Den of Thieves Movie Review

Den of Thieves (2018)

Buy Den of Thieves on Amazon Video
Written by: Christian Gudegast (screenplay), Christian Gudegast & Paul Scheuring (story)
Directed by: Christian Gudegast
Starring:  Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Curtis '50 Cent' Jackson
Rated: R
Watch the trailer

Plot
Every day the Federal Reserve removes $120 million from circulation and destroys the money. California's most notorious band of bank robbers hatch an audacious scheme to steal the cash instead while an elite County Sheriff unit attempts to track them down.

Verdict
It's a movie that seems like it was written by a heist movie fan. It's rough around the edges, but will make you remember Heat, Lethal Weapon, and The Town. It looks great and the plan is fun, but there is too little character development. We never know or care about the characters. The conclusion helps this end on a high note, but it can't fix the problems.
Watch it.

Review
I liked the opening, an armored car robbery that goes off the rails. It's reminiscent of Heat. This crew seems to be in over their heads, though as it turns out they aren't.

Gerard Butler plays Big Nick, the Sheriff that takes the case. Butler has some age on him, though he did gain twenty five pounds just for this role. Big Nick is the loose cannon cop, and he can't figure out why this crew took an empty armored car. They seems smarter than that. As he soon reveals, he's a gang member with a badge. His unit doesn't play by the rules. It's a great, though far from novel, set up for a cop but the movie fails to deliver. Nick is a caricature, and the scenes with his family are a forced attempt at development. It felt too convenient and doesn't fit the character we've been presented. Nick is a lot of bravado. Do the ends justify the means for him, is he really bad, or is this just for show? Developing that idea would have helped, but it's left hanging. Nick's second in command seems like an interesting character, but we don't learn enough about him either.

This is pushing for adrenaline over development. Big guns and fast cars provide the punch, but the characters are lacking. Slick editing tells us how the crew came together, led by fresh out of prison Ray Merriman. The movie certainly has style. Most shots are brooding. The cinematography is excellent, helped by great lighting. This nails the mood.

While the characters are underdeveloped the heist is good. I won't spoil it, but from the jump you wonder what they're setting up and how this will go. There are plenty of twists, and the movie doesn't always spell them out which I appreciate. Merriman and Big Nick are playing a cat and mouse game. Whenever you think one has the upper hand, the other manages a surprise.
This is almost an homage to action movies. There's a prom date scene that has to be a direct Bad Boys reference. It also seemed out of place.

The heist is intense, simple, and relatively small. For a movie that seemed to push for big early on, it seems in complete control with the pacing. I was hoping the bank robbers would win, in at least a small way. I like the scheme a lot and I was disappointed the cops were able to pick up on it as soon as they did.

I definitely wanted more from the characters. In Heat, the two leads had a mutual respect. Maybe it would have been trite in this, but it needed something. There are strong scenes, and the ending is a neat switch. A sequel is in development with director Gudegast set to return.