Back in 2018, we got a heist film that was meant to be a modern-day Heat. It followed a crew of thieves planning a big job, and the LA County Sheriff’s detectives were hot on their case. It was a gritty drama that featured a couple of big set pieces—and a big twist.
While the focus was always on Big Nick (Gerard Butler) as the top detective, we got a bait-and-switch when it came to the true mastermind of the heist. Donnie (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.) was the only one to escape and, as it turned out, that was how he designed it. We also ended that film with a nod toward the idea Donnie would continue plying his trade.
In the new film, Den of Thieves: Pantera, we pick up where the first chapter left off. The film comes from writer/director Christian Gudegast, who delivered the first film. And it returns both Big Nick as the hunter and Donnie as the wily thief. This time, however, the action is on an international level.
The movie opens with Donnie and a new crew pulling an elite heist at an airport. It nets them some diamonds, but really, it provides an introduction at the diamond exchange in Nice, France. Now, he’s working on an even bigger score.
Back home, things aren’t going well for Nick. He’s gotten divorced, he’s lost some credibility, and he can’t get anyone to believe that Donnie pulled off a job since the Federal Reserve doesn’t show any losses. But he remains convinced Donnie got away with it all and wants to find him. Eventually, he does.
When Nick surprises Donnie in France, things take a turn. Instead of arresting him and bringing him back to stand trial, Nick asks to join the crew. He’s tired of chasing bad guys for little reward and wants to earn a payday. So, with Nick on board, Donnie and the crew resume planning their most ambitious heist yet.
This film has a bit of a different vibe than the first. If the original film felt like a grittier Heat, this trends more toward a film like Fast & Furious. And with the way Gudegast sets up these two unlikely allies and the ending of this film, it’s clear there’s room for more expansions of the franchise if that’s desired.
The question is how audiences will feel. At the end of the day, this is an action film, which is part of the reason it’s getting a January release date. Butler and Jackson are solid, the rest of the cast is fine. There are some good sequences, like the heist that gets pulled off and the car chase that follows. There are some interesting twists and turns, too.
But it runs nearly two and a half hours, and you feel that run time. It’s bloated with extra stories, characters, and threads that probably aren’t always necessary. It also has a protracted ending that features so many turns that it will make your head spin. Even so, I enjoyed the action and heist sequences, as well as the on-screen partnership between Butler and Jackson. They truly pulled together another stellar flick.
Den of Thieves: Pantera is now in theaters nationwide.