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Film Review: Den of Thieves 2: Pantera

randazzojj123

Welcome back to the blog readers. Sorry for the lateness in terms of seeing films so far in 2025, but I have been a bit busy and business is beginning to pick up in terms of film this year. I did not see the first Den of Thieves (2018) but questioned why a film not many people saw was getting a sequel, similar to another film that has a sequel coming out this year called The Accountant (2016). Despite not having seen the first film and not really having any interest in seeing this, would I walk away with a good time? Stick around to find out.


Den of Thieves 2: Pantera was written and directed by Christian Gudegast based on characters created by Gudegast and Paul Scheuring. The film stars Gerard Butler, O'Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmed, Salvatore Esposito, Meadow Williams, and Swen Temmel. In the film, Nick O'Brien, a sheriff of the LASD, teams up with suspected thief Donnie Wilson in Europe in an attempt to join his heist crew in robbing the World Diamond Center in Nice, France.


You should know by now that I love a good action film, and something I love more is a good action film that has a lot of heart. Like I said in the first paragraph, I went into this film completely blind so I had no idea what to expect. No expectations going in but no interest in the film should have given me more of an inkling as to what I should have expected, and I think this film is a total mess. It is better when we are focusing on the heist itself and the preparation, but falls completely flat when it comes to trying to flesh out our characters, new and old. But I do have to say O'Shea Jackson Jr. tries his damn best to stand out.


I actually want to start out by talking about the son of the legendary rapper Ice Cube. Since he completely burst onto the scene playing his dad in Straight Outta Compton (2015), a film that is constantly slept on, O'Shea Jackson Jr. has been carving out a legacy for himself. He was solid in his roles in Obi-Wan Kenobi (2022), Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019), and Cocaine Bear (2023). But in this film, he plays a robber with a complex past and he won me over with his honest and passionate portrayal of the character. He bleeds a charisma that only he has to this role and it pays off in dividends.


One of the things I do not appreciate with this film has to be Gudegast's script. For a film that is supposed to be 2 hours and 24 minutes, it feels like he had to cram a whole lot of meaningless story in to add time. How this film is 4 minutes longer than the first is completely beyond me. When the film focuses on the preparation of the heist and the actual heist itself, I am actively hooked and locked in. But when we delve away from the heist to get moments like when the crew is in the club partying it up, I get lost because that stuff is not nearly as interesting at all. I just wish the story could have been tightened and some of the fat was drained. Other than that, the pacing was alright. Also why did there have to be a double plot twist at the end? The first one was great but the second one basically sank the entire premise.


I do also want to criticize the real lack of action in this film. Now don't get me wrong, an action film does not need to be packed to the brim with action for it to work, but I was hoping for a bit more substance from that department. There was a brief heist scene in the beginning 5 minutes of the film that actually ties in nicely to the main plot, but other than the actual main heist of the film and its subsequent chase scene, there is really nothing of substance there. I also found it surprising to make the heist basically work out until the very end when it then turns to total anarchy. I just really wanted there to be something notable that happens, almost as if something had gone wrong from the get-go.


In conclusion, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera kick off 2025 in a bad way by being a messy alright time that squanders some golden opportunities to do something special. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.

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