Crime backdrop

Crime movies

A deep dive into the underworld of gangsters, detectives, and heists where the line between right and wrong blurs.

Subgenres include: Organized Crime, Heist, Con Artist Crime.

State of Play

801. State of Play

Thriller Crime Mystery Political Thriller Detective Mystery Crime
7.1

20092h 7min

France, United Kingdom

Director: Kevin Macdonald

When a congressional aide is killed, a Washington, D.C. journalist starts investigating the case involving the Representative, his old college friend.

Themes

Corruption and accountability, Corporate influence on policy, Media ethics and transparency, Investigative journalism under pressure, Political power and oversight, Loyalty and betrayal in politics

Available on

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

Breathless

802. Breathless

Crime Drama
7.5

20092h 10min

Director: Yang Ik-june

Sang-hoon is a lowlife gangster, a debt collector exercising thuggish ways to collect his money. The recipient of nothing but anger since his childhood, he expresses himself through violence. When he finally encounters someone who can stand up to him, feisty school-girl Yoon-hee they become unlikely friends.


OSS 117: Lost in Rio

803. OSS 117: Lost in Rio

Crime Action Comedy Spy Action Parody
6.8

20091h 40min

France

Director: Michel Hazanavicius

In 1967, OSS 117 is sent to Brazil in order to retrieve a microfilm list of French Nazi sympathizers, only to once again unknowingly set foot into a bigger international intrigue.

Themes

Power and authority, Hippie counterculture, Prejudice under pressure, Gender role disruption, Secret agent tension, Cultural clash with humor

Available on

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

Crows Zero II

804. Crows Zero II

Action Adventure Crime Comedy Martial Arts Action
7.2

20092h 13min

Japan

Director: Takashi Miike

Genji and his victorious G.P.S. alliance find themselves facing down a new challenge by the students of Hosen Academy, feared by everyone as 'The Army of Killers.' The two schools, in fact, have a history of bad blood between them. And the simmering embers of hatred are about to flare up again, burning away any last remnants of the truce they had so rigorously observed until now.

Themes

Rivalry between schools, Gang codes under pressure, Friendship tested by violence, Ambition and status pursuit, Destructive loyalty, Power struggles and truces

Available on

Amazon Prime Video
Filmin
Amazon Prime Video with Ads
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Fast & Furious

805. Fast & Furious

Action Crime Drama Thriller Vehicle-Driven Action
6.5

20091h 47min

Japan, United States

Director: Justin Lin

When a crime brings them back to L.A., fugitive ex-con Dom Toretto reignites his feud with agent Brian O'Conner. But as they are forced to confront a shared enemy, Dom and Brian must give in to an uncertain new trust if they hope to outmaneuver him. And the two men will find the best way to get revenge: push the limits of what's possible behind the wheel.

Themes

Loyalty under pressure, Risk and reward, Deception and trust, Family ties under strain, Competition and alliance, Crime and law tension

Available on

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

Sin Nombre

806. Sin Nombre

Drama Action Thriller Crime Coming-of-Age Drama
7.5

20091h 36min

Mexico, United States

Director: Cary Joji Fukunaga

Sayra, a Honduran teen, hungers for a better life. Her chance for one comes when she is reunited with her long-estranged father, who intends to emigrate to Mexico and then enter the United States. Sayra's life collides with a pair of Mexican gangmembers who have boarded the same American-bound train.

Themes

Survival under coercion, Violence and control, Migration and border danger, Family separation and resilience, Gang loyalty and initiation, Pursuit and risk

Available on

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

Bronson

807. Bronson

Drama Action Crime Psychological Drama Prison Crime
7.0

20091h 32min

United Kingdom, Denmark

Director: Nicolas Winding Refn

A young man who was sentenced to 7 years in prison for robbing a post office ends up spending 30 years in solitary confinement. During this time, his own personality is supplanted by his alter ego, Charles Bronson.

Themes

Isolation and confinement, Violence as spectacle, Authority and control, Art as outlet, Blurred lines between crime and performance, Body as shield

Available on

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

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

808. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

Drama Thriller Crime Mystery Investigation Suspense
7.8

20092h 32min

Denmark, Germany

Director: Niels Arden Oplev

Swedish thriller based on Stieg Larsson's novel about a male journalist and a young female hacker. In the opening of the movie, Mikael Blomkvist, a middle-aged publisher for the magazine Millennium, loses a libel case brought by corrupt Swedish industrialist Hans-Erik Wennerström. Nevertheless, he is hired by Henrik Vanger in order to solve a cold case, the disappearance of Vanger's niece

Themes

Female empowerment, Abuse and guardianship, Legacy and accountability, Antisemitism and family secrecy, Corruption and exposure, Investigative collaboration under pressure

Available on

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

Blood and Bone

809. Blood and Bone

Action Crime Thriller Drama Martial Arts Action
6.7

20091h 33min

United States

Director: Ben Ramsey

In Los Angeles, an ex-con takes the underground fighting world by storm in his quest to fulfill a promise to a dead friend.

Themes

Deception and manipulation, Trust under pressure, Loyalty under threat, Crime and ambition, Power under coercion, Survival in underground fighting

Available on

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

Polytechnique

810. Polytechnique

Crime Drama Thriller Historical Drama Mind Game Thriller
7.2

20091h 17min

Canada

Director: Denis Villeneuve

A dramatization of the Montreal Massacre of 1989 where several female engineering students were murdered by an unstable misogynist.

Themes

Survivor resilience, Gender violence, Professional identity under threat, Misogyny and aggression, Gender-based power dynamics, Pregnancy after trauma

Available on

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