The Ten Best Criminal “Crews” in Movies

Suspects

I’m a big fan of movies that have one man who winds up taking over the entire movie.  Think movies like Rambo, Die Hard, or even Commando. However, sometimes the group dynamic can be a great thing.  When you have a number of people all working together and playing off each other it’s great fuel for a motion pictures.

I argue that it’s especially great in movies that contain a lot of crime.  From the making fun of scenes, to pure violence, to serious drama, a crime crew is a great addition to any film.

Here are 10 that I think trump all the rest….

Cicero’s Crew – Goodfellas

Goodfellas

Honestly you really can’t mess with this crew.  You really only need to look at Pesce, De Niro and Liotta for this group but come on.  You can’t forget about Stacks, Frenchie, Morty and obviously Pauly Cicero (Paul Sorvino) himself.  Clearly one of the best gangster movies of all time would have one of the best crews of all time.

The Corleone’s in The Godfather

Corleone

And even though he wasn’t technically a Corleone I would add Robert Duvall’s character to this mix.   The combo of Vito, Michael, Sonny, Fredo and hell even Connie if you want, made for one of the best criminal groups ever put on screen.   I liked everyone in this movie except for Kay (even though her character was pretty much necessary as the opposing stance on organized crime).

Keaton’s Gang in The Usual Suspects

Suspects

Every single member of this group was awesome.  I particularly love Fenster and McManus (Del Toro and Baldwin).  Give me the fucking keys you cocksucker mother f**er ah ahahahahh!”  Ah yes let’s not forget when Kevin Pollak says “you think you brought enough guys”  Definitely one of the best mystery movies in a long time and this was the movie that brought the surprise ending into popularity.

The Pikeys in Snatch

Pikeys

Come on.  A group who speaks in a way you can’t understand?  Classic.  Not to mention they’re lead by a shredded Brad Pitt who can beat anyone in a bare knuckles boxing match.  Plus they love caravans.  These guys are awesome.

Danny Ocean’s 11 – Oceans Eleven

Ocean’s Eleven

No I’m not talking about the original movie because personally I thought the one with Sinatra was really boring.  But the first remake was a classic and will always remain one of my favorite caper movies.   I can’t believe it’s almost been 10 years since that movie came out.  Who’s your favorite member of that crew? Personally I love Bernie Mac’s character Frank Catton.

The Droogies – A Clockwork Orange

Droogies

Before Alex decides to split from his crew these guys were causing quite a ruckus in London.  Plus they’re outfits make for quite the Halloween costume.  A little bit of the ultra violence.

Gondorff’s Crew – The Sting

The Sting

First of all it begins and ends with Newman and Redford.  But let’s not forget their supporting cast in this film.  Pulling the whole crew together to get mobster Doyle Lonnegan was a team effort.

Joe Cabot’s Crew – Reservoir Dogs

Resrvoir Dogs

They all had colors for names.  Does it get any cooler than that?  I really don’t have to get into explaining Reservoir Dogs do I?  We all know this was an awesome movie and an awesome crew.

Billy The Kid’s Gang – Young Guns

Young Guns

They’re young.  They have no fear.  They’re full of vigor.   And Terry Quinn is in this movie! Thumbs Up.

Costello’s Boys in The Departed

Departed

Nicholson clearly deserves the praise here but let’s not forget about his number one man Mr. French and the crazy Scottish dude Fitzy.  Oh and the guy who played Bogs in Shawshank Mark Rolston.  Definitely a sold squad.  And yes, you can include Matt Damon in this group

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14 Comments

  1. Oh man, you totally missed Michael Caine’s Gang (he played Charlie Croker) in the 1969 film, The Italian Job! Even the 2003 version with Mark Wahlberg as Charlie Croker had a great “crew”.

  2. Actually, I wanna add one more suggestion, now that I have pondered this topic. You should add “Kelly’s Heroes” to this list! I mean Clint Eastwood as Private Kelly with his comprised of (to name a few) Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, Don Rickles, Gavin MacLeod, Harry Dean Stanton…Awesome!

  3. In the Snatch picture, the Pikey in the blue jumper fourth from left is the son of one of my old teachers from school. Plus he’s Irish and most Pikeys are from there so I understood their ridiculous accents just fine. Plus as someone mentioned, missing out the Heat crew is a major oversight

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