The crime genre has been a staple of the movie industry ever since its inception. With movies like Ambulance, Death on the Nile, and even The Batman finding great success in theaters and streaming, the crime genre continues to pump out engaging stories and characters.
Throughout the 2010s, there have been a lot of great crime movies. Each year has had its standouts, and IMDb has made its choice on which movies get that standout title. From dark Korean thrillers to vividly bright locales of Wes Anderson, crime happens in the strangest of places.
BlackKkKlansaman (2018) – 7.5
BlackKkKlansaman is directed by Spike Lee and produced by Jordan Peele and Jason Blum. BlackKkKlansaman focuses on the story of Ron Stallworth as he infiltrates the KKK chapter in his hometown of Colorado Springs. As the plot ramps up, they discover a plan to attack a gathering of black activists, and it’s up to them to stop it.
Tackling the topic of hate crimes is a sensitive subject. Somehow, the movie manages to deal with the subject in a darkly hilarious tone, never underplaying the effects of racism, but laughing at the absurdities of it. The dynamic between John David Washington and Adam Driver bears special mentioning.
I Saw The Devil (2010) – 7.8
I Saw The Devil is one of the most oppressively dark movies of the 2010s. After a government agent loses his fiance to a horrific serial killer, he dedicates his life to finding the killer and ruining every facet of his life. As the stakes escalate, however, the agent is forced to confront his inner cruelty.
I Saw The Devil might be an action-thriller crime drama, but it has horror imprinted in its structure. The reframing of the “hero” stalking a serial killer, and doing all the things that a villain would do, confronts viewers with how thin the line is between justice and cold vengeance.
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo (2011) – 7.8
The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo is about a Swedish journalist investigating the mysterious disappearance of a wealthy woman 40 years ago. After hiring a young hacker, they find themselves up against a serial killer who’s been active for decades, and they must gather enough evidence to put him behind bars for good.
The movie was universally praised by critics and audiences alike, giving particular mention to Rooney Mara’s character. The neo-noir aesthetic of the movie was also praised and made for a stylistic yet gritty crime thriller that left audiences in shambles.
Zootopia (2016) – 8.0
Zootopia is probably one of the most surprising movies to breach into IMDb’s highest-ranked crime movies, but it is not undeserved. After all, the entire movie is about a rookie cop uncovering a criminal conspiracy that is turning animals rabid. If not for the talking animals, that’s a solid movie premise for an adult crime thriller.
What makes Zootopia unique is that it tackles race relations and its very deep history with a crime in the real world. Tackling complex topics such as diversity hires, racial profiling, and racism in institutions is an impressive feat for a children’s movie. Teaching children about the realities of the world, in a pragmatic yet optimistic way, is an important achievement.
Spotlight (2015) – 8.1
Spotlight focuses on an investigative team of journalists uncovering the deep history of sexual abuse that has happened in the Catholic Church for centuries. It’s a biographical film, and the movie gets uncomfortably close to the topic, although it does so out of necessity.
Spotlight, as the title implies, shines a spotlight on the largely ignored history of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church. Despite the movie’s professional tone and investigative journalism, the core of it is an insidious plague that continues to this day, though thankfully called out by modern society more than ever.
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017) – 8.1
Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri is about a grieving mother and her quest for vengeance against the police department for failing to find the murderer of his daughter. She does so by putting up three billboards that broadcast the incompetency of the local police department. Tensions rise, and a call for justice soon becomes something more violent.
This movie is a black comedy with cynicism at its very core. The drama is very real, and the crimes horrific, but seeing “average” people attempt to dole out their justice has an amusing edge to it. After all, not everybody is John Wick, and average people deal with that thirst for vengeance in any little way they can.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) – 8.1
The Grand Budapest Hotel is a very non-standard movie in the crime genre, even more so than Zootopia, arguably. An author interviewing the owner of a declining alpine hotel finds himself immersed in a madcap story about war, conspiracy and love. Also, a surprising amount of murder.
The movie is a classic Wes Anderson wacky black comedy, filled with oddball characters, strange cinematography, and vividly surreal setpieces. However, the movie also hits the viewer with a shockingly dark core, about the realities of war and how every moment is fleeting, be they happy moments or sad ones.
The Wolf Of Wall Street (2013) – 8.2
The Wolf of Wall Street is Martin Scorcese’s foray into the world of white-collar crime. A New York stockbroker is corrupted by greed and starts his firm tricking people out of their money, and the hedonistic lifestyles they lead with all that ill-gained wealth.
The movie resonated with audiences, primarily for being a hilarious comedy filled with crazy characters, but at the same time, it also criticizes the lavish lifestyles, shining a spotlight on how hedonistic the wealthy are with their lifestyles. Martin Scorcese shows Jordan Belfort’s life as it was, and made it abundantly clear that the lifestyles they lead were incredibly toxic and predatory.
The Dark Knight Rises (2012) – 8.4
The Dark Knight Rises is the first Nolan movie to truly delve into the seedy underbelly of Gotham, and how ingrained corruption is into its essence. Eight years after the Joker’s schemes, Batman is long retired, and Gordon has kept the unsteady peace in this version of Gotham. With the arrival of Bane, however, that peace is broken, and chaos consumes the denizens of Gotham City.
While not considered superior to The Dark Knight (for obvious Heath Ledger-related reasons), it was considered the perfect ending to the entire trilogy. Batman has always dealt with crime on a more personal level, and this movie was no different, only this time, it was confronting the crimes that he helped cover up.
Joker (2019) – 8.4
Joker earning the top spot of crime movies in the 2010s for IMDb is fitting for a movie about the Clown Prince of Crime’s rise to the top. Taking motifs from The Killing Joke and The King of Comedy, Joker focuses on a mentally ill loner who is slowly molded by society into an anarchist symbol.
It was “society” that molded Arthur into a broken man, and so, his actions would soon mold society into his image. The ironic part is that he never intended to do such a thing. People saw a mentally disturbed man lashing out and started projecting their feelings onto him. While Heath Ledger’s Joker was an anarchist by choice, Arthur was given no choice, and that is his tragedy.
