Gerard Butler has done a string of muscular genre films, basically filling the gap that Liam Neeson left. Around the late 2000's, early 2010's, Neeson started doing action flicks and thrillers, reinvigorating the idea of the older action star. Neeson had Taken (2008), which spawned a series of sequels. Eventually, Neeson's run came to an end. Butler's recent track of films has been rather parallel and now seems to be taking up the slack. The first Den of Thieves (2018) could've been any of the numerous films featuring Butler that have come and gone. It didn't make as much money as Olympus Has Fallen (2013), but if Greenland (2020), a minor thriller with Butler in the lead, can get a sequel, then why not Den of Thieves.
I've since forgotten the plot of Den of Thieves. That 2018 heist film didn't stick in my brain. What did stick is The Fast and the Furious (2001) and that heist film is probably the closest comparison to what the filmmakers are doing here. As a franchise, we saw The Fast and the Furious center on a cop trying to take down criminals who are committing heists, which eventually had the cop cross the line and join the criminals as friend and then family. This appears to be the path that this Den of Thieves sequel is now treading.
O'Shea Jackson Jr. (Cocaine Bear and Straight Outta Compton) co-stars as Donnie Wilson, a jewel thief who has traveled to Europe to steal diamonds. He's formed a gang and smart team that helps him to pull off really daring operations. His team hits the Antwerp International Airport and it's awesome. He has even bigger thefts in mind, and the stealing of even bigger diamonds. The difference between Donnie and Dominic Toretto, the so-called criminal in The Fast and the Furious, is Dominic having a mindset of family and community. Dominic also appears more down-to-Earth, meaning more working-class, whereas Donnie appears to be just a playboy who sees his criminality as a sport. Yes, Donnie comes from an impoverished background, but he doesn't convey it outwardly as Dominic Toretto might. For example, Dominic Toretto would never walk around in fancy suits, stylish clothes or a lot of bling. Donnie Wilson, however, would and does.
A large chunk, if not the entire middle section, is dedicated to building the friendship between Donnie and Nick O'Brien, Butler's character. I suppose the problem is whatever connection between them feels contrived and tenuous. Dominic Toretto's connection to Brian O'Connor, the cop in The Fast and the Furious, played by the late Paul Walker, is the fact that Brian fell in love with Dominic's sister. That created a bond that brought Dominic and Brian together in a stronger way than anything between Nick and Donnie.
To this film's credit, director and co-writer, Christian Gudegast puts Nick and Donnie in a situation that attempts to bond them stronger. Basically, what's known as the Panther Mafia aka "Pantera" threatens both of them. Nick and Donnie then have to work together not to have the Panther Mafia kill them. Working together is meant to bond them further. However, once the ending arrives, there's not much keeping the two together. Understandably, the film tries to make Nick and Donnie a thing. Spending time with them is the right move in that regard, but the length of this film seems to drag, as the friendship never seems to be cemented, as it's revealed to be rather one-sided.
Rated R for language, some violence, drug use and sexual references.
Running Time: 2 hrs. and 24 mins.
Available on Netflix.