Den of Thieves was a welcome addition to the Gerard Butler universe for a lot of his fans, crafting a smackdown between Butler’s team of elite L.A. County Sheriffs and a gang of ex-military thieves who have eyes on the city’s Federal Reserve. It’s an action-packed ride injecting adrenaline into the heist formula, and it delivers for fans. No shock that they made a sequel, this time putting Butler on the same team as O’Shea Jackson’s genius thief Donnie Wilson over in Europe. They plot a heist inspired by the Antwerp diamond heist from 2003, which was the largest of its kind at the time, worth upwards of $100 million. However, that premise leads Den of Thieves 2: Pantera to a far slower burn with a lot less action than its predecessor – something that some critics noticed and some fans were disappointed about.
Just a quick look at Rotten Tomatoes, and you’ll spy audience reviews saying it wasn’t as action-packed as the original film, it was a bit of a long slog, and calling it a more “tame” experience compared to its predecessor. It is particularly disappointing because this is not what we’ve come to expect from Butler. Fans loved seeing Big Nick back, but they didn’t think the movie had the juice to let him shine.
Let’s say you want to right the ship of your viewing experience and sail it back into action-packed waters. Maybe find a few movies that are prepared to raise the temperature a bit, shake the pillars of heaven, and captivate you with squibs for upwards of 90 minutes. Scroll down and take in some surefire action films that won’t disappoint and should pair well with the slower burn that Den of Thieves 2: Pantera displays.
You wouldn’t think someone like Robert De Niro would be part of one of the most realistic and memorable heist movies ever put to film. But here he is, with the extra layer that he’s elsewhere on this list, too.
Michael Mann’s heist epic is the director’s second attempt at the story after the 1989 TV movie L.A. Takedown. Heat brings the star power and budget it deserves, leaving audiences satisfied with a heist film that has been an influence since its release. You know it’s good when the Army praises Val Kilmer’s reloading ability as the gold standard, showing it to recruits during training.
20th Century Fox
Bruce Willis returned to the Die Hard franchise a few times after this third entry, but at the time, this was the end of the unofficial trilogy. It had the stakes of a finale, leaving the confines of a high-rise or an airport for the entirety of New York City. Samuel L. Jackson is added to the mix, hot on the heels of his Oscar-nominated turn in Pulp Fiction.
Willis and Jackson play off each other well, while Jeremy Irons is a menace that you also buy as the brother of Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber from the first film. The stakes are plain as day, the action non-stop, and all of it blended perfectly with Willis’ witty remarks that were surely an influence on Butler in Den of Thieves.
A more recent addition to the action gold standard is The Raid: Redemption and its sequel, The Raid 2. A strong indicator of a successful action movie is a premise that makes its stakes clear at the start; here, we have a team of Indonesian tactical police leading a raid on an apartment block controlled by their drug kingpin target. Everything goes off the rails almost immediately, placing the surviving cops in a fight for survival while trapped in the high-rise.
This film and the sequel are platforms to display the Indonesian martial art pencak silat, with stars Iko Uwais and Yayan Ruhian masterfully handling the fight choreography. The result is a modern classic that doesn’t let up until the survivors finally escape. It’s like a reverse heist (a breakout), and arguably works better that way.
MGM/United Artists
De Niro returns with legendary director John Frankenheimer for an all-star ensemble of guns for hire who have been tapped to steal a metallic briefcase from a convoy on behalf of a pair of IRA operatives. Some double crosses, the Russian mob, and a few deaths follow, all supported on the back of one of the greatest car chases in film history. Jean Reno is along for the ride, playing a perfect second fiddle to De Niro’s ex-CIA operative turned mercenary.
Come for the team building and international intrigue, but stay for the car stunts. It is impossible to be disappointed and it tips the scales to help balance the climax of the film.
Similar to The Raid, Sicario is working from the POV of the authorities. That doesn’t mean they’re all friends and especially doesn’t mean they all agree on the ethics and tactics of fighting the enemy. Still, the team is built, with Emily Blunt’s FBI special agent joining a task force led by Josh Brolin’s CIA officer and the mysterious Alejandro Gillick (Benicio Del Toro). Their goal is to take down some cartel members at the border while also navigating the political red tape that brings Blunt’s agent into the story at the beginning.
The tension is real with this entry, courtesy of Dune and Blade Runner 2049 director Denis Villeneuve at the helm, and a script from Yellowstone creator Taylor Sheridan. And while this lacks the explosiveness of the original Den of Thieves or a few other films on the list, it makes up elsewhere with some action and visuals that are haunting, and helped establish Villeneuve as a modern aueter.
What are your favorite action staples? Did you enjoy Den of Thieves 2: Pantera more than we did? Share your thoughts in the comments.
