Den of Thieves, Christian Gudegast’s 2018 heist thriller was something of an over-deliverly given its modest trappings. An enjoyable “cool” film that played like a poor man’s version of Heat, I think it was clear that Gudegast always had hopes of Fast & the Furious-level franchise expansion. Those goals begin to be met with Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, which plays more like a buddy crime comedy in some respects, with more exotic locales and a greater focus on the biggest stars, returning leads Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr. A key problem from the first move remains firmly intact, however, and it stops this sequel, and this burgeoning franchise, from being as good as it could be.
When last we saw Butler’s morally dubious LA cop “Big” Nick O’Brien, he’s been schooled by Jackson’s street smart criminal Donnie Wilson, who managed to pull off the heist of a lifetime, robbing the Federal Reserve so cleverly they literally don’t know that it happened. Picking up immediately after those events, we see Nick scrambling to reorient himself. He’s lost his family, seems to be nursing a forever hangover, and now he’s not even the best at what he does which is catching crooks like Donnie.
Gudegast goes big with his sequel, which leaves Los Angeles behind for a global tale of cops and robbers. After the theft of a massive pink diamond from the Antwerp airport, Nick sees Donnie’s fingerprints all over it. With nothing to lose, he flies off to Europe to track him down, finding that Donnie has hit the big time. Sporting a believable French accent and considerable debonair, he’s become part of an elite gang of jewel thieves, the Panthers, led by the beautiful Jovanna (Evin Ahmad), who has planned an even bigger heist of the impenetrable World Diamond Center. With no money and nothing else going for him, Nick muscles his way into the operation with Donnie’s help. “And the cop goes gangster”, Donnie says.
Den of Thieves didn’t have great reviews when it was released six years ago. What it had was a cast of Butler, Jackson, 50 Cent, Pablo Schreiber, all actors that casual moviegoers recognize and showed up for. It also had Gudegast, who elevated the material beyond the glut of straight-to-VOD dreck that, let’s be honest, a lot of these actors had been peddling for years. His direction isn’t flashy, but it’s muscular in that Antoine Fuqua sort of way, slick when it needs to be, and most importantly, knows how to put the actors in the best possible light. That skill is more crucial in Pantera, which is very much a Butler/Jackson showcase. The role of Big Nick is so perfectly suited for Butler that it’s amazing he hasn’t had more like it already. Butler’s oversized personality has rarely been put to such good use as the swaggering, charming crooked cop. And Jackson, who doesn’t have the boiling anger of his father Ice Cube, is as smooth as butter as Donnie, a thoughtful, refined thief who pulled himself up from the ‘hood and into high society with his criminal genius.
The plot is a familiar one, following the typical beats of the genre. That’s not a knock against the film because that familiarity is what’s so attractive in the first place. We love this genre for a reason, and Gudegast gives fans of it what they came for: hot women, hot cars, daring robberies, slick gadgets, glitzy parties, and detailed attention to an impossible crime. What Pantera also offers that is more unexpected is the bromance between Nick and Donnie, which finds them getting drunk together, partying, and finding commonality in the troubled path to their chosen professions. In a way, they are like soldiers who may have fought in different wars but understand the battlefield. And yet, there’s also this push and pull between the two men, a constant testing of boundaries, and the lingering question: What happens to them once the crime is pulled off?
Gudegast dials down the action for a much slower, more deliberate effort, and that would be fine if the movie was a lot shorter. At an inexcusable 144-minutes, Pantera is too long and too often a slog of dull exposition that requires you to be fully invested in every aspect to get through it. That said, when the bullets start flying, the tires start screeching, and allegiances are tested, Pantera reawakens fully energized. With Fast & the Furious nearing its final run, Den of Thieves might steal the crown as the top heist movie franchise around.
Lionsgate has opened Den of Thieves 2: Pantera in theaters now.
