Den of Theives (2018) --- "Sometimes Dirty Jobs Require Dirty Cops. The Ending Will Leave You Speechless."

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Plot Summary

Nick O'Brien is the hard-drinking leader of the Regulators, an elite unit of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Ray Merrimen is the recently paroled leader of the Outlaws, a gang of ex-military men who use their expertise and tactical skills to evade the law. O'Brien, Merrimen and their crews soon find themselves on a direct collision course as the criminals hatch an elaborate plan for a seemingly impossible heist -- the city's Federal Reserve Bank. (1)

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Review

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Hello, Movie Buffs! 

WARNING! This film is Rated R for violence, language, and some sexuality/nudity

     Den of Thieves (2018) might be your typical film about tough guys trying to outsmart one another but rather it is an intense heist film, unlike anything we have seen before. Similar to 1980’s action films, the primary goal for Den of Thieves is to simply be entertaining and that is what this film does.

     The story is much different than your average heist film in that it follows the mother of all heists, the Federal Reserve in Los Angeles. The importance of pulling off a heist as big as this will leave audiences on the edge of their seat. The story moves at a fast pace and the big heist is detailed throughout but still carries a great plot twist will leave you speechless at the end. Most of the action comes later on in the film and let me say that it is explosive, to say the least. For those who are bored with the typical cops and robbers, films will find that this one does its best to be original. The story contained two big differences. One was that the not only were the robbers bad but the cops were almost borderline criminals themselves. And secondly, the robbers, for once, got equal screen time and development throughout the film.

     Each of the characters is introduced appropriately. The best part is this film shows the toll it takes on cops who work and spend a lot of time in the underground, especially cops who use unconventional methods to capture criminals. They maybe cops but that doesn’t always mean they are the good guys. Sure they will uphold the law but if breaking it means catching their guy then that is what they will do. The interactions between the criminals and the cops create a slowly building tension that later explodes during the big heist scene which lasts well over 30 minutes. Both sides face serious challenges and it is unclear who exactly has the most to lose.

     The only issue I have with the film is the subplot involving Big Nick O’Brien’s (Gerard Butler – Geostorm) family issues. Although the scenes with his family help with his character development and help us understand him a bit better, at times those scenes dragged the pace and were almost awkward to watch. O’Brien and his team have been running surveillance on the main robber for years and they are very close to locking the whole team up. But as a result of working underground a lot, O’Brien has neglected his family and cheated on his wife in various forms numerous times. Now he has to try to catch a dangerous group of criminals all while dealing with his wife divorcing him and taking his kids away from him. There were certain scenes between him and his wife, which could have been removed because I personally found them to be awkward or unneeded.

     Overall, Den of Thieves (2018) is worth the time and is much different than your typical cops and robbers heist film. The best part was that the cops were not your typical cliché decorated rule-following cop, rather they were more realistic and willing to do whatever it takes to capture the bad criminals. The characters are introduced appropriately and the interactions between both sides help build up some much-needed tension for the end. The story is well played out and detailed but still manages to withhold a big plot twist until the end. Keep in mind though that this is not for the faint of heart and this film contains a large number of curse words that come viewers may not be able to overlook. However, I do recommend this film as an interesting and worth watching heist film.

"Your not the criminals. We are."

- 'Big Nick' O'Brien

Final Vote

Worth Seeing:  7 of 10 stars

Worth Buying:  7 of 10 stars

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