Watching someone on screen do something they are not supposed to do can be a guilty pleasure, or an evocative experience in which you root for justice. Crime movies with the right amount of action, suspense, and thrill constitute a genre that will always find takers.
From pushing the limits of the crimes you are willing to commit for someone you see as family, to ensuring that as cops, you stop heinous crimes no matter what the cost — the world of crime cinema is full of exciting movies that will immerse you in a universe of cat-and-mouse chases, high-stake confrontations, and the murky waters of organised crime. Dive in by bookmarking these five crime movies on Amazon Prime Video for your next watch.
Tony Scott’s Man on Fire is one of the best grimy and gory crime movies on Amazon Prime Video. Despite being one of Denzel Washington’s best movies, it's incredibly underrated.
Samuel Ramos (Marc Anthony), a wealthy and busy businessman, hires a burnt-out ex-CIA operative, John Creasy (Washington), to protect his young daughter Lupita (Dakota Fanning) to fulfil the requirements of a kidnapping insurance policy.
Creasy, as Lupita’s bodyguard, is tasked with accompanying her everywhere at all times – not his dream job for sure, but he warms up to Lupita because of her wit, innocence and charm. When Lupita is abducted, Creasy’s rage knows no bounds as he seeks vengeance.
This crime movie tells the story of unabashed revenge and violence but also provides bucketloads of emotion. The nurturing and almost paternalistic care Creasy develops for Lupita makes the kidnapping an emotionally gripping watch, similar to how Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) brings out the tears in us when he is ready to do anything to save his family in the Taken movies.
Favourite Denzel Washington dialogue from this film? “Forgiveness is between them and God. It’s my job to arrange the meeting.”
A fun fact: If the plot sounds vaguely familiar to you, that is because there’s a Hindi remake called Ek Ajnabee (2005), starring Amitabh Bachchan in Denzel Washington’s role.
“Bakshy. Byomkesh Bakshy.”
Detective Byomkesh (Sushant Singh Rajput) gets a James Bond-esque introduction that sets the tone for the rest of the film.
There’s blackmail, murder, lust, love, blood, gore – everything you would want from a crime movie that will feel like a road trip you wished never ended rather than a fast roller coaster that will leave you reeling.
Set during the peak of World War II in Calcutta, this crime thriller is the narrative of a small-time Bengali detective called Byomkesh helping his client Ajit (Anand Tiwari) find his missing father. Simple enough, but when the plot unfolds at a slow but steady pace, you realise that there’s more at stake than just a missing man.
Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! may not be your cup of tea if you like fast crime thrillers. Even then, watch it for the riveting production design that brings the trams and lanes of Old Calcutta to life. The way the plot simmers is slow and delectable, just like Kolkata biryani.
This crime movie from South Korea is a must-watch if you enjoy a good turf war. It’s based on a real-life event called the ‘Heuksapa Incident’ of 2007, when a gang war broke out in Garibong-dong in Western Seoul, leading to arrests.
The film shows animosity between a local gang that runs Garibong-dong in Seoul and the Heuksapa gang in China. Ma Seok-do (Ma Dong-seok), a detective lieutenant, is tasked with keeping the peace between the warring gangs. Jang Chen (Yoon Kye-sang) is the gang leader from China. His favourite way to defend himself as he loots restaurant owners and destroys bars in Chinatown is to dismember anyone who comes in his way.
This movie is well-directed, and the epic showdown between Ma Seok-do and Jang Chen is well-choreographed and worthy of appreciation. Action interlaced with humour comfortably adapted to a simple yet strong plot makes this a crime film you can keep coming back to.
There’s also a Hindi remake of this movie, Radhe (2021), but we would rather you watch the original.
When terrorists took over a flat in Batla House in Jamia Nagar in Delhi on September 19, 2008 (a week after the serial blasts that shook the city), the Delhi Police carried out Operation Batla House.
Inspired by this real-life incident, Batla House espouses a riveting narrative of its aftermath and impact on the Delhi Police. ACP Sanjay Kumar's (John Abraham) story is based on real-life DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav, who played a significant role in this case.
The movie begins with the encounter, and the rest of the plot is about how the media, various political parties, and the general public reacted to the incident.
John Abraham has perfected the intensity of a dedicated Indian officer through movies like Madras Cafe (2013) and Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran (2018), and his performance in Batla House is potent and passionate.
Combining multiple threads of terrorism, media scrutiny, and legal issues is challenging, but this movie addresses these subplots well. With fantastic cinematography and a healthy blend of fact and fiction, Batla House delivers as a thrilling crime movie.
This crime movie is the second instalment of The Outlaws (2017). It would be a real crime (pun intended) not to include this South Korean crime movie on a list of best crime movies.
This time around, Ma Seok-do (Ma Dong-seok) lands up in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, to interrogate a suspect who had fled the country. But why is this suspect so cooperative?
Ma Seok-do knows something is fishy, and when he discovers that a ruthless criminal named Kang Hae-sang (Son Suk-ku), who is terrorising Korean tourists, may have some connection with the case, he decides to track him down.
If you have watched The Outlaws (2017), you will expect Ma Seok-do's perfect blend of humour and action in this film as well. And you will not be disappointed.
Like in the first film, the fight scenes are well-choreographed, and the car chases may remind you of the vehicular capers of the Mission Impossible movies. This crime movie is edgier than its predecessor and delivers a well-defined plot and more than a few action-packed scenes.