Heist movies have been popular for decades. Even though the average person would not want to be friends with armed robbers or other serious criminals for some reason you find yourself wanting the ‘bad guys’ wanting to win when it comes to a heist movie.
There have been some terrible films made and some truly great ones.
Here are a few memorable robberies that went right…..or wrong on celluloid.
Oceans 11
A remake of the classic Hollywood heist movie. This Steven Soderbergh movie has a great ensemble cast and revolves around a plan to rob a casino of $160 million. Danny Ocean, the film’s protagonist has 3 simple rules: Don’t hurt anybody, don’t steal from anyone who doesn’t deserve it, and play the game like you’ve got nothing to lose. And with those rules, they get together to plan a master heist where nothing is left to chance. The gang plan everything meticulously and unlike gamblers, they aren’t relying on a fire joker to drop into the winning line of a slot machine.
Italian Job
A classic British movie with Michael Caine. Like many heist movies it starts with the main character having just been released from prison. It sometimes seems with these movies they are itching to get back inside. Caine’s character finds out a failed heist that his friends tried to carry out. He then decides to try again with a new plan outwitting the Mafia to bring the gold back home. The movie is filmed in Italy and England and although Caine is superb the real stars might be the Mini Coopers racing around the streets of Turin.
Logan Lucky
Anything but lucky, Jimmy Logan decides to put together a team to steal the takings at a big NASCAR event. Another Steven Soderbergh heist movie this has all his traits including humour, action and some twists in the tale. An enjoyable romp with a good cast featuring Adam Driver, Channing Tatum and Daniel Craig as demolition ‘expert’ Joe Bang.
Heat
Robert De Niro and Al Pacino faced off in this heist movie. De Niro deciding against his better judgement to carry out one last heist before leaving his old life behind and Pacino determined to catch the gang that have been eluding the police for some time makes for some great moments. There are double crosses, gun fights and chase scenes in an exciting and recommended movie.
The Town
If you watch this movie you could be forgiven for assuming that you were watching a remake of Heat but this film stands alone and has a lot going for it. True, it has a gang carrying out one last job. True, it has the main character planning to disappear with a woman he has just fallen in love with. And true, it doesn’t exactly go to plan. However, there is enough originality and good work from the cast to make this a very enjoyable heist. The extended version makes a couple of scenes easier to understand.
Widows
Based on a Lynda La Plante British drama. This movie switches location to the States and changes some of the story, but the basic premise is the same. After the criminal husbands of a group of women are killed during a botched heist the widows band together to try and carry out the plans left behind by Liam Neeson’s character. A movie featuring strong female characters that you are willing to succeed against all the odds put in front of them.
Baby Driver
Forced into being the driver for multiple bank robberies, Baby is counting down the days until he has paid off his debt and can leave his life of crime. Suffering from tinnitus, Baby listens to his iPod to drown out the endless noise in his ears. This movie is less about the actual heists and more about the car chases with some spectacular stunts and a great soundtrack to boot.
Point Break
The original not the best forgotten remake was a high-octane heist movie with a bunch of adrenaline junkies who live for surfing and skydiving. To fund their fast lifestyle they rob banks and move around as the seasons dictate. After Patrick Swayze’s gang is new recruit Johnny Utah played by Keanu Reeves.
Reservoir Dogs
Quentin Tarantino’s first movie and strangely for a heist movie you never actually see the robbery. The story revolves around the aftermath of a botched diamond heist that leaves the main players either dead, shot or blaming each other for the mess and looking for an undercover cop. It has a lower budget than Tarantino’s later movies but is full of his usual conversational pieces and as usual, has a great soundtrack. Michael Madsen’s psychotic moment while ‘Stuck in the Middle With You’ is playing is particularly memorable.
Creating your own heist
Although many of us might have fantasised about pulling off the perfect heist the likelihood is most of us are too sensible and not criminally minded to actually carry it out. There are many other ways you can have some dubious fun like Grand Theft Auto or other heist games.
If you really want to try and bring the house down then you can just login to an online casino. There are many different games there to try and you can pretend to be Danny Ocean at the poker table and the plus side is you might get a casino online bonus when you register. So instead of pulling a heist at a casino they are giving you the money instead. Online casinos have all the normal games you would expect like blackjack, roulette and poker too.
If you prefer movies there are many more great heist movies such as “The Sting,” “The Score,” and “The Thomas Crown Affair.” “Goodfellas” could also have been included for the Lufthansa robbery alone, however, it has so many crimes happening it is unclear if it could truly be called a heist movie. Hollywood appears to have a love affair with anti-heroes pulling off big scores and ‘one last job’ before disappearing into the sunset and there will surely be many more to come.