Movie “Rock-triumph dudes”.

Den of Thieves by Christian Gudegast should not have worked. At first glance, the film looked like nothing more than a copycat of Michael Mann’s The Heat and countless other cop-and-robber thrillers. Indeed, the film is often derivative—not only does it owe a huge debt to The Heat , but it even throws in a last-minute twist shamelessly “borrowed” from The Usual Suspects . And yet… “Den of Thieves” inexplicably reigned supreme. While no one could fault this film for originality, the end result was extremely entertaining and enjoyable, and I don’t mean that in a cynical “so bad it’s good” way. Violent, engaging, funny and unapologetically daring, Den of Thieves is a gruesome, dirty action movie about angry men who shoot loudly. It’s not high art, it’s high trash, and I love it with all my heart.

It’s hard to hate a movie that features its hero, the burly cop Big Nick O’Brien, grabbing a donut off the ground at an open murder scene and taking a big bite. Shortly after this moment, Big Nick can be seen chugging straight from a bottle of Pepto-Bismol. Played by Gerard Butler, Big Nick seems hungover all the time – if you told me Butler drank half a bottle of Jack Daniels before filming his scenes, I’d believe you. A cocky, macho man who seemed constantly on the verge of burping, Big Nick was a rough, flawed brute, unfaithful to his wife and prone to breaking the law he swore to uphold to get his way. And in the end, Big Nick lost.

In Den of Thieves, Big Nick and his crew are on the trail of a gang of bank robbers led by Navy vet Ray Merriman, played by Pablo Schreiber. As the gang began planning their latest score, Big Nick tried to infiltrate the group by turning their getaway driver Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) into an informant. It all culminated in a major firefight that left several people dead, including Merriman. In a final twist, however, Big Nick was shocked to learn that the Merrimen was not mastermind of the gang. Instead, the whole heist was orchestrated by Donnie, who was secretly a criminal mastermind and ended up being the only survivor who ended up getting away with all the stolen money. The “Den of Thieves” saga could have ended there, but there was room for more – and, to a big surprise, the film was a much bigger hit than expected. A sequel has been announcedand now it arrives in the form of Den of Thieves 2: Pantera. Instead of trying to recreate the energy of LA crime films, Gudegast takes the story to Europe, creating something bigger in scope and creating a film that feels like a buddy comedy about big, tough guys who bond over some crime. It’s an absolute blast and a triumph of Dudes Rock cinema. Long live the Great Nick O’Brien, one of the greatest characters in film history.