Den of Thieves: Pantera
Not that this is the main reason to throw shade at this sequel to a 2018 crime thriller, and I know it’s not the reason this film carries the subtitle it does, but how do you make this film, with this title, and not license one Pantera song for the soundtrack? I’m not saying that would have pushed my feelings for the film higher, but it feels like a missed opportunity.
2018’s “Den of Thieves” is one of those films that has Gerard Butler as a gruff and badass cop who is just a few degrees away from being a bad guy himself. It was fine, but it’s basically “Heat” for people with a taste for “Fast & Furious” films, but without the patience for Michael Mann’s methodical approach to his storytelling, which honestly, I have no problem with. I haven’t seen it in years, and that might have been a big mistake going into the sequel, which certainly operates on its own, but still has enough allusions to the original that I wish I had made time for a rewatch, even if it was in pieces.
If you look at his previous work, writer-director Christian Gudegast- who’s credits also included past Butler films “London Has Fallen” (as writer), “Plane” (as producer), as well as the original “Den of Thieves” as both writer and director- is a filmmaker who understands his land- pulpy b-movies with leads whom are people of action over words. Here, we begin with a heist at a Belgium airport. Leading the heist is Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), the driver of the crew from the original film. He’s clearly traded up in the world, and his actions lead him to Nice, France, as he looks to fence the diamonds he stole in Belgium. The news coverage of that heist puts him back on the radar of “Big Nick” O’Brien (Butler’s character), who is hanging on by a thread in both his professional and personal life. Bringing Wilson to justice might be just the thing he needs.
This narrative gets a bit convoluted, involving both an Italian mafia boss, Wilson ingratiating himself into the diamond business in France, and a task force in Nice known as “Pantera” whom Nick may, or may not, be working with. The most important thing is that Jackson and Butler seem to be enjoying giving each other menacing glares and being tough guys while doing insane action and crime stuff. I will say that this isn’t looking to be as absurd as a “Fast & Furious” film, as it grounds most of the action in a sense of reality, such as it is. I dug how seriously it took this deeply unserious plot, thinking we’d just go along with it. Like its predecessor, it’s a movie I will likely watch once, and never again, and I’m fine with that. It did its job.
