Review: Den of Thieves: Pantera
Seven years after the first movie hit theaters, Den of Thieves 2: Pantera raises the stakes with a gripping and tension-filled heist sequence, an international scope, compelling performances from its leads, and pulse-pounding action. While it doesn’t quite surpass its predecessor, it still delivers a thrilling experience for fans of the genre.
Picking up where the first film left off, “Big Nick” O’Brien (Gerard Butler) is hot on the trail of Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), who has been pulling heists across the world with the infamous group of thieves known as the Panthers. Donnie plans his most audacious heist yet in Nice, France, as he and a crew of Panthers are looking to rob the World Diamond Exchange. Nick tracks Donnie down but surprises him by wanting in on the heist instead of arresting him for the Federal Reserve job from the first film. While the plot introduces intriguing twists and new locations, it also feels a bit cluttered, weighed down by a surplus of side characters who don’t get the development they deserve, like a group of Sicilian gangsters, a French police task force that Nick initially meets with and turncoat Panther thieves. There’s a bit with Jovanna, the team’s overseer, played by Evin Ahmad, who is intriguing throughout the film as it seems like she might have her own scheme within the heist, and she has some flirtatious banter with Nick, but it ultimately doesn’t go anywhere.
What truly shines in Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is the fantastic chemistry between Butler and Jackson Jr. Butler brings his signature rugged intensity to Nick, who is as unhinged and driven as ever. At the same time, Jackson Jr. infuses Donnie with a mix of vulnerability and cunning, and we get to see much more of his planning skills and ability to infiltrate now that we know he’s a master thief. Their dynamic creates a compelling push-and-pull as adversaries who might respect each other more than they’re willing to admit but also waiting for the other shoe to drop and have the other one betray them. Their shared scenes crackle with tension, but there’s also quite a lot of humor, including a sequence that is entirely comedic as the duo hangs out after getting shit-faced at a French nightclub. The movie lacks one of the original’s most unique aspects: the gym bro mind games between Nick and Pablo Schreiber’s Merrimen, but the new dynamic between Donnie and Nick is lighter and offers more fun and laughs.
The actual heist is stellar. It is a meticulously crafted sequence that blends high-tech strategy with raw, chaotic action. The crew has to move precisely and utilize various techniques to foil the guards and electronics of the Diamond Exchange. Director Christian Gudegast’s eye for detail ensures every moment is steeped in tension, from the deafening silence of a secure vault to the explosive getaway. The action sequences throughout the film are as brutal and dynamic as fans of the original would expect, with an added layer of sophistication and eye candy in the European locales, but the final action sequence lacks the emotional heft and grittiness of the first Den of Thieves’ shootout through traffic in Los Angeles, where Nick and Merrimen fatally faced off after all the build-up to that point.
Den of Thieves 2: Pantera is a solid follow-up that maintains the gritty, high-octane spirit of the original while amping up the heists and exploring interesting, gorgeous locales. Fans of the first film will appreciate beefed-up heist sequences and the chemistry between Butler and Jackson Jr. While a tighter focus on its core cast could have elevated the experience, the film still delivers where it counts—keeping audiences on the edge of their seats.
