Last Updated: December 23rd
Sometimes there’s nothing better than a good crime flick, from rooting for that grey area anti-hero to sitting on the edge of your seat as lovable masterminds pull off the ultimate heist. No matter what your law-breaking fix is, Netflix has it. Scorcese-directed gangster films? Yep. Anarchy-stirring classics? Of course. Safdie brothers-inspired mania? There’s a couple of those.
Here are the best crime movies on Netflix right now … but, uh don’t go getting any ideas.
Related: The Best Action Movies On Netflix Right Now
Blade Runner (1982)
Run Time: 117 min | IMDb: 8.1/10
Ridley Scott’s wildly inventive sci-fi series has spawned a sequel or two, but the original film is still a ridiculously fun watch. That’s because Harrison Ford is at the top of his game playing burnt-out cop Rick Deckard, a guy recruited to hunt down replicas in a noir-like future — L.A., 2019. Scott obviously had a better imagination than tech could keep up with because there are bioengineered humanoids and spinners (flying cars) and high-tech polygraph tests, but it’s Ford’s inner struggle and the insane action sequences that really fuel the film.
Good Time (2017)
Run Time: 101 min | IMDb: 7.3/10
This gritty crime drama hailing from the Safdie brothers transforms star Robert Pattinson into a bleach-blonde sh*t-stirrer from Queens who’s desperate to break his developmentally disabled brother out of prison. Pattinson plays Connie, a street hustler and bank robber with grand plans to break out of his urban hood while Benny Safdie plays his brother Nick, who gets roped into his schemes. When Nick is sent to Rikers Island for a job gone wrong, Connie goes on a downward spiral to get him back. Pattinson’s manic energy carries this thing, and there’s plenty of police run-ins, shootouts, and heists (however botched) to keep the adrenaline pumping.
The Irishman (2019)
Run Time: 209 min | IMDb: 8.7/10
Martin Scorsese delivers another cinematic triumph, this time for Netflix and with the help of some familiar faces. Robert De Niro and Al Pacino team up (again) for this crime drama based on actual events. De Niro plays Frank Sheeran a World War II vet who finds work as a hitman for the mob. Pacino plays notorious Teamster Jimmy Hoffa, a man who frequently found himself on the wrong side of the law and the criminals he worked with. The film charts the pair’s partnership over the years while injecting some historical milestones for context. It’s heavy and impressively cast and everything you’d expect a Scorsese passion-project to be.
The Invisible Guest (2016)
Run Time: 106 min | IMDb: 8.1/10
This Spanish crime thriller follows a successful businessman framed for the murder of his married lover. A seemingly straightforward plot, until a car accident, a dead body, fake witnesses, and a family out for revenge is thrown into the mix. Mario Casas stars as the man in question, a young husband and father with a bright future who takes part in a terrible crime and is forced to pay for it in the most twisted of ways. You won’t figure this thing out until the end, we guarantee it.
Uncut Gems (2019)
Run Time: 135 min | IMDb: 7.5/10
This adventurous mindf*ck starring Adam Sandler finally landed on Netflix, and our only advice before watching this criminally-good romp is this: prepare yourself for a wild, over-the-top ride. Sandler gives one of his best performances, and the Safdie Brothers prove they’ve got a knack for crafting thrillers textured with grit and a realness that just can’t be beaten.
The Devil All The Time (2020)
Run Time: 138 min | IMDb: 7.1/10
This time-hopping drama set in the backwoods of West Virginia is basically an excuse for director Antonio Campos to assemble his own Avengers-style squad of Hollywood A-listers. Seriously, everyone’s in this thing: Tom Holland, Robert Pattinson, Bill Skarsgård, Eliza Scanlen, Sebastian Stan, Mia Wasikowska, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, Haley Bennett, that kid who played Dudley in the Harry Potter franchise. The whole gang’s living in shacks and picking up hitchhikers only to murder them later and speaking in tongues and falling victim to generational trauma. It’s a heavy watch, and there’s not really a happy ending, but boy, does Pattinson deliver a batsh*t crazy turn as a perverted preacher.
Zodiac (2007)
Run Time: 157 min | IMDb: 7.7/10
Jake Gyllenhaal, Robert Downey Jr., and Mark Ruffalo star in this mystery crime thriller directed by David Fincher. The manhunt for the Zodiac killer — a criminal who committed several murders in the Bay area in the late ’60s and early ’70s — has spawned decades and garnered plenty of media attention, but the film dives deeper into the cost of the search, particularly the toll it’s taken on the men and women reporting on it. Gyllenhaal plays a newspaper cartoonist who becomes obsessed with the case, decoding ciphers sent by the killer and targeting a man he believes could be the Zodiac. Downey Jr. plays a crime reporter who partners with Gyllenhaal on the case and leaks information to the police. It’s a thrilling game of cat-and-mouse fueled by some gripping performances by its male leads.
Marshall (2017)
Run Time: 118 min | IMDb: 7.3/10
Chadwick Boseman delivers a tour-de-force performance as a young Thurgood Marshall in this emotionally gripping biopic. Before he became the first African American Supreme Court Justice, Marshall was a crusading lawyer for the NAACP and that’s how Boseman plays him here as he takes on a career-defining case with racial justice undertones that feel frustratingly familiar in today’s age. This film is less about catching a criminal and more about how good men can use the justice system to help the very people it’s normally aimed against.
Lawless (2012)
Run Time: 116 min | IMDb: 7.3/10
Tom Hardy, Jessica Chastain, and Shia LaBeouf star in this period gangster drama about a family of moonshiners who go up against a deranged lawman. Hardy plays Forrest, the eldest Bondurant, who operates an illegal liquor delivery service during prohibition times. His brothers Jack (LaBeouf) and Howard (Jason Clarke) provide the muscle, but when a dogged special deputy Guy Pierce) comes to town to shut the business down, things get bloody, quick.
The Night Clerk (2020)
Run Time: 90 min | IMDb: 5.4/10
Tye Sheridan stars in this thriller, playing a night clerk named Bart who has Asperger’s syndrome and hides cameras in hotel rooms to study and mimick normal human interactions. While watching footage of one woman’s room, he sees her fighting with a man and rushes to help her. Later, the woman is found dead in her room with Bart the only suspect. The arrival of a new guest and a corrupt police force complicate the murder investigation — and Bart’s life.
Recent Changes Through December 2021
Removed: Catch Me If You Can
Added: Zodiac
