But these are just the latest examples in a long and storied tradition. Here are five of our favourite Asian heist films, all deserving of your attention.
1. Once a Thief (1991)
A heady cocktail of blistering stunt work, knockabout humour and sentimental romance, the film follows this gang of surrogate siblings as they pull off a string of daring heists in a series of exotic continental locales.
But when they inadvertently scupper the plans of their crime boss (Kenneth Tsang Kong), all hell breaks loose, prompting the team to reappraise their own loyalties and relationships.
2. The Triple Cross (1992)
Credited with revolutionising the Japanese yakuza film in the 1970s with his seminal Battles Without Honor and Humanity series, Kinji Fukasaku scored a late-career triumph with this bombastic thriller about a gang of ageing thieves plotting one last score.
As the film’s title might suggest, not everyone can be trusted, and betrayal upon betrayal escalate into a violent cross-country chase involving the authorities, rival gangsters and Keiko Oginome’s deranged, machine-gun-toting femme fatale in a seemingly endless melee of bullets and bloodshed.
3. Going by the Book (2007)
In one of the funniest, most original heist films in years, Jung Jae-young is wonderful as a low-ranking but highly dedicated constable, who takes his role in a police training exercise to the absolute extreme.
Eager to make a good first impression, an incoming police chief (Son Byung-ho) devises an elaborately staged bank robbery to show off his force’s capabilities in front of the community, press and his superiors.
After an early run-in, the captain selects fastidious flatfoot Do-man (Jung) to play the role of the gun-toting criminal, only for the committed copper to go full method.
With the television cameras rolling, and a fascinated public looking on, Do-man proceeds to outwit his superiors at every turn in his unerring quest for authenticity. What unfolds is a largely unsung masterpiece of humour and heart, packed with big laughs and endearing performances.
4. Bad Genius (2017)
Writer-director Nattawut Poonpiriya delivers a heist movie unlike any other, as the criminals are not seasoned thieves but industrious high-schoolers out to steal not money or jewels, but the answers to their final exams.
Intricately plotted and executed with a degree of slick professionalism normally reserved for Hollywood studio productions, Bad Genius is an exhilarating caper that ratchets up the tension to a palm-sweating crescendo.
Inspired by a real scandal involving students from China who cheated on the SAT exam, this is one of the most impressive Thai films in recent memory.
5. Smugglers (2023)
Hailing from the Korean island province of Jeju, these hard-nosed women are renowned for their ability to swim to great depths, without the aid of breathing apparatus, and scour the seabed for profitable shellfish.
In Ryoo’s film, a gang of tough, no-nonsense women, with increasingly strained relationships of their own, go into business with some shady smugglers, only to turn the tables on their male employers and cash in for themselves.
Featuring riotously rambunctious performances and some gleefully over-the-top period attire, Smugglers is a stylish take on the pirate movie with a fearsomely feminist hook.