Heist Films Worth Watching Before David Leitch’s ‘How to Rob a Bank’ Reaches Theaters
‘How to Rob a Bank’ centers on a crew of social media savvy robbers who broadcast their heists, unaware that their viral fame has drawn a veteran FBI agent and a brilliant software engineer onto their trail. The film was written by Mark Bianculli and stars Nicholas Hoult, Anna Sawai, Pete Davidson, Zoë Kravitz, Rhenzy Feliz, John C. Reilly and Christian Slater.
The movie arrives in theaters on November 13, which makes this a good moment to revisit the crime stories that came before it. The recommendations below range from tense hostage dramas to light comedies, and each one shares something with this new bank heist thriller.
‘Dog Day Afternoon’
This Al Pacino drama is based on a real bank robbery in Brooklyn that escalated into a hostage situation and a media circus. Sidney Lumet directed it, and Pacino plays Sonny as a man who is desperate and surprisingly human.
Viewers interested in how public attention shapes a robbery will find an early example here.
‘Heat’
Michael Mann’s film pairs Al Pacino as a detective with Robert De Niro as a bank robber, and it marked the first time the two actors shared the screen. A robbery by the crew sets up a running shootout through the skyscraper streets of downtown Los Angeles.
The film proved influential enough that two men staged a near identical robbery of a Hollywood bank in 1997 and ended up in a shootout with the LAPD. IndieWire has framed Leitch’s film as a cat and mouse thriller, and this is a defining example of that pursuit.
‘Point Break’
Kathryn Bigelow’s film follows FBI agent Johnny Utah, played by Keanu Reeves, as he goes undercover among Southern California surfers suspected of robbing banks. The robbers wear cheap rubber masks of former presidents, which is where the gang takes its nickname.
Patrick Swayze, Lori Petty and Gary Busey also star. Like Leitch’s film, it pits a crew with a distinct public identity against an investigator who keeps closing in.
‘Ocean’s Eleven’
Steven Soderbergh’s remake of the 1960 Rat Pack film follows Danny Ocean and Rusty Ryan as they plan to take $160 million from casino owner Terry Benedict. Soderbergh shot much of it in real Las Vegas casinos, including The Mirage, The Bellagio and the MGM Grand.
Danny works by a code that includes not hurting anyone and not stealing from people who do not deserve it. The Australian synopsis for Leitch’s film says its crew puts everything on the line for their beliefs, so the two crews make an interesting contrast.
‘The Bank Job’
The film draws on a 1971 robbery in which a gang tunneled into a Lloyds Bank branch on Baker Street and emptied the safety deposit boxes. Jason Statham plays Terry Leather, a former crooked car salesman who wants to put his shady past behind him.
British security services have taken an interest in one of the boxes, which gives the story a conspiracy edge. Roger Donaldson directed from a script by Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais.
‘Out of Sight’
George Clooney plays Jack Foley, a bank robber who falls for Karen Sisco, a federal marshal played by Jennifer Lopez. It was the first of several collaborations between Soderbergh and Clooney.
One critic describes Foley as a robber who pulls off heists on charm alone. The film offers a lighter take on the relationship between a thief and the person chasing him.
‘Quick Change’
Bill Murray’s character disguises himself as a clown and robs a New York bank, only to discover that the getaway is harder than the heist. Murray and Howard Franklin directed it together, and it remains Murray’s only directing credit.
Flavorwire notes that the film finds its real challenge in leaving New York rather than robbing the bank. One listing calls Leitch’s film an action comedy, so viewers who enjoy that tone may appreciate this one.
