When ranking the best crime movies or when ranking anything, it’s important to keep in mind two quotes about having various opinions.
“As long as the reason of man continues fallible, and he is at liberty to exercise it, different opinions will be formed.”- James Madison
“Opinions are like a$$holes, everybody’s got one and everyone thinks everyone else’s stinks.”- Simone Elkeles
The Score is one of the best crime movies of all time. While most thief-centered films are plot driven, this actor-driven film features two of Hollywood’s finest dramatic actors, Robert DeNiro and Edward Norton. This heist movie was released in 2001, and has a top-notch supporting cast that includes Angela Bassett and Marlon Brando in his final film role.
One of the major appeals of The Score is watching how the two thieves, portrayed by DeNiro and Norton, work on their craft. From complicated escape routes, to dedicating oneself to a cover identity, these two characters maintain a high bar of professionalism.
DeNiro’s character is an elder statesman in the heist game. The film begins with his character displaying extreme focus and flexing his discipline, which is one of the most under-rated qualities of a world-class thief. DeNiro’s character gives aspiring thieves a lifestyle to emulate. He lives in a wonderful city, Montreal, he has a beautiful and intelligent sexual partner, played by Bassett, and he has an ongoing business entity that allows him to launder money and to enjoy the finer things in life, like owning his own jazz club.
Norton’s character also demonstrates the long-term efforts that many thieves put into a potential job. When contemplating how to steal almost anything, one should consider both the risk/reward but also how much prep time is needed to pull off any job. Norton’s character goes through great lengths to make their heist successful. That dedication is notable and helps establish credence to his character and allows for both actors/characters to play off of each other in a manner that drives this heist movie forward.
Sticking with powerful actors playing off of each other, and sticking with DeNiro, leads us to an instant classic, Heat.
Although Heat can be seen as an action movie first, it’s also an epic heist movie. The twist in this film is that we see how crime affects those in law enforcement as well. The story arch of Al Pacino’s character is simply telling the opposite side of the same crime coin. This juxtaposition is what pushes this movie into legendary status.
Aspiring thieves should take notice of the amount of preparation DeNiro’s crew performs when planning a job. There’s also the code which DeNiro’s character lives by “Don’t let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner.”
The bank shoot-out scene is epic. The cinematography is stunning. What’s not to love? It’s Pacino. It’s DeNiro. It’s Heat. Everyone knows it’s a great crime movie.
This movie, and the series, is the food engineering of crime movies. Food engineers know when you combine two attractive elements, like sugar and fat, the combo is much more powerful than the individual elements. This movie combines two fan-favorite topics, stealing and revealing magic tricks.
This is the first ensemble cast movie of this list. Many great caper-focused movies and capers within movies, like the Mission Impossible franchise, take a team to pull off. Usually, the team is formed for maximum drama or maximum comedy. Now You See Me’s cast delivers both.
Card tricks, hypnosis, and con games all lead the viewer through a complex maze of entertaining plot twists and turns.
In a related note, an upcoming third installment of this series is apparently in the works.
The Italian Job
An important aspect for group success is group motivation. This group of thieves are highly motivated throughout the movie. The combination of gold and revenge focuses their minds and their actions.
We have our second ensemble movie and our second Edward Norton film. Norton does a particularly good job in playing the film’s villain. The character-development twist the writers came up with to have Norton’s character spend his ill-gotten gains on all of their dream purchases is quite clever, and makes Norton’s character seem even more pathetic.
Giving the crew members nicknames is also a staple thief-movie cliché, cleverly done here.
Handsome Rob
Left Ear
The Napster
A hidden Easter Egg in the movie is the book Left Ear carries with him while in Italy, How to Think Like Leonardo da Vinci. A fitting book for the character and the scenery.
The MINI COOPER scene is just sooooo sweet! Plus it provides us an opportunity to watch Jason Statham, Handsome Rob, drive. The Charlize Theron foreshadowing and homage to the original movie as she drives her older Mini at the beginning of the movie was a nice touch. The product placement for this summer blockbuster was marketing genius for BMW and the Mini Cooper brand.
Charlize Theron’s character touches on one of the best thief-related themes, which is talented safe crackers. Her dedication to her craft and her desire for revenge helps propel this movie.
The final toast of the movie, led by Mark Wahlberg’s character, Charlie, emphasis the importance of planning for thieves as he pays homage to his teacher, John, by toasting him as “the most brilliant master-planner of all.”
The Ocean Movies
First, R.I. P. Bernie Mac—one of the funniest people ever.
Ok, it’s kind of cheating to include all of the modern-Ocean movies together, but the series stands out because of the winding plots and the character development that transpires throughout the various movies.
The Ocean movies, like many thief-ensemble movies, are a shining example of today’s employment reality. These movies were demonstrating elements of the gig economy years before that term ever took hold. The concept is simple, when there is no job to do, employees/friends/people are free to pursue any activity they wish, with the understanding that when work comes up, the team assembles and handles the job.
Brad Pitt’s character, Rusty has an obsession with food that never wanes, but many of the other characters have personalities that ebb and flow throughout the series. This is best demonstrated through the maturation of Matt Damon’s character, Linus.
All of the Ocean movies are a fun voyage through the world of high-stake robberies.