Moviegoers want to feel alive when they watch a movie. They want to be drawn into the world the movie is taking place in and completely suspend their disbelief. Movies provide us an opportunity to escape our own realities and delve into stories that captivate us. Two genres that have a positive track record of achieving this are crime movies and thrillers. Putting those two genres together creates something magnetic. It keeps audiences on their toes and constantly wondering what could possibly happen next. Suspense, tension, and a few well-crafted plot twists leave us all wanting more, and crime thrillers are excellent at creating these types of environments.
Crime thrillers also have a knack for engaging the audience and putting our brains to work. Wracking your brain to try to piece together the clues involved in a murder mystery or catching things that are not in plain sight are incredibly effective ways to keep viewers locked in on the movie. Plus, the feeling of solving the mystery before the main characters do is completely satisfying. The action that can be involved in a crime thriller is also a huge reason people are drawn to the hybrid genre.
Update August 21, 2023: This article has been updated with even more great thrillers of the 2020s so far.
Some of the most impressive action sequences in cinema have been in crime thrillers. The 2020s have provided us with compelling (and even comical) crime thrillers that hopefully will lead to a decade full of worthy entries. Here are fifteen of the best crime thrillers of the 2020s so far:
15 I'm Your Woman (2020)
Set in the 1970s, Jean (Rachel Brosnahan) is forced to go on the run with her baby after her thief husband betrays his partners. Jean and her baby must endure a dangerous journey to get to safety. I'm Your Woman offers a different perspective than most crime thrillers as it focuses completely on the spouse of the criminal in question. We get to see how the actions of Jean's husband directly effect her and their child and how it quickly turns their lives upside down. They are now forced to go into hiding and abandon their lifestyle because of the selfish actions of someone who is supposed to be there for them.
The movie also serves as a gripping ode to motherhood, showcasing that a good mom can and will do anything for her child, even if it means learning how to use a gun for the first time.
14 Wrath of Man (2021)
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Jason Statham was fully in his butt-kicking element when he portrayed a grief-stricken father on a mission to avenge the death of his son in Wrath of Man, with the Guy Ritchie flick centering on cash truck driver H as he struggles to keep a low profile while investigating his child's murder; the skilled marksman sets his sights on the men responsible for the violent killing and vows to take them down one-by-one. The taut, tension-building picture has a neo-noir feel and is unsurprisingly jam-packed full of pulse-pounding action sequences and gripping suspense, and explores H's backstory via four thrilling acts.
Wrath of Man reunited Statham and Ritchie (who worked together in films like Snatch and Revolver) and the actor's character was favorably compared to those in Clint Eastwood Westerns such as Pale Rider and High Drifter. It went on to become a box office hit grossing $104 million and received an impressive A- CinemaScore from audiences.
13 The Guilty (2021)
Antoine Fuqua directed the Netflix original film The Guilty, a remake of the Danish hit that stars Jake Gyllenhaal as LAPD officer and 911 call operator Joe Baylor as he fights to save the life of an abducted young woman trapped in a van by her captors. Joe must face his own past mistakes and personal trauma as he races against the clock to locate the victim and enlists the help of his former partner (Eli Goree) to help track down the terrified mother.
The Guilty only features three actors who physically appear in the thriller, with performers like Ethan Hawke, Riley Keough, and Peter Sarsgaard providing their voices in various roles. It had its worldwide premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival before dropping on Netflix, where it was streamed in 69 million households over the course of the month and became the most-watched release on the platform.
12 Let Him Go (2020)
Grieving the loss of their son, a retired sheriff (Kevin Costner) and his wife (Diane Lane) leave the comfort of their Montana ranch to rescue their young grandson from the grasp of a dangerous family living completely off the grid the Dakotas. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane always have great chemistry when work together, and they are no different as grieving parents yearning to keep their family together. Let Him Go is a slow-burning, tense thriller that takes its viewers on a journey through the western part of the country with minimal dialogue that actually elevates the tense nature of the film.
While Costner and Lane are great, the true standout performance her comes from Leslie Manville as the self-righteous and controlling matriarch of the Weboy family, hellbent on keeping the young boy from his grandparents.
11 The Devil All the Time (2020)
During the 1960s in Knockemstiff, Ohio and the surrounding backwoods, suspicious characters with malicious intent converge around young Arvin Russell (Tom Holland) as he tries to stay good as he confronts the evil forces that threaten him and his family. The Devil All the Time has an absolutely star-studded cast including Tom Holland and Sebastian Stan in refreshingly different roles from their MCU counterparts. It also stars, Bill Skarsgard, Riley Keough, Mia Wasikowska, Jason Clarke, and Robert Pattinson with a distinct southern accent.
The chilling atmosphere and unsettling characters make for a tension-filled story about family and violence. The varying subplots and wide cast of characters may make the film feel a bit overstuffed at times, but the performances and the way each storyline is tied together in the end make it worth the watch.
10 The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent (2022)
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Unfulfilled and on the brink of financial ruin, movie star Nick Cage must accept a $1 million offer to attend the birthday of a dangerous superfan named Javi (Pedro Pascal). In a wild turn of events, Cage is recruited by the CIA and forced to live up to his legendary status by channeling his most iconic characters in order to save himself and his loved ones.
This fictionalized version of the iconic Nicholas Cage's life offers a comedic perspective to the crime thriller genre. Nick Cage is delightfully unhinged, and his energy is matched by the wonderful Pedro Pascal. The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is basically one big joke with ridiculous crime elements mixed in, which makes it even more entertaining.
9 Kimi (2022)
Steven Soderbergh's Kimi is set during the COVID-19 pandemic in Seattle where an agoraphobic tech worker named Angela (Zoë Kravitz) discovers evidence of a violent crime while reviewing a data stream. She is met with much resistance when she attempts to report the crime to her company. She realizes that she must become more involved if she wants to bring justice to the victim, which means she must face her greatest fear by leaving the safety of her apartment and venturing out into the dangerous world.
The backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic is used expertly to tell a story about paranoia and privacy within the world of tech. COVID-19 really is simply the background in this film, as it isn't about the pandemic at all. It's a nice change of pace for post-pandemic media.
8 Vengeance (2022)
Months after a one-night stand, a writer and podcaster from New York City named Ben (B.J. Novak) learns that this girl he barely knew has died. The girl's brother (Boyd Holbrook) talks him into flying to the middle of nowhere in Texas, so he can aid him in his quest for vengeance. The most enjoyable aspects of this murder mystery come from the supporting cast in the form of the Shaw family. The family of six is both charming and strange but never fail to steal every scene that they're all in together. As Ben is working to solve the murder in order to turn the case into a podcast series, the Shaw family not only help Ben discover clues along the way, but also show him how a good family is supposed to treat each other.
Vengenance also includes multiple important scenes that take place in a Whataburger, in which Ben learns important information about the lifestyle in this small Texas town and that Texans also really love this burger joint chain.
7 Nobody (2021)
Hutch Mansell (Bob Odenkirk) is a docile husband and father that is underestimated by everyone in his life. He takes all of life's inconveniences and never pushes back. He is essentially a nobody. When two intruders break into his home one night, he doesn't defend himself or his family in order to avoid any violence, disappointing his wife and teenage son. The incident awakens long-dormant instincts and anger, putting him on a brutal path that brings to light dark secrets in a quest to save his family from a Russian crime boss. There have been many comparisons between Nobody and the John Wick movies, which is completely valid considering the subject and the violent nature of the film.
However, what makes this film different is that Hutch Mansell is nothing like John Wick, aside from the fact that he is clearly a skilled fighter. Hutch is a family man who lets people walk all over him to not cause any trouble. So when this dormant instinct to fight back is finally awakened, he revels in getting beat up just as much as enjoys handing out the beatings. He wants to feel alive again. Bob Odenkirk absolutely owns this role in a way that probably will surprise a lot of viewers.
6 The Good Nurse (2022)
Jessica Chastain and Eddie Redmayne headline The Good Nurse, based on the true crime novel of the same name that centers on ICU nurse Amy Loughren as she begins to suspect her close friend and colleague is actually a dangerous serial killer responsible for the deaths of dozens of innocent patients. Redmayne is downright chilling as convicted murderer Charles Cullen, who was arrested in 2003 after the courageous Loughren risked her own life to help prove her fellow nurse was actually a prolific serial killer.
The poignant thriller honors the victims of Cullen while also shining a light on how the healthcare system ultimately failed to recognize the killer's immoral transgressions while on the job. The chemistry between Chastain and Redmayne truly propels the unsettling picture, with the latter star earning a Golden Globe nomination for his unnerving portrayal.
5 Emily the Criminal (2022)
Emily (Aubrey Plaza) is saddled with student debt and works odd jobs in an attempt to try to pay back the debt, but has an incredibly difficult time trying to land higher-jobs due to a minor criminal record. Desperate for cash and feeling helpless, Emily gets involved in a credit card scam that pulls her deep into the criminal underworld of Los Angeles, which ultimately leads to deadly consequences.
Aubrey Plaza shines in Emily the Criminal and proves that she is capable of performing well in any genre. Emily is so fed up with capitalism and the way that the world treats working class people that she succumbs to criminal activity just to free herself of the shackles that come with her student loan debt. It's well-written and well-acted, but also does a great job at displaying the problems associated with the rising student loan debt crisis in this country. It keeps you on the edge of your seat the entire time.
4 No Sudden Move (2021)
Touting an A-list ensemble cast including Benicio del Toro, Don Cheadle, Brendan Fraser, and David Harbour No Sudden Move takes place in 1954 Detroit and tells the electrifying story of small-time gangsters who are tasked with stealing a simple document by a mysterious stranger, but find the seemingly straightforward job complicated after they are forced to hold their targets hostage. After criminals Curt Goynes (Cheadle) and Ronald Russo (del Toro) realize they've been set up, the men set out to discover the identity of the person responsible for their failed blackmail scheme.
Steven Soderbergh directed the engrossing film, which earned rave reviews by both critics and audiences alike for its stunning cinematography, dynamic performances, and well-crafted pacing that left viewers fully invested in the fate of its complex characters. The phenomenal cast members and Soderbergh's expert direction helped make it a streaming hit, and it remains an impressive thriller full of dangerous twists and turns.
3 John Wick: Chapter 4 (2023)
The fourth installment in the widely popular franchise finds our protagonist with an ever-increasing price on his head after on the run once again. He discovers a path to freeing himself from the powerful High Table once and for all, but before he can gain his freedom, he must face off against a new enemy with powerful forces across the globe capable of turning friends to foes. The John Wick franchise has redefined the standards for action movies and crime thrillers over the past nine years. John Wick: Chapter 4 once again ups the stakes and creates some of the most chaotic and impressive action sequences ever put to the screen.
It has the longest runtime of the four movies in the series and makes use of every extra second it is given. There is not a moment during the film where you are not at the edge of your seat awaiting the next blow and utterly in awe of how the stunt coordinators are able to put these fights together. The scenes at the Osaka Continental and at the famous 222-step staircase before the Sacre-Coeur in Paris are particularly thrilling.
2 The Outfit (2022)
In the psychological crime thriller The Outfit, Zoey Deutch delivers one of the most compelling performances of her career when she appeared alongside Oscar-winner Mark Rylance, Dylan O'Brien, and Johnny Flynn, with the gripping film focusing on expert English tailor Leonard Burling (Rylance) as he fights for his life after he becomes embroiled in the violent actions of a ruthless Chicago mob boss and the dangerous members of his organization.
Upon its premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival, The Outfit showcased the impeccable talent of its diverse cast and was lauded for its enthralling screenplay and emotional complexity; Empire Magazine wrote that the tense thriller "follows a pattern set by countless gangster flicks of the past, but its freshness is in the intelligence and surprise of the script. Like a well-made suit, it’s not old-fashioned — it’s classic."
1 The Batman (2022)
Two years of fighting crime at night has turned Bruce Wayne into a nocturnal animal. As he continues to find his way in the city of Gotham, he is forced into a game of cat and mouse when a serial killer known as the Riddler starts picking off Gotham's political figures one by one, all while leaving a personalized trail of clues for the Batman himself. Matt Reeves' iteration of the character in The Batman is gritty, serious, and unlike any version we have seen before.
This is a version of Batman that is awkward, exhausted, and truly a detective. He has not yet grown into the Bruce Wayne persona nor learned how to use his status to his advantage. He wants little to do with his daytime counterpart and puts forth all his energy into being the fearsome Batman that leaves the criminals of Gotham shaking in their boots. His interactions with Selina Kyle (Zoë Kravitz) are unlike previous Batmans' interactions with the character, and that works in the movie's favor here. It also has one of the best film scores of this century.