The Mosley Review: Den of Thieves 2: Pantera
The art of the heist film has been perfected by great filmmakers of the past and at times, there have been some stylistic reinvention. What makes these films so entertaining is not the heist itself, but the characters on either side of the law. We love following the outlaws as they try to succeed against the police, but we also love seeing the police race against time to stop the thieves from getting away. Its the game of cat and mouse that is always so thrilling, but you have to care for both parties involved to keep invested. Films like Oceans Eleven, Tower Heist and the greatest of them all, Heat, are the blueprints of how to make a fun, sometimes hilarious, stylistic and thrilling heist story. The first Den of Thieves was a surprise as the narrative may have been derivative of Heat, but it did its homework and presented the same amount of grounded storytelling and an amazing amount of heart. Now comes a sequel that unfortunately doesn't carry the same amount of lets say, craftsmanship as the first film. We get a more plotting and drawn out caper that really felt empty and sometimes over indulgent as we are taken to a new location, but without any clear direction or sense of urgency. It was a shame because not only do we get some great visuals and some good character moments, but its dragged down by its length and inconsistent tone.
Gerard Butler returns as Nicholas "Big Nick" O'Brien and somehow the character has lost a bit of the same charm he had in the first film. His life is truly going down the drain and I felt more sorry for him instead of rooting for him. I liked that he had a moral challenge this time around as he gets involved with crime this time. O'Shea Jackson Jr. returns once again as the smart and slippery thief, Donnie Wilson. He was having more fun this time around and I loved that we got to see his mind work as he sets up the big score this time around. The rivalry between him and Nicholas was the heart of this film and the most entertaining aspect. I loved the tension in the beginning when they reconnected and how their chemistry truly developed into a sort of twisted friendship. Evin Ahmad was fun as one of the main organizers of the heist, Jovanna. The partnership and many deals she put together were fun to watch navigate and revealed the many parties connected to the Diamond heist. Her working chemistry with Donnie was good, but it was the strongest with Nicholas as their could've been a slight romance brewing between them.
The score by Kevin Matley was good and pulse pounding as the heist took place and during the finale. Visually the film is very crisp and especially during the many night shots of Nice, France. The opening heist and the car chase / shootout in the finale were truly the best action sequences of the film. The heist itself was pulse pounding in its timing and escape route. Like I said before, the film truly suffers from its lack of urgency. I get that we got a chance to explore the depth of the relationship between Nicholas and Donnie, but everything else was truly filler and noise. You could've trimmed at least 20 minutes of this film out and achieved a tighter and more concise storyline. Also, I wonder if it was a stylistic choice, but their are multiple scenes where characters are speaking French and their are no subtitles. I could make out what was being said by the body language and the overall tone of the scenes, but it would've been nice to have that option. Overall, this was a sluggish sequel that didn't deserve to be so drawn out. It had the chance to be a more fast paced heist film that kept the same grounded prowess of the first film, but it failed to capture that same lightning in the bottle. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in comments below. Thanks for reading!
