I always love a good action film. Especially when it has one of my favorite action stars, Gerard Butler. The Scottish actor has been in some of my favorite action films such as 300, How to Train Your Dragon and Olympus Has Fallen. However, I had not seen the first Den of Thieves, released in 2018, until about an hour before I went to see Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. I was definitely sleeping on this series. I will be referring to the first movie a lot during this review because there were a lot of similarities but also a lot of differences between the two.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is a continuation of the story in Den of Thieves (2018). Gerard Butler portrays Nick O’Brien who in the first movie was part of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department (LACS). O’Brien was tasked with taking down Ray Merriman, a leader in a gang full of ex-military personnel. After eliminating the threat, O’Brien quickly learns at the end of the film that it was actually the movie’s other main protagonist Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr) who was the main crime lord now in Europe. No longer part of the LACS and divorced, O’Brien travels to Europe and greets an old friend in Donnie and teams up with his group to rob another bank.
One thing I loved about the first movie was how much it not only involved the action sequences, but also explained a lot with O’Brien’s family. The character development for not only O’Brien, but for the supporting cast was also great. I felt connected to most characters and felt bad for those who died. That is one thing that Den of Thieves 2: Pantera did not do well.
The first half of the movie was a major set up. Although there were plenty of great scenes and great acting, I think it spent way too much time on the relationship between Donnie and Nick rather than the relationship with all the other side characters. It was very slow.
I absolutely loved the final third/act. Different from the first movie, where it was more of a cat and mouse game, Den of Thieves 2 felt more of a stealth and spy movie. It reminded me a lot of the Mission Impossible franchise. Maybe a little bit TOO much like it.
There have been plenty of actors known for their solo action roles such as Jason Statham, Tom Cruise and Keanu Reeves but Gerard Butler has to be at the top for me. Not only is he a great action star and fits the role perfectly, he can also portray other dramatic, comedic and romantic characters. O’Shea Jackson Jr., son of the renowned rapper Ice Cube, is a lesser known actor that has starred in films such as Cocaine Bear and Straight Outta Compton, but nothing else really. He did great and I hope we can see him in more films in the future.
Final Thoughts:
I know some people are going to rant that Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is “just another terrible action film with the typical hero”, however I quite enjoyed it. I do like the first Den of Thieves a little bit more just due to the character development and attachment to certain people. The sequel is a solid continuation story of Nick O’Brien and Donnie Wilson. It caught my attention several times and I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen during the final sequence. I’m not sure if they are going to continue with this series, but if they do, I am all for it.