Den of Thieves

An erratic yet ultimately rewarding actioner, Den of Thieves follows an experienced criminal (Pablo Schreiber’s Merrimen) as he and his crew attempt to pull of a seemingly impossible heist – with their efforts complicated by the continuing interference of several less-than-above-board L.A. County Sheriffs (led by Gerard Butler’s Nick). The degree to which Den of Thieves improves as it goes along is actually rather staggering, as the movie, written and directed by Christian Gudegast, gets off to a less-than-engrossing start that doesn’t inspire much confidence – with the introduction and development of Butler’s almost laughably grizzled character indicative of the film’s initially hackneyed bent (eg the sardonic, sarcastic figure, in his initial appearance at a crime scene, chews out a well-meaning FBI agent and eats a donut off the ground). And although it’s similarly riddled with underwhelming elements in its first half, Den of Thieves reaches a point at which such concerns essentially become moot – with the turning point a fairly fascinating sequence in which Schreiber’s character lays out the plan for the complicated heist that’s to follow (and it certainly doesn’t hurt that virtually the entirety of the movie’s final hour is devoted to said heist). Gudegast does an effective job of infusing this portion of the proceedings with an engrossing, tense feel, while the climactic shootout, which is as exciting and visceral as they come, ensures that the picture ends on an impressively positive note – thus confirming Den of Thieves‘ place as a strong heist thriller that runs just a little too long (ie this probably should’ve topped out at two hours).

*** out of ****