A Glean movie guide
Masterminds & Misdirection
Don't trust the plan.
Heist movies where the job is never what it seems.
Handpicked for this guide
The movie list
- 01
The Usual Suspects
A legendary mystery where a police interrogation slowly unspools the truth behind a deadly boat heist.
Held in an L.A. interrogation room, Verbal Kint attempts to convince the feds that a mythic crime lord, Keyser Soze, not only exists, but was also responsible for drawing him and his four partners into a multi-million dollar heist that ended with an explosion in San Pedro harbor – leaving few survivors. Verbal lures his interrogators with an incredible story of the crime lord's almost supernatural prowess.
- 02
Inside Man
A brilliant bank robber plays a high-stakes game of chess with a detective who can't see the real target.
When an armed, masked gang enter a Manhattan bank, lock the doors and take hostages, the detective assigned to effect their release enters negotiations preoccupied with corruption charges he is facing.
- 03
The Sting
Two charismatic grifters execute an intricate 'long con' that keeps the audience guessing until the final play.
A novice con man teams up with an acknowledged master to avenge the murder of a mutual friend by pulling off the ultimate big con and swindling a fortune from a big-time mobster.
- 04
The Handmaiden
A lush, three-part masterpiece that constantly recontextualizes a complex con from new perspectives.
1930s Korea, in the period of Japanese occupation, a new girl, Sookee, is hired as a handmaiden to a Japanese heiress, Hideko, who lives a secluded life on a large countryside estate with her domineering Uncle Kouzuki. But the maid has a secret. She is a pickpocket recruited by a swindler posing as a Japanese Count to help him seduce the Lady to steal her fortune.
- 05
Inception
A mind-bending sci-fi heist where the team must plant an idea across multiple layers of subconscious reality.
Cobb, a skilled thief who commits corporate espionage by infiltrating the subconscious of his targets is offered a chance to regain his old life as payment for a task considered to be impossible: "inception", the implantation of another person's idea into a target's subconscious.
- 06
Ocean's Eleven
A stylish, star-studded Vegas robbery that hides its most clever trick in plain sight.
Less than 24 hours into his parole, charismatic thief Danny Ocean is already rolling out his next plan: In one night, Danny's hand-picked crew of specialists will attempt to steal more than $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos. But to score the cash, Danny risks his chances of reconciling with ex-wife, Tess.
- 07
Logan Lucky
A deceptively simple NASCAR heist that reveals its true complexity only after the dust has settled.
Trying to reverse a family curse, brothers Jimmy and Clyde Logan set out to execute an elaborate robbery during the legendary Coca-Cola 600 race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
- 08
Widows
A gritty, high-stakes thriller that subverts expectations with a shocking mid-film revelation.
A police shootout leaves four thieves dead during an explosive armed robbery attempt in Chicago. Their widows have nothing in common except a debt left behind by their spouses' criminal activities. Hoping to forge a future on their own terms, they join forces to pull off a heist.
- 09
Nine Queens
An intricate Argentinian thriller where a simple stamp scam evolves into a masterclass in narrative deception.
Two con artists try to swindle a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps, the "nine queens".
- 10
Reservoir Dogs
A jewelry store robbery gone wrong turns into a tense standoff to identify a hidden informant.
A botched robbery indicates a police informant, and the pressure mounts in the aftermath at a warehouse. Crime begets violence as the survivors -- veteran Mr. White, newcomer Mr. Orange, psychopathic parolee Mr. Blonde, bickering weasel Mr. Pink and Nice Guy Eddie -- unravel.