Den of Thieves Review

A movie that I only heard about when I saw the trailer for Den of Thieves 2. I never knew this movie existed, but seeing the super stacked line up of stars and awesome actors had me excited. I went into this completely blind, no idea what the movie was even about.

The story is incredibly intriguing. Something that has a constantly evolving and changing amount of twists and turns that keep you invested throughout. The allegiances within allegiances so interesting and ultimately led to the downfall of the important characters.

I will try to avoid spoilers until the very end, as I do think that this movie is one the really needs to be watched and enjoyed.

Firstly, Gerard Butler.

An incredibly talented actor with decades of experience. And yet I think this is the best role he's ever played. I was just eyes glued to the screen every time he was on screen. His insanely comedic but barely hanging on to his sanity by a thread while also being a "law following" sheriff type was just so engaging and fun. The added drama of his family falling apart driving him crazier and really letting Gerard show a massive amount of range. Such a great addition and my personal highlight of the movie, at least acting wise.

The crew of thieves consisting of Master Chief, 50 Cent, and Ice Cube Jr was so much fun to watch. The way they managed to show their intense amount of planning and history so quickly in a not too over explained way was great. A whole lot of awesome dynamics and chemistry.

But aside from the great acting, this movie does nothing better than action and tension. The opening truck heist, the bank heist, and the highway shootout are all some of the best action scenes I can think of in the past few decades. Such an awesome way with no music, just loud gunfire and realistic, military strategy. Such a great way to do it, even if I am a fan of music over action scenes. Really just the best part of the movie that I can't really go more into.

And even then, this movie does the opposite just as well. The incredibly tension and care in them performing their heists. The absolute best scene of the entire movie is the federal reserve heist, which is just such an incredible performance from all around. Edge of my seat greatness and drama.

And this movie also manages to be one of the funniest movies I've seen in quite a while, in large part because of Gerard being just unhinged. But also having a whole lot of great moments of dialogue and character stuff throughout the runtime.

Overall Rating: 9/10

SPOILER WARNING The twist done at the end with Ice Cube Jr being revealed as the true mastermind was one of the most well done twists in a movie I can think of. I had a moment when he was handcuffed in the car where I thought "oh is he the mastermind?" but then they way that they revealed it and tied it all together was so incredibly well done. An awesome story done so incredibly well, and I am BEYOND excited to see how the sequel handles it. I really hope that it can deliver and expand upon the history and story, rather than a sequel for sequel's sake.