Heist movies are popular among people for a variety of reasons. Some love watching them for the heck of it. Some love watching them for the almost always entertaining storyline. Others love watching them for the instant adrenaline rush they provide the viewer with. Whatever the reason, we know that these movies have a well-established fan base of their own.
In recent times, heist has become a genre onto itself. In today’s time and age, there are certain elements that the audience expects from a movie of this kind, apart from the usual fast-paced nature of the films. Of late, even your run of the mill heist film will sure possess these elements. So if you are looking to get into their kind of films, which ones should you begin with? Don’t you worry, we’re not looking for an answer here. In fact, we are here to give them to you. Listed below are 6 heist films that you should definitely watch in 2021. Get set for some major mind games!
1. The Italian Job
This is a 2003 film directed by F. Gary Gray with Donna Powers, Wayne Powers, and Troy Kennedy Martin. The movie has created quite a reputation for itself in the genre. Ever since it came out, The Italian Job has been hailed as one of the most popular heist films of all time.
The cast of the film features the following stars in lead roles:
- Mark Wahlberg as Charlie Croker
- Charlize Theron as Stella Bridger
- Donald Sutherland as John Bridger
- Edward Norton as Steve Frazelli
- Seth Green as Lyle
- Jason Statham as Handsome Rob
- Aleksander Krupa as Mashkov
- Boris Lee Krutonog as Yevhen and
- Franky G as Wrench
The movie follows John Bridger and Charlie Croker as they try to put together a talented team to go through a bizarre mission: stealing gold bars from a vault in Venice. When everything seems to go according to plan, a team member betrays them, and the plan falls through. Years later, Charlie tries to get back in the game by planning another heist. The movie is fun to watch and has everything you would want a heist film to give you.
2. Now You See Me
This is another popular movie on the list, and we aren’t complaining. While critics seem to have a few problems with the film, Now You See Me is a solid heist movie. The movie initially premiered in 2013 and featured some popular people in the cast.
Louis Leterrier directed it, and the movie went on to become many a person’s favorites in the genre. Now You See Me has the following stars as part of the cast:
- Jesse Eisenberg as J. Daniel “Danny” Atlas
- Isla Fisher as Henley Reeves
- Woody Harrelson as Merritt McKinney
- Dave Franco as Jack Wilder
- Mark Ruffalo as Dylan Rhodes
- Mélanie Laurent as Alma Dray and
- Morgan Freeman as Thaddeus Bradley
The movie’s plotline is simple when you get to it, but it had so much potential, and having watched the film, we can say that said potential was met. It follows four street magicians as they agree to be a part of a heist – one so huge that nobody has seen something of such magnitude before. They manage to steal a huge amount of cash from insurance baron Arthur Tressler. It is now the FBI agent Dylan and Interpol agent Alma’s job to spot chase the magicians and arrest them.
3. Ocean’s Eleven
This one might be the one film everyone raves about, and you know what? They are all right. This movie wins in all the departments: the cast, the storyline, and the aesthetic. Ocean’s Eleven came out in 2001, and the world of heist films was never the same. The film was directed by Steven Soderbergh and had some pretty famous stars as part of the cast. This includes:
- George Clooney as Danny Ocean
- Brad Pitt as Robert “Rusty” Ryan
- Casey Affleck as Virgil Malloy
- Bernie Mac as Frank Catton
- Elliott Gould as Reuben Tishkoff
- Eddie Jemison as Livingston Dell
- Matt Damon as Linus Caldwell
- Scott Caan as Turk Malloy
- Don Cheadle as Basher Tarr
- Shaobo Qin as “The Amazing” Yen and
- Carl Reiner as Saul Bloom
- Julia Roberts as Tess Ocean
This is one film that is sure to keep you entertained, if not anything else. It is a feel-good movie and is worth watching when the Monday blues finally get to you. The plot follows Danny Ocean – who is a known criminal and gangster. He recruits a group of eleven people – called Ocean’s Eleven – and goes on a quest to steal cash from three popular casinos owned by his arch-enemy Terry Benedict. While at it, he also tries to win back his ex-partner Tess who is now with Terry. The movie is funny and can elevate your mood no matter what time you watch it.
4. Baby Driver
This is a relatively new film on this list, having come out in 2017. That being said, it defiantly has a place up there with the top players in the game. Baby Driver is another game-changer, right next to Ocean’s Eleven. The movie was directed by Edgar Wright and is critically acclaimed. The cast features the following stars in lead roles:
- Ansel Elgort as Miles ‘Baby’
- Kevin Spacey as ‘Doc’
- Jon Bernthal as Griffin ‘Griff
- Lily James as Debora
- Jon Hamm as Jason ‘Buddy’ van Horn
- CJ Jones as Joe
- Eiza González as Monica ‘Darling’ Castello and
- Jamie Foxx as Leon ‘Bats’ Jefferson III
The plot of the movie follows a young criminal who goes by the name “Baby.” He is forced by a man called Doc to participate in a heist he has no intention to be a part of. However, Doc threatens to hurt his girlfriend if he doesn’t, so Baby has no choice but to go through with the job. Everything goes according to plan until they realize that the arms dealers are, in fact, undercover government agents. The rest of the movie follows the lead characters as they struggle to make this quest a success.
5. Triple Frontier
This is another newbie in the game, and if you are just getting into heist films, we suggest you start with this one. Triple Frontier came out in 2019 and was directed by J. C. Chandor. It features the following stars in the cast:
- Ben Affleck as Tom “Redfly” Davis
- Adria Arjona as Yovanna
- Pedro Pascal as Francisco “Catfish” Morales
- Charlie Hunnam as William “Ironhead” Miller
- Oscar Isaac as Santiago “Pope” Garcia and
- Garrett Hedlund as Ben “Benny” Miller
The plot of the film follows five former special forces agents. They have been away from the scene for quite some time now, but when people think they are done for, they reunite to go through one final mission. But this one is a little different than what they are used to. This time over, they plan to steal the fortunes of a well-known drug lord. Things go haywire when parts of their plans don’t work out, and all of their loyalties are tested. This is a fast-paced film and is for anyone looking to be at the edge of their seat for the entirety of a movie.
6. Focus
This movie came out in 2015 and featured a cast that is easily recognizable by most of us. This is a comedy-drama heist film that is fun to watch. Glenn Ficarra directed the film, and John Requa and the audience had quite a lot to say about it. The cast of the film features the following stars in lead roles:
- Will Smith as Nicky Spurgeon
- Margot Robbie as Jess Barrett
- Rodrigo Santoro as Rafael Garriga
- Dominic Fumusa as Jared Mukulski
- B. D. Wong as Liyuan Tse
- Gerald McRaney as Bucky Spurgeon
- Adrian Martinez as Farhad and
- Griff Furst as Gareth, among others.
The plot of the film is an interesting one, although it was made several times before. It follows famous con artist Nicky as he gets romantically entangled with a disciple named Jess. He soon ends the relationship due to various reasons, and we would assume that it is the last time we see her, but we cannot be more wrong. Years later, Jess returns stronger than ever to ruin every shot Nicky has at making his current and future assignments a success. This movie is funny, and although it has a pretty mediocre storyline, it is worth watching just for the performance the cast has managed to deliver.
Read More: Best Classic Comedy Movies Of All Time To Watch in 2021
