Big Nick is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie, who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massiv...
From the brief flashes of what I can recall, the first Den of Thieves back in 2018 was your prototypical heist movie in the veins of Heat and it does a decent job at maximizing its positives while hiding its negatives to varying degrees of success. Pacing could’ve been tighter and the twists felt a bit excessive for the hell of it, but it makes for a decent time killer.
“Den of Thieves 2: Pantera” has the same fun traits from previously to pass as an acceptable follow-up but not much else to set it apart from its predecessor.
Christian Gudegast eased into an atmosphere that was distinctly retro, reminiscent of the vibrant, eclectic style of the 90s and early 2000’s. His direction for both movies flourish with a meticulous focus on detail, capturing the essence of the era with precision and flair but it’s a tiny bit looser here; a more passive approach to an abrasively obvious homage if you will.
Settings-wise, this is a case of a dissonant clash between scope and scale. While I could generally accept the variety of locations, the sheer magnitude seemed exaggerated without purpose. The international backdrop appeared excessively lavish, lacking the dense, gritty essence of its predecessor, meaning the production design teetered on the edge of becoming a polished but empty facade. Only the shaky, semi-unpredictable atmosphere managed to keep it grounded, preventing it from turning into mere decorative porcelain.
On paper, you look at the presentation for this flick and it’s hard not to look at it like a glass ceiling: everything it gives you will only take you so far but how far enough proves to be interesting. Pacing stays thoroughly poised with a much manageable speed two-thirds of the time, preventing the runtime from feeling bloated and a much better job is done trying (key word there) to thread the tension through the in’s-and-out’s on both the inner dexterities of the heist, our member’s stakes and plight involved while building on the action from it’s predecessor. It might be lighter on finesse and flair as opposed to previously, but I found very little in Terry Stacey’s cinematography to overly criticize; low-key lighting aside, it’s very reminiscent of the idyllic framing from John Frankenheimer’s Ronin with plenty of memorable shots to take away from and some taut editing carrying the load near the end.
I sensed some psychological color grading in the costumes in regards to the main leads but beyond that, there wasn't much to distinguish the rest of the visual elements. The tone had lightened slightly, with a few more moments of levity, yet an underlying darkness still pervaded the atmosphere, sound design remains immersive as before and the minimalist music score from Kevin Matley is a nice change of pace, only gracing our ears when it’s required despite all the tracks blending together and sounding the same.
To my surprise, I definitely cared a little more for Gerald Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr’s characters here and it helps that they’re both very solid physical and emotional actors with more robust performances….but they’re the only ones I care about here. Not much of the supporting cast sticks out for me though despite making good with what roles they’re given and the same can be said with the dialogue; the latter only being elevated due to how its said as opposed to what.
Heist narratives are probably some of the most delicate but stubborn staples of the thriller genre; there’s always a unique, almost intoxicating allure that’s very hypnotic amongst the thrills despite the formulaic blueprints of the sub-genre and this film falls headfirst into those depths without much deviations to the formula. Whatever is added barely elevates the proceedings beyond the Mad Libs fill-in-the-blankness of it’s predecessor but its still reminiscent of those heist plots you probably put together on GTA V and GTA Online. Structural speaking, it’s uniformly basic with a simple set-up to guide you through the noise and narratively speaking, it’s very to the point with not much in the way of baggage or nuance.
Yes, said set-up doesn’t deliver on the typical psychological cat-and-mouse shenanigans associated with the genre but it technically didn’t promise you that either. It still relies on the tried-and-true pleasures of a ticking-clock scenario once you get to what you’re looking for; the heist delivers on its junk-food drama without leaning on the thrills of Mission Impossible, the elaborate smarts of Ocean’s Eleven or even its own story logic and it’s also here where the subsequent “Will he, won’t he” cliche among many others find some common ground. Nothing trashy or clunky comes out of that that you don’t already know is coming but at least, it embraces that fatuous vibe.
Still, every big plan has its cracks and this one comes alike with plenty. The last act is where most of the pieces start fumbling, especially where the expected twist comes into play. I don’t hate it but unlike the first film whose ending twist came out of nowhere, this one, to me, was telegraphed and reveals its cards too early in advance and gave away who’d be doing what to whom and when. I know that’s meant to be the allure of these heist flicks: the charm is in the intricate planning, which is as crucial as the thrilling execution and it does keep the runtime at a tidy enough wavelength, but this one still struggles to justify its length. Not only does the plot take an eternity to gather momentum and keep it, but it also suffers from a critical deficiency: tension.
There are hardly any significant challenges with minimal intensity and activity and with the plot meandering about like a lazy river, the sense that something might go awry is virtually absent. My engagement started wavering nearly an hour in.
Plus, if you take the subsequent lack of action and the Mafia subplot deliberately being put on the backburner so the heist can take center stage into consideration, the fact that EVEN THAT can’t hold the illusion of the towering physical and emotional stakes, it just goes to show you how much fat could’ve been trimmed and the potential squandered. Now, don’t get me wrong: I don’t mind a slowly paced deconstruction of a heist if it’s used to advance character growth or nail the landing. But here, it reeks of filler, padding and an obvious telegraph for more of this down the line.
For the heist junkies out there, this won’t melt your brain cells or challenge your intellect, but it clearly embraces its identity as an uncomplicated heist thriller that’s just passable enough to pass the time without overstaying its welcome. Your mileage may vary on this one especially if you enjoyed the first Den of Thieves but for me, it’s a relatively safe cautious recommendation.
