Top 10 Memorable Movie Heists
It’s all about getting in, getting out, and leaving a whole lot richer! Over the years there have been countless movies featuring exhilarating scenes of armed robbery. While all are entertaining to watch, others have been iconic and extremely memorable due to their complexity and style. Join WatchMojo.com as we count down our top 10 favorite movie heists.
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Top 10 Memorable Movie Heists
Top 10 Memorable Movie Heists
It’s all about getting in, getting out, and leaving a whole lot richer! Welcome to WatchMojo.com, and today we’ll be counting down our top 10 favorite movie heists.
#10 – He Told Me Something Similar: “The Dark Knight” (2008)
Kicking off our list is the Gotham City bank heist that establishes the tone for the rest of the Christopher Nolan’s landmark film. What sets this caper apart from others isn’t that the robbers are wearing clown masks, or stealing from the mob, but that they have been individually instructed to off each other until only one man is left standing! Of course, it just happens to be the Joker who hired them!
#9 – Presidential Veto: “Point Break” (1991)
We had to elect this one! Patrick Swayze is the leader of a group of bank robbers called the Ex-Presidents. Hmmm, we wonder how they got that name…? Unlike the other heists on our list, this robbery is memorable for its simplicity. But issues arise when the leader decides to tempt fate and go for the vault rather than the cash in the counters, breaking his own rules in the process…
#8 – Art Appreciation: “The Thomas Crown Affair” (1999)
This is what happens when a really rich guy is bored! To get his kicks, Pierce Brosnan finances an art gallery robbery – but that doomed heist is just a distraction so he can do the real work himself! Sirens wail as his unsuspecting cohorts get caught… Meanwhile, he makes a daring escape worthy of even the most talented cat burglar, and manages to grab the real painting himself.
#7 – The Code Breaker: “Sneakers” (1992)
In this flick, Robert Redford’s team of “security analysts” steals a code-breaking device for government impersonators, and is forced to re-steal it from a Bond-like villain. The ensuing plot involves a fake date, hacking surveillance cameras, raising the temperature to avoid heat sensors, and moving really slowly while trying to hurry through motion sensors. Oh, and the blind guy drives the getaway car!
#6 – Gold Reserve: “Die Hard: With A Vengeance” (1995)
First reason this is awesome: The bad guy’s theme is “The ants go marching one by one.” Second: they lure every New York cop away from the scene of the crime by planting a fake bomb in an unspecified school. Third: John McClane is kept busy the entire time with mind-bending riddles. How often do we see the bad guys literally get away with dump trucks full of gold bars?
#5 – Safe Cracking: “The Italian Job” (2003)
This one is all about the creativity! Here, a team blows up the road in order to bring an armored truck down to them! Of course they cover their tracks, and by tracks we mean the giant gaping hole. Waiting underground is a gorgeous safe cracker and three MINI Coopers. Once they load up the cash, it’s time to get the heck outta there!
#4 – The Bellagio: “Ocean’s 11” (2001)
George Clooney recruits a team of eleven men to help him knock off $150 million from a casino vault as a way of sticking it to his ex’s new boy-toy. While the heist itself is notably insane, what makes it so fun to watch is the fact that the various steps in the plan are only revealed as they happen, leaving the audience guessing up until the very end.
#3 – Armored Car Job: “Heat” (1995)
In this unforgettable heist, Robert De Niro and his crew ram an armored vehicle onto its side with a tow truck. They then blow open the doors while wearing goalie masks, remove the incapacitated guards and leave road spikes on the street for the police. It would have all gone down smoothly had one of their gang not taken a guard’s inability to hear him so personally! Brutal!
#2 – CIA Headquarters: “Mission Impossible” (1996)
Simply put, this scene justifies the movie’s title. Tom Cruise and his team infiltrate CIA headquarters to steal the list of agent identities from their vault to help clear his name. Not only does Cruise work upside down, he must also avoid triggering the heat, noise and pressure sensors surrounding him, the last of which can go off with a simple drop of sweat!
#1 – Reverse Mind Heist: “Inception” (2010)
Taking the top spot on our list is a crime that’s very cool and very complicated! A team of thieves enters the mind of their target so they can put an idea in his head. This forces them to adopt false personas, spread out over different levels of his subconscious, synchronize while operating at different chronological rates, and take on his mind’s unpredictable defense mechanisms.
Do you agree with our list? Which movie heist is your favorite? For more entertaining Top 10 lists, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.
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