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10 Best Movies Like Widows

Published 2 months ago9 minute read

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blended image of stills from Widows (prominently featured), Sicario, and Ocean's 8
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Brought to life by award-winning filmmaker Steve McQueen and written by Gillian Flynn, is a tense neo-noir heist thriller that boasts an incredibly talented cast led by Viola Davis. She plays Veronica Rawlings, a Chicago teacher's union delegate and the widow of a thief who died along with his crew during their last heist. Following his death, Veronica proceeds to round up the other wives of the dead men to finish the job their husbands couldn't while various dangerous parties threaten them.

Alongside Viola Davis, Widows features Michelle Rodriguez, Elizabeth Debicki, and Cynthia Ervio, as the three of them join Veronica's new group. The 2018 movie is a stylish and thought-provoking entry into the heist genre that explores female survival in the face of indescribable odds and desperation, and the Widows ending is enough to leave anyone speechless. If you love Widows and you're looking for another film that delivers the same type of excitement, here are some great movies to watch.

Triple 9 - Poster - Group Of Men Wearing Red With Rifles
Triple 9
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5/10

February 19, 2016

115 Minutes

John Hillcoat

Matt Cook

Action

20000000.0

Triple 9 is an intense and gritty film that, like Widows, benefits from a spectacular cast. Chiwetel Ejiofor and Anthony Mackie play members of a gang of thieves who attempt to pull off a major heist. In order to provide themselves with a distraction for the robbery, they plan to kill a rookie cop, played by Casey Affleck. Triple 9 is pulpy and often brutal, and it knows exactly what type of film it wants to be.

The film is pulpy and often brutal, and it knows exactly what type of film it wants to be.

The movie is a dirty crime story filled with unlikeable characters and brutal violence. Like Widows, Triple 9 does not seem interested in glossing over the ugliness of a life of crime, which makes for a harrowing viewing experience. , if only for the intense action and fascinating character dynamics throughout.

A spinoff of the George Clooney Ocean's Eleven movies, Ocean's Eight might be more light-hearted than Widows but still hits similar beats, albeit in a much more fun way. Sandra Bullock stars as a career criminal who is released from prison and forms a group of thieves, including Cate Blanchett, Awkwafina, Rihanna, and Mindy Kaling, to rob the Met Gala. It features a strong cast of characters that all have a job to do, much like in the original films.

Collage of George Clooney, Sandra Bullock and Fran Sinatra in the Ocean's movies

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, which gives the story a fresh feel to the sometimes tired genre. Gary Ross also did an admirable job in the director's chair, taking over from Steven Soderbergh.

ronin poster
Ronin

September 25, 1998

121 Minutes

John Frankenheimer

J.D. Zeik, David Mamet

Action

$55 Million

With a skilled filmmaker like Steve McQueen behind the camera, Widows feels even more grand than some of the other lesser heist films. The same can be said for Ronin, an international thriller that stars Robert De Niro as a criminal who joins a team hired to retrieve a mysterious package from a group of dangerous individuals, and .

He creates a thrilling and often suspenseful film full of mind-blowing action sequences that are tense from start to finish. Ronin also boasts an incredible cast that stars the likes of Jean Reno, Stellan Skarsgård, and Sean Bean alongside De Niro. While it might not explore the exact themes of Widows, Ronin is a solid thriller that expertly adheres to the genre's tropes while being fresh enough to truly stand on its own.

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Sicario
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9/10

September 17, 2015

122 minutes

Denis Villeneuve

Taylor Sheridan

Basil Iwanyk, Edward McDonnell, Ellen H. Schwartz, Molly Smith, Thad Luckinbill, Stacy Perskie

Sicario: Day Of The Soldado

Action

Alejandro Gillick, Kate Macer, Matt Graver, Dave Jennings, Ted, Reggie Wayne, Steve Forsing, Rafael, Fausto Alarcon, Phil Coopers, Manuel Diaz, Silvio, Burnett, Guillermo, Silvio's Wife, Eliseo, Delta Leader, Delta #2, Swat Officer, Coroner (Phoenix), Phoenix Cop, Air Force MP, AIC Guard, US Marshal, US Marshal Keith

$30 million

Widows does a fantastic job of building tension throughout the film simply with its atmosphere, which Sicario pulls off to an impressive degree. Denis Villeneuve masterfully directs this dusty thriller, which stars Emily Blunt as an FBI agent who joins a covert mission to take down drug cartels operating in Mexico and along the border.

Sicario Day of the Soldado Benecio del Toro

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Much like Widows, Sicario has a foreboding sense of doom throughout the story. The feel of the world that Villeneuve created is grimy, dirty, and often brutal. . That tension helps make for a gripping story that keeps the audience on the edge of their seats from the very beginning.

Hell or High Water
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8/10

August 12, 2016

97minutes

David Mackenzie

Taylor Sheridan

Academy Award Best Picture nominee Hell or High Water is another heist movie that tells the story of Chris Pine's Toby Howard and Ben Foster's Tanner Howard, two brothers who team up to rob banks across the state in order to save their family home from foreclosure. Widows explores the horrific side of crime, and Hell or High Water also does that as well, as it takes the two brothers on a journey full of moral complexity and deceptively high stakes.

It takes the two brothers on a journey full of moral complexity and deceptively high stakes.

Hell or High Water is a fantastic and thrilling crime film with some tense sequences. , firmly sitting within that genre as well, despite exploring similar themes. It's a masterpiece of a film and one of the finest modern Western movies made.

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The Departed
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9/10

October 6, 2006

151 minutes

Martin Scorsese

William Monahan

Brad Grey, Brad Pitt, Graham King

Crime

Billy, Colin, Costello, Dignam, Queenan, Mr. French, Madolyn, Brown, Ellerby, Cousin Sean, Barrigan, Fitzy, Delahunt, Lazio (FBI), Gwen, Govenor, Uncle Edward, Realtor, Billy's Aunt, Mrs. Kennefick, Triad Boss, Pakistani Proprietor, Providence Gangster #1, Providence Gangster #2, Kneecapped Bankrobber

Doug Davison, G. Mac Brown

$90 million

One of the best casts for any crime film ever made, The Departed is a sprawling, gritty epic about two police officers, played by Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon, who both work as informants. Leonardo DiCaprio's Billy Costigan Jr. is an undercover cop who gets in with Frank Costello's (Jack Nicholson) crew, while Damon's Colin Sullivan works for Costello despite also being in the NYPD. They find themselves on a self-destructive collision course as the film progresses.

The Departed in an English-language remake of the incredible Hong Kong film, Infernal Affairs.

While Widows might not be as massive in its narrative as Martin Scorcese's incredible film is, . In doing so, Widows and The Departed separate themselves from the standard crime film, as they end up being much more complex and concerned with its characters' inner lives.

After already appearing on this list with Sicario, Denis Villeneuve delivers yet another intense drama that feels akin to Widows. Prisoners is a mystery thriller that stars Hugh Jackman as a father whose child goes missing, and he begins to take extreme measures to get her back. .

This is another film that uses its dark and intense atmosphere to tell a gripping story that sinks its claws into you and won't let go, long after the movie has ended. Of course, the cast is excellent, led by one of Hugh Jackman's best performances alongside Jake Gyllenhaal and Paul Dano. It's a hard watch but an absolute masterclass in tension throughout. It's incredible what Villeneuve is able to pull off in this one.

Part of what makes Widows such a compelling heist film is how it deals with the crimes in a grounded way, never sacrificing the grittiness in its story. Likewise, The Town does a lot of the same things with its own narrative and the way the film presents a life of crime. It's an incredible crime drama that can take a real-world approach to bank robberies while still being an entertaining genre piece. It also features a career-best performance from Jeremy Renner, who is terrifying in it.

Ben Affleck with stubble and close-cropped hair looking concerned in The Town

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. He also stars in the movie, which is the story of a group of street-level thieves who pull off daring heists in Charlestown, Boston. As they plan a final big score, the heat for law enforcement begins to intensify. It is a fast-paced thriller that has several set pieces akin to the masterclass action of a film like Heat.

Set It Off - Poster
Set It Off

November 6, 1996

123 Minutes

F. Gary Gray

Takashi Bufford, Kate Lanier

Set It Off might be a bit more of a heightened heist film than Widows, but the fact that it is a film in that genre starring four Black female leads draws immediate comparisons. It also helps that both of them are incredibly good, with some career performances out of both casts. , and Set It Off was ahead of its time in putting them front and center.

Set it Off was Kimberly Elise's acting debut.

Jada Pinkett Smith, Queen Latifah, Vivica A. Fox, and Kimberly Elise play a group of down-on-their-luck friends who turn to bank robbing to make a living. Even without the grounded approach of Widows, this is a fun and exciting crime film with an excellent cast. It's a product of the 1990s in the best ways as well, making it the perfect film to watch for anyone trying to get their crime genre fix.

Heat
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10/10

December 15, 1995

170 minutes

Michael Mann

Michael Mann

There is no denying that Heat is a masterpiece, and is often regarded as one of the greatest heist films ever made. From director Michael Mann, who made a career out of exploring the inner soul of criminals, the film stars Robert De Niro as the disciplined leader of a group of skilled thieves, while Al Pacino plays the dedicated detective who is trying to stop this crew before their next big score. Heat is all about the lengths one will go to continue to do all that they know, even if they lose themselves in the process.

Stylish, gritty, and full of some of the best action set pieces in heist film history, . It's what separates Mann from many other storytellers in the genre, and why it is the perfect film to watch for those who love Widows.

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