A Celebration of Unconventional Heist Films
Welcome to summer. In an effort to grease our content during the dry months have a fun conversation with the commentariat, we at TDG have moved to Hollywood. Over the next few weeks we are recommending, arguing, and ranking films in a variety of categories. To start us off, we are looking at one of the best genres of films: Heist movies with a twist. All of our picks are heist films where the protagonists do not rob a traditional bank.
Let’s get to our top picks.
Logan Lucky
UStreet: Steven Soderbergh came out of retirement to make this movie scripted by his wife, and we are all better off. The Oceans trilogy certainly applies on theme, but far too many people sleep on this film starring Channing Tatum, Adam Driver, and Daniel Craig’s first deliberately bad southern accent, Logan Lucky follows two brothers who attempt to rob the Charlotte Motor Speedway during the Coca-Cola 600. This movie has just about everything you might want from a heist film and in addition Seth McFarlane gets punched in the face, Sebastian Stan is brilliant as a disaffected NASCAR driver, there are four nepo baby actors and Roy from the Office and none of them are annoying, and of course there is this scene that becomes funnier every year.
The movie’s pace is fast without being chaotic. The jokes throughout all more or less work, the twists are satisfying and earned within the universe of the film, and Soderbergh is in fine form in the director’s chair.
Dungeons and Dragons: Honor Among Thieves
GoAUpher: There’s a good chance you haven’t seen this movie unless you play D&D. I don’t play D&D, but I also watch random things when they’re free on streaming. I came in with LOW expectations for this and was hooked within the first 5 minutes because of Chris Pines’ delivery of his plethora of deadpan quips (“that’s the bucket where our pee freezes”) and the timing and delivery of lines by even purely background characters (“JARNATHAN!”). It follows the standard heist movie format. You meet the main thieves, they realize they need a team, that team is assembled in a way that lets you know something about them, they make a plan, the plan is upended, the plan succeeds, the antagonist is very upset about being bested but can’t do anything about it. The primary difference here is that there’s a bunch of magic and fantastical lands and bird and lizard people woven in because again, D&D. It’s paced well, it’s funny, and even if you don’t know anything about Dungeons and Dragons you’ll get most of the jokes. If you have played D&D and you somehow haven’t watched this movie, do so immediately because I’m told the fan service in this one is impeccable. And yet it’s completely approachable to someone who had no idea what an Owlbear was. I’d talk more about it, but honestly, I don’t like to be interrupted while I’m eating my potatoes. It’s kind of the highlight of my day.
Widows
IowaGopher: There is a scene in Widows in which Colin Farrell’s alderman candidate, running for a seat being vacated by his belligerent and demanding father, holds a campaign event in a downtrodden neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago. Badgered by a reporter with questions related to reports of corruption while he is on a stage reciting platitudes about supporting minority women workers, Farrell eventually makes his escape, riding to his campaign headquarters in the backseat of a town car. The camera, perched on the hood of the car, never averts its gaze from the surrounding neighborhoods, using a single continuous shot to observe the changing landscape. As Farrell delivers a rant from inside the car, the dilapidated buildings of the South Side area are replaced, in the span of few minutes, by affluent homes.
It’s no more than a couple minutes long, but it is brilliant visual storytelling that captures the segregation of Chicago and the nature of the city’s politics, where the people in power often have nothing in common with the people they are supposed to represent. Race, class, and politics are but of a few subjects that Widows is interested in exploring. It’s less a “heist film,” and more of a film with a heist in it. Viola Davis leads a trio of widows who find themselves in the crosshairs of an alderman candidate who is running against Farrell. He was robbed by their late husbands and is demanding reparations from the wives they left behind. It’s an opportunity for each of them to seize control of their life and wrestle free from the grip of men who seem to dominate their lives even from the grave.
Other films in the genre that we recommend:
Three Kings. Clooney, Walhberg, Ice Cube, and Spike Jonze try to steal Saddam Hussein’s gold bullion in a film that ends up being a surprisingly good meditation on war.
Ocean’s 11. Ocean’s 12 is terrible. Ocean’s 8 is fine but forgettable. Ocean’s 13 is fun for a plane.
The Town: BAH-STAHN, FENWAY, AHMAHED CAHS.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels: Guy Ritchie’s best film, which he has in some respects been remaking ever since.
Inception: Leonardo DiCaprio attempts to break into someone’s dreams but has issues carrying out his attempt when he discovers the target is not a woman under the age of 25.
Reservoir Dogs: We had some difficulty with whether this film truly fit the theme. Tarantino’s first use of the name Vega.
A Fish Called Wanda: Frankly robbed of the Oscar for Best Screenplay.
Killing Them Softly: BAH-STAHN, THE MAHFIA, Brad Pitt starring as a hitman in film that’s a rather searing indictment of capitalism and 2008 financial crisis.
What else are we missing? Let us know in the comments.