Today’s quick review: Den of Thieves. When Ray Merrimen (Pablo Schreiber) and his crew steal an armored truck with nothing in it, Los Angeles detective Nick O’Brien (Gerard Butler) wants to know why. His best lead is Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson, Jr.), a small-time criminal associated with Merrimen. But even with Wilson’s help, O’Brien remains in the dark about Merrimen’s true plan: a brazen daylight robbery of the Los Angeles Federal Reserve.
Den of Thieves is a crime drama about a plan to steal $30 million from the Federal Reserve. The movie pits Nick O’Brien, a violent and impulsive cop, against Ray Merrimen, an ex-Marine with a track record of successful bank robberies. With each man aware of the other, the robbery turns into a battle of wits between two cunning men. The result is a fairly typical crime movie that makes a name for itself with an unusually well-crafted plot.
Den of Thieves takes what easily could have been an ordinary bank robbery and builds it up into something more. Merrimen’s plan has several stages, each one a clever extension of the last. The audience has most of the information needed to figure out his plan, but the last few revelations are enough to make the ending a surprise. As such, Den of Thieves has strong material for its plot, with a good sense of progression and a couple of sharp twists.
Still, Den of Thieves misses the chance to go farther with its characters. O’Brien and Merrimen work well in the context of the story, but they are not as vivid or as memorable as those found in similar movies. O’Brien is a hothead who’s only a step behind Merrimen for most of the movie, while Merrimen makes for an unusually calm and disciplined antagonist. Their conflict is structured well but not as emotionally resonant as it could have been.
Den of Thieves makes for a solid pick for any fan of the crime genre. The strength of its plot is enough to hold the viewer’s interest from start to finish, and while the characters are not as memorable as the best the genre has to offer, they do carry their weight. Give it a watch if you’re at all interested in the premise.
For a crime drama with a similar premise and a greater emphasis on its characters, try Heat. For an elaborate bank robbery with an extra twist, check out Inside Man. For an action movie centered around a similarly ambitious robbery, try Die Hard with a Vengeance or The Hurricane Heist. For another cat-and-mouse crime thriller starring Gerard Butler, try Law Abiding Citizen.
7.0 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it the same for a well-constructed plot and solid overall execution.