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And the trending keeps going, bringing back to the big screen movies that for the most part did ok, it is the case of Den of Thieves (2018) now with a direct sequel picking up right after the events of the first movie, dropping into the French Riviera after the first movie was develop on the streets of Los Angeles.
Although its a direct sequel with almost the same characters there are a few things that make this one different when it comes to pace and tone change, it might even be a bit confusing at first to the point that separate them both, the location has to do a lot with it, the first movie was more a US classic action movie in the streets and now we got the Europe heist style, its like watching a Keanu action movie like speed and then watching Statham on the Transporter, both action movies but the place has to do a lot with it, with chaises over tight streets around the city.
- IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8008948/
- Platform: AppleTV+
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The pace problem I think also has to do that this is not a short movie with close to two hours, to be exactly 145 minutes, at times made me feel a bit impatient with Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr picking up. This opening might sound like I'm complaining about the movie but I'm really not, just putting out there that this is a kinda average movie with a ton of marketing.
The movie also gives that vibe of having a hard time to forget things, its mostly of how it connects with each other making things a bit obvious and predictable, its the case of Nick O'Brien cant let go the Federal Reserve heist from the first movie and keeps investigating Donnie even though he and the department has nothing to do with it anymore, case was close for them. Here is when things take a turn when instead of arresting him, well he technically shouldn't because as I mention it was a close case, Nick now wants to be part of Donnie's next job, something that might caught by surprise part of the audience or might not.
Their story is about their attempt to rob the World Diamond Center, a fortress building with 137 cameras and security Fort Knox level, to get more complex Donnie finds out that one of the diamonds stolen belongs to the Italian mafia who for sure would not let that slide so easy.
The movie does give me Bad Boys: Ride or Die, reason for this is because of the camera angles, they really try to have something special to camera rotation, something that seems very plan out and for sure takes preparation. The movie is very intense and I enjoy that is not your classic action movie with tons of shooting and explosion, even though when there is, the movie becomes the most intensive with its almost impossible situations to get out, but then again it feels a bit slow to get to this climax point, once the heist scenes pick up then it was worth waiting.
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When it comes to the cast there are no complains in my opinion, Gerard Butler feels very natural almost like on his comfort zone playing the role of Nick O'Brien, with all the struggles he has even feels psychologically vulnerable or weak but not to the point to be a loose bullet, a bit of the pathetic cop story, the one that hits rock bottom after a rough divorce with having very little time with his kids and financially struggling, a bit too cliche for some.
In a very different spot there is O'Shea Jackson Jr. who turned his character of Donnie into a more confident and sophisticated character than in the first. There is also the chemistry between this two, probably one of the things that let the movie be good enough, getting the right amount of love from the fans that there is going to be a third movie, Den of Thieves 3 has been officially confirmed and its in development, expected to start filming next year 2026 to avoid that big gap that there was between the first and second movie.
Things have change quiet a bit in the movie industry, I feel like after the MCU shock the world with their storm of movies making everyone see how good sequels and connected stories can work now there are movies like this one who listen to the fans and say, ok you got your sequel and trilogy and franchise if you want as long as they keep getting good numbers, but the second movie did $55.9 million world wide, $35.8 from USA and Canada with a $40 million budget, not necessarily a success since they would expect to make twice their money, comparing to the 2018 movie that did $80 million world wide with a $30 million budget, lets see if it does any good on streaming platforms but I would guess that is a way lower revenue.
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I have mix feelings about this movie because I though it was going to be even better to be honest, the drastic location change left me out of place and it did the same for the main characters, online numbers are not that great but I would give it a 7.5 or 8 at most just because Gerard and O'Shea can pull an action movie and still be funny too.
Den of Thieves 2 ending is one of those that provides a lot of closure with them successfully breaking into the World Diamond Center and its a tight escape scene with an intense car chase sequence, this entire heist scene does make worth the waiting during the entire movie that felt a bit draggy at certain time, its never good when a movie makes you feel like fast forward a scene. The ending is still one of those ambiguous situations because it plays with the ongoing tension between Nick and Donnie, we never really know if Nick has truly switched sides or if he is playing the long game. The chase through the mountain roads has a feeling of classic European action film with cars rush around rocky corners.
The ending also split Nick and Donnie as its obvious they have become different by their experiences in the past together but the link and chemistry between them remains. There was this shawarma eating bonding scene earlier in the movie along with a conversation that brought them closer and the ending makes this even more clear. The ending has enough loose threads to potentially set up another sequel, and it fact is happening as I mention before. This is the type of story that puts character development before anything else, even action scenes themself that might be consider the core of the movie and remains entertaining enough.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is a movie that attempts to develop beyond its action roots and become more character driven and more sophisticated, its not an easy job to do and I wont say it failed but did try too hard to the point that it failed to be a bigger movie than the original, as many say "Sequels are never the best..." but if we put it in perspective this is such a strong trend that last year the most successful movies were sequels, so its just obvious movie companies are going to keep trying when ever they have the chance for a sequel. It doesn't always work but there is enough here to keep you watching even if you don't know why you're still watching, it is the kind of movie that might get better on second watch, but whether it's worth that second watch is another question.
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