If you’re looking for some of the best crime movies on Peacock, we’ve narrowed down our favorites so you don’t have to spend your time endlessly scrolling. The platform’s genre browser isn’t as intuitive as others, so consider this your shortcut to the good stuff. While Peacock may not have a massive library of crime titles, what it does have includes some true standouts. Here are our picks.
What are the best crime movies on Peacock?
For full transparency, Peacock doesn’t have the deepest crime catalogue compared to other streamers. However, what it lacks in quantity, it makes up for in quality. These selections include some of the most iconic crime films ever made. The site may not be stacked with mob epics or elaborate heist sagas, but there’s more than enough here to make your subscription worthwhile when you’re in the mood for crime.
Jackie Brown (1997)
One of the most legendary crime films of the ’90s, Jackie Brown is Quentin Tarantino’s third feature and often considered his most mature work. Though the director was still early in his career, he’d already had Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994) to back him. With Jackie Brown, Tarantino trades flash for restrained storytelling to great effect. Adapted from the 1992 novel Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard, the film stars an absolutely iconic Pam Grier as the titular Jackie Brown, a flight attendant who smuggles money for her arms-dealer boss (Samuel L. Jackson). When she gets arrested, Jackie strikes a deal that puts her between the feds and her volatile employer.
Still, the great irony is that no one quite knows who they’re dealing with. As a character, she’s fairly unassuming, but the girl’s got guts, and she ultimately decides to outsmart both sides. There’s also a surprisingly tender love story woven through the film, as she develops a connection with bondsman Max Cherry, played by Robert Forster. Robert De Niro also delivers a noteworthy supporting performance as the ex-con Louis, despite the on-set experience reportedly being difficult between De Niro and Tarantino.
Sicario (2015)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve, Sicario stars Emily Blunt as FBI agent Kate Mercer, who is recruited by a shadowy government official, played by Josh Brolin, who is definitely keeping his cards close to his chest. Still, she signs up for a high-level mission that quickly blasts past her expectations. She’s paired with Alejandro, portrayed by Benicio del Toro, as they cross the U.S.– Mexico border in an effort to use one cartel leader to flush out a bigger target.
While the film tilts heavily into thriller territory, it absolutely earns its place within the crime genre. This isn’t just a procedural about law enforcement taking down a drug operation. Oh no, fellow cinephiles, it’s also a deeply unsettling revenge story. The performances are exceptional across the board, and Villeneuve directs with the skill that has clearly gotten him to where he is in his career today. The tension builds in a relentless crescendo, heightened by the dread-inducing score from Jóhann Jóhannsson. Call it bias, but we’ll stand by the opinion that it’s one of the most gripping crime-adjacent films of the last twenty years.
My Cousin Vinny (1992)
For a very different flavor in the crime world, My Cousin Vinny shows us that the genre can be just as good when it’s also downright funny. Directed by Jonathan Lynn, this courtroom comedy stars Joe Pesci as Vincent Gambini, an inexperienced New York lawyer who’s never actually tried a case. When his cousin Bill (Ralph Macchio) and his friend are wrongfully accused of murder in rural Alabama, Vinny heads down South to defend them. He doesn’t have much else except attitude, basic law knowledge, and a certainty that he was born to do something big with his life. Hopefully that’s enough.
While we get some of the most hilarious courtroom showdowns ever put to screen, the film’s legal backbone is surprisingly solid. You might not think it at first glance, but the film is known for its fairly accurate depiction of courtroom procedure almost as much as Marisa Tomei’s Oscar-winning performance.
Memento (2000)
We’re grateful anytime a streaming service has this one available. Christopher Nolan’s second feature, co-written with his brother Jonathan Nolan, stars Guy Pearce as Leonard Shelby, a husband determined to track down the man responsible for his wife’s assault and murder. The problem is that Leonard suffers from short-term memory loss, so any new information he learns disappears almost immediately.
To keep himself on track, he relies on notes, Polaroids, and tattoos — the mementos of the film’s title — to remind himself who he’s after and why. The story unfolds in a nonlinear structure, which mirrors Leonard’s fractured memory and keeps the audience just as off-balance as he is. You can feel Nolan working out the ideas that would define his later films as he toys with time, structure, and perspective. Part mystery, part thriller, part crime drama, Memento is still one of the most memorable crime films of the 21st century.
The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
Directed by Derek Cianfrance, The Place Beyond the Pines is absolutely a crime film, though it doesn’t fit neatly into one box. This is one of our picks that bends the form a bit. It starts as a bank-robbing thriller and evolves into an intergenerational examination of violence.
Starting in 1994, Ryan Gosling plays Luke, a motorcycle stunt rider who finds out he has a young son with his ex-lover, Romina Gutierrez (Eva Mendes). In a desperate attempt to take on the responsibility of a providing father, Luke turns to robbing banks and gives what he makes to Romina to care for their child. Of course, a life of crime pays one way or another, and it doesn’t take long for Luke to run into an ambitious rookie cop, Avery Cross, played by Bradley Cooper. The film’s three timelines unfold in distinct chapters, eventually shifting focus to the next generation and the consequences of the fathers’ choices.
How we picked the best crime movies on Peacock
We narrowed our list of the best movies on Peacock to films that clearly speak to the genre’s core elements, and also chose films that give the genre room to stretch in terms of tone and structure. As mentioned, Peacock doesn’t offer the deepest bench of crime titles compared to other platforms, but the strength of what’s available made the process easier. We considered audience feedback, critical reception, and, of course, personal bias. These are films we genuinely return to and would recommend without hesitation.
