David R. Walker

Den of Thieves: Pantera

Director: Christian Gudegast

Cast: Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr, Evin Ahmad, Salvatore Esposito, Cristian Solemino, Nazmiya Oral, Dino Kelly, Fortunato Cerlino, Yasen Zates Atour

Running time: 2 hours and 24 minutes

Languages: French, English, Flemish, Italian

Film Rating: 7.5 out of 10

American director Christian Gudegast follows up his 2018 heist film Den of Thieves with the flashy sequel Den of Thieves: Pantera reuniting cast members Gerard Butler (Plane, Kandahar, 300, Copshop, Greenland) and O’Shea Jackson Jr (Cocaine Bear, Godzilla: King of the Monsters) as L.A. cop Big Nick O’Brien and master thief Donnie Wilson.

This time Den of Thieves: Pantera is set on the French Riviera, the pristine and glamourous location of Nice on the La Cote d’Azur.

Following a brazen theft of diamonds that arrived on a flight from Johannesburg to Antwerp, Donnie Wilson joins a gang of thieves lead by Jovanna played by Swedish Kurdish actress Evin Ahmad.

Nick O’Brien after extracting information out of a stripper in L.A. about the missing millions gets a tip that Donnie Wilson is in Nice, follows him there where he meets the French police unit Pantera headed by Hugo played by Yasen Zates Atour (Robin Hood).

O’Brien teams up with Donnie Wilson who gradually lets him into his gang of thieves. The only catch is the one diamond belongs to a Sardinian crime family whose mobster would like the diamond back.

After a breathtakingly elaborate heist at the ultra-secure Diamond centre in downtown Nice, a double cross occurs on the road between France and Italy and soon Donnie Wilson realizes who he can trust.

Den of Thieves: Pantera is heavy on intrigue and light on action except for a thrilling car chase in a tunnel but what director Christian Gudegast does well is build up the pace of this film about a Mediterranean diamond heist, so when the theft does take place, the action is compelling.

Nice as a city works well as a location and while the first film was very action heavy on the L.A. streets, Den of Thieves: Pantera has a glossy international feel about it, which is more character driven filled with intrigue and bravado. The screenplay with multiple languages also written by Christian Gudegast is edgy focusing more on masculine friendship and betrayal with a dash of mafia menace thrown in.

The exterior shots of Nice and Sardinia are gorgeous and the sports cars are awesome too. This is an intriguing European heist film proving that there is definitely no honour amongst thieves.

Den of Thieves: Pantera gets a film rating of 7.5 out of 10 and is an entertaining action film assisted by two suitably macho performances by Gerard Butler and O’Shea Jackson Jr whose character’s relationship switches between rivalry and deceit. Recommended viewing for fans of Gerard Butler action films.

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