Den of Thieves

We finally know how Heat could have looked like if Michael Mann hadn't directed it. What's missing here is the precision of direction, the plot sweep, the feel of concrete, the neon of LA and above all the depth and fatality of the characters. Macho Butler is over the top and Schreiber as a villain, though contrived, needed a more resonant persona. The most interesting character is 50 Cent, thanks to his family background. The original is the materialised reality of everyday life, but this copy is "just a film" that also tends to repeat the classics in places. For example, in the end, and then in the opening thrilling ambush of the armoured car. (04/15/2018)

Though the visible parallels with Heat cannot be denied, Den of Thieves stands firmly on its own two feet. Whereas Michael Mann, director of the former film, came up with a stylishly refined portrait of two antagonists with professional respect for each other and deals with the ethics of the world of crime and justice, Christian Gudegast offers viewers a precision heist flick with a clever screenplay that deliberately winds up the viewer’s attention. --- SPOILERS FOLLOW --- The story has three central characters, which are presented to us over the course of the film, but only so that we can reassess everything ourselves at the end. However, he gives us ambiguous indications during the film that perhaps everything will not be what it seems. The filmmakers surprisingly use elements of overwrought machismo, where they have sullen mastodons march past the viewers, without in any way depicting them as likable characters. Though, in accordance with genre conventions, we are automatically conditioned to simultaneously sympathise with the cop and appreciate the ingenuity and coolness of his antagonist, over time the film reveals both of them to be unlikable, obstinate assholes. Whoever at first appeared to be a great guy turns out to be a fanatical workaholic, the experienced and shrewd nice guy is shown to be a tragic pawn and revealing the brain of the whole operation shows that whoever can merely play stereotypical masculine roles will always have the upper hand over those who dully live them. (05/16/2020)

The film begins with an assault of an armoured car by a gang of masked robbers. Seems like the operation is perfectly conducted, until one of the blokes loses it and shoots one of the witnesses, leading to an uncontrolled bloodshed (doesn’t that sound familiar?). Then arrives on the scene a group of cops whose tough commander has family problems due to his zealous work, his wife giving him a hard time (is it ringing a bell already?). This is followed by alternating scenes depicting the characters’ personal lives, police pursuits, the robbery preparation and, at the same time, the peculiar relationship that develops between one of the thieves and the policeman. What comes next is the story-central perfect robbery, in which some loud and long shooting happens between cops and thieves, all culminating in a ruthless duel between the two main antagonists… and in the cringy realisation that we’re far beyond mere inspiration from Heat, we’re literally in a den of thieves! Finally, so as to spare the creators of being impacted and accused of complete duplication of one movie, there’s the last ten minutes which, for a change, steal from another notoriously famous thriller from the ’90s! But apparently, no one cares. Den of Thieves is still blessed by a good technical level, excellent action scenes and decent casting. But this outrageous cloning cannot just be overlooked. Gudegast is a plagiarist. (06/08/2018)

Yet another take at cops and robbers, or else Heat with a very likeable array of actors. Butler as the son of a bitch cop at last in his first great role for a long time. Schreiber makes a good opposite number. Top-notch action with a fantastic final shootout in the traffic jam. Great one-liners. Wow. (03/03/2019)

If I wanted to be mean, I'd say Den of Thieves is to Heat what the TV movie Gridlock is to Die Hard 2. But then again, it's not that bad. The problem is that DoT is once again a product of the pernicious "gym cinematography (c)", a trend of films (especially action films) getting made by producers, directors, and actors meeting in gyms and fitness centers, as opposed to the 80s/90s where they mostly met at cocaine parties. It's like all these muscular bald guys in tank tops slapping each other's shoulders, walking with their arms a meter away from their bodies and swinging. And they're always sweating. Unlike their predecessors, the two protagonists are not trying to outsmart each other, but instead are constantly comparing cock size. The plot digressions to the families of the two members of the opposing sides are utterly disastrous, as they spend two scenes awkwardly trying to explain how their way of life affects their families. With 50 Cent in particular, we see in the first scene him threatening his daughter's boyfriend and later in the next scene his daughter telling him she loves him and that's it! That’s all it takes. WTF? What kind of puts it over the top (besides my tolerance for movies where people shoot at each other) is Pablo Schreiber, whose minimalist, contained performance really sells the illusion that there's some grand plan going on in his head. What utterly fails, however, is the macho posturing of the spoiled Butler, here playing a completely unrealistic paper moron who is probably supposed to be cool and gritty but instead acts like an eight-year-old in a leather jacket. Scenes where he eats donuts out of a bloody box at a crime scene, forces his way with a crowbar into a bank, presumably occupied by hostage-taking robbers, or his luxurious unleashing of a firefight in a convoy of cars full of civilians are where the whole concept gets buried completely. On the other hand, given that they had to break Gerald's neck for the poster photo, it may have been worth it. (06/20/2018)