Director: Christian Gudegast
Cast: Gerard Butler, O’Shea Jackson Jr., Evin Ahmad, Salvatore
Esposito, Orli Shuka
Screenplay: Christian Gudegast
Running Length: 2:24
MPAA Classification: R (Violence, Language)
U.S Release Date: 1-10-25 (Wide)
Genre: Thriller
Back in 2018, when the first Den of Thieves was released, my feelings toward the film were that although it was moderately entertaining and competently made, it was far too long (clocking in at a bloated 140 minutes) and derivative of other (and better) heist films to be memorable. With Pantera, my feelings essentially mirror those of the first film. Considering Den of Thieves was only a moderate success at the box office (it grossed $81M worldwide against a $30M budget), it's surprising that any studio was willing to take a gamble on this sequel. Time will tell whether or not it was worth it in the long run.
One could argue that Pantera is a slight improvement over its predecessor. The characters are better fleshed out, and the heist is more complex and involving than what we got the first time around. Although one of the things I appreciated about the 2018 film was the twists and unpredictability of some of the characters, something that is strangely missing from this film. The heist and character motivations here are more straightforward, which makes the ending a little bit of a letdown.
Pantera picks up right after the events of the previous film, with lawman Nick O’Brien (Gerard Butler) trying to track down Donnie Wilson (O’Shea Jackson Jr.), who managed to escape to Europe after stealing $30 million from the Los Angeles Federal Reserve (for those who don’t recall, it was revealed that he was the true mastermind behind the elaborate heist). We learn that the feds aren’t going after him because although money was taken, it was $30 million in old bills that were set to be removed from circulation, so no crime was committed.
Meanwhile, in Europe, Donnie has joined a new group in order to pull off a diamond heist. Unfortunately for him, the diamond he steals from turns out to be from the Panther mafia. With the same crew, Donnie plans to pull off an even bigger heist to steal from the world’s largest diamond exchange. That’s when Nick eventually finds him and agrees not to take him in, so long as he can join the new heist.
After treating us to a taut opening sequence, the film starts to drag for the next hour or so before finally finding its footing. Once Nick and Donnie reunite, that’s when the film finally takes off. We get to know a little bit more about their backstories, and the decision to make them allies rather than foes for the sequel proves to be a smart choice. The buddy chemistry that forms between the two characters and their interactions are a highlight. That’s also thanks to the performances of Butler and Jackson Jr., who slide back into their roles effortlessly and work well off one another.
The crown jewel of the film, however, is the heist itself (which thankfully takes up a good chunk of the film’s second half). Gudegast does an impressive job of upping the difficulty and delivering some white-knuckle suspense. It’s almost enough to make me overlook the film’s problems, almost, but not quite.
Depending on how well Pantera does at the box office, this might not be the last we see of this duo. The film has an actual ending, but it also leaves room for future installments. Should there be another film, my advice: hire a new editor. At 100 minutes, this could have been a solid caper film, but by ballooning the runtime to 144 minutes, it hurts the film and causes pacing issues. This is at best a passable diversion and should please fans of the first film. As for everyone else, it might be better suited for home viewing rather than theatrical viewing, where at least you'll have the option to fast-forward through the lulls (specifically in the first hour) to get to the good stuff.
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