Best Crime Movies
These are the 60 best crime movies, ranked by the iRank Score — our composite of IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, Metacritic and TMDb ratings, weighted by each source's reliability. No single-critic bias: the order reflects broad critical and audience consensus. Pick any title to see its full breakdown and similar recommendations.
Best crime movies: classics up to the 70s
- 1
The Godfather (1972)
Coppola's 1972 masterpiece turned a mafia saga into a tragedy about family, power and the corruption of the American dream. Its deliberate pace, operatic violence and Michael Corleone's slow moral collapse set the template every crime epic since has chased. If The Godfather drew you in, you want scope and weight rather than action: Scorsese's GoodFellas, Leone's Once Upon a Time in America and City of God share its generational sweep and its fascination with how ordinary people are pulled into organized crime.
See movies like The Godfather → - 2
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Coppola's 1974 sequel runs two stories in parallel: young Vito Corleone's rise in early-1900s New York and Michael's cold consolidation of power decades later. The contrast — a family built, a family hollowed out — makes it one of the few sequels that deepens rather than repeats its predecessor. If the original's tragic sweep gripped you, this is its essential companion; from there, the great crime epics of family and downfall beckon.
See movies like The Godfather Part II → - 3
Rashomon (羅生門, 1950)
Kurosawa's 1950 landmark recounts a single crime — a murder and an assault — through four irreconcilable testimonies, none of them quite the truth. Its revolutionary structure gave cinema the "Rashomon effect": the idea that reality bends to whoever tells it. Spare, philosophical and endlessly influential, it asks whether objective truth exists at all. If its puzzle-box storytelling intrigued you, seek out films that fracture a single event across contradictory perspectives.
See movies like Rashomon → - 4
High and Low (天国と地獄, 1963)
Kurosawa's 1963 thriller traps a wealthy executive in an agonising dilemma when kidnappers seize his chauffeur's son by mistake — yet still demand the ransom that would ruin him. It shifts from a taut chamber drama to a methodical police procedural, dissecting class and conscience along the way. If its moral tension and procedural rigour gripped you, Memories of Murder and other meticulous crime thrillers share its blend of ethics and investigation.
See movies like High and Low → - 5
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Billy Wilder's 1959 comedy is widely called the funniest ever made: two Chicago musicians witness a mob hit and flee disguised in an all-female band, where romance and chaos collide. Fizzing with innuendo, perfect timing and a legendary final line, it's screwball at its most fearless. If its wit and gender-bending mischief delighted you, seek out classic and modern comedies built on disguise, fast talk and impeccable farce.
See movies like Some Like It Hot → - 6
Chinatown (1974)
Polanski's 1974 neo-noir follows private eye Jake Gittes from a routine affair case into a vast conspiracy over water, money and unspeakable family secrets in 1930s Los Angeles. Elegant, cynical and crowned by one of cinema's bleakest endings, it's the genre's modern peak. If its labyrinthine mystery and moral despair gripped you, seek out detective noirs and conspiracy thrillers where the corruption runs deeper than any one crime.
See movies like Chinatown → - 7
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
This 1967 classic sends defiant petty criminal Luke to a brutal Florida prison farm, where his unbreakable spirit makes him a legend to the other inmates and a target for the system. Iconic and quietly rebellious, it's a parable of individuality crushed and undimmed. If its anti-authority heart and tragic charisma gripped you, seek out prison dramas and stories of irrepressible loners who refuse to be broken.
See movies like Cool Hand Luke → - 8
Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
Billy Wilder's 1957 courtroom thriller pulls an ailing barrister into a murder trial full of twists, sharp wit and a final revelation that floored a generation. Crisp, funny and ingeniously plotted, it's the gold standard of the legal mystery. If its clever suspense and killer ending gripped you, seek out classic courtroom dramas and twisty whodunits that play fair while keeping you guessing.
See movies like Witness for the Prosecution → - 9
Taxi Driver (1976)
Scorsese's 1976 masterpiece follows insomniac cabbie Travis Bickle as alienation curdles into violence on the mean streets of 1970s New York. Hypnotic, disturbing and indelibly performed, it's the definitive portrait of urban loneliness tipping into madness. If its uneasy intensity and moral murk gripped you, seek out character studies and gritty city dramas about isolated men teetering on the edge.
See movies like Taxi Driver → - 10
The Sting (1973)
George Roy Hill's 1973 caper teams a young grifter with a seasoned master to pull off an elaborate con avenging a friend's murder in Depression-era Chicago. Witty, twisty and impossibly charming, it's the gold standard of the con-artist movie. If its clever scheme and reversals delighted you, seek out heist and con capers built on charm, misdirection and a final trick you never see coming.
See movies like The Sting → - 11
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
Sidney Lumet's 1975 thriller dramatises a real Brooklyn bank robbery gone hilariously, tragically wrong, as a desperate amateur turns a botched heist into a media circus. Tense, funny and bursting with humanity, it's a landmark of 70s American cinema. If its sweaty realism and offbeat heart gripped you, seek out true-crime dramas and character-driven heist films about ordinary people in over their heads.
See movies like Dog Day Afternoon → - 12
Le Trou (1960)
Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Ove
See movies like Le Trou → - 13
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
In the 1930s, bored European-American waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with a European-American ex-con named Clyde Barrow and together they start a violent crime spree through the country, stealin
See movies like Bonnie and Clyde → - 14
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Stanley Kubrick's 1971 provocation unfolds in a near-future Britain, where young Alex DeLarge and his gang indulge in casual brutality by night, even as Alex adores Beethoven. When the state, determined to curb juvenile crime, offers the imprisoned Alex an invasive procedure that would strip away his personal agency, the film turns its unsettling questions on free will, conscience and control. Stylized, satirical and deliberately confrontational, it pairs disturbing violence with cold beauty and dark wit. This crime-tinged science-fiction is demanding, morally uneasy viewing best suited to adult audiences prepared for challenging material and interested in Kubrick's ideas rather than comfort or reassurance.
See movies like A Clockwork Orange → - 15
Dirty Harry (1971)
When a madman dubbed 'Scorpio' terrorizes San Francisco, hard-nosed cop, Harry Callahan – famous for his take-no-prisoners approach to law enforcement – is tasked with hunting down the psychopath.
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Best crime movies: from the 80s and 90s
- 16
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Tarantino's 1994 game-changer braids three Los Angeles crime stories out of order, turning hit men, a boxer and a mobster's wife into pop-culture legend through electric dialogue and needle-drop cool. Violent, funny and endlessly quotable, it rewired American cinema. If its non-linear bravado and motormouth swagger hooked you, seek out talky, stylish crime films that treat structure as a toy and conversation as a weapon.
See movies like Pulp Fiction → - 17
GoodFellas (1990)
Scorsese's 1990 masterpiece tracks Henry Hill's three decades in the mob — the seduction, the highs and the paranoid collapse — with restless camerawork, wall-to-wall narration and a needle-drop soundtrack that turned crime into rocketing kinetic energy. It's the genre's definitive rush-and-comedown. If its propulsive style and moral squalor gripped you, City of God shares its kinetic chronicle of crime, and the great gangster films trade in the same intoxication and dread.
See movies like GoodFellas → - 22
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Frank Darabont's 1994 prison drama follows wrongly convicted banker Andy Dufresne across two decades inside Shawshank, and his friendship with lifer Red. Patient, warm and quietly stirring, it became a word-of-mouth classic about hope, endurance and the long game of dignity. If its slow-building emotional payoff moved you, seek out humane character dramas about resilience and friendship forged under impossible circumstances.
See movies like The Shawshank Redemption → - 23
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Jonathan Demme's 1991 thriller sends rookie FBI agent Clarice Starling to pick the brain of imprisoned cannibal Hannibal Lecter in order to catch another killer. A landmark of psychological horror, it's a chess match of intellect and menace, anchored by two unforgettable performances. If its cat-and-mouse dread gripped you, seek out serial-killer thrillers and procedural nightmares that pit a vulnerable investigator against a brilliant monster.
See movies like The Silence of the Lambs → - 24
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Curtis Hanson's 1997 neo-noir threads three very different LAPD detectives through a tangle of corruption, celebrity and murder in glossy 1950s Los Angeles. Intricately plotted and richly cast, it revived classic noir with modern muscle. If its labyrinthine intrigue and moral grey areas gripped you, seek out twisty crime thrillers and period noirs where every clean surface hides something rotten.
See movies like L.A. Confidential → - 25
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Quentin Tarantino's 1992 debut takes a jewelry heist and shows almost none of it, focusing instead on the tense aftermath in a warehouse where the surviving thieves suspect one of them is a police informant. Known only by color-coded aliases, the crew — level-headed Mr. White, wounded Mr. Orange, volatile Mr. Blonde, whining Mr. Pink and Nice Guy Eddie — turn on each other as suspicion and violence spiral. Talky, contained and brutal in bursts, it announces the director's love of loops, banter and sudden cruelty. A strong pick for fans of dialogue-heavy crime films that thrive on paranoia rather than spectacle.
See movies like Reservoir Dogs → - 26
Trainspotting (1996)
Danny Boyle's 1996 crime drama plunges into the ragged orbit of heroin addict Mark Renton and his unreliable Edinburgh circle: Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy, plus his underage girlfriend Diane. Lurching between bad decisions and half-hearted attempts to get clean, Renton eventually flees to London, only to find the life he abandoned won't let go when old friends come knocking. Kinetic, funny and unsparing, it renders addiction and dead-end friendship with dark wit rather than moralizing, its restless style matching its restless characters. It suits viewers who want a raw, energetic story with bite. Those sensitive to drug use and bleak comedy should approach with care.
See movies like Trainspotting → - 27
A Bronx Tale (1993)
Set in the Bronx during the tumultuous 1960s, an adolescent boy is torn between his honest, working-class father and a violent yet charismatic crime boss. Complicating matters is the youngster's growi
See movies like A Bronx Tale → - 28
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Bryan Singer's 1995 crime thriller is built around a single interrogation, as small-time crook Verbal Kint spins the legend of an almost mythic crime lord named Keyser Soze for a pair of federal agents. What begins as the aftermath of a disastrous harbor heist becomes a riddle about who is telling the truth and why. Puzzle-box in structure and patient in its reveals, it rewards viewers who enjoy piecing a story together from unreliable fragments rather than watching action unfold. If you like twisty, dialogue-driven crime dramas where the telling matters as much as the crime, this belongs high on your list.
See movies like The Usual Suspects → - 29
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Robert Zemeckis blends hand-drawn animation with live action in a 1988 comedy-crime-fantasy that puts cartoon star Roger Rabbit at the center of a murder case. When Roger suspects his wife Jessica of straying, detective Eddie Valiant is hired to watch her; things escalate when Marvin Acme turns up dead and Roger becomes the prime suspect. It's a noir-flavored mystery filtered through slapstick, ideal for viewers who enjoy genre-mixing invention and the technical craft of characters sharing the frame across two mediums. Expect wit and momentum rather than realism. A good pick for fans of animation history and playful detective stories alike.
See movies like Who Framed Roger Rabbit → - 30
The Killer (喋血雙雄, 1989)
Mob assassin Jeffrey is no ordinary hired gun; the best in his business, he views his chosen profession as a calling rather than simply a job. So, when beautiful nightclub chanteuse Jennie is blinded
See movies like The Killer → - 31
The Player (1992)
A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected - but which one?
See movies like The Player → - 32
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Sergio Leone's sprawling crime epic charts a former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster who returns to Manhattan's Lower East Side decades later, haunted by the ghosts and regrets of the life he left behind. Told across shifting timelines, it is less a plot-driven gangster tale than an elegiac meditation on memory, friendship, betrayal, and the way the past refuses to stay buried. Leone's patient scale and lyrical sense of loss demand an unhurried viewer willing to sink into its length and melancholy. It rewards those who love ambitious, novelistic filmmaking about aging, guilt, and time, and it treats its criminal world as tragedy rather than adventure.
See movies like Once Upon a Time in America → - 33
Days of Being Wild (阿飛正傳, 1990)
Yuddy, a Hong Kong playboy known for breaking girls' hearts, tries to find solace and truth after discovering the woman who raised him isn't his mother.
See movies like Days of Being Wild → - 34
Boyz n the Hood (1991)
In the middle of the Los Angeles ghetto, drugs, robberies and shootings dominate everyday life. During these times, Furious tries to raise his son Tre to be a decent person. Tre's friends, on the othe
See movies like Boyz n the Hood → - 35
Hard Boiled (辣手神探, 1992)
A cop who loses his partner in a shoot-out with gun smugglers goes on a mission to catch them. In order to get closer to the leaders of the ring he joins forces with an undercover cop who's working as
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Best crime movies: from the 2000s and 2010s
- 18
Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (2011)
Tarantino's combined cut stitches both Kill Bill volumes, plus extended animation, into one four-hour revenge symphony. The Bride carves through a hit list in a riot of samurai cinema, spaghetti western and grindhouse homage, all stylised violence and chapter-based bravado. If you came for the choreography and operatic payback, the John Wick films offer the same balletic gunplay and single-minded vengeance, while martial-arts revenge thrillers deliver that same precise, stylised brutality.
See movies like Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair → - 19
The Dark Knight (2008)
Nolan's 2008 crime epic in cape and cowl pits Batman against Heath Ledger's anarchic Joker, an agent of pure chaos who turns Gotham — and the hero's morality — inside out. Grand, grim and built like a heist thriller, it elevated the comic-book film into serious drama. If its moral chaos and operatic stakes gripped you, its sequel The Dark Knight Rises continues the saga, and grounded crime thrillers share its appetite for ethical dilemmas under pressure.
See movies like The Dark Knight → - 36
No Country for Old Men (2007)
The Coen brothers' 2007 masterpiece follows a man who finds two million dollars in the Texas desert and the implacable killer who hunts him, as an aging sheriff trails behind. Spare, suspenseful and philosophically bleak, it turns a chase into a meditation on fate and a changing world. If its dread and moral chill gripped you, seek out lean modern thrillers and neo-westerns where violence is patient and the ground keeps shifting.
See movies like No Country for Old Men → - 37
The Departed (2006)
Scorsese's 2006 Oscar winner pits a cop undercover in the Irish mob against a gangster's mole inside the police, in a vicious Boston cat-and-mouse where identity itself is a trap. Tense, profane and ferociously acted, it's a modern crime classic. If its dual-mole dread and explosive violence gripped you, seek out twisty crime thrillers about loyalty, deception and men living double lives.
See movies like The Departed → - 38
City of God (Cidade de Deus, 2002)
Fernando Meirelles's 2002 landmark tears through decades of gang violence in Rio's favelas, following two boys whose paths diverge — one toward the camera, one toward the gun. Kinetic, dazzling and brutal, it turns real tragedy into breathless cinema. If its propulsive energy and moral weight gripped you, GoodFellas shares its electric crime chronicle, and the great gangster epics trade in the same intoxication and dread.
See movies like City of God → - 39
The Man from Nowhere (아저씨, 2010)
This 2010 Korean action thriller sends a reclusive pawnshop owner on a brutal one-man rampage to rescue the young girl next door from a criminal organisation. Stylish, savage and emotionally grounded, it's a high point of Korean revenge cinema. If its kinetic violence and protective fury gripped you, seek out Korean action thrillers and one-against-many revenge films built on grief and grit.
See movies like The Man from Nowhere → - 40
Catch Me If You Can (2002)
Steven Spielberg's 2002 drama follows Frank Abagnale Jr., a real-life young con artist who cashed millions in fraudulent checks while posing as a Pan Am pilot, a doctor and a prosecutor, all before turning nineteen. On his trail is a dogged FBI agent, and the film turns their long pursuit into an unexpectedly warm cat-and-mouse game. Breezy, stylish and set in a glamorous jet-age world, it leans more on charm and momentum than on tension, and finds real feeling in the loneliness beneath Frank's disguises. A good pick for anyone who enjoys true-story capers with a light touch and a wistful streak.
See movies like Catch Me If You Can → - 41
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)
Christopher Nolan's 2012 crime drama closes his Gotham trilogy eight years after Batman took the blame for Harvey Dent's crimes and vanished from public life, hunted by the very police he once aided. When the cunning Selina Kyle and the merciless terrorist leader Bane push the city to the brink, the Dark Knight resurfaces to defend a Gotham that now sees him as an enemy. Nolan works on a huge canvas, mixing large-scale action with weighty themes of sacrifice and reckoning. Fans of the grounded, bruising momentum of Jack Reacher will connect with its muscular tension. It suits viewers who want blockbuster spectacle with real dramatic stakes.
See movies like The Dark Knight Rises → - 42
Infernal Affairs (無間道, 2002)
Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, C
See movies like Infernal Affairs → - 43
Mystic River (2003)
Clint Eastwood's 2003 drama follows three men bound since childhood, whose fragile lives fracture when one of them is struck by a devastating family tragedy. Part crime story, part mystery, it uses a violent crime less as a puzzle than as a wound, tracing how buried trauma, grief and suspicion resurface among old friends. Deliberate and somber, the film prizes character, atmosphere and moral weight over thriller momentum. It suits viewers who want emotionally heavy, adult drama and are willing to sit with sorrow and ambiguity rather than tidy resolution. Somber and haunting, it rewards patience with a wrenching study of how the past never truly lets go.
See movies like Mystic River → - 44
Mother (마더, 2009)
A mother lives quietly with her son. One day, a girl is brutally killed, and the boy is charged with the murder. Now, it's his mother's mission to prove him innocent.
See movies like Mother → - 45
Nightcrawler (2014)
Dan Gilroy's 2014 crime drama follows Lou Bloom, a desperate, driven outsider who muscles his way into Los Angeles crime journalism, filming accidents and violence for the morning news. Guided by TV veteran Nina, he steadily blurs the line between recording events and shaping them, turning himself into the story. Cold, nocturnal and unnervingly calm, it works as both a character study and a critique of media that rewards the most lurid footage. It suits viewers drawn to unsettling portraits of ambition without a conscience, carried by a hollow-eyed antihero. If you like tense, morally queasy thrillers about how far someone will go for a scoop, Nightcrawler is sharp and disquieting.
See movies like Nightcrawler → - 46
Drive (2011)
Nicolas Winding Refn's 2011 crime drama centers on a nameless Hollywood stuntman who moonlights as a getaway driver, projecting an icy calm that thaws only around his neighbor Irene and her young son. When Irene's husband leaves jail and pulls the Driver into a million-dollar heist, the job collapses and violence closes in. This is a mood piece as much as a thriller: neon-soaked, unhurried, punctuated by sudden brutality and long silences. If you're drawn to stylish, atmospheric filmmaking where restraint speaks louder than dialogue, it rewards patience richly. Viewers wanting brisk, plot-heavy action may find its stillness cold. Best with full attention and a dark room.
See movies like Drive → - 47
Hot Fuzz (2007)
Edgar Wright's 2007 action-comedy follows Nicholas Angel, a supremely competent London constable reassigned to the sleepy village of Sandford, where he misses the big city and gets saddled with a well-meaning oaf of a partner. When a string of grisly "accidents" starts piling up, Angel senses something rotten beneath the idyllic surface. Wright fuses a loving parody of Hollywood cop thrillers with razor-sharp editing, deadpan British wit and a genre-bending final act. It suits viewers who enjoy clever comedy that eventually erupts into full-blown action, and who appreciate visual gags built into the filmmaking itself. If you like smart, rewatchable send-ups with real craft behind the jokes, this delivers.
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Best crime movies: recent
- 20
Shoplifters (万引き家族, 2018)
Kore-eda's 2018 Palme d'Or winner follows a makeshift Tokyo family scraping by through petty theft, who take in a neglected little girl. Tender and quietly devastating, it asks what truly makes a family — blood, or the people who choose to care for you. If its gentle humanity and gut-punch revelations moved you, seek out humane family dramas that find warmth and heartbreak on society's margins.
See movies like Shoplifters → - 21
The Irishman (2019)
Scorsese's 2019 epic follows hitman Frank Sheeran across decades of mob loyalty and the vanishing of Jimmy Hoffa, in an elegiac meditation on violence, time and regret. Long, patient and quietly mournful, it's a gangster saga in autumn. If its reflective grandeur and moral weight gripped you, seek out late-career crime epics about old men reckoning with the lives they took.
See movies like The Irishman → - 48
One Battle After Another (2025)
Paul Thomas Anderson's 2025 film follows a washed-up revolutionary living off-grid in stoned paranoia with his self-reliant daughter, until the past comes calling. With Anderson's gift for sprawling, character-rich Americana and tonal daring, it promises ambitious, unpredictable filmmaking. If that brand of restless, big-canvas drama appeals to you, seek out audacious character epics that blur comedy, crime and tragedy.
See movies like One Battle After Another → - 49
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017)
Martin McDonagh's 2017 drama follows a grieving mother who rents three billboards to shame her town's police over her daughter's unsolved murder, igniting a darkly funny spiral of rage and grace. Caustic, surprising and deeply human, it refuses tidy answers. If its blend of black comedy and raw emotion gripped you, seek out morally messy dramas about grief, anger and unexpected redemption.
See movies like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri → - 50
Knives Out (2019)
Rian Johnson revives the classic whodunit with wit and precision in this 2019 mystery-comedy. When celebrated crime novelist Harlan Thrombey is found dead at his estate just after his 85th birthday, the debonair detective Benoit Blanc is mysteriously hired to investigate. As he moves between Harlan's grasping, dysfunctional family and his devoted staff, Blanc sorts through a tangle of red herrings and self-serving lies to reach the truth. The film delights in its ensemble of suspects and its sly commentary on wealth and entitlement, keeping the tone playful even as the plot tightens. Perfect for anyone who loves clever, twist-driven mysteries and sharp, character-rich comedy.
See movies like Knives Out → - 51
The Punisher: One Last Kill (2026)
As Frank Castle searches for meaning beyond revenge, an unexpected force pulls him back into the fight.
See movies like The Punisher: One Last Kill → - 52
Better Days (少年的你, 2019)
A bullied teenage girl forms an unlikely friendship with a mysterious young man who protects her from her assailants, while she copes with the pressures of her final examinations.
See movies like Better Days → - 53
Hell or High Water (2016)
David Mackenzie's 2016 crime western follows a divorced father and his ex-con brother as they pull off a desperate scheme to save the family farm in West Texas. Part heist thriller, part elegy for a hollowed-out region, it lets landscape and character carry as much weight as the robberies themselves. Anyone drawn to lean, morally tangled dramas where lawmen and outlaws feel like two sides of the same weary coin will find plenty to chew on. The pacing favors tension over spectacle, and the sympathy shifts constantly. It suits viewers who prefer their westerns modern, sun-bleached, and grounded in economic desperation rather than gunslinging myth.
See movies like Hell or High Water → - 54
It Was Just an Accident (Un simple accident, 2025)
An unassuming mechanic is reminded of his time in an Iranian prison when he encounters a man he suspects to be his sadistic jailhouse captor.
See movies like It Was Just an Accident → - 55
No Other Choice (어쩔수가없다, 2025)
After being laid off and humiliated by a ruthless job market, a veteran paper mill manager descends into violence in a desperate bid to reclaim his dignity.
See movies like No Other Choice → - 56
The Hate U Give (2018)
Raised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, she's torn between her two ver
See movies like The Hate U Give → - 57
Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Martin Scorsese's 2023 crime drama draws on real history: when oil is discovered in 1920s Oklahoma beneath Osage Nation land, sudden wealth arrives, and with it a wave of murders that picks off the Osage one by one, until the FBI intervenes to unravel who is behind them. Working in the register of history and true crime, Scorsese frames this as a story about greed, betrayal, and the machinery of dispossession rather than a conventional whodunit. Expect deliberate pacing and moral weight over easy thrills. It rewards viewers who want serious, historically grounded American cinema and are willing to sit with an unhurried, disquieting account of exploitation and complicity.
See movies like Killers of the Flower Moon → - 58
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
Spike Lee's 2018 mix of comedy, crime, drama and history unfolds in Colorado Springs in the late 1970s, where Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan. The premise is almost too outrageous to be true, and Lee mines it for both sharp satire and genuine tension as the two men divide one identity between them. It's provocative, funny and pointed, using a period story to speak plainly about race and hatred. Best for viewers who like political filmmaking with bite, tonal boldness, and a director unafraid to connect past and present.
See movies like BlacKkKlansman → - 59
Uncut Gems (2019)
Benny Safdie's crime thriller straps you to a live wire and refuses to let go. It follows Howard, a charismatic New York jeweler and compulsive gambler forever chasing the next enormous score, juggling business, family, and closing-in adversaries as he stakes everything on one reckless bet after another. The style is deliberately abrasive: overlapping shouting, jittery momentum, and a mounting dread that turns every scene into a gamble of its own. This suits viewers who welcome discomfort and anti-hero character studies rather than tidy resolution. If you can stomach relentless tension and a protagonist who keeps digging his own hole, the payoff is a uniquely nerve-shredding portrait of addiction to risk.
See movies like Uncut Gems → - 60
Baby Driver (2017)
Edgar Wright's 2017 action-crime film follows a young, gifted getaway driver coerced into working for a crime boss, until he's pulled into a heist destined to unravel. Wright choreographs the whole thing to a relentless soundtrack, syncing gunfire, engines and footsteps to the beat so the movie plays almost like a musical in disguise. Slick, propulsive and full of style, it balances kinetic chases with a streak of romance and moral reckoning. It's ideal for viewers who love rhythm, craft and cars over heavy plotting. Come for the music-driven driving sequences and stay for a getaway that keeps tightening its grip.
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Ranked by the iRankMovies editorial teamUpdated August 2026MethodologyData sources