This May, Watch With Us knows all the best thrillers you have to check out on streaming.
Whether you’re feeling an action-packed crime drama, a gangster bio-drama or a sci-fi mystery, you can find exactly what you’re looking for on platforms like Netflix, HBO Max and Prime Video.
We’ve rounded up our top three selections for the best thrillers you can stream this month.
Our first pick is Den of Thieves, a true thrill ride starring Gerard Butler, 50 Cent and Pablo Schreiber.
‘Den of Thieves’ (2018) — Netflix
Den of Thieves centers on an elite Los Angeles County Sheriff’s unit, the “Regulators,” that begins tracking a crew of ex-military bank robbers, dubbing themselves the “Outlaws,” who are one of the most ambitious heists in the city’s history. The Regulators are led by alcoholic Nick O’Brien (Butler), while the Outlaws are fronted by ex-con Ray Merrimen (Schreiber). With the two groups on track for a collision course, the film follows a parallel game of strategy, as each side tries to outthink the other while raising the stakes with every move.
Den of Thieves received mixed reviews from critics at the time, but those in the know understand what makes the film tick. The commitment to slow-burn tension and procedural detail leans more into cat-and-mouse psychology than nonstop action, which allows the movie to stand out. Butler and Schreiber are fantastic as the formidable leads of both groups, infusing a gritty, grounded intensity in their performances. Den of Thieves sports an old-school crime-thriller feel with compelling action and palpable suspense.
‘Goodfellas’ (1990) — Amazon Prime Video
Henry Hill (Ray Liotta) grows up idolizing the mobsters with whom he rubs shoulders in his East New York neighborhood, and goes from being a fence to more serious crimes, eventually working his way into the inner circle of the Italian-American mafia. As Henry becomes embedded deeper and deeper in the organization, Goodfellas tracks his involvement in increasingly deadly crimes alongside associates Jimmy Conway (Robert De Niro) and Tommy DeVito (Joe Pesci), all while the lifestyle that once seemed glamorous starts to unravel, as Henry’s control starts slipping away from him.
Directed by Martin Scorsese and driven by a breakout performance from Liotta, in addition to the commanding presences of De Niro and Pesci, Goodfellas is a crime classic. It thrives on raw energy, scrupulous detail and voiceover narration that actually works, pulling you directly into the inner machinations of Henry’s perspective. While seemingly glamorizing Henry’s decadent — and illegal — lifestyle, the film is as much about the seduction of a life of crime and the easy money as it is about downfall. Scorsese expertly depicts how quickly ambition and loyalty collapse under the weight of excess.
‘Minority Report’ (2002) — Hulu
Set in a dystopian future where crime can be predicted and prevented before it happens, Minority Report follows “precrime” chief John Anderton (Tom Cruise), head of a specialized crime unit that arrests suspects based on visions of future murders from three powerful psychics. However, when the system unexpectedly identifies John himself as a future killer of a man (Mike Binder) he’s never even met, John is forced to go on the run to clear his name, as he begins questioning both the nature of his fate and the technology he once trusted implicitly.
Cruise gives one of the best performances of his career in this iconic, sci-fi heater from blockbuster maestro Steven Spielberg. Minority Report blends noir-infused paranoia with high-concept science fiction in a story adapted from the 1956 novella of the same name by Philip K. Dick, creating a world that feels both sleek and deeply uncanny. The film is memorable for its mix of thrilling action and philosophical themes, preoccupied with whether preventing crime justifies sacrificing free will. Visually inventive, tightly paced and anchored by a compelling “man-on-the-run” story, Minority Report remains one of the more thought-provoking entries of early-2000s blockbuster sci-fi.
