If you’re a crime movie fan, you’ve probably seen The Godfather, Scarface, and Heat. Or, at the very least you’ve watched half of them on TV with your Dad. Still, crime enthusiast, there is a world beyond the cop and gangster canon. There are those unsung masterworks, those hidden gems, those instant crime classics. Keep on scrolling for ten of the very best.
Running Scared (2006)
Maybe the finest work of the late Paul Walker, Running Scared is about as dark as crime thrillers get. Dealing with sensitive subject matter in a brazen, haphazard way, it’s most definitely not for everyone. Still, even beyond Walker’s committed performance, there’s something to it. The end credit sequence point to the idea that Scared is a Grimm fairy tale, a paranoid nightmare that explores the worst fears of both parent and child. So dour and tasteless it’s almost a Grindhouse movie, Running Scared will, at the very least, change the way you look at hockey pucks.
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974)
Now known best for expiring the mediocre remake, the original Pelham doesn’t get enough respect. The premise is simple: four hijackers hold a subway car hostage in exchange for a massive ransom, and it’s up to a grumpy police Leteinaunt (Walter Matthau) to negotiate the release of the passengers. At times dated in it’s racial politics, Pelham is at least interested in the social cross section of 70’s New York, and it’s keen sense of place enhances all the thrills. The highlight though, is Robert Shaw (Quint from Jaws), who brings a chilling menace to his portrayal of the wily head thug.
Infernal Affairs (2002)
If you like this genre, you’ve likely seen Scorsese’s The Departed many times, but you may not know that it is a remake. Even if you do know, you may not have seen the underrated original, Hong Kong thriller Infernal Affairs. Despite its awful pun title, Infernal Affairs is a smart, well acted crime drama, and is a fascinating companion piece to The Departed.
While the plot is almost identical, it’s a lot of fun to see how two different directors handle the exact same material, and how much a great gangster movie is defined by its setting. The major deviant point between the two films is the ending, and Affairs’ version, with nary a rat or Wahlberg in sight, is far superior.
American Made (2017)
Perhaps fitting for a story about a guy who is literally flying under the radar, American Made was mostly ignored when it hit theaters two years ago. Pulling very loosely from the true story of smuggler Barry Seal, who flew precious cargo for Pablo Escobar, the CIA, and many others, the movie is a decade sprawling crime saga in the style of Goodfellas. Unlike Goodfellas, however, this one has planes! Planes rule.
Director Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Edge of Tomorrow) directs Barry’s story with energy and style, and Tom Cruise, whatever you think of him, is commited as ever in the role.
Le Samourai (1967)
Hailed as a masterpiece in some circles, is it silly to call Le Samourai underrated? Yes, but it definitely qualifies as underrated. It’s easy to dismiss a french movie from the 60’s as boring, but if your up to playing close attention, every detail of the film becomes interesting. In the same vein as Drive and Baby Driver, the protagonist of Le Samourai doesn’t say much, but a complete picture of him is painted through his decisive choices and odd habits. He’s cool as can be, and the movie keeps you guessing about his true motives down to its final moments.
A Simple Plan (1998)
Between Evil Dead and Spider-Man, the two trilogies that would go on to define his career, Sam Raimi made this quiet thriller. For those who have seen it, A Simple Plan numbers among Raimi’s best films. The late, great Bill Paxton stars as a regular working stiff living in Alaska, who discovers a downed plane full of dead bodies and a duffel bag full of cash.
Paxton’s choice to keep the money and not alert the authorities sets in motion a series of events that quickly spirals out of his control. Often compared to Fargo, the Coen Brothers movie Plan most closely resembles is actually Blood Simple. It’s a nasty morality tale about the moral fallout of selfish decisions, and every filmmaking choice is note perfect. A noir in the truest sense, A Simple Plan is well worth seeking out.
The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)
Best known for roles like Night of the Hunter and Cape Fear, golden-age Hollywood tough guy Robert Mitchum is mostly remembered for his terrifying villains. Still, one of the things that made Mitchum so memorable is the underlying sadness he leant to even his most despicable characters. This sadness is put to use best in 1973’s The Friends of Eddie Coyle. Appearing to be a regular gangster movie, Eddie Coyle is primarily a quiet character study. Still, the depth of Coyle’s pathos wouldn’t work nearly as well without the visceral terror of its violence. Most memorably, it boasts two of the scariest heist sequences this side of The Dark Knight. If you don’t mind a slow burn, The Friends of Eddie Coyle’s payoff is as satisfying as they come.
Out of Sight (1998) & The Limey (1999)
Before he made Ocean’s 11, Stephen Soderberg made two much more offbeat, experimental crime films. Like Le Samourai, it may seem absurd to put these on an underrated list (hence the shared entry), but it’s objective fact that they remain underseen.
The first, 1998’s Out of Sight, concerns the star crossed romance between a bank robber (George Clooney, in his best role) and the U.S. Marshal assigned to catch him (Jennifer Lopez). With the possible exception of Widows, it may also have the best crime movie cast ever assembled (Ving Rhames, Don Cheadle, Steve Zahn, Albert Brooks, Isaiaah Washington, Dennis Farina, Luis Guzman, Catherine Keener, Viola Davis and more, wow).
The second film, 1999’s The Limey, is a melancholic revenge movie that follows an elderly gangster (Terrence Stamp) on his quest to avenge the mysterious death of his daughter. Soderberg and editor Sarah Flack elevate that conventional premise with an experimental style that echo the fractured thoughts of our quiet main character.
Both films are full of humor and horror, beauty and violence. Soderberg uses the crime movie framework to explore the extreme highs and lows of the human experience, and in doing so, makes two of the best ever films in the genre.
The Drop (2014)
The Drop arrived in 2014 to a pretty indifferent response. From it’s critical and commercial reception, it would be easy to assume that it was a safe, unambitious movie. Much like its cast of characters however, there is more to The Drop than meets the eye. Anchored by Tom Hardy and the great James Gandolfini, The Drop is far from a flashy movie. The filmmaking is quietly competent, the performances are underplayed, and there is little on-screen violence. If you play close enough attention though, the web weaved by the movie’s screenplay (by novelist Dennis Lehane), is dazzling. The Drop may move slowly, but it moves confidently, and comes to a head in one of the most cathartic final scenes in crime movie history.
“Sure you did.”
Damn.
Cop Land (1997)
Like a lot of the films on this list, Cop Land is underrated precisely because it doesn’t work for everybody. Wildly ambitious in its scope, Cop Land wasn’t violent enough for the Multiplex and too conventional for the arthouse. The rare crime movie centering almost entirely on corrupt cops, Cop Land follows Freddy Heflin (Sylvester Stallone) the sheriff of a small New Jersey town outside of New York. The town is inhabited by a group of New York cops, who treat Freddy as more of a pet than an actual authority. When the cops conspire to cover up a racist killing, Freddy must decide whether to be a real cop or not, and figure out what that even means. Bolstered by a bonkers supporting cast (Ray Liotta, Harvey Keitel, and Robert Deniro just for starters), Cop Land is essentially a 90’s riff on High Noon. It’s a moralistic, visually goregous neo-western about how it’s difficult, but ultimately necessary to do the right thing. Like its main character, it’s frequently overlooked, but not to be underestimated.
