Heist backdrop

Heist movies

A robbery/heist engine: planning, timing pressure, obstacles, misdirection, and the getaway fallout.

Swordfish

1. Swordfish

Action Crime Thriller Heist Computer Threat Thriller
6.5
20011h 39min

Overview

Rogue agent Gabriel Shear is determined to get his mitts on $9 billion stashed in a secret Drug Enforcement Administration account. He wants the cash to fight terrorism, but lacks the computer skills necessary to hack into the government mainframe. Enter Stanley Jobson, a n'er-do-well encryption expert who can log into anything.

Themes

Deception and misdirection, Loyalty under pressure, Trust and betrayal, Money as motive, Alliance and duplicity, Risk under constraint

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Yamakasi

2. Yamakasi

Action Crime Drama Martial Arts Action Heist
6.1
20011h 30min

Overview

Yamakasi - Les samouraïs des temps modernes is a 2001 French movie written by Luc Besson. It demonstrates the skills of the Yamakasi, a group of traceurs who battle against injustice in the Paris ghetto. They use parkour to steal from the rich in order to pay off medical bills for a kid injured copying their techniques.

Themes

Economic precarity, Systemic failure, Urban inequality, Illicit fundraising, Community solidarity, Vigilante ethics

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Apple TV
Canal VOD
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

3000 Miles to Graceland

3. 3000 Miles to Graceland

Action Adventure Comedy Crime Thriller
6.0
20012h 5min

Overview

It was an ingenious enough plan: rob the Riviera Casino's count room during an Elvis impersonator convention. But Thomas Murphy decided to keep all the money for himself and shot all his partners, including recently-freed ex-con Michael Zane. With $3.2 million at stake, the Marshals Service closing in, Michael must track down Murphy.

Themes

Deception under pressure, Greed vs loyalty, Trust and betrayal, Risk and improvisation, Disguise and concealment, Survival through crime

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Sexy Beast

4. Sexy Beast

Crime Thriller Drama Heist Domestic Thriller
7.3
20011h 29min

Overview

Ex-safecracker Gal Dove has served his time behind bars and is blissfully retired to a Spanish villa paradise with a wife he adores. The idyll is shattered by the arrival of his nemesis Don Logan, intent on persuading Gal to return to London for one last big job.

Themes

Deception and betrayal, Loyalty vs coercion, Power dynamics in crime, Retirement under threat, Fear and manipulation, Violence as leverage

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Flickering Lights

5. Flickering Lights

Action Comedy Crime Dark Comedy Heist
7.5
20001h 49min

Overview

Four small gangsters from Copenhagen trick a gangster boss: they take over 4,000,000 kroner which they were supposed to bring him. Trying to escape to Barcelona they are forced to stop in the countryside, in an old, wrecked house, hiding there for several weeks. Slowly, one after another, they realize, that they would like to stay there, start a new life.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Trust under strain, Deception as survival, New life vs past, Isolation as catalyst, Collective ambition under restraint, Risk of discovery

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Snatch

6. Snatch

Crime Comedy Heist Dark Comedy
8.2
20001h 43min

Overview

A stolen 86-carat diamond traps crooked promoters, ruthless bookies, a Russian gangster and clueless thieves in the same brutal underworld maze. As a forced boxing scam spirals out of control, every double-cross tightens the walls around them, and each man scrambles for a way out before the whole city comes crashing in.

Themes

Crime networks and corruption, Loyalty vs self-interest, Deception and disguise, Trust under pressure, Violence and coercion, Risk of quick profits

Available on

Netflix
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Gone in Sixty Seconds

7. Gone in Sixty Seconds

Action Crime Thriller Vehicle-Driven Action Heist
6.5
20001h 58min

Overview

Upon learning that he has to come out of retirement to steal 50 cars in one night to save his brother Kip's life, former car thief Randall "Memphis" Raines enlists help from a few "boost happy" pals to accomplish a seemingly impossible feat. From countless car chases to relentless cops, the high-octane excitement builds as Randall swerves around more than a few roadblocks to keep Kip alive.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Risk and improvisation, Trust under deception, Family stakes, Crime and pursuit, Mentorship influence

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

8. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

Comedy Crime Heist Dark Comedy
8.1
19981h 45min

Overview

Four mates stake everything on a card shark’s big poker night, but a rigged game leaves them owing a brutal debt collector half a million in a week, forcing them to rob the gang next door and setting off a chain of double-crosses that spins their small-time hustle into all-out criminal chaos.

Themes

Loyalty under strain, High stakes deception, Debt pressure in crime, Escalation of violence, Value of weaponry, Rival gang pressure

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Google Play Movies
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Taxi

9. Taxi

Action Comedy Crime Adventure Vehicle-Driven Action
7.0
19981h 26min

Overview

In Marseilles a skilled pizza delivery boy Daniel who drives a scooter finally has his dreams come true. He gets a taxi license. Caught by the police for a huge speed infraction, he will help Emilien, a loser inspector who can't drive, on the track of German bank robbers, so he doesn't lose his license and his dream job.

Themes

License vs talent, Economic mobility pressure, Unconventional partnership, Risk-driven improvisation, Public policing spectacle

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Amazon Video
Apple TV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Fargo

10. Fargo

Crime Drama Thriller Heist Kidnapping & Captivity Thriller
8.1
19961h 38min

Overview

Jerry, a small-town Minnesota car salesman is bursting at the seams with debt... but he's got a plan. He's going to hire two thugs to kidnap his wife in a scheme to collect a hefty ransom from his wealthy father-in-law. It's going to be a snap and nobody's going to get hurt... until people start dying. Enter Police Chief Marge, a coffee-drinking, parka-wearing - and extremely pregnant - investigator who'll stop at nothing to get her man. And if you think her small-time investigative skills will give the crooks a run for their ransom... you betcha!

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Criminal escalation, Financial desperation, False promises, Investigative persistence, Moral ambiguity

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
fuboTV
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.