Whether they're centered on masked bank robberies, speedy car getaways or buttoned-up financial filching, the hallmarks of the best heist movies are all the same: a memorable crew, a moneyed mark and a masterful way to get away with it all.
Netflix is full of action-packed heist titles, so much so that it can be hard to choose exactly which caper you should watch next. Helpfully, Tom's Guide is here with three thrilling flicks from that streaming service that serve up that exhilarating combination of high-stakes drama, meticulously plotted suspense, clever problem-solving and colorful characters that will steal your heart, or at the very least your attention.
Whether you're more intrigued by a getaway driver trying to figure out who set him up after a botched robbery, a straight-A student at the helm of a global exams-cheating scheme or a group of ex-Army operators doing the dirty work for a South American crime lord, you should add these heist thrillers to your next Netflix watchlist.
'Wheelman'
In this 2017 Jeremy Rush-directed crime drama, star Frank Grillo (also an executive producer on the film) stars as the titular wheelman, an unnamed getaway driver tasked with manning the escape vehicle for a bank heist.
However, when he gets a mid-heist call from his "Handler" ordering him to abandon the men once the money is placed in his truck. Soon, he learns that he's been betrayed by his contact and must uncover the identities of those who double-crossed him before the bank robbers can harm his 13-year-old daughter Katie (Caitlin Carmichael) and his ex-wife Jessica (Wendy Moniz) in retaliation.
Over on Rotten Tomatoes, the heist thriller holds a solid 88% approval rating; the critical consensus reads: "'Wheelman' takes B-movie action lovers on an uncommonly smooth ride, with taut plotting and exciting action topped off with solid work from Frank Grillo in the title role." And if you need further proof that the tension is high throughout the 90-minute flick, it manages to pack in 286 instances of the F-word, among the most ever in a narrative film.
Watch "Wheelman" on Netflix now
'Bad Genius'
Not every juicy heist has to revolve around rare diamonds, precious art or mind-boggling amounts of money. In the case of "Bad Genius," a 2017 Thai thriller from Nattawut Poonpiriya, the stickup is actually centered around school grades, inspired by real-life news reports of a major SAT cheating scandal.
Lynn (Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying), a brilliant straight-A student, begins her exam-cheating business simply enough: By helping her pals Grace (Eisaya Hosuwan) and Pat (Teeradon Supapunpinyo) ace their school tests. Soon, Lynn's test-taking business is skyrocketing, with scores of students offering her cold, hard cash in exchange for exam answers.
The stakes rise dramatically when the plan goes international, with Lynn being offered millions of baht to fly to Australia to take the STIC test — an international standardized test for admissions to the world's leading universities — and then send the answers back to her customers. As the crime ring expands, Lynn is forced to contend not only with her own morals but with the entire education system.
Watch "Bad Genius" on Netflix now
'Triple Frontier'
"Triple Frontier" might have the splashiest set of criminals since the "Ocean's Eleven" franchise: In the 2019 action-adventure film, Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Pedro Pascal, Charlie Hunnam and Garrett Hedlund star as a group of former U.S. Army Delta Force operators who reunite to plan a heist to steal $75 million in cash from a South American crime lord named Gabriel Martin Lorea.
Of course, given that a violent cartel and the Amazon jungle is involved, nothing goes exactly to plan, and soon the men's skills and loyalty are dramatically tested as they struggle to survive the fallout.
"An outstanding cast and ambitious story help 'Triple Frontier' overcome an uneven narrative — and elevate the end result above a crowded field of grim and gritty heist thrillers," reads the critical consensus over on Rotten Tomatoes, where the film has a 71% approval rating. "There may be no honor among thieves, but 'Triple Frontier' certainly makes watching them pretty entertaining," praised Chris Nashawaty at Entertainment Weekly, while Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times dubbed the thriller "a first-class ride."
Watch "Triple Frontier" on Netflix now
More from Tom's Guide
- Netflix’s new heist thriller movie with Denzel Washington and Robert Pattinson already sounds like a blast — here’s what we know
- 'Ocean's Eleven' is still my favorite heist movie nearly 24 years later — here's why you should stream it on Netflix now
- Netflix just added guilty pleasure heist thriller 'Now You See Me' — and it's already rocketed straight to No. 1
