Style Living Self Celebrity Geeky News and Views
In the Paper BrandedUp Hello! Create with us Privacy Policy

TRENDING: Love 'Ant-Man'? Here are other heist films you should see

By NICK GARCIA Published Mar 10, 2022 4:10 pm Updated Mar 10, 2022 7:39 pm

Who knew that movies can influence Filipino presidential aspirants that much?

All it took for Panfilo "Ping" Lacson to change his mind on death penalty, he said, was The Life of David Gale. Describing the movie as an "awakening," Lacson acknowledged the fact that innocent people can be executed.

This time around, Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. is supposedly following his father's footsteps into Malacañang after seeing Ant-Man.

For the uninitiated, Ant-Man tells the story of Scott Lang, a convicted former thief who turns into a superhero who can shrink to the size of an ant thanks to a technologically advanced suit from his mentor Dr. Hank Pym. Lang, using his thievery background and the assistance of Pym, pulls off a heist to save the world.

While it may not be a critically acclaimed film worthy of an Oscar, its action, visual effects, and humor still earned it a solid following.

Here are other heist films you should see if you love Ant-Man.

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Nothing beats the classic comedy heist film Ocean's Eleven. It features an ensemble cast, including George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Don Cheadle, Andy García, Bernie Mac, and Julia Roberts.

The story follows convicted thief Danny Ocean (Clooney) who has just been granted parole. He reaches out to his former partner Rusty Ryan (Pitt) and assembles an 11-man team to steal millions of dollars from three Las Vegas casinos owned by Terry Benedict (García), the boyfriend of his ex-wife Tess (Roberts).

While it's actually a remake of the '60s heist film of the same name starring the Frank Sinatra-led Rat Pack, the 2001 take has outclassed its predecessor, in terms of reviews and worldwide gross. It grossed over $450 million as the fifth highest earning movie of that year.

Two sequels round out the trilogy, Ocean's 12 (2004) and Ocean's 13 (2007). It also has a spin-off with an all-female lead cast, Ocean's 8 (2018).

Tower Heist (2011)

One of the most common motivations of characters in heist films is that they want to exact revenge at influential people who have robbed them. That's what happens in Tower Heist, headlined by Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy, together with Casey Affleck, Alan Alda, Matthew Broderick, Judd Hirsch, Téa Leoni, Michael Peña, and Gabourey Sidibe.

In the comedy caper helmed by Brett Ratner of the Rush Hour film series, Josh Kovacs (Stiller), building manager of luxury condo The Tower in New York, loses his pension plan and investments, as well as his fellow employees', to the Ponzi scheme orchestrated by their boss Arthur Shaw (Alda), a Wall Street billionaire who's also the penthouse tenant.

The Tower employees plan to take justice into their own hands by breaking into Shaw's apartment to steal back their money, which they perceive is in a secret safe somewhere, while also avoiding the FBI agents in charge of Shaw's case. The amateur thieves seek the help of Kovacs's childhood friend, petty criminal Slide (Murphy), to pull off the heist.

While the movie was panned by critics for its plot, they've been all praises for the cast, especially Murphy and his comedic style.

Army of the Dead (2021)

Netflix's Army of the Dead is not only a heist film but also a zombie flick. Headlined by Dave Bautista, the film was directed by Zack Snyder, who has had a number of "of the dead" projects.

Set in a post-apocalyptic Las Vegas, abandoned and under quarantine as zombies roam around having infected most of the city's population, it follows a group of mercenaries, led by Scott Ward (Bautista), who plan to retrieve mountains of cash in a casino at the behest of its owner Bly Tanaka. They must make a move before the zombie-infested Sin City is reduced to rubble as the U.S. government plans to launch a nuclear strike.

It has been among Netflix's most watched original films, with around 75 million viewers. It also has a spin-off prequel Army of Thieves (2021), and will soon have an animated series prequel Army of the Dead: Lost Vegas, as well as a direct sequel Planet of the Dead.

Baby Driver (2017)

Baby Driver is not your ordinary heist film. It's one that's built around music, so much so that much of its scenes were written with predetermined songs in mind. It even shares its title with the Simon and Garfunkel song, which plays during the end credits.

The movie follows Baby (Ansel Elgort), who has tinnitus, where one hears sounds from inside one's body, resulting from a car crash in childhood that killed his parents. He always has his earphones on, coping with his condition through music. For years, he works as a getaway driver for a group of armed robbers hired by crime lord Doc (Kevin Spacey), and is the asset to their heists thanks to his mad driving skills that are in sync with his carefully curated playlists.

Baby, then, meets Debora (Lily James), and they start dating, as he wants to forget the life of crime to be with her peacefully. But in Baby's next assignment, things just got out of hand as their new team is not in sync with each other.

The movie is directed by Edgar Wright and also features Jon Hamm, Eiza González, Jamie Foxx, and Jon Bernthal. It has been well-received for its craftsmanship and style.

Metro Manila (2013)

A Filipino movie (though originally a British production) also has its heist film entry in Metro Manila. But it's not just a happy heist film, as it portrays a picture of corruption and violence that remains rampant in the country up to this day.

Metro Manila follows Oscar Ramirez (Jake Macapagal), a former military man turned rice farmer in Banaue with wife Mai (Althea Vega) and two children. They seek greener pastures in the capital as their crops no longer help them make ends meet. But their family then falls victim to the city's sordid underbelly as Oscar takes the job as a security guard of an armored truck company under the wing of his senior officer Ong (John Arcilla), while Mai finds opportunities as a bar hostess in a nightclub.

The film has received international acclaim and bagged awards from the British Independent Film Award, Hamburg Film Festival, Sundance Film Festival, as well as nominations from the BAFTA Awards and Gawad Urian.