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Published Jun 25, 2026, 8:01 AM EDT
Enter the world of Vice City early with the glitzy, crime-riddled movies and shows from across the ages
Grand Theft Auto 6 Vintage Vice City pre-order bonuses
Image: Rockstar Games
For the first time in nearly 936 days, Grand Theft Auto 6 finally seems within arm’s reach. Rockstar’s next big open-world crime thriller isn’t a collective dream anymore, but a tangible experience waiting to be consumed. Following the wild round of pre-orders last week, the anticipation for the game’s launch has reached a fever pitch, even as the clock ticks closer to November 19.
GTA 6 returns fans to the sun-streaked, neon-tinged setting of Vice City, a parodized version of Miami, Florida first introduced in 2002’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, and later revisited in 2006’s Vice City Stories. You’ll take control of Army dropout Jason Duval and Liberty City-born Lucia Caminos in what is bound to be an exhilarating thrillride of thievery, backstabbing, and gunplay set in a world reportedly 2.5 times larger than its predecessor.
While nothing can replace actually playing GTA 6, the following films and series offer a glimpse into what helped inspire Rockstar's next blockbuster. If you're looking for something to watch while counting down to release day, or simply want to get into the Vice City groove, start here.
1 Pain & Gain (2013)
Image: Paramount Pictures
Pain & Gain captures a version of Florida that feels eerily identical to the one Rockstar is building in Leonida, with its tapestry of ridiculous people chasing fortune through increasingly terrible decisions. Almost every character feels like someone you might encounter in a GTA side mission, while the movie’s blend of dark humor and criminal incompetence often makes it feel like a live-action parody of the series itself.
The craziest part is that Pain & Gain is based on true events.
Where to watch: Pluto TV
Image: Warner Bros.
You can’t talk about criminal couples in American pop culture without talking about Bonnie and Clyde. Dramatizing the real-life exploits of Depression-era outlaws Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, Arthur Penn’s Bonnie and Clyde is one of the clearest points of comparison for GTA 6’s Lucia and Jason. The image of two lovers against the world is one that Bonnie and Clyde practically codified for modern crime fiction.
Where to watch: Prime Video
3 Burn Notice (2007)
Image: Disney
Although Burn Notice differs slightly from all the other picks on this list as it’s less a crime thriller and more of a spy comedy series, the show lends itself to fans of GTA in its hilarious premise. The 111-episode series follows Michael Westen (Jeffrey Donovan), a CIA spy who suddenly gets burned and must take on odd jobs with shady clientele throughout the sunny locale of Miami to earn a living.
Where to watch: Disney Plus
4 Out of Sight (1998)
Image: Universal Pictures
A few years before solidifying his transition from television actor to A-lister with Ocean’s 11, George Clooney starred opposite Jennifer Lopez in a crime comedy directed by the great Steven Soderbergh. The film adapts Elmore Leonard’s 1996 novel Out of Sight, casting Clooney as the suave career bank robber Jack Foley, a role seemingly tailor-made for the budding Hollywood star.
Where to watch: Prime Video
5 Night Moves (1975)
Image: Warner Bros
Released eight years after Bonnie and Clyde, Night Moves saw director Arthur Penn trade outlaw lovers for a sun-soaked detective mystery, with Gene Hackman returning in the lead role as private investigator Harry Moseby. Much like Chinatown before it, the neo-noir follows a seemingly straightforward missing-person case that gradually unravels into a web of corruption, crime, and deception stretching from California to the Florida Keys.
Where to watch: Prime Video
6 Cocaine Cowboys: The Kings of Miami (2021)
Directed by Billy Corben, the only documentary on this list aptly focuses on two childhood friends who built one of the largest cocaine trafficking operations in American history while becoming folk heroes in parts of Miami. Through extensive interviews and archival footage, the six-part series paints a picture of South Florida during the height of the cocaine boom, when drug money flowed through Miami and helped transform the city into a cultural and economic powerhouse.
The series also serves as a spiritual successor to Corben's acclaimed 2006 documentary, Cocaine Cowboys, which chronicled Miami's cocaine trade during the 1970s and 1980s through interviews with traffickers, law enforcement officials, and hitmen. Together, the two projects form an essential crash course in the criminal history that helped inspire one of gaming's most iconic locations.
Where to watch: Netflix
7 Gun Crazy (1950)
Image: Warner Bros.
Often cited as one of the earliest examples of the "lovers on the run" crime story that would later influence everything from Bonnie and Clyde to True Romance, Joseph H. Lewis’s Gun Crazy was well ahead of its time. It stars Peggy Cummins as Annie Laurie Starr and John Dall as Bart Tare, two gun-obsessed lovers whose relationship quickly spirals into a life of robberies and reckless abandon.
Despite being more than 70 years old, the noir classic still feels remarkably modern. Its focus on character relationships, particularly between Bart and Annie, rather than elaborate criminal schemes helps the story hold up, while several of its action scenes were groundbreaking for the era. One famous bank robbery sequence was filmed in a single extended take, creating a sense of realism that many crime films wouldn't achieve for decades.
Where to watch: Tubi
8 The Place Beyond the Pines (2012)
The title of the film gets its name from the setting of Schenectady, New York. It’s derived from the loose translation of the Mohawk language’s "skahnéhtati," which means "beyond the pines.” The Place Beyond the Pines offers a similar setup to Rockstar’s next big hit with a couple looking to make ends meet in a world that feels out to get them. It’s a rare heart-wrenching crime thriller that follows a three-act triptych as if you’re bouncing between characters just like in GTA 5.
Where to watch: Prime Video
Image: NBCUniversal
Michael Mann’s glitzy 1984 cop drama laid the groundwork that would inevitably define TV police procedurals for years to come. Starring Don Johnson as James “Sonny” Crockett and Philip Michael Thomas as Ricardo “Rico” Tubbs, Miami Vice was — and to some extent still is — a one-of-a-kind experience that put you in the shoes of undercover police officers at the height of South Florida’s drug trade.
Although it might not be set in the 1980s like its predecessor, GTA 6 still seemingly has its own slew of pastel style from the era, largely by way of its glamorous pre-order bonuses in the Vintage Vice City pack. Miami Vice is a solid show to get you in the Vice City mood, but you can always watch Michael Mann’s 2006 remake starring Jamie Foxx and Colin Farrell if you want a more contemporary feel. The choice is yours.
Where to watch: Tubi