Movies: 7 Most well-planned heists we saw in movies, ranked

There's nothing quite like the adrenaline rush you get from watching a planned heist in a film! The nail-biting surprises, intricate plans, and the high-stakes tension are no less than a rollercoaster ride, increasing your heartbeat. And honestly, what's not to love about a group of criminal masterminds plotting the perfect theft? Whether it's the thrill of the plan, the drama and suspense of the execution, or the gratification of the payoff, you're bound to be hooked right from the start when it comes to a planned heist in movies!

So, grab your popcorn and take your seat. Here is a list of the 7 most planned heists we've seen in movies.

Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's opinion; Reader discretion is advised!

Inception (2010)

The groundbreaking concept of implanting an idea into someone's mind by invading their dreams is something only Christopher Nolan could pull off. It was no ordinary heist with black masked people robbing a bank. Inception was much more complicated and risky than that. Leonardo DiCaprio as Dom Cobb, a skilled extractor who steals valuable information from people's subconscious, gathers a talented group of team members to execute an illegal mission where they have to manipulate the heir to a big corporate empire named Robert Fischer (Cillian Murphy) to dissolve his father's company. This process of entering one's mind and embedding an idea was known as the art of Inception.

However, this mission that was assigned to Cobb was the most difficult task he'd ever undertaken, since it involved travelling through three layers of the subconscious, that is, a dream within a dream within a dream. And if the plan worked out, Cobb would be cleared of all criminal charges and finally be able to go home to his kids. In the first layer of the dream, we see Yusuf driving the team to safety while the others work on sedating Fischer. In the second layer, Cobb attempts to extract a six-digit security code from Fischer, while Arthur defends the rest inside a hotel setting. In the final layer, set amidst snow-capped surroundings, right when they are close to convincing Fischer that it was his father's dying wish to break up the family business, Cobb's projection of Mal, his dead wife, exacerbates the scenario by shooting Fischer. Despite this setback, Cobb and Ariadne manage to retrieve Fischer from limbo, and through a series of synchronized “kicks,” the entire team wakes up to reality, their objective fulfilled.

Baby Driver (2017)

When a charming, young man dilutes his high-risk escapades with a well-curated playlist, you know you're in for a fun ride. Edgar Wright’s Baby Driver features Ansel Elgort as the film’s protagonist, Baby, who is plagued by a condition known as tinnitus and therefore finds his music collection incredibly helpful during his fast and furious adventures. At the beginning of the movie, we see Baby chilling in a red Subaru WRX outside a bank, music blasting in his ears, while Buddy, Darling, and Griff raid the vaults inside. The chase scene is perfect, with Baby skillfully dodging cop cars and traffic, all in sync with his music.

In his next heist, Baby joins forces with Bats, JD, and Eddie to take down an armored truck. But soon things go south when Bats kills a guard, leaving Baby seriously disturbed. The third and climactic heist in the film unfolds at a post office where Baby struggles to balance between his profession and conscience. When Bats shoots another guard, Baby deliberately crashes the escape car to prevent further violence and kills Bats in the process. As the situation escalates, Darling is fatally shot, and Buddy, consumed by grief, goes after Baby to exact vengeance. Baby is forced to run, seeking a way out of the life he never chose. With a bold and unique approach, Baby Driver carves out its niche in planned heist cinema.

Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Having just served his time in prison, Danny Ocean, played by the stunning George Clooney, has no intention of settling for a nine-to-five. He has a grand scheme to make easy money, and his eyes are set on the three casinos owned by Terry Benedict, namely the Bellagio, the Mirage, and the MGM Grand. But here's the twist: Benedict is dating Danny’s ex-wife, Tess, played by Julia Roberts. So now, the greatest heist in Vegas, planned by Danny, is not just business, it’s personal. Danny’s dream team includes masterminds like Rusty Ryan (Brad Pitt), Linus Caldwell (Matt Damon), Basher Tarr (Don Cheadle), and others.

They planned to break into the ultra-secure vault hidden beneath the casino floor and steal $160 million during a major boxing night. The team built a replica to master every move before the real thing. On the night of the fight, the Malloy twins try to distract everyone while Basher knocks out the power, disabling security systems so that Danny and Linus get access to the vault, where Yen has been smuggled in earlier to help them. Finally, their men come in disguised as the SWAT team and stage a fake raid, slipping in false footage of the entire night to mislead Benedict. Accomplishing their mission, Danny's team leaves the casino unnoticed and merges with the crowd. Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven showcases one of the most striking planned heists in the history of cinema.

Ocean’s 8 (2018)

You know it's going to be one hell of a journey when women take the wheel. Ocean's 8 is considered to be a spin-off of Steven Soderbergh’s acclaimed trilogy. Directed by Gary Ross, it is a fresh take on the planned heist of the Ocean's franchise. The film begins with Debbie Ocean, portrayed by Sandra Bullock, plotting a slick and devious heist to steal the $150 million Toussaint necklace at the Met Gala. She assembles a crew of bright and cunning women, including her trusted partner Lou, a fashion designer named Rose Weil, a hacker named Nine Ball, and many more. The plan is to have Rose design actress Daphne Kluger’s gown at the Gala and request the Toussaint necklace to be part of her attire.

At the night of the event, Daphne’s soup is secretly laced to provoke nausea, causing her to use the restroom where Constance removes the necklace, and later Amita replaces it with a replica. Without alerting the rest of the team, Lou pulls off a side heist during the Gala, nabbing some extra jewels and royal gems. The additional twist is at the end when Daphne reveals that she became aware of the entire scheme and willingly went along with it as she wanted to be a part of Debbie's operation. The girls frame Claude Becker, Debbie’s ex-boyfriend, and celebrate the success of their mind-blowing heist.

Mission: Impossible (1996)

It's hard not to have goosebumps during the iconic scene where Tom Cruise is hanging upside down, a few inches above the floor, as he tries not to make a sound. That was the grand CIA vault heist in Brian De Palma’s 1996 film, Mission: Impossible. In the role of Ethan Hunt, Tom Cruise is on a mission to steal the NOC list from a highly secured vault inside CIA headquarters, which is protected by voice ID, retina scans, double keycards, and a room so sensitive, even a faint breath or drop of sweat could set off the alarms.

Ethan executes his mastermind plan with Luther Stickell, the tech expert, and Franz Krieger for his physical strength. They create a distraction to gain access to the building, and then Ethan is lowered into the vault from the ceiling, hanging by the cables. It's pin drop silence all around, where you can feel every movement, every breath. Even at one point, a rat makes Krieger move, almost causing him to drop Ethan onto the pressure-sensitive floor. Although the scene has been parodied countless times, the original gives you chills unlike anything else. In the end, Ethan is successful in making an impossible mission possible, and honestly, we clung to our seats until the credits rolled.

Now You See Me (2013)

Directed by Louis Leterrier, Now You See Me brings a touch of the surreal to the heist genre. Starring Mark Ruffalo, Jesse Eisenberg, Woody Harrelson, and many other Hollywood stars, the movie cleverly reveals its plot twists. Four magicians, namely J. Daniel Atlas, Henley Reeves, Jack Wilder and Merritt McKinney, perform an act in Las Vegas as “The Four Horsemen,” where they teleport one of the audience members to a bank vault in Paris, to activate the ventilation system, causing a shower of euros on the Vegas crowd. But in reality, the actual heist took place days before.

While the money is en route to the bank, the Horsemen have already swapped it with flash paper disguised as cash. And what about the audience member? He never even sets foot in Paris; he is inside a secret replica vault under the stage the whole time. With the help of hypnosis, sleight of hand, and modern technology, they pulled off a trick that left both the audience and the law enforcement puzzled. Now You See Me is more than just a heist movie. Masterfully blurring the lines between magic and crime, it leaves you guessing till the very end.

The Italian Job (1969)

Michael Caine, with his striking performance as Charlie Croker, a bold and cunning Cockney crime lord, in Peter Collinson’s The Italian Job, has been stunning audiences for decades now. Much more than a planned heist film, it is packed with action, subtle humor, and iconic car-chasing scenes. The movie begins with Croker stepping out of prison and picking up a daring heist plan left behind by his late friend Roger Beckermann: to hijack $4 million worth of gold bullion from a convoy in Turin, Italy. To get the job done, Croker hires a revolutionary crew, including the brilliantly bizarre Professor Simon Peach, whose computer skills were way ahead of their time.

Together, they come up with an idea to cause traffic across the entire town of Turin, stirring up chaos that will enable them to go ahead with the heist. The crew rides through the streets in red, white, and blue Mini Coopers to escape from the police, tackling dramatic obstacles like staircases, rooftops, and sewers. After successfully stealing the gold, they stash the Minis into a modified coach. But things go south when the vehicle skids on the mountain road and halts on the edge of a cliff, with the gold sliding towards the rear doors. Right then, Charlie Croker exclaims,

“Hang on a minute, lads, I’ve got a great idea!”

And the movie ends, leaving us all on a cliffhanger. The Italian Job remains a classic in this genre.

And with this, we've reached the end of our epic heist countdown, and what a blast it has been! We've witnessed criminal geniuses outsmarting law enforcement, squads syncing like clockwork, and getaway plans executed with precision. From Mission: Impossible's nerve-racking stunts to the high-profile scheming in Ocean's Eleven, these movies have truly stolen our hearts (pun intended).

So, which is your favourite heist movie?