Gerard Butler is back with Big Nick Energy in Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. This sequel to the 2018 film Den of Thieves once again stars Butler as Nick O’Brien, a sheriff who tracks down mastermind thief Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.). Last time, we saw Donnie’s crew rob the Federal Reserve; this time, they’re robbing the world’s largest diamond exchange. While the first movie borrows a bit too much from Michael Mann’s Heat, writer/director Christian Gudegast aims to make an original sequel with this film. Here, it falls flat, never reaching the acceptable height of the original.
The first act of Den of Thieves 2 is a harbinger of doom. None of it is particularly interesting; there’s a surprising lack of tension and drama in a movie that should be filled with it. Heist films have a particular formula; a group of people, each with their particular set of skills, team up to steal something impossible to steal. Both Den of Thieves films take themselves a bit too seriously to go down the standard formula. The issue is that the movie does not have a lot of entertainment value, giving very few thrills or excitement.
Gudegast dedicates the first act to setting up where our characters are after the end of the first film. Big Nick is going through a rough time, but none of his scenes are as compelling as the moments in the first film with his wife and daughter. We know what informs his decision to team up with Donnie, but we don’t feel enough sympathy for him, particularly because he isn’t supposed to be the most sympathetic character. The exposition is dull, and it’s a humorless movie that falls flat even when it’s attempting to give the dialogue some personality.
The movie remains quite boring until it puts Big Nick and Donnie face to face. This is where the film picks up a bit because there’s a fascinating idea here: putting the “good guy” and “bad guy” of the first movie together and forcing them to team up. That’s interesting, as it puts Big Mike in a situation that you would not expect. It takes almost an hour for a scene to feel lively, and it’s a sequence where Big Nick and Donny get to bond with the help of a few substances.
However, the story does not go interesting fast enough. While we do get to learn a bit more about both characters and their backstory in a scene that works pretty well, we don’t really see their backstory go anywhere. The screenplay gives them baggage for the sake of reminding us that they’re human, but once the heist starts, it does not do anything with this information. The story stalls while the film develops the characters, instead of developing them both at the same time. Perhaps this is part of what leads to the film’s sluggish runtime of 2 hours and 20 minutes. Much like the first movie, Den of Thieves 2 is overlong.
One of the most important qualities of a good heist is the stakes. This film has surprisingly little of them. We don’t really know what they have to lose from this. The heist has a few intense moments, but nothing memorable enough to leave an impact. The third act is easily the strongest part of the film. But unlike the first Den of Thieves, where once the heist started, the thrills never stopped, this movie is more inconsistent. There are exciting moments, but there are also moments where the pace slowed.
The supporting characters are also quite boring. We have one scene where we learn their music taste, but they’re quite forgettable. The antagonists are also dull. No part of this movie stands out above other heist movies that you’ve seen. It feels like the most generic version of what you’ve seen before in many other heist films. While a few moments rack up the thrills, it’s always fleeting. Even the final act, which culminates in a car chase shootout, has fun moments, but also has directorial missteps. For example, there’s a cool stunt that looks like it could have been practical where a car flies off the highway into the ocean. But it’s framed in an extreme wide shot, so far away from the audience that we don’t feel the intensity.
Furthermore, once Big Nick and Donnie become buddies, the heist never pushes their dynamic far enough. We should feel tension in their relationship, not knowing if they will betray each other, believing them when they must trust each other, and feeling for their dynamic. But once the heist begins, they barely interact. They’re co-workers, not for better or worse. Gudegast is a competent filmmaker, but he does not seem to grasp developing story and character at the same time. Once one is in motion, the other must come to a complete halt. While the ending aims for emotion, much like the rest of the film, it runs too long, wrapping up a disappointing heist film.
SCORE: 4/10
As ComingSoon’s review policy explains, a score of 4 equates to “Poor.” The negatives outweigh the positive aspects making it a struggle to get through.
Disclosure: ComingSoon attended a press screening for our Den of Thieves 2: Pantera review.
