the latest Spider-Man showing that audiences may have rediscovered that once-lost appetite for seeing the biggest releases on the biggest screen.
Instead of being instantly lost in a sea of straight-to-streaming, second-screen drivel, some genres simply deserve a theatrical run, and heist movies fit squarely in that category. From the obligatory shootouts and car chases to the slick sequences and elaborate plot twists, they’re made for the silver screen. Yes, they’re entertaining to re-watch from the comfort of your sofa, but the first time around, they’re just so much better in a dark room on a stupidly large surface with surround sound and a weirdly comforting combined smell of popcorn and old carpet.
And with the news that Michael B. Jordan is set to re-imagine one of the genre’s most iconic franchises, The Thomas Crown Affair (I think after three re-releases, it’s safe to call it that), we thought it was about time to put together our list of the best heist movies to keep your adrenaline levels up and your eyeballs thoroughly entertained. If you have a home cinema set up… now would be a good time to dust it off.
Logan Lucky (2017)
Affectionately referred to as hillbilly Ocean’s Eleven, Logan Lucky is a fun and heartwarming heist comedy starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig. Following two brothers who attempt to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway during a NASCAR event, it’s as ridiculous and tension-filled as it is sweet.
All three actors are brilliant in it, with Daniel Craig’s scene-stealing performance as a super southern explosives expert a particular standout – especially as it’s about as far away from his Bond pout as it could possibly be. Though it was widely praised by critics, Logan Lucky underperformed at the box office, perhaps cannibalised by the same-time release of The Hitman’s Bodyguard (which was probably similar enough on paper to divide audiences and retrieve underwhelming results for both).
Fun fact: Director Steven Soderbergh bypassed the traditional Hollywood studio system and funded the movie by preselling the foreign distribution rights.
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Coming in just behind Thelma and Louise as my second favourite movie of all time, Reservoir Dogs is trademark Tarantino and arguably his best film to date (admittedly, a high bar). From the non-linear storytelling and the vintage soundtrack to the extreme violence and the obligatory way-too-long opening scene that says nothing and everything simultaneously, it’s got it all.
If you’ve never seen it, it follows a robbery gone wrong and gets pretty grim. The ensemble cast, including Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Lawrence Tierney, and Edward Bunker, is impeccable. There’s one scene that might ruin Michael Madsen for you forever (especially if, like me, your first impression of him was as the sweet foster dad in Free Willy). Oh, and there’s also Tarantino demonstrating his terrible acting as he does in most of his films (with the rare exception of Pulp Fiction, where he’s actually OK).
Fun fact: Tarantino originally wrote the role of Mr Pink for himself. Thankfully, he came across Steve Buscemi before the cameras started rolling and the rest is history.
Widows (2018)
Directed by Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave) and starring Viola Davis, Michelle Rodriguez, Liam Neeson, Jon Bernthal, Daniel Kaluuya, Colin Farrell, and Robert Duvall, this was destined to make the list. Based on a British TV show from the 80s, the story is centred around a group of grieving widows who pull off a high-stakes robbery to repay a dangerous crime boss after their husbands die in a botched heist.
The 91% critics rating versus the 61% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes might indicate that this is more a film buff’s kind of heist movie than your standard please-all popcorn flick, but you’re still in for a good time.
Fun fact: Despite decades of success and multiple Oscar nominations (including one win), Widows was technically Viola Davis’s first lead role in a major studio movie.
Baby Driver (2017)
From Director Edgar Wright (Shaun of the Dead, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World) comes a highly stylised heist action movie with an extremely specific soundtrack. The story follows a young getaway driver who obsessively listens to music as a way to deal with the tinnitus and trauma from the car crash that killed his parents. He drives solely to pay off a debt to a dangerous crime boss, but as he meets the woman of his dreams and tries to leave that world behind, he gets dragged into one last bank heist.
Starring Ansel Elgort alongside Lily James, Kevin Spacey, Jon Hamm, Eiza González, Jon Bernthal, and Jamie Foxx, Baby Driver has a 92% Rotten Tomatoes rating and was nominated for three Oscars.
Fun fact: When the studio was pressuring Wright to cut down a pivotal scene because the movie was going over budget, he sacrificed part of his fee to get it over the line.
No Sudden Move (2021)
This is another critically acclaimed Steven Soderbergh movie from recent years. Set in 1950s Detroit with a neo-noir aesthetic, No Sudden Move follows Don Cheadle and Benicio del Toro as low-level criminals carrying out a simple home-invasion heist. But, as you can probably guess, things quickly escalate, and they find themselves unexpectedly entrenched in a huge corporate conspiracy.
Fun fact: Soderbergh intentionally created a distorted aesthetic using Kowa Anamorphic lenses to replicate the imperfections of movies actually shot in this era.
The Killing (1956)
Based on Lionel White's novel Clean Break, The Killing was Stanley Kubrick's mainstream directorial debut. It’s a film noir about a $2 million racetrack hold-up with a non-linear structure – a trope that a certain Quentin Tarantino would later adopt. It fared poorly at the box office when it was first released, but has garnered critical acclaim over the years. Thanks to its gritty dialogue, superb acting, and tension-filled scenes, The Killing is now considered a classic of the genre.
Fun fact: Kubrick took no fee as director.
How to Rob a Bank (2026)
If you’re in the mood for high-octane action at the cinema, David Leitch (Bullet Train, The Fall Guy) has a brand new comedy heist movie coming out later this year.
Starring Nicolas Hoult, Zoë Kravitz, Pete Davidson, and John C. Reilly, How to Rob a Bank promises to be fast-paced, explosive, and a little unhinged (the trailer’s basically giving Ocean's Eleven meets Deadpool).
The movie was first slated for a September release, but due to positive feedback from test audiences, Amazon MGM Studios pushed it back to capitalise on Thanksgiving holiday trade in the US (which unfortunately bumps it back for the rest of us too).
Thief (1981)
Michael Mann loves the underworld, and Thief is an excellent example of this from the acclaimed director. The heist film follows a safecracker (played by the late great James Caan) as he attempts one last job before retiring. As is the case with many of these "one more job" crime capers, things don't go to plan, and he finds himself in trouble with the Chicago mob.
This was Caan's best role since The Godfather and an early look at Mann's talent as a director. The soundtrack by German electronic act Tangerine Dream is bloody amazing and suits the gritty feel throughout.
Fun fact: The heist film debuts Jim Belushi, Dennis Farina, and William Petersen.
The Italian Job (1969)
No, not the painful Marky Mark remake but the British original starring a charming Michael Caine as criminal Charlie Croker, who assembles a crew for a job in Italy that involves stealing $4 million in gold bars straight after being released from prison. The Italian Job is a mixture of comedy and action, with the final car chase through the streets of Turin an absolute joy to watch to this day.
Fun fact: Michael Caine didn't know how to drive before filming The Italian Job.
Point Break (1991)
Point Break is a cinematic masterpiece that laid the foundation for the Fast & Furious franchise and helped put Keanu Reeves on the map. Reeves plays detective Johnny Utah, who goes undercover as a surfer to infiltrate an extreme sports-loving gang of bank robbers known as the “Ex-Presidents," led by Patrick Swayze's Zen master Bodhi.
Although admittedly a little dated, this heist film has it all: from Kathryn Bigelow's frenetic direction and immersive action set pieces through to star turns from both leads. It also features an engaging Gary Busey as Reeves' hotdog-loving FBI partner, Angelo Pappas.
Fun fact: Red Hot Chili Peppers' Anthony Kiedis cameos as rival surfer, Tone.
Heat (1995)
Not only is Heat a classic crime film, but it’s hands down one of the greatest movies of all-time. While people always talk about the diner scene between Robert De Niro's career criminal Neil McCauley and Al Pacino's over-the-top Lt. Vincent Hanna, it's Michael Mann's tight script and mesmerising direction that make this film so watchable.
The final shootout is intense, the characters complex, and the supporting cast (Val Kilmer, Ashley Judd, Tom Sizemore, Danny Trejo, William Fichtner) unbelievable. It’s a masterpiece that Mann is yet to better.
Fun fact: A subplot involving Vincent Hanna's cocaine addiction was cut at the last minute.
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Few films end with a twist quite as brilliant as The Usual Suspects. In Bryan Singer's breakthrough thriller, a group of criminals is forced to undertake a robbery for mysterious crime boss Keyser Söze, who they all unintentionally ripped off during previous heists. The colourful cast (Gabriel Byrne, Stephen Baldwin, Benicio Del Toro and Kevin Spacey) is wonderful, and the astonishing ending is still watchable after all these years.
Fun fact: The word 'fuck' and its derivatives are used 98 times during the film.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Guy Ritchie’s directorial debut and the one that put an entire sub-genre of the British crime drama movie on the map – the one that launched the careers of Jason Statham, Jason Flemyng, Dexter Fletcher, and football hardman Vinnie Jones.
The Cockney rhyming slang is thick enough that you'll want subtitles on a first watch, but the interweaving storylines, quick-cut editing, and blackly comic tone made it an instant cult hit and set the template Ritchie would return to throughout his career.
Ronin (1998)
Robert De Niro's second film on this list centres on a group of former special operatives coming together to steal a mysterious briefcase. The briefcase is actually just a MacGuffin to push the film along, with Ronin focused more on character development, double crosses, and some tremendous action set pieces. The realistic car chases through the streets of Nice and Paris are at the heart of this heist film and on par with the action seen in Bullitt.
Fun fact: One of the few films where Sean Bean doesn't die.
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
A remake of the 1960s Rat Pack film of the same name, Ocean's Eleven assembles a kick-ass cast who plan on robbing three Las Vegas casinos in one night. Steven Soderbergh brings a stylish direction to the film while big-name actors George Clooney, Brad Pitt, and Matt Damon add a touch of class to this terrific heist flick. Although Don Cheadle's English accent is laughable, the rest of the supporting cast is flawless, making Ocean's Eleven a truly memorable watch.
Ocean’s 12 and 13 are nowhere near as awesome as the first instalment, but still a decent enough watch. I really wanted Ocean’s 8 to be too, but despite its excellent cast, it just isn’t.
Fun fact: Matt Damon replaced Mark Wahlberg after he dropped out to film Tim Burton’s Planet Of The Apes.
The Town (2010)
The Town is the jewel in Ben Affleck's filmography crown. Not only does he star as the leader of a gang of Boston bank robbers, but his filmmaking talents are thoroughly on display in his impressive directorial sophomore effort.
Forced to take one final job to save his girlfriend Claire, Affleck and his crew attempt to steal $3.5 million from Fenway Park. It all culminates in a brutal finale featuring an epic shootout on the open streets. Special mention must also be made to Jeremy Renner's portrayal of vicious thug James "Jem" Coughlin, which is genuinely frightening and earned him an Oscar nod.
Fun fact: (Spoiler Alert) The original ending shows Affleck’s character being mortally wounded in the shootout with Fergie and dying in Claire’s arms.
Jackie Brown (1997)
Based on Elmore Leonard's novel Rum Punch, Quentin Tarantino’s 1997 flick Jackie Brown could be one of the legendary director’s most pared-back releases, seemingly without the blood-soaked ensemble chaos of Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, or Kill Bill.
But that doesn’t make it any less of a Tarantino blockbuster with the slow-burn tension of watching Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) play the ATF, the cops, and Samuel L. Jackson’s Ordell Robbie against each other so she can walk away with half a million dollars. Special mention goes to Robert De Niro, who plays wonderfully against type as Ordell's dim, burnt-out ex-con associate.