Ocean’s Eleven brought style back to the heist genre when the George Clooney and Brad Pitt movie was released in 2001. As a remake of a 1960 film, it also added layers to the story that were introduced decades prior, as a seasoned thief aims to rip off three of the biggest casinos in Las Vegas.
The first film is funny, stylish, and a great enough time to garner two sequels and a spinoff. However, it’s not the only heist movie out there, and there are more than a few heist movies released over the decades that can and have surpassed the success of Ocean’s Eleven.
5
Heat is the Greatest Modern Heist Movie
Heat is a Michael Mann classic that explores the always exciting cat-and-mouse game of cops and robbers. In the film, Robert De Niro plays a skilled thief aiming to do one last job, as Al Pacino plays a robbery homicide lieutenant, hell-bent on capturing him. Heat is the perfect blend of action and style and delivers powerhouse performances from veteran actors who, contrary to popular belief, rarely get to work together.
More than that, Mann delivers a realistic version of LA that few movies explore in the same way, while Ocean’s Eleven gives fans an impressive look at the glitz and glam of Las Vegas. But what makes Heat a standout above is that its drama-heavy narrative gives viewers much more to chew on.
4
The Italian Job is a Michael Caine Classic
Michael Caine was the heist and action movie king in the ’60s and ’70s, and one of his biggest successes was The Italian Job. In many ways, it shares similar DNA to Ocean’s Eleven in that it follows a skilled thief released from prison, aiming for one more heist. But in this case, Caine’s character is doing it in the memory of a deceased friend.
The Italian Job is one of those movies that had to exist for a remake like Ocean’s Eleven to happen, and it set a standard for heist capers such as epic car chases. Even the remake of the same name implemented the iconic Mini Coopers that made the film popular, and in order to love any heist movie that came after, The Italian Job has to get its flowers.
3
Ocean’s 11 is a Stylish Heist Movie
The shock that Clooney and Pitt’s Ocean’s Eleven is a remake pales in comparison to the fact that the original Ocean’s 11 also featured the entire Rat Pack as the cast. From Frank Sinatra to Sammy Davis Jr., the film is stacked with musical talents that give charisma to the heist movie.
What makes the original version even better than the remake or its sequels is its sheer ambition. The film has Danny Ocean’s crew, all old World War II buddies, robbing five casinos in one night instead of the remakes’ three. It also has a great ending that no one who is a fan of heist movies would ever suspect, which is both hilarious and shocking.
2
The Town is a Layered and Exciting Heist Movie
Ben Affleck has proven himself time and again as a capable director, but it’s hard not to call The Town his best work yet. The Town follows a group of bank robbers who were raised in a town notorious for raising generations of robbers. After one heist goes south, Affleck’s Doug begins a relationship with a freed hostage, and his desire to leave the town with her coincides with one more heist and a cop on his tail.
There are more than a few layers to The Town that make it such a standout, but these emotional layers also deliver a movie that Ocean’s Eleven could never match up to. From the acting to the action sequences, there’s nothing The Town doesn’t deliver on. It’s exciting, dramatic, and has to be seen by anyone who loves the genre.
1
Hell or High Water Delivers as a Heist and a Western
Before Yellowstone, Taylor Sheridan was still perfecting what would become the neo-Western, and one of the best examples of this was Hell or High Water. The film follows two brothers in West Texas who are at the source of a chain of bank robberies in the area. The film explores both sides, the brothers and the Texas Rangers hunting them down.
Hell or High Water works as a Western but thrives as a heist film as it hits all the necessary beats from turmoil between the brothers, understanding their motivations, and why their relationship with the Texas Ranger on their case is so important. It’s a unique film that has its own signature, like Ocean’s Eleven, but what makes it better is how centralized the drama is.