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10 Must-Watch Crime Movies, Ranked
Feb 9, 2025
Crime movies come in as many varieties as the crimes they depict. From classics of Hollywood's golden age to modern-day masterpieces, crime has been an inspiration to both veteran and burgeoning filmmakers. Audiences' interest in the genre has never waned either, only shifted as each decade brings with it a new favorite flavor of criminal intent.
Noir gave way to cop thrillers, the streets of New York were traded for the streets of Los Angeles, and fictional movie killers were pushed aside for serial killer documentaries. With all the subgenres that clot the arteries of criminal cinema, there's a wide selection for any discerning viewer. These are the ten crime movies that are must-watches.
10 'A Better Tomorrow' (1986)
Directed by John Woo
Standing right next to comedies, action crime movies provide the same level of delirious entertainment value, focusing on the gun fights and car chases that apparently are everyday occurrences for most criminals. Filmmaker John Woo put his own definitive spin on the subgenre with his Heroic Bloodshed films of the 80s and early 90s, the first of which was the hugely influential A Better Tomorrow.
Featuring Ti Lung and Chow Yun-fat as triad members trying to navigate their way out of the Hong Kong underworld, the plot includes familiar elements from the crime genre, including the brothers on opposite sides of the law trope, but is punctuated by Woo's signature gunfights and directorial style. A Better Tomorrow kicked off a prolific period in Woo's Hong Kong career that is all killer, no filler, and is a must for any crime fiction aficionado.
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