What makes a good heist movie?

Big name actors and actresses, and the ability of the production, cast, and plot to make it seem realistic. The Town is a good example. It wasn’t cheesy, it had notable people in it, and they made it look realistic.

Money can buy you great actors, great script, great special effects…It all comes down to cash.

The same things that make any movie good:
Plot
Dialog
Characterization
Filmography

For the ‘heist’ genre, I suppose you also need a worthy target for the heist, something so special that it can’t be gotten through some other way. (A ‘heist’ of a lemonade stand isn’t so exciting as a heist of the Mona Lisa, for example.)

The plot has to be complex and intriguing, and it helps if there are multiple deceptions, too: double- and triple-cross, for example.

It needs to be called The Italian Job.
For the bewildered among us, i’m clearly referring to the original film starring Michael Caine.

Nothing. I hate heist movies. They celebrate stealing.

I think Bandits is a good example. If it has a lot of tension, intrigue, and you question where loyalties lie, I think it makes a good heist.

Death of both bad and good guys from blazing guns. Hot looking women.

- The opening credits should use Helvetica font.
– There should be a scene in which a man mutters, “hell no!”.
– An expensive red car should be blown up.
– Two old ladies should have a lengthy conversation about squirrels getting into their bird feeder.
– A man with a baseball cap should at some point make a grilled cheese sandwich. Note: Cheddar cheese should be used.

A jazz soundtrack.

The thieves have to be nice.
The person their stealing from has to be a bastard who has it coming to them.