‘Den of Thieves 2: Pantera’ Review: Kick-Ass But Bloated

Despite not having seen the original 2018 Den of Thieves film, I took a leap earlier today and followed up my screening of Edward Berger’s Conclave with Christian Gudegast’s heist flick Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. While I do plan on visiting Den of Thieves in the near future, this review will be based on Den of Thieves 2: Pantera as a standalone project, judging it on itself and only itself. 

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera follows broke LASD sheriff Big Nick (Gerard Butler) travelling to Europe to team up with a past foe (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) for an international diamond heist. The film blends the dad-core genres of Steven Soderbergh Ocean’s films with the gritty LA realism of Heat, culminating in a unique but derivative blend that makes for a really enjoyable theatrical experience. The official synopsis of the film reads as follows: 

Gerard Butler (Plane, Has Fallen series) and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Straight Out of Compton, Godzilla: King of the Monsters) return in the sequel to 2018’s action-heist hit Den of Thieves. In Den of Thieves 2: Pantera, Big Nick (Butler) is back on the hunt in Europe and closing in on Donnie (Jackson), who is embroiled in the treacherous and unpredictable world of diamond thieves and the infamous Panther mafia, as they plot a massive heist of the world’s largest diamond exchange.

The heart and soul in this movie are driven by the relationship between Butler’s Nick and Jackson’s Donnie, capitalising on the not-so-friendly banter present between the duo. This factor is made even more prominent by Nick’s larger-than-life and outlandish personality, portrayed perfectly by a bombastic Gerard Butler. In one scene especially, revolving around drug usage, the character of Nick is a hilarious stand-in for a bustling but hostile nightlife in the heart of Nice, France. Their relationship culminates in a weirdly emotional sequence at the end of the film, marking one of the more touching moments in the film, despite the hard knock surface that plagues the rest of the film. 

The plot of the film is extremely by the books, following a heavily planned heist of the World Diamond Precinct in France, making a point of the characters’ ingenuity and their intuition regarding one of the world’s most secure vaults. The Pantera in the title, Italian for “panther”, refers to the team Donnie and Big Nick find themselves part of, and overall one of the more forgettable aspects of the project. The other team members struggle to make a name for themselves- to stand out to the audience, in this striking European world.

As a result of this, and the fact that most of the runtime is allocated towards these characters, the film comes across as bloated and overly long, which could again be attributed to its nearly 2 hour 30 minute runtime. The film, despite belonging to the action genre, rarely gets to display its aptitude with fight scenes, heist sequences and car chases, largely flailing because of it. 

Then again, what little we do get is insanely fun, from the intense third-act heist sequence to a scenic car chase, complete with reverse spins and gunshots. I can’t really complain either, with the final scene of the film, centred on Big Nick driving the Italian coast while M83’s “Outro” plays serenely in the background. 

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is hugely derivative of those that came before it, but is a strong instalment in the franchise, with O’Shea Jackson Jr. and Gerard Butler both bringing their A-game in a film that will delight all the dads out there. 

Den of Thieves 2: Pantera was written and directed by Christian Gudegast and stars Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmad, Salvatore Esposito, Orli Shuka, and Stéphane Coulon. The film is now playing in theatres worldwide courtesy of distribution via Lionsgate. 

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