Top 30 Ranked

The Greatest Crime Movies of 2013

Gritty Dramas and Heist Thrillers from a Golden Year

Explore the best crime cinema including neo-noir thrillers, dark dramas, and high-stakes heists. Discover top-rated crime films released across the year.

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About 2013 Crime Movies

In the long view of cinema history, 2013 looks like a year when the crime genre decided to trade its traditional fedoras and tommy guns for something much more eclectic and anxious. It was a twelve month stretch where the boundaries of what constituted a crime film seemed to dissolve, stretching from the neon-soaked streets of Bangkok to the suburban claustrophobia of Pennsylvania. If you were looking for straightforward cops and robbers, you were in the wrong year. If you were looking for a frantic autopsy of the American Dream, 2013 was a goldmine.

The year was anchored by two heavyweights that approached the concept of excess from opposite ends of the spectrum. Martin Scorsese unleashed The Wolf of Wall Street, a film that argued white-collar financial fraud was the ultimate form of organized crime. It was loud, profane, and exhausting, presenting the hustle not as a dark tragedy but as a daylight robbery fueled by Quaaludes. On the other side of the coin sat David O. Russell with American Hustle. While it shared Scorsese’s love for period detail and oversized personalities, it felt more like a frantic masquerade ball. It captured a specific kind of American desperation where everyone is conning everyone else just to keep their head above water.

However, the real grit of 2013 belonged to the films that stepped away from the glitz. Denis Villeneuve truly announced himself to the world with Prisoners, a crime thriller so bleak and tension-filled it felt like a physical weight on the chest. It moved the genre into the realm of the moral procedural, asking how far a father would go when the system fails to find his missing child. It was a masterclass in atmosphere, turning a rainy suburb into a labyrinth of dread.

We also saw the rise of the auteur-driven crime poem. Nicolas Winding Refn followed up the massive success of Drive with Only God Forgives, a polarizing, hyper-violent nightmare that stripped dialogue away in favor of red-tinted symbolism. It was crime cinema as high art, or perhaps high provocation. Meanwhile, Derek Cianfrance gave us The Place Beyond the Pines, a triptych about bank robbery and legacy that felt more like a sprawling novel than a two-hour movie. It examined how a single criminal act echoes through generations, treating the genre with a sense of literary destiny.

Even the indie scene was firing on all cylinders. Jeremy Saulnier’s Blue Ruin proved that you did not need a massive budget to create a gripping revenge thriller. By focusing on a protagonist who was fundamentally bad at being a criminal, Saulnier brought a terrifying sense of realism to the genre. It reminded audiences that real-world violence is awkward, messy, and devastatingly permanent.

Looking back, 2013 was the year the crime movie stopped being about the heist and started being about the fallout. Whether it was the satirical rot of The Bling Ring or the moody intensity of Out of the Furnace, the films of that year were obsessed with the consequences of bad decisions. The genre felt vital and dangerous because it wasn’t just repeating old tropes. It was looking at the modern world and finding the shadows in every corner. It was a year where the criminals were often the people we were supposed to trust, and the heroes were simply the people left standing when the smoke finally cleared.

The Complete Rankings

Based on the top picks in drafts on SnakeDrafts

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30
2013 Crime in Now You See Me (2013)
Now You See Me
2013

An FBI agent and an Interpol detective track a team of illusionists who pull off bank heists during their performances and reward their audiences with the money.

Thriller
Crime
1h 56m
Louis Leterrier
29
2013 Crime in Hwayi: A Monster Boy (2013)
Hwayi: A Monster Boy
2013

After being kidnapped as a small child and raised by the five men who abducted him, a teenage boy is now forced to join their life in crime.

Action
Thriller
2h 5m
Jang Joon-hwan
Kim Yun-seok, Yeo Jin-goo, Cho Jin-woong, Jang Hyun-sung
28
2013 Crime in New World (2013)
New World
2013

An undercover cop has his loyalties tested when the boss of the corporate gang he's spent years infiltrating dies.

Thriller
Crime
2h 14m
Park Hoon-jung
Lee Jung-jae, Choi Min-sik, Hwang Jung-min, Park Sung-woong

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27
2013 Crime in Cold Eyes (2013)
Cold Eyes
2013

Ha Yoon-ju becomes the newest member of a unit within the Korean Police Forces Special Crime Department that specializes in surveillance activities on high-profile criminals. She teams up with Hwang Sang-jun, the veteran leader of the unit, and tries to track down James who is the cold-hearted leader of an armed criminal organization.

Crime
Action
1h 59m
Kim Byung-seo
Sul Kyung-gu, Jung Woo-sung, Han Hyo-joo, Kim Byeong-ok
26
2013 Crime in Getaway (2013)
Getaway
2013

Former race car driver Brent Magna is pitted against the clock. Desperately trying to save the life of his kidnapped wife, Brent commandeers a custom Ford Shelby GT500 Super Snake, taking it and its unwitting owner on a high-speed race against time, at the command of the mysterious villain holding his wife hostage.

Action
Crime
1h 30m
Courtney Solomon
Ethan Hawke, Selena Gomez, Jon Voight, Rebecca Budig
25
2013 Crime in Drishyam (2013)
Drishyam
2013

Georgekutty lives a happy life with his wife and daughters. Things take a turn when his daughter gets indecently filmed using a hidden camera, by the son of a police inspector.

Thriller
Crime
2h 44m
Jeethu Joseph
Mohanlal, Meena, Asha Sarath, Kalabhavan Shajon
24
2013 Crime in The Best Offer (2013)
The Best Offer
2013

Virgil Oldman is a world renowned antiques expert and auctioneer. An eccentric genius, he leads a solitary life, going to extreme lengths to keep his distance from the messiness of human relationships. When appointed by the beautiful but emotionally damaged Claire to oversee the valuation and sale of her family’s priceless art collection, Virgil allows himself to form an attachment to her – and soon he is engulfed by a passion which will rock his bland existence to the core.

Drama
Romance
Geoffrey Rush, Jim Sturgess, Sylvia Hoeks, Donald Sutherland
23
2013 Crime in The Last Stand (2013)
The Last Stand
2013

Ray Owens is sheriff of the quiet US border town of Sommerton Junction after leaving the LAPD following a bungled operation. Following his escape from the FBI, a notorious drug baron, his gang, and a hostage are heading toward Sommerton Junction where the police are preparing to make a last stand to intercept them before they cross the border. Owens is reluctant to become involved but ultimately joins in with the law enforcement efforts.

Action
Crime
1h 47m
Kim Jee-woon
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Johnny Knoxville, Jaimie Alexander, Zach Gilford
22
2013 Crime in Welcome to the Punch (2013)
Welcome to the Punch
2013

When notorious criminal Jacob Sternwood is forced to return to London, it gives detective Max Lewinsky one last chance to take down the man he's always been after.

Action
Adventure
1h 39m
Eran Creevy
James McAvoy, Mark Strong, David Morrissey, Peter Mullan
21
2013 Crime in Dead Man Down (2013)
Dead Man Down
2013

In New York City, a crime lord's right-hand man is seduced by a woman seeking retribution.

Thriller
Action
1h 58m
Niels Arden Oplev
Colin Farrell, Noomi Rapace, Terrence Howard, Dominic Cooper
20
2013 Crime in Spring Breakers (2013)
Spring Breakers
2013

After four college girls rob a restaurant to fund their spring break in Florida, they get entangled with a weird dude with his own criminal agenda.

Drama
Crime
1h 34m
Harmony Korine
James Franco, Selena Gomez, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Benson
19
2013 Crime in The Frozen Ground (2013)
The Frozen Ground
2013

An Alaska State Trooper partners with a young woman who escaped the clutches of serial killer Robert Hansen to bring the murderer to justice. Based on actual events.

Thriller
Crime
1h 45m
Scott Walker
Nicolas Cage, Vanessa Hudgens, John Cusack, Radha Mitchell
18
2013 Crime in A Single Shot (2013)
A Single Shot
2013

The tragic death of a beautiful young girl starts a tense and atmospheric game of cat and mouse between hunter John Moon and the hardened backwater criminals out for his blood.

Drama
Crime
1h 56m
David M. Rosenthal
17
2013 Crime in The Counselor (2013)
The Counselor
2013

A lawyer finds himself in far over his head when he attempts to get involved in drug trafficking.

16
2013 Crime in Runner Runner (2013)
Runner Runner
2013

When a poor college student who cracks an online poker game goes bust, he arranges a face-to-face with the man he thinks cheated him, a sly offshore entrepreneur.

Crime
Thriller
1h 28m
Brad Furman
Justin Timberlake, Ben Affleck, Gemma Arterton, Anthony Mackie
15
2013 Crime in Parker (2013)
Parker
2013

A thief with a unique code of professional ethics is double-crossed by his crew and left for dead. Assuming a new disguise and forming an unlikely alliance with a woman on the inside, he looks to hijack the score of the crew's latest heist.

Action
Crime
1h 58m
Taylor Hackford
Jason Statham, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Chiklis, Wendell Pierce
14
2013 Crime in 2 Guns (2013)
2 Guns
2013

A DEA agent and an undercover Naval Intelligence officer who have been tasked with investigating one another find they have been set up by the mob -- the very organization the two men believe they have been stealing money from.

Action
Comedy
1h 49m
Baltasar Kormákur
13
2013 Crime in The Family (2013)
The Family
2013

After ratting out his Mafia cohorts, Giovanni Manzoni and his family enter the Witness Protection Program and relocate to a sleepy town in France. Despite the best efforts of their handler to keep them in line, Giovanni (now called Fred Blake), his wife and children can't help but resort to doing things the "family" way. However, their dependence on such old habits places everyone in danger from vengeful mobsters.

Crime
Comedy
1h 51m
Luc Besson
12
2013 Crime in Broken City (2013)
Broken City
2013

In a broken city rife with injustice, ex-cop Billy Taggart seeks redemption and revenge after being double-crossed and then framed by its most powerful figure, the mayor. Billy's relentless pursuit of justice, matched only by his streetwise toughness, makes him an unstoppable force - and the mayor's worst nightmare.

11
2013 Crime in Gangster Squad (2013)
Gangster Squad
2013

Los Angeles, 1949. Ruthless, Brooklyn-born mob king Mickey Cohen runs the show in this town, reaping the ill-gotten gains from the drugs, the guns, the prostitutes and — if he has his way — every wire bet placed west of Chicago. And he does it all with the protection of not only his own paid goons, but also the police and the politicians who are under his control. It’s enough to intimidate even the bravest, street-hardened cop… except, perhaps, for the small, secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by Sgt. John O’Mara and Jerry Wooters who come together to try to tear Cohen’s world apart.

Crime
Drama
1h 53m
Ruben Fleischer
10
2013 Crime in Only God Forgives (2013)
Only God Forgives
2013

Julian, who runs a Thai boxing club as a front organization for his family's drug smuggling operation, is forced by his mother Crystal to find and kill the individual responsible for his brother's recent death.

Drama
Thriller
1h 29m
Nicolas Winding Refn
Ryan Gosling, Kristin Scott Thomas, Vithaya Pansringarm, Rhatha Phongam
Why it ranks

Nicolas Winding Refn eschews narrative convention for a polarizing, ceremonial display of hyper-violence and Oedipal symbolism. It is a polarizing sensory experience that treats the Bangkok underworld as a dreamlike arena for mythic retribution.

9
2013 Crime in Out of the Furnace (2013)
Out of the Furnace
2013

Two brothers live in the economically-depressed Rust Belt, when a cruel twist of fate lands one in prison. His brother is then lured into one of the most violent crime rings in the Northeast.

Thriller
Drama
1h 56m
Scott Cooper
Why it ranks

This is a somber, muscular piece of Rust Belt noir that finds its power in the crushing weight of industrial decay and fraternal loyalty. Scott Cooper avoids flashy genre tropes in favor of a simmering, tactile realism that feels carved out of the Appalachian earth.

8
2013 Crime in Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)
Ain't Them Bodies Saints
2013

Bob Muldoon and Ruth Guthrie, an impassioned young outlaw couple on an extended crime spree, are finally apprehended by lawmen after a shootout in the Texas hills. Although Ruth wounds a local officer, Bob takes the blame. But four years later, Bob escapes from prison and sets out to find Ruth and their daughter, born during his incarceration.

Crime
Drama
1h 36m
David Lowery
Why it ranks

David Lowery evokes the lyrical ghost of Terrence Malick to tell a story of outlaw devotion that feels less like a thriller and more like a folk ballad. The film is drenched in sunset hues and a sense of inevitable, romanticized doom.

7
2013 Crime in The Bling Ring (2013)
The Bling Ring
2013

Inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the Internet to track celebrities' whereabouts in order to rob their homes.

Drama
Crime
1h 30m
Sofia Coppola
Katie Chang, Emma Watson, Taissa Farmiga, Claire Julien
Why it ranks

Sofia Coppola provides a vapidly beautiful autopsy of celebrity obsession, filming the transgression of youth as a series of curated, superficial snapshots. It is a slyly detached observation of a culture where the crime itself is merely secondary to the digital clout it generates.

6
2013 Crime in Side Effects (2013)
Side Effects
2013

A woman turns to prescription medication as a way of handling her anxiety concerning her husband's upcoming release from prison.

Why it ranks

Steven Soderbergh crafts a clinical, Hitchcockian thriller that pivots brilliantly from a critique of Big Pharma into a cold-blooded exercise in deception. The direction is as sharp and sterile as a scalpel, peeling back layers of a meticulously constructed social ruse.

5
2013 Crime in Trance (2013)
Trance
2013

A violent gang enlists the help of a hypnotherapist in an attempt to locate a painting which somehow vanished in the middle of a heist.

Thriller
Crime
1h 41m
Danny Boyle
Why it ranks

Danny Boyle injects the heist genre with a neon-soaked dose of psychoanalytic adrenaline, blurring the boundaries between memory and reality. It is a sleek, hyper-stylized puzzle box that weaponizes cinematic artifice to keep the viewer perpetually off-balance.

4

A motorcycle stunt rider considers committing a crime in order to provide for his wife and child, an act that puts him on a collision course with a cop-turned-politician.

Drama
Crime
2h 20m
Derek Cianfrance
Why it ranks

This triptych of inherited trauma operates with the weight of a Greek tragedy, charting the kinetic and devastating ripple effects of criminal impulse across generations. Derek Cianfrance finds a gritty, poetic resonance in the intersection of poverty and paternal legacy.

3

Keller Dover is facing every parent’s worst nightmare. His six-year-old daughter, Anna, is missing, together with her young friend, Joy, and as minutes turn to hours, panic sets in. The only lead is a dilapidated RV that had earlier been parked on their street.

Drama
Thriller
Why it ranks

Denis Villeneuve transforms a procedural nightmare into a haunting theological inquiry, utilizing a suffocating atmosphere to explore the moral rot behind vigilante justice. It remains the year's most punishingly effective exercise in sustained dread.

2

A conman and his seductive partner are forced to work for a wild FBI agent, who pushes them into a world of Jersey power-brokers and the Mafia.

Drama
Crime
2h 18m
David O. Russell
Why it ranks

David O. Russell captures the jittery, velvet-clad soul of the con artist through a kaleidoscopic lens of period-accurate vanity and desperation. The film thrives on the friction between its flamboyant personalities and the fragile architecture of the long game.

1

A New York stockbroker refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking world and mob infiltration. Based on Jordan Belfort's autobiography.

Why it ranks

Scorsese delivers a maximalist masterpiece of financial depravity that trades traditional noir shadows for a sun-drenched, cocaine-fueled assault on the American Dream. It is a lacerating satire where the crime is legal and the greed is infectious.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Everything you need to know about this list and SnakeDrafts

Directed by Martin Scorsese, 'The Wolf of Wall Street' combines crime, drama, and dark comedy to depict the excesses and corruption in the financial world. Its energetic storytelling and Leonardo DiCaprio's dynamic performance make it a defining film of 2013's crime genre.

Crime films released in 2013 stretched beyond typical cops and robbers narratives, exploring eclectic and anxious themes from neo-noir thrillers to psychological dramas. Movies like 'Prisoners' and 'Only God Forgives' reflect a genre blending that emphasizes complex characters and moral ambiguity rather than straightforward crime plotting.

'Prisoners' directed by Denis Villeneuve and Danny Boyle's 'Trance' are prime examples of 2013 crime films that use psychological thriller elements. These movies delve into the human psyche and explore themes of memory, desperation, and moral conflict to heighten suspense.

'American Hustle' and 'The Bling Ring' both explore crime through the lens of con artists and heists. 'American Hustle' delves into an elaborate FBI sting operation, while 'The Bling Ring' showcases a real-life crime spree of celebrity home burglaries, highlighting different facets of criminal cunning in 2013 cinema.

Settings in 2013 crime movies vary widely, from the neon-lit streets of Bangkok in 'Only God Forgives' to the gritty Pennsylvania backdrop in 'Out of the Furnace.' These diverse environments enhance the mood and narrative scope, emphasizing the genre's evolution to include international and regional crime stories.

'The Wolf of Wall Street' and 'The Family' stand out for blending crime with comedic elements. These films use humor to offer a satirical or lighter take on crime, providing balance to the darker and more intense crime dramas of the year.

Many films in the 2013 crime genre boast distinctive directorial vision, such as Martin Scorsese's dynamic storytelling in 'The Wolf of Wall Street' and Denis Villeneuve's atmospheric suspense in 'Prisoners.' Directors like Sofia Coppola and Steven Soderbergh also contributed unique stylistic touches to titles like 'The Bling Ring' and 'Side Effects.'

Morality is a complex theme in 2013 crime films, with many exploring the blurred lines between right and wrong. For instance, 'The Place Beyond the Pines' examines legacy and consequence through crime, while 'Side Effects' delves into ethical dilemmas involving psychology and deception, reflecting a year of nuanced storytelling in crime cinema.
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