"Everybody needs money. That's why they call it money."

November 19, 2018 8:55 AM

The Best Heist Movies Since ‘Heat’
posted by the man of twists and turns (64 comments total)

Heist and Ronin are both amazing. I'm way overdue for a rewatch on both. I want to start quoting lines from Heist, but I really wouldn't do them justice. If you haven't seen it, just go watch it.

Maybe I should give The Bank Job another watch, but I don't remember it being... well, memorable.
posted by ODiV at 9:01 AM on November 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

Heat
The Bank Job
Femme Fatale
The Good Thief
Heist
Inside Man
JCVD
Ocean's Eleven
Ronin
Widows
posted by the man of twists and turns at 9:02 AM on November 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

JCVD is the only one of those that I really liked.
posted by grumpybear69 at 9:04 AM on November 19, 2018 [4 favorites]

All The Best Heist Movies Since ‘Heat’
posted by chavenet at 9:04 AM on November 19, 2018

Oh, and here's a recent heist film discussion we had (in which I'm also telling people to go see Heist).
posted by ODiV at 9:05 AM on November 19, 2018

Another list of someone's favorites, but.... JCVD deserved a chance, and it didn't get shit. It literally flopped worldwide, and the critics all seemed to like it and love it, for the most part, while the audience never went to see it.

I grew up watching crappy acting from JCVD in crappy movies with crappy stories. When I saw this, I said to myself "Oh Jesus, this is a good chance to laugh my ass off and not worry too much about getting my money back." Instead, what I came out of the theatre with was the notion that not only was this his finest movie, it was his only good movie, and the first time I have seen him truly seem to act as if he was attempting to portray his actual feelings and emotions. And it was a fun script too. Clever, original, and entertaining. Also, I fucking love it.
posted by bradth27 at 9:10 AM on November 19, 2018 [11 favorites]

JCVD ruled, and it even started out with a kickass action sequence if that's what you wanted. I never thought of it as a heist movie, though.
posted by The Card Cheat at 9:14 AM on November 19, 2018 [4 favorites]

I like Heat a lot, and I think that some acknowledgement should be made to Mann's previous heist movie, Thief. It is, if you'll excuse the pun (James Caan is a jewel thief), an absolute gem of a film.
posted by Halloween Jack at 9:20 AM on November 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

I just watched Oceans 8 over the weekend, which is interesting for how it deconstructs gender and class stereotypes as key mechanics for the heist.
posted by GenderNullPointerException at 9:33 AM on November 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

Widows is a terrific movie, at least as good as Inside Man, maybe better.
posted by octothorpe at 9:35 AM on November 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

"Baby Driver" No matches found.
posted by leotrotsky at 9:38 AM on November 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

"Baby Driver" No matches found.

Seems reasonable to me.
posted by chappell, ambrose at 9:41 AM on November 19, 2018 [13 favorites]

"Baby Driver" No matches found.

Seems reasonable to me.

PISTOLS AT DAWN SIR!
posted by VTX at 9:44 AM on November 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

GenderNullPointerException, I highly recommend you go see Widows for much the same reason. Obviously for the deconstruction of gender roles, but much more surprisingly (to me at least) for the play with class-driven good-evil alignment expectations...
posted by turbowombat at 9:50 AM on November 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

> PISTOLS AT DAWN SIR!

Y'all want to throw down about Baby Driver then that's what FanFare is for, though I think that we already took it about as far apart as we could.
posted by komara at 9:55 AM on November 19, 2018

Saw Widows over the weekend, knowing nothing about it. It was really good!!
posted by greermahoney at 9:59 AM on November 19, 2018

Sexy Beast is great.
posted by No Robots at 10:02 AM on November 19, 2018 [11 favorites]

Heist and Ronin are both amazing

I love Mamet but Heist was disappointing, and his worst movie.

As for Ronin, I've never understood its appeal. I thought it literally laughably bad. Years ago, after it came up on MeFi as so highly regarded, i rewatched it and found it even worse than i remembered.

I saw Widows yesterday and just thought it Okay. I'm not familiar with LaPlant's original, so have no idea who's to blame for the structure, but i didn't think it worked. Then, when i saw Flynn's name in the credits, i groaned, as her stuff is always terribly structured.

I would say it's worth watching, but mostly it was disappointing.

Only film on this list that i genuinely like, except Heat, is The Good Thief, which is excellent, but for the shitty ending, but that shitty ending is in the original so not surprising. I actually think it's better than the Melville original, and i love Melville.

Three films I'm surprised not to see on this list are Sexy Beast, which is amazing, Out Of Sight, which is far and away a better film than anything on the list, and The Lookout. The latter two have screenplays by Scott Frank, and are worth checking out.

On preview, I'm in the Baby Driver is garbage camp.
posted by dobbs at 10:05 AM on November 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

As for Ronin, I've never understood its appeal. I thought it literally laughably bad. Years ago, after it came up on MeFi as so highly regarded, i rewatched it and found it even worse than i remembered.

I will admit that I probably mostly enjoyed it because I enjoy early-70s political paranoia movies, of which it is one despite its year of production.

But the driving and stuntwork in Ronin is just jaw-dropping. I have to admire any movie where the answer to "How will we make it look like our stars are driving around Paris at like 150 km/h?" is "What we're gonna do is put our stars in cars that are driving around Paris at like 150 km/h." I think this is the only movie that's put me in this weird state where on the one hand I'm dropped out of the movie a little bit because there's obvious stunt driving going on but then I start worrying about the stunt drivers because holy forking shirtballs, like I'm watching some hairy move in an F1 race.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 10:20 AM on November 19, 2018 [10 favorites]

Inside Man is so, so perfect (even in spite of the punny title). I love the deep New Yorkiness of every character’s interactions and the clear post-911 story lurking just under the surface at all times. Christopher Plummer’s age is the only thing that doesn’t work as realistic. It also introduced me to the fantastic song Chaiyya Chaiyya.
posted by migurski at 10:50 AM on November 19, 2018 [7 favorites]

I saw Heat at the theater. Ummm want to see it again. Inside Job is the one I would like to see soon, and Widows. Hey man! The ninties called, Val Kilmer! Willem Dafoe still goin'strong. JCVD, heck yeah, just for kicks.
posted by Oyéah at 11:06 AM on November 19, 2018

Museo is pretty good recent (slacker) heist movie, that is also social commentary and about colonialism (in Mexico)
posted by dhruva at 11:07 AM on November 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

Wow, I just used five adjectives for movie and I'm having serious adjective order doubts.
posted by dhruva at 11:10 AM on November 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

JCVD is a very good movie, and it plays with “reality” in a way that’s as twisty as the usual double cross/triple cross that appears in the second act of most heist films — we see “JCVD the man” as opposed to “JCVD the role,” but, of course, the former is also a role, so how is it more real than any other role JCVD has had?
posted by GenjiandProust at 11:16 AM on November 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Why would you want to set the cutoff point at Heat when that means you can't include Rififi, Le Cercle Rouge, or, for that matter, Bob le Flambeur, settling for a remake of the last mentioned?
posted by kenko at 11:20 AM on November 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

Museo yt is pretty good recent (slacker) heist movie, that is also social commentary and about colonialism (in Mexico)

Another vote - much more interesting than I expected.
posted by each day we work at 11:28 AM on November 19, 2018

Can we please have a Robin Hood movie that's just an Ocean's 11 type heist film set in the Medieval Period? That would be dope. Ya know, instead of the all of the Robin Hood garbage after Prince of Thieves.
posted by Groundhog Week at 11:54 AM on November 19, 2018 [9 favorites]

Aw right Sweeny, round up the 'Usual Suspects'.
posted by clavdivs at 11:56 AM on November 19, 2018

Can we please have a Robin Hood movie that's just an Ocean's 11 type heist film set in the Medieval Period? That would be dope.

I would watch the shit out of that.
posted by Ragged Richard at 12:04 PM on November 19, 2018 [6 favorites]

I can't decide whether Logan Lucky is better than Ocean's Eleven, but it deserves to be right next to it on the shelf.
posted by straight at 12:06 PM on November 19, 2018

I would say it's worth watching, but mostly it was disappointing.


Clearly, opinions vary.

The acting was phenomenal, and aside from a few heisty tropes they didn’t manage to escape, the plot was entertaining. I really enjoyed that the characters were given depth and background.

But if you squint too hard, it’s How To Get Away With Murder: The Movie.
posted by greermahoney at 12:06 PM on November 19, 2018

Heist was disappointing
As for Ronin, I've never understood its appeal
I saw Widows yesterday and just thought it Okay

Is it possible you just don't really like movies?
posted by maxsparber at 12:27 PM on November 19, 2018 [11 favorites]

Hey! There are other people who liked Heat? Where were all of you guys when I was being mocked by my friends for seeing it twice?
posted by mumimor at 12:41 PM on November 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Interesting, beacause only knowing what I know about “Widows” without having seen it yet (soon, soon), “Heat” seemed like the most logical point of comparison.
posted by hwestiii at 1:36 PM on November 19, 2018

I want to add my voice to the choir praising Sexy Beast, although I have personal own (spoilers) theories about that film which mean I think of it as less of a gangster/heist flick than a metaphorical character study.
posted by The Card Cheat at 1:44 PM on November 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

I'm partial to Quick Change. For a change of pace.
posted by BWA at 2:02 PM on November 19, 2018 [4 favorites]

What color is the boathouse at Hereford?
posted by valkane at 2:03 PM on November 19, 2018 [4 favorites]

Bound.
posted by overeducated_alligator at 2:10 PM on November 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

How intense is the violence/torture in Widows? I'm planning to go but trying to decide if I should bring my low-screens but heist-loving 16 year old.
posted by latkes at 2:43 PM on November 19, 2018

FYI there is a Fanfare Heist Movie Club! Bring your Strong Opinions!
posted by latkes at 2:45 PM on November 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

American Animals is the best heist movie I've seen in ages. Highly recommend. The second best was the "Drew Thompson" season of Justified* I miss thrillers, so few are made anymore. Netflix added a ton of 90s movies lately and we've been watching our way through them. Good stuff.

*not a movie.
posted by fshgrl at 2:53 PM on November 19, 2018

valkane, Fuck if I know.
posted by humboldt32 at 2:58 PM on November 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

So, no The Ladykillers? Does that not count?
posted by humboldt32 at 3:00 PM on November 19, 2018

As I've reported earlier, I wasted way too much effort investigating the Hereford boathouse issue in the 90's when Ronin was released. According to some guy on USENET who claimed to have trained there, it was red brick with blue window trim. So that's settled, then.
posted by mojohand at 3:13 PM on November 19, 2018

Ahem.
posted by valkane at 3:22 PM on November 19, 2018

As for Ronin, I've never understood its appeal.
Seconding GCU's take: it's all about that chase sequence at the end. Like Heat is good for the police action, reloading, and "realism," the car chases in Ronin are what make the movie, imo.
posted by Snowishberlin at 3:23 PM on November 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

It's actually "How the fuck should I know?" now that I think about it, isn't it?

Also "Late unpleasantness". I use that phrase now all the time.
posted by humboldt32 at 3:42 PM on November 19, 2018 [1 favorite]

Is it possible you just don't really like movies?

No, I just have higher standards than you.
posted by dobbs at 3:43 PM on November 19, 2018

Snatch. Maybe not a pure heist movie, but there are pigs.
posted by disclaimer at 4:49 PM on November 19, 2018

Inside Man is so, so perfect ... Christopher Plummer’s age is the only thing that doesn’t work as realistic.

I love this movie, but to me, the existence of 'certain documents' [trying to avoid spoilers here], that the owner would have no conceivable reason for keeping is a far bigger challenge to reality.
posted by HiroProtagonist at 5:45 PM on November 19, 2018 [2 favorites]

'femme fatale' pivots around a terrifically envisioned and executed heist plot, but turns out to be a mind-bender. And...it's on the list. Sweet.
posted by j_curiouser at 5:53 PM on November 19, 2018

No, I just have higher standards than you.

High standards and heist movies do not really go together, with a few notable exceptions. It's like comic book movies -- you like them or you don't, but "high standards" are orthogonal to the genre.
posted by Dip Flash at 6:54 PM on November 19, 2018 [3 favorites]

The thing about "Heist" is the same as the thing about "State and Main" (and, if less so "Spartan" and "Ronin")- almost all the lines are stand-alone juicy as all get out. I mean, you imagine the actors signed on just to be able to say "So, that happened." "Then he hadn't ought to point a gun at me. It's insincere." Just... damn near the whole movie - doesn't quite make up for the short-comings, the creaky plot and etc., ...

Actually what might be great would be Soderbergh doing a re-make of "Heist." He's got the visual chops to do it justice, and if not justice at least match the language.
posted by From Bklyn at 4:15 AM on November 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

I opened the article expecting to see my personal favorite, The Thieves, but I guess this is English-language only?

Anyway, The Thieves by Choi Dong-hoon is an awesome South Korean heist movie and you get to listen to a bunch of languages.
posted by bile and syntax at 5:48 AM on November 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

Am I alone in despising Ocean's 11 because if your thieves are setting off an EMP downtown they aren't remotely sympathetic, and if they don't get away they haven't completed the heist?

Not found and should be: Logan Lucky (Baby Driver looks like a heist but really isn't one)
posted by Francis at 5:57 AM on November 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

→ How intense is the violence/torture in Widows?

Brief, but there are a few deeply nasty bits. Basically, if Daniel Kaluuya is on the screen, something very very grisly is about to happen. The bowling alley scene is particularly disturbing.
posted by scruss at 9:19 AM on November 20, 2018 [2 favorites]

I love heist movies. The only trouble is that then I want to do heists.
On the prowl, not strong.
posted by kirkaracha at 12:26 PM on November 20, 2018

More swagger than swag

When asked why he robbed banks, Willie Sutton, a prolific bank robber, is said to have replied: “Because that's where the money is.” Sutton reportedly pinched $2m during a lifetime of crime, but most robbers don't do nearly as well. In Britain the average haul from a successful robbery is £20,330 ($31,610), according to Barry Reilly of the University of Sussex, whose team of economists crunched data on the 364 robberies in 2005-08. American robbers do worse, scooping $10,025 on average, according to the FBI. They boast a higher success rate, however: 90% of attempted heists in America netted cash—compared with 66% in Britain.

Despite what you see in the movies, removing large bundles of cash from a bank is rather difficult. In America, most robbers get no further than the counter; only 5-10% make it inside the vault.

posted by kirkaracha at 12:28 PM on November 20, 2018

The best heist movie of all is the TV show Leverage. Trust me on this one.
posted by stet at 3:52 PM on November 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

No, I just have higher standards than you.

Higher standards than Max Sparber? I’m gonna have to see proof.
posted by valkane at 5:48 PM on November 20, 2018 [1 favorite]

Oyéah: "Hey man! The ninties called, Val Kilmer!"

Kilmer had such promise as an actor. I guess his ego killed him, though.
posted by Chrysostom at 10:20 PM on November 20, 2018

Higher standards than Max Sparber? I’m gonna have to see proof.

I adore trash, but only the best trash.
posted by maxsparber at 8:10 AM on November 21, 2018 [1 favorite]

Inside Man is so, so perfect (even in spite of the punny title). I love the deep New Yorkiness of every character’s interactions and the clear post-911 story lurking just under the surface at all times.

This this this. It's just SO New York. With "pardon my euphemism" and "100% Albanian" and "a ni....African American" (which is one of the many ways it highlights bone deep, casual racism). I've seen it so many times and I love everything about it. The skip bleach palette. The casting (Clive Owen AND Chewy AND Jodie Foster). The clever editing and roundabout storytelling and empty streets. I know exactly what's going to happen and yet I feel the tension every time. It truly is a masterpiece. I love heist movies, and it's by far one of my favorites.
posted by biscotti at 2:45 PM on November 21, 2018 [2 favorites]

Aw hell, apparently Ricky Jay just passed away.

.
posted by ODiV at 5:59 PM on November 24, 2018