Den of Thieves

You can't enter a movie like this expecting some cinematic masterpiece. If you do so, you'll be obviously disappointed. Otherwise, it's a completely entertaining and fun ride through some surprisingly complex characters and an unexpectedly intricate game of cat and mouse.

There have been some comparisons of this movie to the movie Heat, and I think they may be somewhat warranted. OBVIOUSLY, this does not hold the gravitas of a mid-90's DeNiro/Pacino face-off, but plot structure, pacing, character development and the Los Angeles backdrop were all very familiar.

At the core, you have Pablo Schreiber, who is 1 or 2 decent movies away from being given a real shot at a career defining role. He led this film effortlessly and truly gives you a very raw sense of character. Gerard Butler plays Gerard Butler and convincingly so. The two square off for 140 minutes and it's surely fun to watch.

The 140 minute runtime seems to have garnered some attention from reviewers. Yeah, it's long, but it really doesn't feel that way. The pace of the film is stellar, and you never really feel any "look down at your phone" moments. The heist movie is often times full of overdone clichés and unconvincing "suspense" but for some reason this film was able to put a fresh twist on everything you see.

If you've seen a trailer for the film, you'll be very happy with it. I think this is a case of extremely good marketing and a trailer can make or break your audience's expectations for a film. From the trailer, you see a crew of goons led by some wannabe badass and a crew of cops trying to intimidate them and take them down. The trailer doesn't give you much of a glimpse at anything more than elementary storyline, which is why if you see this film, you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Had more fun in a theater than I can remember in recent years.

8/10

Bank robbery, gun shot action sequences, trailer of this film n Gerard Butler, all these were suffice for me to view this n i was not at all disappointed. Saw this in a theatre. Comparisons with Heat n The Town will b inevitable but this movie is a solid crime thriller with enuff action/gun shot sequences n a dangerous n clever heist. The final shoot-out scene will satisfy fans of Miami Vice (the shoot-out scene). Another good aspect is that the pacing is good and it's never dull. Pablo Schreiber (Preservation) was convincing as an ex military leader turned into a robber. Gerard Butler has a solid screen presence. O'Shea Jackson Jr. gav a solid performance (spitting image of his father Ice Cube). Action fans will not b disappointed. Looking forward to its sequel.

In Christian Gudegast's directorial debut, he did better in directing, than what he's know for, which is writing. There were more clearly obvious holes in the plot than a brick of Swiss cheese. His screenwriting of Gerard Butler's character was way too overboard. It was still a fun flick to see, but lost much potential with the sloppy writing. What is more laughable are all the 8, 9 and 10 reviews for this film... are the producers that dumb not to think anyone can click on a user name and see this film was the only one they rated - clearly fake reviews. This film is a generous and honest 7/10 from me.

This is a classic cops and robbers tale of the type you don't see anymore, plus being a huge fan of Butler loved it even more. Macho testosterone fueled action of the type Arnold, Stallone and Willis did back in the 80's and 90's. Butler is Far superior as a action star than Statham or The Rock. A true successor to those 80's icons.

Sure its not gonna win any Oscars but for a plain good time with tons of action and macho posturing, and for a welcome change from all the Netflix Sci-Fi fare, this is all you need!

Plus its has the best gunfights since DeNiro and Pacino went at it in Heat. Trust me you don't wanna miss the gunfights.

I went into Den of Thieves with low expectations, and walked out pleasently surprised with this movie! Im a huge heist movie fan and Michael Mann's 'Heat' is one of my favorite movies of all time. And while its true that Den of Thieves takes almost TOO MUCH inspiration from HEAT, it certainly delivers some unexpected turns that make the movie unpredictible and not generic. Sure, there are a lot of heist films out there, but I found Den of Thieves to bring some new elements into the genre that i have never seen, which i thought was pretty great. I was actually surprised with Gerard Butler's performance in this movie, he was actually REALLY good and played the role with commitment. The same goes for the other cast members, Great Acting! What really sold this movie for me, was the incredible action sequences. They are directed fantastically, and the firearms in the movie sound robust and authoritative, which gives the film a hard edge that i found to love. There are a few scenes in the film that feel out of place and some of the character development isn't really there, but overall i had a blast watching this movie and plan to see it again. Definately Recommend to anyone a fan of the genre.