Gerard Butler roars back into the screen in a box office-lite oblivion for another heist film, with no intention of shying away from his brusque, hulkish charisma onscreen. Only this time, it’s a follow-up from the heist feature seven years ago, where Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr) managed to mastermind the heist and escape with millions of about-to-be shredded bills and win one over on Butler’s loose cannon cop “Big Nick” O’Brien.
Ah, the seek for revenge in another cop vs. crooks showdown, right? Well, this time, the cop joins the crooks in infiltrating the World Diamond Center, another maze of a fortress to break into and steal jewels. In 2018, Den of Thieves was scoffed at like a grindhouse Heat, but it’s not far-fetched to say its follow-up is reminiscent of Miami Vice. That being said, this sequel does pull back on its aggressive and dark tones in favor of a more light-hearted and fun-natured time as O’Brien locates Donnie prepping for his next heist in Antwerp with another crew of thieves. For a two-hour and twenty-four-minute film, it opts as an impersonation of a high-end crime feature.
Granted, it’s hard not to dissect director/writer Christian Gudegast’s ambition to prolong much of this feature with juvenile party setups, bilingual meetups, and lesser tension dispersed throughout seventy percent of its runtime. Trimming this glaring issue down by twenty minutes might’ve saved face. Thankfully, it does rectify its predecessor’s mistakes by not falling into a mediocre trap of endless sub-plotting and smoothes the pace while allowing a minor subplot with mobsters on Donnie and Nick’s tails if they don’t return one of the valuable jewels (that were stolen in the opening of the film by Donnie). The film patiently gives a more fitting character development for both titular leads, which was desperately necessitated in the first go around, while allowing their chemistry to radiate more. Yes, even folks will get a dig out of Butler’s levity around his pronunciation of French words or his glamorously disheveled lone-wolf quiddity.
The last thirty percent of the film is where the stars align for an expertly crafted, tense heist scene where the crew weaves from the rooftop into the vault with constant feedback about the time measures of the cameras’ surveying or the guards on patrol. It’s a borderline “suspend your disbelief” sentiment, but it is one heck of a crafted setpiece that becomes justifiable within the runtime scope. Gudegast keeps a spatially wondrous choreography and eventually dials it with one dynamite set piece to cap off the plot. Take notes, Hollywood!
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, for all sake, is an action thriller, but one with more zest than its predecessor as we watch lovable scoundrels pull off another “this is impossible” setpiece across the border.
