Mega-macho sequel Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera pulls a funnier, chummier heist

When we last saw “Big Nick” O’Brien (Gerard Butler) in 2018’s Den Of Thieves, he was in the throes of defeat. Donnie (O’Shea Jackson Jr.) had outflanked him and robbed the Federal Reserve, so that the books wouldn’t even notice the missing millions. As far as the federal government was concerned, nobody had robbed America’s most secure building. What good would it do to pursue a criminal who technically hadn’t stolen anything? Donnie fled to Europe with his millions, looking for his next big score. As for Big Nick, he’s first seen in the enjoyable if decelerated sequel Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera taking a big old piss, nursing a perpetual hangover after losing in family court. After waving bye-bye to the only good thing in his miserable life, Nick tosses his wedding ring down the drain, rips a hand dryer off the wall, and heads for his next drink.

In the last six years, Den Of Thieves has built a cult around its junky action-movie charisma. In an age of superhero spectacle and sci-fi opera that must be everything to all audiences, Den Of Thieves was a grimy, unapologetically macho riff on Heat. However, the film was a cut above the straight-to-Redbox titles that could just as easily fit that bill. By focusing on the technical authenticity of the crimes and the wartorn pathos of his characters, writer-director Christian Gudegast over-delivered. But the real breakthrough was Butler, who, after a decade of fallen Angels and Geostorms, finally found a screen persona he could sink his massive meat hooks into. As Big Nick, Butler ironically couldn’t go big enough, turning the crooked, get-the-guy-at-all-costs member of the famously ethical Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department into a likable dishrag, leaving a trail of spilled whiskey and cigarette ash whenever he’s on screen. 

The line between cops and robbers blurs beyond recognition in Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera, as Gudegast tones down the moral ambiguities so boys can be boys. Broke from his divorce and made a pariah for believing that Donnie robbed the Fed, Nick chases Donnie to Europe. There the master criminal has scaled up, joining an elite team of thieves—the Panthers, led by Jovanna (Evin Ahmad)—who rob the Antwerp airport of a diamond the size of a 20-sided-die. But that’s only the first part of their plan. Assuming a French identity, Donnie manages to get the diamond into the vault of the Antwerp World Diamond Centre, one of the world’s most protected buildings, which he also plans to crack. Tired of being the hunter, Nick wants in on the job. 

Rather than clashing with reality, Gudegast instead tones down the intensity in his sequel. Pantera is more Tenet than Thief, but the European air does Butler and Gudegast well, taking them out of their comfort zones and opening the door for a different kind of movie. Funnier and more focused on the homosocial bonding of its leads, Pantera is lighter on action and heavier on scenes of Nick and Donnie crashing scooters and burping up shawarma. The movie lives and dies by the chemistry between Butler and Jackson, coasting a bit on Butler’s dirtbag charisma to get him on the audience’s side. 

Gudegast’s Rififi-inspired structure dedicates much of the runtime to planning, putting the pieces in motion, and devoting the movie’s last third to infiltrating the impossibly guarded Diamond District in Nice, France. That, too, comes from reality. The film’s crown jewel sequence was inspired by the 2003 Antwerp diamond heist, the so-called “heist of the century.” 

However, Gudegast doesn’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of European life like he does for L.A., so Nick is forced to ingratiate himself into the crew as a fish out of water. Sticking Nick in France proves a winning prospect almost immediately. He’s led into a French police station and fumbles over the word “croissant.” He smokes hash with underwritten heavies as he tries to prove he’s on the level. Though the ensemble is less defined in this follow-up, Gudegast still finds pockets of characterization, like a fight over the aux cord, that allow some of his roster to shine. Though his burly, wraparound-shades machismo is much dorkier than Gudegast realizes (this man’s man drinks full-flavored Pepsi—just like Madame Web!), it’s still quite endearing. Gudegast loves these characters, but can’t muster the same moral complication a second time. Nick and Donnie are unapologetically the good guys as they set one ground rule for the big heist: “No one gets hurt.” 

To Gudegast’s credit, he turns Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera into a grounded version of Mission: Impossible, delivering chunkier, more utilitarian versions of gadgets the IMF may have developed. Designed for practicality, their reflecting screens and 3-D printed masks can trick censors without the sleekness. They simply do the job. The bulky tech matches the leads, who have the size but not the body types of your typical action movie stars. Butler and Jackson’s broad, imposing frames carry the same strength and agility as a six-packed Avenger, making for believable bruisers and greater human tension when things get down to the wire. 

While the guys are enormous, Den Of Thieves 2: Pantera is lighter than the first movie. Cranking his personality to make Big Nick more morally palatable, Gudegast emphasizes the likability of his motley crew throughout, not the moral gray areas of law enforcement. Nick’s simmering internal conflict over switching sides to the thieves feels like a bit of an afterthought, but focusing on fun isn’t necessarily a bad thing. What’s wrong with leaning into your strengths? Big Nick isn’t just a scumbag. He’s Gudegast’s scumbag, and he wants the audience to feel good loving him, too. There are no vulgar displays of power here; Big Nick is just vulgar. And he—and the movie—is all the better for it.

Director: Christian Gudegast
Writer: Christian Gudegast
Starring: Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr.
Release Date: January 10, 2025