I missed Den of Thieves upon its original release, so I never got to review it. I finally saw it recently, and decided to give some brief thoughts on it, in celebration of its Blu-ray release. Because wow.
I think I know the exact moment when I realized that I was really loving Den of Thieves. It was fairly early on, roughly 30 minutes in, and we are getting our first look into the rocky family life of Big Rick (Gerard Butler), an LAPD detective. His soon-to-be ex-wife, Debbie (Dawn Olivieri) isn’t very happy with him, so she decides to take the kids and leave. And after putting them in the car, and going back inside to gather some more of her things, she says something to the effect of “I’m gonna find a guy whose cock actually gets hard for me.” It’s kind of the moment that can define this movie’s particular verve and attitude in a nutshell.
When it comes to the whole “cops & robbers” subgenre of crime films, there’s pretty much no way in topping Michael Mann’s 1995 classic, Heat. I think writer/director, Christian Gudegast, understood that when he made Den of Thieves. Den of Thieves can’t help but have Heat as an essential element of its DNA, so it instead focuses on other things.
Den of Thieves feels like what would happen if you take a grand crime epic, and traded in the dramatic, formalist techniques for a grimy, DTV sensibilities. It’s truly a strange mixture. It’s the kind of film that takes the time to bring you into the family lives of its extensive ensemble cast (in sequences that feel like deleted scenes that were accidentally kept in the movie, but I’m so glad they did), creating a broader emotional scope for the parties involved, but will also have really silly, macho-to-the-point-of-parody stuff like Big Rick literally chewing scenery when he picks a donut off the ground in the middle of a crime scene and casually take a bite; cracking a few tasteless jokes. It’s also worth noting that Butler is the best he’s ever been in here. It’s the kind of role where he really gets to sink his teeth into in ways he really hasn’t been since 300. The movie is just audacious and ambitious in ways you don’t normally see in movies this sleazy (and derivative, if we’re being totally honest), and it hits a lot of sweet spots for me. It honestly feels like the kind of thing David Ayer should be making right now instead of…well, Suicide Squad and Bright.
The plot mechanics are nothing particularly surprising, but it seems like Gudegast has seen so many of these kinds of heist movies because the way it all moves and comes together feels like a well oiled machine. I’m sure there are holes, but I don’t care to look. Despite the trashy sensibilities, it is a very slick film with excellent shootouts, and compelling characters, especially in O’Shea Jackson Jr.’s Donnie, a getaway driver for Ray Merriman’s (Pablo Schreiber) band of robbers, who ends up under Big Rick’s watch. The two hour and twenty minute runtime, as egregious as it is, does give the time to make each character as colorful and distinct as possible, especially those few who – in a more leaner picture – would simply disappear into the background.
I don’t have much else to say about this, Den of Thieves really is something you just have to experience. Describing it doesn’t do it any justice. The Blu-ray is now available, or you can see it on various VOD platforms. And then after you see it, you can get excited for the sequel, which is apparently in the works now. Along with some of the cast members like Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr., Gudegast will also return as writer/director, seemingly picking up where this one left off. I can’t wait to see where it goes.