Best Crime Movies on HBO Max (January 2026)

If you’re looking for crime movies, HBO Max is a great place to find them. They’ve got pretty much every top crime pick you can think of, plus plenty of others across the genre. There’s a lot to choose from, so we narrowed down our favorites just to give you an idea of what’s streaming now. Here are the best crime movies on HBO Max.

What are the best crime movies on HBO Max?

Though we’ll say the platform really is king when it comes to crime documentaries, they’ve got plenty of narrative features as well. We might argue Netflix has the leg up in terms of crime movies, but there’s still plenty to make your subscription worth it. These are just a few of our favorites to save you the time of browsing the entire catalogue.

A Most Violent Year (2014)

1981, New York City. That setting alone should give you a clear picture of the world this film inhabits. But to get into the plot: Jessica Chastain and Oscar Isaac star in this crime drama written and directed by J.C. Chandor. Isaac 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. He’s not a 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.

Blood Simple (1984)

The Coen brothers’ first feature, Blood Simple, is set in the heart of Texas. A Texas bar owner hires private detective Visser to kill his wife, Abby (Frances McDormand), who’s having an affair with Ray. But Visser’s sleaziness is more than just a facade, and things become increasingly convoluted as the film progresses, including tense standoffs between 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.

Bronson (2008)

This one isn’t so much about a crime as it is a character study of a criminal. Tom Hardy is at his best here in a seriously underrated film about prisoner Michael Peterson, who was convicted of theft. Well, that’s not entirely true, because the robberies involved hostages. All you really need to know is that this guy is genuinely terrifying, and he’s serving time in the English penal system, which is a tough place to be. While in prison, he can’t seem to stay out of trouble, and the only way to avoid conflict is solitary confinement. What really makes the film stand out, though, isn’t just the character drama but the way the story is told. Prepare for the shock and awe at what Tom Hardy can really do.

John Wick (2014)

Keanu Reeves stars as John Wick, a retired assassin who comes out of retirement after being brutally attacked by a couple of thugs. But it’s not just the assault that sparks his need for revenge. The thugs kill the puppy that belonged to John’s wife, who recently passed away. That would be enough for most of us, but John Wick is far more equipped than the average person. Meanwhile, John’s former colleague puts a bounty on his head.

End of Watch (2012)

Shot in a documentary style, End of Watch stars Jake Gyllenhaal and Michael Peña as two LAPD officers who are also close friends. The pair typically patrols one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Los Angeles, but life takes them out of routine when a traffic stop throws them into the world of one of the most dangerous cartels. Their involvement is definitely above their pay grade, but it certainly raises the stakes in this heavy-action drama. While the plot and docu-style might sound like it could be one big eye roll, it’s a solid film. The director is always one step ahead of us, and it stands as one of David Ayer’s best.

Fargo (1996)

For the Coen brothers’ second appearance here, Fargo is one of those movies that appear on just about every must-watch list. Set in Minnesota in 1987, Jerry (William H. Macy) is a businessman with big dreams and even bigger debts. He hires two thugs (Steve Buscemi and Peter Stormare) to kidnap his wife for ransom. His wealthy father-in-law will pay, and the thugs will take a cut as commission. Not a bad plan, right?

Good Time (2017)

The Safdie brothers have a way of directing movies that makes it feel impossible to breathe, keeping the audience teetering on the edge of an anxiety attack the entire time. It’s a brilliant trick that takes real technique to pull off. Good Time stars Robert Pattinson as a small-time criminal who will do anything to free his intellectually disabled brother from police custody after a robbery goes wrong.

Uncut Gems (2019)

Another entry in the Safdie canon, Uncut Gems stars Adam Sandler in a role that should have easily earned him an Oscar nomination. The snub 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

Aside from this writer’s heavy personal bias, we narrowed down our favorites to films that received the strongest audience and critic 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