When looking for a heist movie, there is no need to go further than Netflix’s diverse collection.
But what if you’re not a fan of heist movies?
Whether you want an action-packed thriller, crime-comedy, a romantic twist, or you can’t even stand the thought of a heist movie, Netflix has one for you.
From ancient artifacts to cash, to coins, to a drug lord’s loot, no matter what the end prize, if it is valuable, you can bet a heist movie has been made about it.
The frustration of movie after movie featuring people doing anything to get their hands on what they covet is real. We feel you. But we’re here to tell you that even if you fall in that category, these recommendations will have you rethinking your opinion.
With more significant risk comes bigger rewards, and when people are willing to risk their lives for what they want, a fantastic storyline is sure to come out of it.
Red Notice
This Netflix original movie combines action, comedy, and adventure, starring Ryan Reynolds, Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, and Gal Gadot.
Red Notice tells the story of two art thieves, Nolan Booth (Ryan Reynolds) and Sarah “The Bishop” Black (Gal Gadot), and Special Agent John Hartley (Dwayne Johnson), who are all trying to get a hold of Cleopatra’s ancient eggs.
In this A-list heist movie, the comic relief comes from Reynolds, and Johnson plays a more serious character, while Gadot is a femme fatale.
The movie has plot twists, set-ups, comedy, and excitement. Think Indian Jones, Mission: Impossible, and James Bond.
The filming location includes breathtaking places like mountainous Russia, Bali, and Egypt.
The plot follows FBI agent Hartley, trying to take down Booth and Black. Each one is trying to get a hold of all three of Cleopatra’s adorned eggs before the others do.
The cast is a trio of perfection, each playing the perfect part, which makes it seem beyond natural and highly amusing.
If you are a Ryan Reynolds or The Rock fan, you will love this, even if you don’t like heist movies because they seem to be playing themselves.
Also, if you are into movies with mind-blowing plot twists, secret love interests, big names, and witty humor with an adventurous and camping-like feel, this is for you.
Despite some critics’ low movie ratings, it is a fun and worthwhile watch!
Army of Thieves
Army of Thieves is another Netflix heist movie with a dash of humor directed by and stars Matthias Schweighöfer.
It is a prequel to Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead. But do not let that deter you because there is no need to have watched Army of the Dead to understand what is happening.
It centers around safecracker Ludwig Dieter (Schweighöfer), a bank teller who posts videos featuring impenetrable safes.
While a zombie apocalypse begins in the US, Gwendoline (Nathalie Emmanuel), a notorious jewel thief, is looking to score big and recruits Dieter.
Emmanuel may look familiar from her part as Missandei in Game of Thrones.
The crew she has put together also includes backer Korina Dominguez, getaway driver Rolph, and gunman wild-card Brad Cage.
Their goal is to break into three banks with safes known to be impossible to crack and will be decommissioned in less than a week, adding extra stress to the heist.
On top of that, Gwendoline is on the run from Interpol, who is chasing them while they travel from bank to bank.
If you are a fan of movies with romantic drama, this movie is definitely for you. Emmanuel and Schweighöfer have an on-screen chemistry that is off the charts.
If you are an Army of the Dead fan, you’ll enjoy learning Dieter’s back story.
It is also full of brilliantly placed cultural influences and references.
It has aspects that are classic European arthouse films. The main being that the heist is based on a classic opera, with the progression of the safes based on Wagner’s Ring Cycle.
He commences each safecracking at the correct part of the opera and tells its story along the way, an extremely appealing aspect outside of the heist.
This emotion-lead plot leads to twists and turns in the movie, adding more angst to the story.
Army of Thieves is a great choice that will have you mad, sad, happy, and screaming no at your TV!
Triple Frontier
If you are looking for a crew of bad-ass military personnel, look no further than Triple Frontier.
It is centered around ex-United States Army Delta Force operator Santiago “Pope” Garcia (Oscar Isaac), who is now working in Colombia fighting the drug cartels.
He recruits a team made up of fellow ex-Delta Force operators Tom “Redfly” Davis (Ben Affleck), William “Ironhead” Miller (Charlie Hunnam), and brother Ben “Benny” Miller (Garrett Hedlund), and pilot Francisco “Catfish” Morales (Pedro Pascal).
The goal? Nothing crazy, just to traverse the highly rigid Andes Mountains to drug lord Gabriel Martin Lorea’s house hidden in the jungle to steal his $75 million in cash for themselves…
This gem of a movie is a captivating emotional rollercoaster full of action and bloodshed with some anxiety, anguish, hilarity, and a love story mixed in.
The star-studded and exceptionally handsome cast, filming locations, and ups and downs will leave you wanting more.
Those who don’t like heists will still be drawn to the other aspect of the movie, life beyond war and the other side of the ‘American Dream’ fence.
It features a real struggle for service members who are now considered unsuitable. The transition from war to civilization is something a lot of us don’t understand.
It’s an unthinkable change, mentally and financially, which this movie highlights and raises important questions.
The Vault
The Vault is an action-filled, thrilling heist film starring Freddie Highmore (The Good Doctor), Àstrid Bergé-Frisbey, Sam Riley, Liam Cunningham, Luis Tosar, Axel Stein, José Coronado, and Famke Janssen.
The film brings to mind the Black Swan Project, a sunken treasure recovered by marine salvage firm Odyssey Marine Exploration for its discovery of coins in the ocean.
The loot is estimated at $500 million.
Unfortunately, they had to turn it over to Spain for legal reasons.
In the movie, Walter Moreland (Cunningham) owns a salvaging company that recovered ‘the treasure of Guadalupe’ that the Spanish government seized due to legal reasons.
Walter gathers a crew including con artist Lorraine (Bergès-Frisbey), logistics expert Simon (Tosar), computer hacker Klaus (Stein), treasure-hunting companion James (Riley), and gifted engineering student Thom (Highmore).
The plan is to steal the treasure back from the Bank of Spain while everyone is distracted by watching Spain play in the World Cup.
The catch? It is in a dangerous vault to try to open.
The vault sits on a considerable scale that floods with the slightest weight fluctuation, drowning anyone inside.
The excitement of the 2010 World Cup woven throughout the film adds a layer of suspense and a native essence, giving it an additional angle beyond the heist.
On top of that, the sets and locations are elegant and recognizable and will be appreciated from an international perspective.
It has an element of intelligence as well. If you like puzzles, this is perfect.
It’s enthralling, and the stakes are higher than ever, making it one of the best heist movies on Netflix.
First Sunday
First Sunday is it if you’re more in the mood for a comedy that will leave your abs hurting and laughing so hard you cry.
The movie stars Ice Cube, Katt Williams, Tracy Morgan, Michael Beach, Regina Hall, Malinda Williams, Chi McBride, and Loretta Devine.
It tells the story of two best friends, Durell Washington (O’Shea Jackson Sr., aka Ice Cube) and LeeJohn Jackson (Tracy Morgan), as petty criminals in Baltimore.
After Durell’s ex, Omunique (Hall), tells him she will move to Atlanta with their son if he doesn’t help pay for her hair salon lease, Durell and LeeJohn devise a plan that lands them in hot water with the cops.
Now facing an absurd amount of community service hours and a death threat that expires in 24 hours, the two get creative and come up with a plan to rob the local church.
Here enters Pastor Arthur Mitchell (McBride), his daughter Tianna (Williams), and choir leader Rickey (Williams), along with sister Doris (Devine) and the Deacon (Beach).
From here, the comedy is only heightened.
Choir leader Rickey is too funny and the cherry on top.
I promise his character alone is all the reason needed to watch the movie despite not favoring heists.
It feels like the cast fed off each other’s humor, which made for an exceptionally hysterical movie.
Lift
Lift is another comedy heist movie starring Kevin Hart, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Vincent D’Onofrio, Úrsula Corberó, Billy Magnussen, Jacob Batalon, Jean Reno, and Sam Worthington.
The film features two simultaneous thefts.
The first is a Van Gogh painting in London covered by a fake kidnapping of N8 (Batalon), an infamous NFT artist in Venice.
Cyrus (Hart), an esteemed international thief, puts together a team consisting of disguise artist Denton, pilot Camila, hacker Mi-Sun, safecracker Magnus, and engineer Luke.
The second theft involves stealing billionaire Lars Jorgenson’s gold bullion, intended for a terrorist group that will help Jorgenson pull off world-ending natural disasters from which he will profit.
There are a lot of different moving parts to this movie, including Interpol agent Abby Gladwell (Mbatha-Raw) assisting in the gold heist.
The Jorgenson (Reno) heist will take place mid-air while the gold is being flown to his bank via airplane.
Hart’s humor is always on point, and with all the action the movie provides, the combination makes it a fantastic modern-day hit.
The level of attraction between Gladwell and Cyrus is on point.
If amorous glances and annoyed side-eyes resonate with you, then this is a cherishable plot addition.
The movie’s creative, and they definitely had some fun with its CGI. The absurd storyline is the point, so if far-fetched ideas are your watching motive, this is for you.
Coin Heist
This coming-of-age crime drama is based on the novel of the same name written by Elisa Ludwig.
It stars Sasha Pieterse, Alexis G. Hall, Alex Saxon, Jay Walker, and Connor Ratliff.
This group of students set out to raise money for their school after $10 million was embezzled, allegedly by the headmaster.
They aim to break into a mint and produce their own limited-edition Michigan state quarters to sell to collectors.
The crew includes hacker Alice, son of headmaster Jason, mechanical expert Benny, and Jason’s ex, Dakota, whose organizational skills are off the charts.
Alice devised the plan after a school field trip to the Mint.
They devise an awe-inspiring plan for a group of high schoolers, and with teens comes teen drama.
That and a few distressing mishaps followed by the ending produced a genuinely inspiring heist movie with a wholesome motive.
This one is made for lovers of the teen drama genre.
Two characters are exes. Some are crushing on each other. One feels rejected, and another has a mean boyfriend, sharing the story of coping with being a high schooler.
So, even if you do not love heist movies, these recommendations will surely give you other reasons to hit play.
Whether you can relate to a movie with a military, teenager, or international aspect, there is a heist movie for you!
Eve Pierpont is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. You can follow her on X.