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Rating: 2.5 out of 5
I really don’t know what to think about this movie. Den of Thieves is a movie with a good/decent plot or storyline, but something is off about it. I really don’t know where I could put my finger on it. Maybe it was the length of the film. I mean, 2 hours and 20 minutes is quite a long time. I just can’t figure it out for the life of me. It has stars like Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr., and Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson. It’s a gritty crime drama where there are cops and robbers. Maybe it is because I have seen the concept so many times. Does this mean it’s not an entertaining movie? I would say yes and no. I just really can’t figure it out, and I actually watched it TWICE!
Den of Thieves is set in the sunny city of Los Angeles. Bright Lights and Big City. The film opens up with an armored truck making a pit stop at a coffee shop. Within moments, a group of robbers roll up on the armored truck. The team is led by Ray Merrimen (Schreiber), who quickly tries to break into the truck. Within seconds a firefight ignites between the guards and the robbers. The robbers rain down a hail of gunfire on the guards. The guards manage to hold off when the police arrive. Things quickly escalate out of hand until the robbers take control of the situation. Merrimen and his crew make off with the empty truck with Donnie (Jackson Jr.) driving but also reprimanded for killing the guard that alerted the whole thing.
In the morning, Detective Nick O’Brien (Butler) and his crew investigate the crime scene. We learn that O’Brien has been monitoring Merrimen and his crew for a while. O’Brien expects that Donnie has significant involvement in the whole scheme. During a night out, O’Brien and his crew kidnap Donnie and interrogate him in a hotel room with some hoes and what looks like cocaine baby! Donnie spills his guts and reveals that Merrimen holds a MAJOR grudge against O’Brien for killing one of his people back in the day. Donnie also reveals that Merrimen is planning to rob the Federal Reserve on Friday by covertly removing about $30 million in old bills, which are scheduled to be shredded after their serial numbers are deleted from computer records. O’Brien and his crew must hurry to stop Merrimen before the latter runs off with a major payday.
This movie is very confusing with how I feel about it. It’s not god awful but not the greatest heist movie also. Compared to Heat, this movie doesn’t hold much weight, but it is quite entertaining. It is a movie that you can watch if you are bored and need a little fast-paced, shit-talking action in your life. That is where the movie excels the most is with the action and shootouts.
Okay, story-wise, it is okay, but the concept of the heist is pretty interesting. First, robbing the Federal Reserve before they shred bills is quite ballsy. I didn’t even know that the Federal Reserve did this. Is this going to make me think of a way to rob the Federal Reserve? Hell naw, but the concept is interesting. The whole execution of the plan was actually really good. Merrimen’s team goes into a bank and “play” like they are robbing that only to fool O’Brien’s crew before they set up an epic showdown. The twist at the end is also quite good, but it’s one of those standard twist endings.
Also, the freakin shootout scenes are the best parts of the whole film. The first shootout between the cops and Merrimen’s crew was intense. I sat in my chair and was like, “Okay, this is how you set the tone for a heist movie.” Now the ending shootout was really good. One of the best I have seen in a while. It was intense, set the final tone, and didn’t hold anything back. It wasn’t on the level as Heat but damn it was good. First, the environment it happened was ideal- on a highway, where people are sitting in traffic. Then all hell breaks loose as one group has a machine gun that cuts through cars like butter. The on-foot chase scene and final fight was the icing on the cake.
Where the film fails to me is with the pacing. This film did not need to be over two hours long. It could’ve been done at about an hour and forty-five minutes. I was waiting for the film to hurry up and get to the point or ending. Once O’Brien’s team interrogated Donnie, I thought the film would go in overdrive and get to the heist, but it lagged on and on. First, having both crews confront each other at a dinner, and then all this planning seemed dull. The cat and mouse game in this film fell incredibly flat. Compared to Heat, this film just didn’t do it for me.
As far as the acting goes, everyone did their stereotypical role. Butler, as O’Brien, played the rouged detective who I thought was corrupt at first but merely was someone with many freakin issues. He cheats on his wife and pretty much does his job. Jackson Jr., as Donnie, was entertaining and seemed like the wimp of the group but actually the mastermind. 50 Cent was 50 Cent.
The film is pretty good and entertaining. I would personally watch Heat, and I can’t believe they are giving this film a sequel. I guess they give any film a sequel nowadays. The shootout scenes are the best thing going for this film. The movie moves pretty slow and could’ve been cut down greatly. Watch this film as background sound.
