3 out of 5 stars

The heist movie is a tried-and-true recipe for blockbusters: insert witty dialogue, charismatic leads with either sexual tension or bromance, and high-stakes, high-rewards thievery, and you have yourself an easy sell at the cinema. The guns-blazing heist flick Den of Thieves (2018) set itself up for franchise potential, and it got it with the brand new sequel Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. Stars Gerard Butler (Copshop) and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Godzilla: King of the Monsters) are back with a fresh supporting cast and a new locale: Nice, France.

Den of Thieves 2 opens during a tense heist. Getaway-driver-turned-mastermind Donnie Wilson (Jackson Jr.) has joined forces with the Panther mafia, and they’re intercepting a shipment of diamonds in Antwerp. It’s the first step of a more complex plan to infiltrate the World Diamond Centre in Nice. Jovana (Evin Ahmad), who goes by the codename ‘Cleopatra’, is the group’s leader, surrounding herself with experts from past missions, including right-hand man Slavko (Salvatore Esposito), getaway driver and ex-boyfriend Marko (Dino Kelly), and surveillance specialist Dragan (Orli Shuka).

The nature of the plot lends itself to a more sophisticated, slow approach than the first film. Donnie has to infiltrate the bank, posing as a Botswanan executive; the stolen stones are his inventory, which he’s hoping to trade legally, all while conducting the reconnaissance for the heist. Jovana introduces him to Chava (Nazmiye Oral), who works at the bank. She’s Donnie’s legitimate way in and helps set up an office for him at the bank while he conducts his business. Donnie turns on the charm to fool her and other employees, including the security guards, whom he takes out for drinks. The technicalities of the heist are complex (at times ridiculously so), but it all hinges on a crucial social game from Donnie, aided by Jovana and eventually Nick O’Brien (Butler).

Speaking of whom: fresh out of his divorce proceedings, Sheriff ‘Big Nick’ O’Brien recognises Donnie’s polished modus operandi when he hears about the Antwerp heist, which sets him on his trail. He ends up working with the local police in Nice, in a special unit called Pantera who are after the Panther mafia, to find Wilson. The French detective helping him, Hugo (Yasen Zates Atour), is unimpressed by Nick’s brash demeanour and methods and berates him for being a dumb American. Even so, Hugo lets Nick do his thing, as he disappears for the rest of the film.

Nick convinces Donnie he wants to join the heist and poses as Donnie’s security guard at the bank. He has to work a bit harder to convince the rest of the Panthers, leading to a fun scene where Nick needs to prove he is not an uptight cop but truly part of the crew. Already like a fish out of water in the glitzy club where they are all partying, he accepts the drugs handed to him by Jovana in a show of trust and gets high and drunk with them all, shouting “Fuck NATO!” and trading war stories. Jovana then coaxes him onto the dance floor, where they share a flirtatious moment. The night is ruined when Marko gets jealous and decides to pick a fight with Nick, leading to them being kicked out. No matter: Nick has proven himself and is accepted by the criminals.

Gerard Butler has proven he can do the messy, bad cop shtick, and Pantera is no exception. Where the first film lets him be more emotional, dealing with his crumbling relationship with his wife, the sequel puts him in the interesting position to play a character who needs to act but is sometimes unsure about his acting abilities. ‘Big Nick’ talks a big game as a tough Sheriff, but is in a very different position as a double agent/cop gone rogue, and he seems frequently at odds with his actions. Opposite him, Jackson Jr. is a capable actor and delivers a convincing performance as Donnie the professional conman. The duo have great chemistry as frenemies, and as the film progresses their relationship shifts from an unwilling collaboration to one of trust and camaraderie. Their bromance is cemented in Pantera and it seems to be Nick’s main source of inner conflict as the story progresses, along with the life of luxury the criminals lead. He cares a lot for Donnie and he appreciates the finer things that come with his lifestyle: could he be changing sides for real after all?

Director Christian Gudegast doesn’t offer anything new with Den of Thieves 2; whereas the original film was often cited as heavily influenced by Michael Mann’s Heat (1995), the sequel is closer to 48 Hours (1982) and the Ocean’s Eleven (2001-07) franchise, even reaching Mission: Impossible levels of complexity. Gudegast is most adept at the procedural, high-tension heist scenes, of which Pantera only features two: one at the beginning and one at the end. He stays close to the action and conveys a sense of urgency with tight framing and timing. During the car chases, he often places his camera in the back seat of the cars, looking over his characters’ shoulders, or low to the ground, following the sleek cars (a lot of Porsches, in Pantera‘s case) used by the Panthers. The film would have been just as satisfying with a simpler heist and a shorter run time, focusing on Donnie and Nick’s evolving dynamic and less so on the complex measures needed to infiltrate one of the world’s most secure locations. Not every heist movie needs to be set in the most impossible places to be good.

The change of location significantly alters Pantera‘s tone from its predecessor. Gone are the grimy streets of Los Angeles, which have their charm. We see Nice from Nick’s perception: the French Riviera is everything Los Angeles isn’t, to the cop’s eyes. Sweeping shots of Nice’s rolling hills and sun-soaked bays establish the otherworldliness of the location to Nick, full of luxury and promise. It’s too good to be true, as is the conman’s lifestyle. The film clocks in at 144 minutes, which is overlong for what is ultimately a simple heist movie. Nevertheless, Pantera does what it wants to do well enough, just as the first one did.

It’s derivative stuff, but for fans of the genre and those looking for an easy, entertaining watch, Den of Thieves 2 is good enough. Those will be happy to learn that, much like he did at the end of the first movie, Gudegast sets things up for a second sequel. Whether Den of Thieves 3 will be greenlit by the studio is another question, but I’m sure Butler and Jackson Jr. will be happy to return to their tough bromance. How they’ll raise the stakes after robbing the Federal Reserve and the World Diamond Centre, however, remains to be seen.

USA • CANADA • SPAIN | 2025 | 144 MINUTES | 2.39:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

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Cast & Crew

director: Christian Gudegast.
writer: Christian Gudegast (based on characters created by Christian Gudegast & Paul Scheuring).
starring: Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmad, Salvatore Esposito, Meadow Williams & Swen Temmel.