Netflix’s Kevin Hart-led heist movie Lift is the streamer’s biggest movie in the world this week, but make no mistake — this stinker of a Netflix original is a travesty that you should absolutely skip. It’s ostensibly an action-comedy, but there’s nothing funny or remotely interesting to be found in this story that tries to pass off Hart as the credible leader of an elite gang of thieves. And I really hate writing that, because somehow the scene-stealing Úrsula Corberó (from Money Heist) got talked into appearing in the movie, too — one of its only saving graces, if I had to pick one.
That said, you’re certainly not out of luck if you do happen to be in the mood for a heist film, because there are several very solid ones to be found on Netflix. Three of which include 2019’s Triple Frontier, 2021’s Army of Thieves, and 2023’s Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris.
Triple Frontier
This first action-packed flick is perfect for fans of similar Netflix originals like The Gray Man and the Extraction movies. In Triple Frontier, a group of Special Forces operatives (played by Ben Affleck, Oscar Isaac, Charlie Hunnam, Garrett Hedlund, and Pedro Pascal) reunite to pull off a heist in a sparsely populated border zone in South America.
“For the first time in their prestigious careers,” Netflix explains about the movie from director J.C. Chandor, “these unsung heroes undertake this dangerous mission for self instead of country. But when events take an unexpected turn and threaten to spiral out of control, their skills, their loyalties and their morals are pushed to a breaking point in an epic battle for survival.”
Army of Thieves
This next film is director Zack Snyder’s prequel to his Netflix movie Army of the Dead, and it’s quite a fun romp. In it, a crew of thieves sets out across Europe to crack and rob three seemingly impenetrable vaults, designed by their creator as his “Ring Cycle” of safes. Each of the three safes in the cycle has its own name — Das Rheingold, the Valkyrie, and the Siegfried. Meanwhile, French law enforcement officers are hot on the trail of the safe-robbing bandits.
“In this prequel to Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead,” Netflix’s press material explains, “small-town bank teller Dieter gets drawn into the adventure of a lifetime when a mysterious woman recruits him to join a crew of Interpol’s most wanted criminals, attempting to heist a sequence of legendary, impossible-to-crack safes across Europe.”
Vjeran Tomic: The Spider-Man of Paris
The newest of these three Netflix heist movies is actually based on real events — specifically, on the 2010 theft of paintings by Picasso, Matisse, Braque, Modigliani, and Fernand Léger from Paris’ Musée d’Art Moderne. All told, the paintings were worth 100 million euros.
It was the biggest art heist in French history, and the movie mixes re-enactments with interviews to tell the story of this daring crime.
Exceptions like Lift notwithstanding, you can almost never go wrong with a heist movie if you’re looking for adventure delivered with a bit of style. For even more ideas of what else to watch on Netflix, check out our list below of the biggest shows in the world on the streamer right now — as well as our guide to the best Netflix movies available to watch. We’ve also covered Netflix’s best K-dramas; best true-crime documentaries; best gritty crime dramas; as well as a roundup of Netflix series that are short enough for you to watch over the course of a weekend.
