Den of Thieves (2018)
Directed by Christian Gudegast
Story by Christian Gudegast, Paul Scheuring
Screenplay by Christian Gudegast
Starring: Gerard Butler, Pablo Schreiber, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Curtis Jackson
An elite law enforcement unit takes on a gang of thieves attempting an impossible heist at the Federal Reserve Bank in Los Angeles.
This film is an action crime drama, written by Christian Gudegast (A Man Apart) and Paul Scheuring (The Experiment). The cast includes Gerard Butler (Machine Gun Preacher), Pablo Schreiber (13 Hours), O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Outta Compton), and Curtis Jackson (Southpaw). Christian Gudegast also directed this one.
This is a pretty straightforward heist film, fitting in with movies like S.W.A.T.. The writing in the story is solid, with a couple of really good twists that help this from becoming too predictable. This one is also a grittier story, adding a level of violence that ups the ante right away. The characters are fun, but they feel a bit like versions of characters from similar films. The lack of unique qualities makes them a bit predictable. The story also includes a sub-plot that feels unresolved and unnecessary. Despite the flaws, this is a fun movie that action fans should enjoy.
The actors did a decent job bringing this one to life. The weaknesses in the way the characters are written is evident in their performances. Gerard Butler does a good job keeping his performance fun, sometimes pushing things a bit over the top. His performance balances out nicely with the work done by Pablo Schreiber. These two deliver the best work in the film. Curtis Jackson and O’Shea Jackson Jr. also do solid work with their roles. Unfortunately the writing did limit the cast and leave the performances feeling campy at times.
This one looks good, and has some nicely crafted action sequences which are the highlight of this one. The camera work is good, and the locations chosen for the movie work out great. While the story isn’t amazing, it’s got enough to make this a fun one. Fans of the stars should check it out if they’re looking for something gritty. I would also suggest this one to fans of crime or heist films. I give this one 3 out of 5 stars.
Finally got around to watching it and although i had fun watching it, it did have a couple of scenes that could have been cut out of the movie. The whole story about Butler’s wife didn’t add anything, same goes for the scene where the daughter of 50 Cent’s character is being picked up to go to the prom. All moments that didn’t feel relevant at all to the rest of the film. It wasn’t great but it did manage to keep me entertained.
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Those unnecessary moments are the same things I hear issues with. I still enjoyed it though. Glad you got around to it.
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