Oscar-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen brought us the incredible heist film Widows. The movie stars Viola Davis as the widow of a thief who died along with his crew during their last heist. She rounds up the other wives of the dead men to finish the job their husbands couldn’t while various dangerous parties threaten them.
The movie is a stylish and thought-provoking entry into the heist genre. It addresses interesting and heavy topics while still providing solid thrills. If you’re looking for another film that delivers the same type of excitement, here are some great movies to watch if you love Widows.
Triple 9
Triple 9 is an intense and gritty grim film that, like Widows, benefits from an amazing cast. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anthony Mackie play members of a gang of thieves who attempt to pull off a major heist. In order to provide themselves with a distraction for the robbery, they plan to kill a rookie cop, played by Casey Affleck.
The movie is a dirty crime film filled with unlikeable characters and brutal violence. Like Widows, this movie does not seem interested in glossing over the ugliness of a life of crime which makes for a harrowing story.
Ocean’s Eight
A spinoff of the George Clooney Ocean’s Eleven movies, Ocean’s Eight might be more light-hearted than Widows but still hits similar targets. Sandra Bullock stars as a career criminal who is released from prison and forms a group of criminals including Cate Blanchett, Awkwafina, Rihanna, and Mindy Kaling to rob the Met Gala.
It’s rare to see female characters leading this kind of crime story instead of being relegated to the girlfriend roles. Both Widows and this film allow the female stars to own the screen, which gives the story a fresh feel in the sometimes tired genre.
Ronin
With a skilled filmmaker like Steve McQueen behind the camera, Widows feels more epic than some of the other lesser heist films. The same can be said for Ronin, an international thriller that stars Robert De Niro as a criminal who joins a team hired to retrieve a mysterious package from a group of dangerous individuals.
Acclaimed director John Frankenheimer (The Manchurian Candidate) elevates the material to create a thrilling and suspenseful crime story with incredible action sequences. The cast is also great with the likes of Jean Reno, Stellan Skarsgård and Sean Bean joining De Niro.
Sicario
Widows does a fantastic job of building tension throughout the film simply with its atmosphere. Another film that pulls off this impressive feat is Sicario. Denis Villeneuve masterfully directs this thriller which stars Emily Blunt as an FBI agent who joins a covert mission to take down Mexican drug cartels.
Like Widows, the film has a foreboding sense of doom throughout the story. It feels like things could go very wrong at any moment. That tension helps make for a gripping story that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats.
Hell Or High Water
Best Picture nominee Hell or High Water is another heist movie that tells an entertaining story while also commenting on modern issues. The film stars Chris Pine and Ben Foster as two brothers who team up to rob banks across the state in order to save their family home from foreclosure. Jeff Bridges plays the lawman on their trail.
Hell or High Water is a fantastic and thrilling crime film with some tense sequences. The cast is exceptional with Bridges giving another amazing performance while Pine and Foster are great as the complex thieves.
The Departed
Widows’ enormous all-star cast, including Liam Neeson, Daniel Kaluuya, Michelle Rodriguez and Colin Farrell help to make it an even more exciting genre film. The Departed is another intense crime film with an amazing cast all giving fantastic performances that elevate the story.
Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Mark Wahlberg, and Jack Nicholson all lend their talent to this violent saga from Martin Scorsese. The film follows an undercover cop working inside the mob and a mole working inside the police force who attempt to expose each other.
Prisoners
Denis Villeneuve delivers yet another intense drama that feels akin to Widows. Prisoners is a mystery thriller that stars Hugh Jackman as a father whose child goes missing and he takes extreme measures to get her back.
This is another film that uses its dark and intense atmosphere to tell a gripping story. The cast is excellent, including a powerful performance from Viola Davis before she led the cast of Widows. It is a dark and disturbing story but one worth seeking out.
The Town
Part of what makes Widows such a compelling heist film is how it deals with the crimes in a grounded way. Likewise, The Town is a great crime drama that can take a real-world approach to bank robberies while still being an entertaining genre piece.
Ben Affleck directs and stars in the story of a group of street-level thieves who pull off daring heists. As they plan a final big score, the heat for law enforcement begins to intensify. It is a fast-paced thriller that further proves Affleck to be a skilled director.
Set It Off
Set it Off might be a bit more of a heightened heist film than Widows, but the fact that it is a film in that genre starring four black female leads draws immediate comparisons. That kind of casting is so rare for these kinds of films that it feels like something exciting and new one the rare times it does happen.
Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise play a group of down-on-their-luck friends who turn to bank robbing to make a living. Even without the grounded approach of Widows, this is a fun and exciting crime film with an excellent cast.
Heat
We end with Heat, which is widely regarded as the greatest heist film ever made. From director Michael Mann, the film stars Robert De Niro as the disciplined leader of a group of skilled thieves while Al Pacino plays the dedicated detective who is trying to stop this crew before their next big score.
The film is not only known for its epic meeting of its two iconic stars, but also for its amazing heist sequences. It creates plausible and grounded sequences that are nevertheless thrilling and intense.
