For as long as movies have existed, there have been movies about criminals. Most of us in our day-to-day lives aren't living the lives of dangerous criminals, so we seek out these movies to get a glimpse at a different, exciting way of life.

RELATED: The 25 Best Thrillers of the 21st Century (So Far)

Crime thrillers can be a lot of different things. They can be mysteries, action movies, dramas, etc. —but because the genre is so wide and expansive, many great crime thrillers can slip under the radar and go unseen. So, next time you're looking for a new movie to discover, maybe try a crime thriller.

Ricochet (1991)

Denzel Washington in Ricochet

You've probably never heard of Ricochet. Which is weird considering it's a slick and smart cop thriller starring Denzel Washington, John Lithgow and Ice-T that's set in the same universe as Die Hard. How has a movie of that caliber been lost to the sands of cinematic time? Who knows, but since it's currently streaming on HBO Max, now is the time to right this wrong.

RELATED: The 25 Best Psychological Thrillers Of All Time

The film follows Washington as Nick Styles, a LAPD cop who becomes district attorney after locking away criminal mastermind Earl Talbot Blake, played to campy perfection by Lithgow. When Blake escapes prison, he sets out to get revenge, not by killing Styles, but by manipulating events to completely ruin his life. What makes this movie so good is that it's locked into overdrive from the start. Just when you think it can't get crazier, something else happens that blows your mind over and over again. As soon as it's over, you'll want to jump right back into Ricochet.

Die Hard With A Vengeance (1995)

Bruce Willis and Samuel L Jackson in Die Hard With A Vengeance

Die Hard is a certified action classic. But while the original is the most iconic entry in the series by far, it's not the only great one. Die Hard With A Vengeance stands out from the two previous films by not confining the iconic action hero John McClane into a singular area, and in fact lets him loose into New York City with Samuel L. Jackson's Zeus as his partner in his latest adventure.

Bruce Willis and Jackson have incredible chemistry, bouncing off of each other with clever banter as they run across NYC solving the deadly puzzles of evil terrorist, Simon (Jeremy Irons). Unlike Die Hard 2, this third entry freshened up the franchise by doing something different that still feels like Die Hard at its core.

King Of New York (1990)

Christopher Walken in The King Of New York

King of New York is an incredibly stylish, neo-noir crime thriller starring Christopher Walken as Frank White, a criminal mastermind who, after being released from prison, sets out to take over the NYC underworld and give back to his community. The film is directed by indie auteur Abel Ferrara, best known for low budget, NYC-set crime thrillers like The Driller Killer, Ms. 45, and Bad Lieutenant.

RELATED: 10 Dark Mystery Thrillers To Check Out After 'The Batman'

Ferrara's gritty yet slick aesthetic plants the movie firmly in between pulp thriller and prestige drama, but what really elevates the movie to be truly great is Christopher Walken's performance. The way that he portrays this quiet yet powerful character is one of the best performances of his career. He's very subtle and subdued, yet whenever he's on-screen you can't help but be drawn to him.

Deep Cover (1992)

Lawrence Fishburne and Jeff Goldblum in Deep Cover

Deep Cover stars Laurence Fishburne as a police officer who is recruited to go undercover in the LA drug scene to put a stop to a drug smuggling ring's expanding operations. After getting involved with a charismatic drug dealer played to perfection by Jeff Goldblum, he begins to lose touch with who he really is.

What makes Deep Cover so good is how director Bill Duke weaves a story where you're never really sure whose side you're on. Neither the police or the criminals are all good or all bad. Both have their pros and cons, with one man stuck in between. The film also tackles the relationship between the police and the Black community head-on, showing how being a Black cop doesn't exempt someone from the institutional racism of the police force.

Devil In A Blue Dress (1995)

Don Cheadle and Denzel Washington as Mouse and Easy in Devil In A Blue Dress

Devil In A Blue Dress is an expertly crafted neo-noir crime thriller starring Denzel Washington as Easy Rawlins, a WWII veteran in need of money who takes a job finding a missing woman, but becomes mixed up in a world of murder and political scandal. It's an old-school film noir detective story told through a modern lens.

Devil In A Blue Dress takes genre conventions typically seen through the lens of white men, and applies it to the experience of a black man in post-WWII America. It's a perspective that isn't seen enough on the big screen. Denzel fits the role of noir hero to perfection, never giving away just how much he knows. The film also features Don Cheadle as Easy's hometown friend, Mouse, and Jennifer Beals as Daphne, the woman at the center of all the trouble.

Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai (1999)

Forest Whitaker in Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai

Jim Jarmusch doesn't make run-of-the-mill crime movies. His movies may have a straightforward genre and a conventional story, but they always have something else added to subvert your expectations. Ghost Dog: The Way Of The Samurai is a crime thriller about a hitman taking on the mafia, but it's also a character study of a person dedicated to the art of killing, and how the principles of a samurai are challenged in modern society.

The film stars Forest Whitaker as Ghost Dog, a hitman in Jersey City who works for the mafia and lives by the way of the samurai. His way of life is tested when his employers decide that he's become a liability and put a hit out on Ghost Dog. While another director would make this movie a non-stop action thrill ride, Jarmusch makes it a somewhat quiet examination of the way people's morals are tested by the complexity of the modern world. It's a unique take on the crime thriller that could only be made by Jim Jarmusch.

Point Blank (1967)

Lee Marvin in Point Blank

Point Blank is a hidden gem of 1960s thrillers. The film stars Lee Marvin as Walker, who, after a heist goes wrong and is left for dead at Alcatraz, just wants to get the money he is owed. To do so, he works his way up the ladder of a criminal organization, trying to find who has his money.

What makes Point Blank incredible is how it blows away your expectations consistently. As soon as you think you know what's happening, the movie completely subverts your expectations by making a hard left turn. You would think that a movie like this would be an action-packed story about man out for revenge, and while it is, it's also a story about the demoralizing effects of bureaucracy. No matter who Walker tracks down, they just throw the blame further up the line, until he's just tired of being toyed with.

Brawl In Cell Block 99 (2017)

Vince Vaughn in Brawl In Cell Block 99
Image via RLJE Films

S. Craig Zahler is something of a modern day master of pulp cinema. In movies like Bone Tomahawk and Dragged Across Concrete, Zahler shows his talent for making movies that throwback to the old school exploitation cinema of the 1970s, but his masterpiece is Brawl In Cell Block 99. The film stars Vince Vaughn as Bradley Thomas, a drug runner who ends up in prison after a job goes wrong. When his wife is threatened by a gang on the outside, he agrees to kill an inmate to save her. The only problem is that the inmate is in cell block 99, the prison section with the highest security, so Bradley will have to get sent there by fighting his way there.

Vaughn gives the performance of his career proving to be truly intimidating hardcore brawler, but what really shines in the movie is Zahler's direction. The fights are shot with long takes, allowing you to really feel the impact of every punch. They don't make them like this anymore.

The Night Comes For Us (2018)

Joe Taslim and Iko Uwais in The Night Comes For Us

The Night Comes For Us is one of the best action movies of the 2010s, and you've probably never seen it. Directed by Timo Tjahjanto, the film follows Ito, a gang enforcer played by Joe Taslim who must protect a young girl when the gang puts a hit on her. Yes, it's a non-stop action movie, but it is also full of genuine emotion, telling the story of a man looking for redemption in a world of violence.

The Night Comes For Us features the outrageously violent action the Indonesian film scene has become known for, thanks to movies like The Raid, including incredible fight scenes with stars Taslim, Iko Uwais and Julie Estelle. It's an action movie where the action is at the forefront, and where each fight tops the last. The movie is streaming on Netflix, so you really have no reason not to check it out.

Blow Out (1981)

John Travolta in Blow Out

Blow Out is a Brian De Palma thriller starring John Travolta as Jack, a movie sound recordist who finds himself in the midst of a conspiracy when he accidentally records the sound of a car accident, unsure if what he heard was a tire blow out or a gunshot. Travolta delivers one of his best performances, playing paranoia in a way that feels very real. John Lithgow, meanwhile, plays against type in the role of an outrageously terrifying hitman.

The mystery of what exactly Jack saw is built perfectly, putting you in the mind of Jack, in a way that you solve the mystery with him. What makes Blow Out really special is how De Palma merges the two distinct worlds of Hitchcockian thriller and pulpy crime movie into a story unlike any other. That tonal balance is a tightrope walk that only a master filmmaker like De Palma could pull off.

NEXT: 10 Underrated, Quirky Crime Films to Watch on Netflix