Watch the Best Crime Movies on HBO Max (Before They’re Delisted)

HBO Max is a great place to find some of the best crime movies, and not just the classic go-tos. Aside from the more popular crime movies, the platform also has plenty to choose from across the genre. If you’re queuing up your next flick, we narrowed down our list so you can spend less time browsing and more time watching. Also, HBO loves to delist content, so you better watch them soon. Here are the best crime movies currently streaming on HBO Max.

What are the best crime movies on HBO Max?

Though we’ll say HBO Max takes the crown for crime documentaries and TV series, the site still has plenty of narrative features. Though we might argue Netflix has the leg up in terms of crime movies, there’s still plenty to make your subscription worth it.

Blood Simple (1984)

If you consider yourself a Coen Brothers fan, why are you still skipping this in your lineup? The Coen Brothers’ first feature, what The Guardian has called “an ingeniously noir horror masterwork,” Blood Simple is set, as the song goes (sing it with us), deep in the heart of Texas.

A Texas bar owner hires private detective Visser (M. Emmet Walsh, in a performance for the books) to kill his wife, Abby (a fantastic Frances McDormand), who’s having an affair with Ray (John Getz). But Visser’s sleaziness is more than just a façade, and the film grows increasingly convoluted as it progresses, with tense standoffs among all four players.

The film itself is a labyrinth, and the title alone gives you a pretty good indication that this one has some violence. You can tell the Coen Brothers were trying to make an impression with their debut — and they absolutely did.

Fargo (1996)

For the Coen Brothers’ second appearance here, Fargo is one of those films that seems to land on nearly every must-watch list. Set in Minnesota in 1987, this legendary crime movie follows Jerry Lundegaard (William H. Macy), a desperate car salesman with big dreams and even bigger debts. In a misguided attempt to solve his financial problems, Jerry hires two criminals (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his own wife and extort ransom money from his wealthy father-in-law. On paper, it’s a clean plan. One might even say simple. But in true Coen brother fashion, simple spirals quickly. Another fantastic appearance from Frances McDormand in this one, too. 

John Wick (2014)

If there’s one thing everyone should know, it’s this: don’t mess with a man’s dog. Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick, a retired hitman living a quiet, grief-stricken life after the death of his wife. When a group of thugs breaks into his home, beats him, steals his car, and kills the puppy his wife left him as a final gift, they unknowingly awaken something far more dangerous than they could have imagined.

The film is less a revenge story per se, and more a relentless trek back into a shadowy underworld of assassins and contracts. Wick isn’t just a normal guy, though. He’s not even an ordinary hitman. He’s a legend, even among killers. As word spreads of his return, old alliances resurface, and enemies emerge, including a crime boss who places a bounty on his head.

A Most Violent Year (2014)

A Most Violent Year (2014)

Jessica Chastain. Oscar Issac. 1981, New York City. That should give you enough of a reason to include this film on our list. But aside from the star power of the cast and location, this J.C. Chandor’s written and directed script oozes with grit, violence, and blood worthy of any Scorsese, whose filmmaking is clearly taking some play-by-plays from. Jason Isaacs plays Abel Morales, a heating oil company owner (a 1980s Michael Corleone, if you will) whose trucks are being hijacked. One driver is seriously injured, and Abel’s wife, Anna (Chastain), begs him to retaliate. Abel refuses, since he’s not the kind of guy who believes in violence. Still, there’s a lot to make up for if he wants to keep the business afloat, and Abel resorts to some tricky maneuvers. With all that maneuvering, though, violence eventually comes to Abel’s doorstep, whether he likes it or not.

Uncut Gems (2019)

Can we say that this is a movie you’ll queue for as a frequent repeat watch? Maybe not, unless you’ve got a very specific type of personality who enjoys anxiety-inducing thrills. We can’t even say this film functions exactly like a thriller, because it outpaces just about any movie we can think of. Still, there’s no denying this is a near-perfect film. Maybe the best entry in the Safdie canon, Uncut Gems stars Adam Sandler in a role that should have easily earned him an Oscar nomination, in a snub that still remains baffling. 

In what is easily a career-defining performance, Sandler plays Howard Ratner, a Jewish-American jeweler and gambling addict. To say his gambling gets him into trouble is an understatement, as he owes an enormous sum of money to his brother-in-law, a loan shark named Arno. As you probably know, trying to pay off debt by gambling even more rarely ends well. Add Kevin Garnett, The Weeknd, and a 600-carat black opal from Ethiopia’s Welo mine into the mix, and you’ll only know what you’ve got when you see it.

How we picked the best crime movies on HBO Max

Though there are some other great entries on the platform, we narrowed down our favorites to films that received the strongest audience and critical feedback. If you’re looking for even more crime movies and have a Netflix login, check out our picks for the best crime movies on Netflix.

Source: Comingsoon.net