Movies

The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked

The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked
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Some of them you've watched; and some – perhaps undeservingly so – flew under everyone's radar.

From the mind-benders that left us questioning reality to the heart-wrenchers that tugged at our moral compasses, these are the 25 crime dramas from the 2010s that truly deserved more buzz. So, forget what you think you know about crime dramas; it's time to uncover the hidden brilliance of the decade!


25. "The Next Three Days" (2010)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 50%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 1A college professor becomes obsessed with the idea of breaking his wife out of prison after she is convicted of a murder she claims she didn't commit.


24. "Out of the Furnace" (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 53%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 2When a man's brother mysteriously disappears after returning from Iraq, he takes justice into his own hands, propelling him into the dark heart of the Rust Belt.


23. "Triple 9" (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 55%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 3A group of corrupt cops and criminals plan a major heist, setting up a rookie police officer to die as a diversion, but their plan starts to unravel.


22. "Shot Caller" (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 70%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 4A successful businessman transformed into a hardened criminal inside prison, orchestrates a major crime with a rival gang on the outside as part of a strategic move to secure his family's safety.


21. "The Invisible Guest" (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 70%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 5A successful businessman wakes up next to his dead lover in a locked hotel room and races against time to uncover the true perpetrator and his own involvement.


20. "Destroyer" (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 74%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 6A guilt-ridden detective reconnects with people from an undercover assignment in her distant past to make peace with her demons.


19. "Killing Them Softly" (2012)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 74%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 7In the wake of a mob-protected poker game robbery, a professional enforcer is hired to restore order, navigating a seedy criminal underworld reflective of the 2008 economic crisis.


18. "Tom at the Farm" (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 78%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 8A young man attends his lover's funeral in rural Quebec, only to find himself entangled in a web of deception, manipulation, and hidden agendas within the grieving family.


17. "The Place Beyond the Pines" (2012)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 78%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 9A motorcycle stunt rider turns to bank robberies to provide for his lover and newborn child, a decision that reverberates across generations and intertwines with a policeman's journey.


16. "Prisoners" (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 81%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 10The kidnapping of two young girls leads to a desperate father taking matters into his own hands, while a detective tries to unravel the mystery amidst moral ambiguity.


15. "The Ghost Writer" (2010)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 11A ghostwriter hired to complete the memoirs of a former British Prime Minister uncovers secrets that put his own life in jeopardy.


14. "The Lincoln Lawyer" (2011)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 12A slick, charismatic lawyer operates out of the back of his Lincoln and finds himself in a moral quandary when he realizes his client is guilty of more than just the case at hand.


13. "Cold in July" (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 84%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 13A small-town man's life spirals into violence and mystery after he kills a burglar, uncovering a deeper conspiracy involving corrupt police and a vengeful father.


12. "Wind River" (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 14A wildlife tracker and an FBI agent uncover a harrowing murder mystery on the remote Wind River Indian Reservation in Wyoming.


11. "Miss Bala" (2011)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 88%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 15A young woman's dream of winning a beauty contest turns into a nightmare when she becomes involved with a drug cartel after witnessing a murder.


10. "You Were Never Really Here" (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 16A traumatized mercenary who rescues girls from human trafficking embarks on a brutal quest for vengeance when a job spins out of control.


9. "The Drop" (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 89%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 17A Brooklyn bartender finds himself at the center of a robbery gone awry in a neighborhood bar used as a money-laundering front by the Chechen mafia.


8. "A Most Violent Year" (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 18In 1981 New York, an immigrant fights to protect his family and business amidst rampant violence, corruption, and moral decay.


7. "Green Room" (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 90%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 19A punk rock band, trapped in a secluded venue after witnessing a violent crime, faces a life-or-death struggle against a group of neo-Nazi skinheads.


6. "Good Time" (2017)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 91%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 20After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, a street hustler embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York's underworld to get his brother out.


5. "Sicario" (2015)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 92%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 21An idealistic FBI agent is enlisted in a government task force to aid in the escalating war against drugs at the U.S.-Mexico border, facing harsh realities and moral dilemmas.


4. "Nightcrawler" (2014)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 95%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 22An ambitious sociopath enters the world of L.A. crime journalism, blurring ethical lines and manipulating crime scenes to capture sensational footage.


3. "Blue Ruin" (2013)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 96%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 23A mysterious vagrant returns to his childhood home to exact revenge against those who ruined his life, leading to a bloody and unintended chain of events.


2. "Hell or High Water" (2016)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 97%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 24Two brothers resort to a series of calculated bank robberies to save their family ranch in Texas, pursued by a relentless and aging Texas Ranger.


1. "The Guilty" (2018)
Rotten Tomatoes score: 98%
The 25 Most Underrated Crime Dramas of the 2010s, Ranked - image 25A demoted police officer assigned to emergency dispatch duty scrambles to save a distressed caller during a harrowing day of revelations – and personal reckonings.