10 Most Unrealistic Movie Heist Scenes (That Are Still Great)

Few things are more exciting than watching the ultimate heist unfold. For years, directors and writers have worked tirelessly to create the perfect imaginary heist. With so many factors that make a good heist scene, it’s certainly no easy task. The scene can’t just be exciting, it has to be clever as well since the plan for the heist is just as important as the heist itself. There are a ton of great heists over the years such as the immaculately planned and executed bank heist in Spike Lee’s Inside Man.

Not all heists are created equal, however, as some may focus more on the getaway than the actual robbery. With so many iterations of everyone’s favorite bank robber fantasy, there have been plenty of different heists with varying levels of realism but even an unbelievable heist can still be a joy to watch.

10 Army Of The Dead – Casino Heist

Zack Snyder’s zombie-filled heist thrill ride is already becoming one of the most-watched movies ever on Netflix, however, even within the wild premise of a zombie-infested Las Vegas, the heist itself doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Before it even begins the team has to first figure out what kind of booby traps are hidden in the long hallway between the elevator and the vault door.

Complete with darts, machine guns, and a wall that simply slams shut any would-be thief, the security on this vault seems like something one might find in an ancient temple, rather than a casino vault.  It’s all good fun but it seems a little bit goofy, even for this movie.

9 The Dark Knight – Joker’s Bank Heist

Although this scene does get plenty of kudos for having one of the coolest character introductions ever seen in a superhero movie, there’s plenty wrong with this scene in terms of realism. For starters, it seems odd that a bank that massive and with that much cash in it could have their entire alarm system accessed by nothing more than a swing of a hammer.

There is also the issue of a henchman cracking a massive bank vault door using only a pair of sneakers on his hands. Perhaps the biggest issue in this scene is a bus slamming through a concrete wall without so much as a scratch on it. Still, the scene is an absolute masterclass in how to introduce a villain.

8 Oceans 11 – Casino Heist

Oceans 11 is a classic in terms of heist movies, reimagining the idea of a “star-studded,” cast the entire movie is loads of fun. The heist however is a little bit ridiculous at times, especially when it comes to the execution. Although they go through the realistic process of casing the casino, getting inside information, etc. there is a very simple problem with their plan; It’s too delicate.

Pretty much every single piece of this extremely intricate plan could go wrong at any moment, with so much at stake and so many people involved, at least one thing wouldn’t work out perfectly, causing their plan to crumble and their cover to be blown.

7 Now You See Me – Bank Robbery

Now You See Me, isn’t supposed to be the most serious film in the world, even though it does attempt to be at times. One of the biggest issues with this movie, as well as its sequel, is that the premise is based on deception, just like it is with real magic, but then the movie relies on what can only be real magic to move the plot.

This is especially true when the Horsemen robs a man in the crowd that the group secretly performed hypnosis on to convince him to go to Las Vegas, and attend their show. Although the trick is later “explained,” there are still a lot of aspects that are simply impossible.

6 National Treasure – Stealing The Declaration Of Independence

Nicolas Cage stating that he’s going to steal the Declaration of Independence might just be one of the greatest and well-known lines in movie history. Similar to the Oceans 11 casino heist, the plan for this gives the illusion of being well-thought-out but leaves in lots of silly plot holes. For starters, the whole plan relies a lot on what they assume would happen in certain situations as well as leaving too much up to chance.

That includes knowing a green laser would cause the document to be taken into the vault for examination, or that the document would be left totally unattended while a massive party was going on upstairs. Don’t forget that Ben Gates brought his wallet with him on a mission where he was trespassing and using a fake name, which seems odd for someone as smart as him.

5 Den Of Thieves – Bank Heist

Produced by 50 Cent, Den of Thieves is seems to be one part Heat and one part The Usual Suspects. Still, it’s a typical thriller complete with a wild shootout, a group of loveable misfits, and of course, plenty of plot holes. There’s not one thing particularly wrong with the movie’s giant bank heist conclusion that sees the group secretly rob the federal reserve.

However, there are a ton of things that will have audiences asking questions, such as why Donnie didn’t use the garbage chute to get into the building if it was so easy to use it to exit. Also, the whole movie is based on the premise that a ton of these important employees like truck drivers and federal reserve employees simply talk about the fine details of their jobs when they get drunk at a bar, which just seems unlikely.

4 The Fast And The Furious – Highway Robbery

The movie that started one of the largest movie franchises in the world, has an absurd heist that takes place on a highway at high speeds. Attempting to rob a truck at high speeds seems easy enough, except in this case the team doesn’t try to get the truck to simply stop where they would then outnumber the solo driver 4 to 1.

Instead, their plans involve harpoons, cables, and jumping from moving car to moving car, all while traveling at top speed. It just seems unnecessary but still, it gets plenty of style points. 

3 Logan Lucky – The Racetrack Heist

Even without knowing that the movie was directed by the same director of the Oceans trilogy, this can feel the same at some points. It features a wacky cast of characters pulling off a seemingly impossible heist all because one of them has the perfect plan. The film’s main heist suffers from many of the issues as the Oceans movies, as it relies too much on chance.

Knowing the giant vacuum would work in a room that large, knowing the protocol for the cashiers in a situation where the electronics went down, etc. There is a lot that could go wrong in this heist, not to mention Jimmy left a perfect trail to make him the prime suspect by robbing a place using information he got from a job where he was just fired.

2 Oceans 8 – The Diamond Heist

The Oceans movies aren’t mean to be realistic, but still, with a movie in which the whole premise relies on a perfect plan, you think the plan would be a little more perfect. The biggest in this all-female-led ensemble is once again, leaving too much up to chance.

How did no one see the necklace when the busboy had it on his tray? Why did no one question Tammy after she mysteriously found the necklace? And finally, why did no one follow Daphne while she was wearing the world’s most valuable necklace? Still, the movie does have a satisfying twist that makes up for some other transgressions.

1 Now You See Me 2 – The Computer Chip Heist

Just like the first movie in the series, Now You See Me 2 relies heavily on magic, sleight of hand, and hypnotism in order to complete their heists. After being kidnapped, the team is forced to steal a valuable computer chip that is under some of the best security in the world.

Although all passingly plausible up to this point, the movie then delves into the land of shoddy physics in order to prevent the chip from being found while the thieves are patted down. What ensues is a scene that involves so much card throwing and sleight of hand that the card seems like it’s in a string, rather than being thrown carefully as the movie suggests.

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